MCS Engine noise when cold

[sheri3466]

Mine was parked in a garage with a slope, nose well down - happens every time! I'm just on my way out to get rid of the awful thing - I will never have been so happy to see the back of a car! Specky, you must have the patience of a saint!

[DerekH]

Sat morning the dreaded noise happened only once in 2700 miles i know that is enough, lack of oil thats for sure up the top end.

[specky 1]

Hey Sheri..... It helps being 6500 miles away !!!!! They (stealers) are now trying a "NONE RETURN" valve from cylinder head. Have expressed my concerns about this MODIFICATION but they have told me its only active when engine is switche OFF !!!! Thus, keeping oil in the top end for start ups.
Personally i think they.... and MINI technical are clutching at straws. Part is here Tuesday..........

[specky 1]

Well we're into the final straight now...... The none return valve did absolutley JACK !!!! Car still sounds like a bag of spanners.
This is the best bit....... MiniUK have agreed to fitting a brand new engine unit. It will be at stealers today.

[CC07ERS]

Quote: Originally Posted by specky 1 (original)

Well we're into the final straight now...... The none return valve did absolutley JACK !!!! Car still sounds like a bag of spanners.
This is the best bit....... MiniUK have agreed to fitting a brand new engine unit. It will be at stealers today.

Well i hope its a lot better than the last 1

[drbsheffield]

It is so sad all these problems with the MINI's. I got my R56 in January and it had gone by March, it was one of the 'nightmare cars!'
Got such a soft spot for them, I really fancied another so went along to my local dealer and had a drive in their demo at the weekend, that was the final nail I am afraid, it had the odd gearbox screech thing when changing down into second gear and a couple of rattles from the dashboard! It took me back......
I won' t be having another.
Such a shame.

[Deanliv]

Ive had my MCS in this week at Williams, Manchester, for exactly the same noise, sounds like there is no oil in the hydraulic lifters at start up, every modern petrol engine suffers from this a little but no where near as much as the MCS. Its as if the oil diminishes from the lifters and what you hear is the lifters moving but without the aid of oil/hyraulics until the oil circulates around the engine and the lifters fill back up again. Possibly a thinner viscosity of oil would aid the time response in filling the lifters with oil???

Williams said they have carried out the service bulletin which is to fit a new timing chain tensioner that is taughter and holds the engine firm once stopped. Being an aircraft engineer myself i can`t see how this will solve the problem as oil seems to be dispearsing from the component, in my eyes the tolerance is either too large between the components or oil is too viscous when cold to circulate quick enough resulting in the knocking of the hydraulic lifters.

Williams told me BMWs service bulletin states all Minis suffer from this noise on cold start up around 1700 RPM and its just the character of the engine. I can see premature failure of the hydraulic lifters occuring before 60,000 miles and the warrenty expiring for sure!

[msh441]

Well.... I'm picking my MCS up from the dealer tomorrow. I'd dropped it off a week ago for the JCW kit and to identify a buzzy noise that I really thought was an exhaust leak poipping near the turbo heat shielding or cat. They say the rattling noise has been identified and fixed... but we'll see.

After installing the JCW kit, they listened for the noise and heard what they believed I was describing. They thought it was coming from the cam chain. When they removed the cam chain tensioner, they observed that it was getting very little oil in the piston. It was replaced two days ago and they kept the car for the last couple so they could repeatedly let the car cool & restart. They say it's fixed and removed the new tensioner to confirm it is getting sufficient oil. We shall see.

I'm somwhat sceptical, as the rattle I heard was very exhaust-related IMO. I've heard a bunch of exhaust leaks with various motorcycles and it pretty much had the same tinny rattle. Now, as I mentioned, I had the JCW engine kit done at the same time... so maybe the exhaust seal issue (if thats what it was) was resolved before they checked on the annoying buzz/rattle. I don't know. Time will tell. As it is, I've now joined the "new chain tensioner" club. I guess I will see tomorrow.

Cue the irony (from page 3, post #43):

Quote: Originally Posted by msh441 (original)

Seems like most are experiencing this knock when it's cold out? The new engine has an "on demand" water and (I believe) oil pump that doesn't kick on until the block is up to operating temps. Any possibility the cam chain and main bearing aren't getting enough oil upon start up. Colder conditions = less viscosity & lubrication through the system. Oils starvation in the timing chain [tensioner] and main bearing causing problems? It's a thought.

[SIMIN]

hey, I been very slack on the mini2 front lately, jus thought i would add my problems into the hat....having the same engine rattle(read distressing lack of oil noise/ read diesel noise/read this is not worthy of a £20k vehicle noise) same thing, from cold parked at a slight incline(nose forward) start it up and it sounds really terrible, have recorded it , i jus need to down load it from my fone and post it. takes about 3/5 minutes to clear to the std 1980's fiesta esque idle(nice!) The car had been back and had a "PUMA" test whatever that means and was advised everthing was ok..ha! it has started to do it all again......the big boys from BMW are comin back to my dealership soon, and want to listen to it.....i jus wish it would do it continuousy because as sods law goes it will not do it when i want it to. The noise has been there from about 2500k miles and i'm now at 7000k and it is still doin it. Over time this must damage the engine...My service manager has said this is the worst one he has heard so far! He says there is no FIX as yet!!! i am waiting for the call to take it in for another week. I will keep this posted!

[specky 1]

New engine went in last week. Stealer has been cold starting it to see if alls ok for the last week or so........ QUIET AS A CHURCH MOUSE !!!!!!! I'm happy at the moment, but not home to pick car up until monday so i gotta wait a bit longer to see for myself. Just hope its better than the last engine!!!!

[sheri3466]

Hi Specky! Well, you got there in the end. I still think somebody should be shouting this from the rooftops. I have been happily driving my Honda Civic Type S-GT 2.2i diesel for a few weeks, and although it doesn't have the same 'pizzaz' as the Mini - I have not regretted getting rid of it for a second. Reason I am writing, apart from to wish Specky good luck, I told my garage I had traded my Mini in. Last week, I get a call from them - to tell me the part for my sunblind was in!!!! I took great delight in telling them firstly, I was not told parts had been ordered for my sunblind, and secondly, that I no longer owned the car! Specky, good luck for Monday!

[jef the ref]

Hi all. I have also been slack on the Mini2 site for a while. I bought my R56 MCS last feb, it was an ex demo November build. I have had many faults..

1. Diesel noise on cold start ups
2. Growling when accelerating from low RPM after a speed bump or junction etc
3. Seized sunroof. Sunroof was replaced.
4. Gearbox squeel when changing down from 3rd to 2nd.
5. High pitch noise/whistle at speeds above 80mph
6. Battery discharge warning, have to reset clock/date etc every morning.
7. More rattles than Mothercare!!

My car is booked in again for Monday 29th about the Diesel noise, however the service department told me that BMW have announced that it is a characteristic of the engine.

Bol....ks.... BMW would never allow a 1/3/4/5/6/7/X3/X5 series to make that noise.

The growling when accelerating has eased slightly but maybe my driving style has changed to accomodate.

Only just reported the squeel from the gearbox, will have an answer next week.

Whistle at high speeds above 80mph. They refuse to drive at that speed and test it, so i volunteered to to drive.

Battery discharge warning, we will see next week.

Round 2 for the rattles next week, but nothing improved last time.

I often wonder whether Mini engineers log onto Mini2 to see what we are all experiencing, its not the dealers fault we having troubles but surely they should be reported back to the factory and problems solved far more quickly.

The noise on cold start up makes me cringe, I hate it and it cannot be doing the engine any good whatsoever. I feel sorry for the people who WILL experience problems once manufacturers warranty runs out....

This is the 3rd time my car has gone in for work, I am not a happy bunny and if the problems are not resolved i will be seeking an equivalent replacement (that is acceptable) or a full refund.

Sorry for the long rant, its either you lot or the Dealer and shouting at the dealer will not help matters I am sure.

I will keep you all updated.


Stuart

[msh441]

Here's an idea...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Commission keeps a record int he US of defective equipment in automobiles. If enough complaints come in, they have the unique ability to pressure manufacturers for change. Manufacturers then issue technical service bullitins acknowledging the problem and outlining a fix... and if it's serious enough, they can force a recall itself.

It appears this is a US-only governmental aggency... but they'll take complaints worldwide. A TSB or recall in the US adressing these issues would benifit owners worldwide. It's the same thing we Volvo owners went through with their Electronic Throttle Management system.

Just a thought. Here's the link:

IVOQ - File a Complaint

I'm going to post this in a thread of it's own (hope that's OK with the site admin, Paul)... I believe it's at least one avenue by which to document issues with the brand and force a change for the better. So file those complaints.

[JG.26]

Hi All,

I have been reading this thread with some interest for some time and with a little trepidation as I have now taken delivery of my Peugeot 207CC 150THP which replaces the 120bhp normally aspirated version which I rejected. The 150THP uses the same engine thats in your Cooper S's and I can say well in the Peugeot anyways its smooth and quiet when started from cold and is virtually inaudible from inside the cabin. It's definitely not a characteristic of this engine to sound like a diesel and I can only assume BMW must alter something on the engine to get the extra 25bhp that might upset its running. Hmmmmm Seems odd how it can be so quiet in one make of car and noisy in another

[specky 1]

Picked car up on Monday and what an absolute JOKE !!!!! They have had the car for six weeks and when we arrived to collect it was FILTHY, They had damaged one of the zenons, aero bumper didnt fit right and the head light washers were trapped under bonnet and all twisted. I flipped !!! Got the dealer principle involved and told him to sort it. They kept the car until 5 pm and we returned to collect. PERFECT . Why do you have to kick off with these people to get a result ?????
Took car away and all was ok........ UNTIL WEDNESDAY.......when i noticed a very large slick of oil under the car !!!!!!!
Breakdown truck was called to take car away as i didnt want to drive it. Gearbox was removed to find that the final drive seal at back of flywheel on my new engine was not fitted correctly.
All fixed now but not built up as the Dealer has asked me if i will accept the Works tuning kit fitted FOC as a gesture of good will for my troubles. Said yes but we still have some other issues. Get car back on Wednesday, but until then they have loaned me there Works demo S.