Comments on: MINI Solves the R56 Cold Start Issue

By: Lapounk

Lapounk — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:13:00 +0000

J’ai les boules, j’ai commandé ma Mini et devrait la recevoir d’ici 1 mois mais en lisant tout ces post je regrette déjà de l’avoir commandé :o(

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

I have a 2009 clubman JCW. I love the car but this is my third time in with the noise, First engine light came on after 1 month in owning it then the second time the engine dumped oil, First went to MINI Escondido, Second time Bob Smith MINI Calabasa. I am at Mini Ontario right now and they told me that I ma out of warranty which is true and that I will need to call 1-866-275-6464 to talk to them about this problem to see if they will cover it since it has happened twice before and have not fixed the problem yet. If they don’t cover it I think it is time to do something, lemon laws, recall, etc… more if needed. I paided a lot of money for this car to have to many issues.

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:10:00 +0000

I have 2007 Cooper S. I just took it in a few days ago and mentioned the rattle sputtering sound at cold start and the next day the advisor called me telling me it needed a new timing chain.

I was curious when they replace the timing chain does that automatically include the tensioner and the other related parts or should I make it a point to ask if that is also being done?

I see this thread go back pretty far, for those of you that have had yours replaced and some time has now passes how has your MINI been to you? Should I sell it and move on. I am out of warranty as of the end of January.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:47:03 +0000

Here’s the death rattle to my 2008 base cooper. Looks like i’m in for it. Great. I contacted BMW of North America and they basically made a file for my complaint but need the problem diagnosed by the dealer. I’m waiting on my service advisor to contact me back at the moment. Hopefully I get some good news. I’m beyond the warranty now, so this should be interesting…

http://www.youtube.com/user/MrRyno45#p/a/u/1/KBES5N1_B_U

http://www.youtube.com/user/MrRyno45#p/a/u/0/DcWdjTep9q0

By: Peter S

Peter S — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:59:35 +0000

My 2008 Mini S has had the start up noise for at least a year. It’s 2.5 years old with 68k miles. The racket and shaking is now bad enough that it is leaking oil from a couple different points. I have a guy in San Pedro, CA who thinks he can do the recommended fix for $2k. I have a call into Mini Long Beach and MiniUSA to see if they will pay for parts as described above. I’d be happy to get out of this for $900. I totally agree that the Mini dealers are total scam artists. Bob Smith Mini Calabasas, where it was towed when the low engine oil light came on, tried to put me on the hook for $1,000 in labor just to diagnose the problem. I immediately had AAA tow it to a private mechanic, and now that I have researchd the issue, I think it’s criminal that Mini Calabasas was going to charge me $1,000 to diagnose a problem MINIUSA is well aware of. I’m also going to ask Mini Long Beach to take my car at max-resale value and try to walk away from it, and maybe into the new model once I research that.

By: Michele Roles

Michele Roles — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:34:58 +0000

I have a 2007 Mini Cooper S. I had my Mini into Mini of Baltimore, Maryland (formerly, Mini of Towson)numberous times for the loud, cold start engine noise. First, the service department told me they couldn’t duplicate the noise. Then, they kept my Mini over night and still they could not duplicate the noise. Then, they said they were aware of the issue but it wouldn’t cause any damage or problem to the engine…it was just a loud engine. Then finally, they put this “band-aid” fix….replaced the timing chain tensioner. Since this “band-aid” was put on, (less than a year ago), the car continued to have the loud rattling “death rattle”. Now that my Mini is out of warranty and is extremely difficult to start, Mini of Baltimore, Maryland has FINALLY REALIZED that the timing chain is stretched and the guide is broke. Mini USA is paying for the parts but I have to pay the $900.00 in labor. Needless to say, I’M NOT HAPPY!!!! If the tensioner was not getting the proper oil and needed to be replaced….the chain was not getting enough oil and it too should have been replaced while under warranty. I now hate my MINI!!! I do not recomend ANYONE Purchase a MINI. Mini USA does not stand behind their product…they stand behind the DEALERSHIPS and their deceptive practices. I also had a problem with my Sun roof. The sunroof would stick. While under warranty, I took it to the dealership and they adjusted it. I then had “air noise” which I did not have before they adjusted the sunroof. So, I again took it back to the dealership several times and guess what? They could not duplicate the noise. So, eventually my sunroof opened on one side and not the other. The dealership wanted $700.00 just to close it. NOT FIX IT…ONLY CLOSE IT!! It would now cost me $4,000.00 to have the sunroof fixed! DON’T EVER BUY A MINI! MINI does not stand behind their product….they stand behind the dealerships and their deceptive practices!

By: Stephen Warwick

Stephen Warwick — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:27:38 +0000

Hi Adam, I had the Puma Ref:10686850 – 14 to fix the rattle on my JCW 2008 model,But after the fix I then had a misfire at 5000 rpm, BMW only fitted a timing chain tensioner because that is all my car needed but I am in the UK wear the Mini is made, currently I have no noise to say about and this is the last BMW fix. The new misfire did get a new PUMA number and has now been sorted after 10 day. BMW list’s all problems and new ones and solutions ( PUMA list )

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:58:04 +0000

Hi guys, I have sent my 07 cooper S in for the cold start issue. They only wanted to replace the timing chain. I am making sure they replace all of it. I even referenced the PuMA number 10686850-13. I will get back to you guys when they update me. Does anyone know what the PuMA is acronymed for? Or what the website is? Thanks.

By: Stephen Warwick

Stephen Warwick — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:45:45 +0000

Will a new fix Ref:10686850-14 stop the rattle, And will the car not sound like a diesel I am thinking that the engine is going to be the same after the latest fix. I am booked in at the garage 1st-2nd of June

By: CraigE

CraigE — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:56:11 +0000

IIRC MINI refers to the combination of VANOS and Valvetronic on the Cooper as just Valvetronic, for simplicity. My understanding is that every BMW designed motor that has Valvetronic, also has VANOS. So it is redundant to refer to both when the motor has Valvetronic.

By: hardingsan

hardingsan — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:54:36 +0000

for what it’s worth, i had my car in to the dealership yesterday for a few minor issues (including this noise). got a call late yesterday saying they needed another day to work on it because they were having a belt tensioner shipped over from Germany. hopefully picking it up today, so we’ll see what it really was this afternoon…

By: Stephen Warwick

Stephen Warwick — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:14:06 +0000

HI, To day my BMW local dealer has booked my john cooper works in for the 5th time and iam on fix number 14 so is this going to be the big one or not my JCW’s has only 3,000 miles ,I will wait and see the out come.

By: James Irmiger

James Irmiger — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:39:09 +0000

MrB, this is pretty standard dealer crap. I bitched out 1800ASKMINI for over an hour because my local dealer (SF) wouldn't just fix it even though I had the problem verified, "fixed" twice already and had several recent videos confirming the problem. I had to end up going elsewhere and leave my car for a week so they could "reproduce" the sound, then fix it. At least the second dealer gave me a loaner.

Word to the wise who are just expecting to go in and get this done: No matter what they've done in the past, MINI's stance is that each and every repair is treated as a separate entity. They still want to reproduce the sound before they fix anything.

By: MrB

MrB — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:48:27 +0000

I have called up the dealership. They said that if it is not a recall, they need to confirm and make sure your car has that noise then they can order the parts and fix.

However, in this warm weather, i can hear the noise while i start up my car every morning....

By: akim

akim — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:09:32 +0000

LONG BEACH MINI in Long Beach, CA has denied there is any issue, says there is no puma measure, and says that this article is a scam… good job LONG BEACH MINI!!! anyone no a dealer in SoCal that will do the fix?

By: Blainestang

Blainestang — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:31:54 +0000

@heyduard: I think you're right... there's really a lack of clear information overall.

From what I can tell:

VANOS = Variable valve TIMING Valvetronic = Variable valve LIFT

According to the Prince Engine Press Release...

http://www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/document/presse_dossier/PK_PSA_BMW1103281940.pdf

... The Cooper has BOTH variable TIMING and LIFT on both intake and exhaust, but it only specifically mentions Valvetronic.

On the other hand, the Cooper S has JUST variable timing (phasing), and only on the Intake side, and it doesn't specifically say VANOS there, either.

I'm not sure why VANOS is not mentioned, but it may be a marketing thing, like you said.

Based on the information from that source, it seems that:

Cooper = VANOS (Intake/Exhaust), Valvetronic (Intake/Exhaust)

Cooper S = VANOS (Intake)

If someone has another source that says differently, or has additional insight, I'd be interested to see it.

By: heyduard

heyduard — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:42:24 +0000

@Blainestang:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2004/12/14/new_mini_38_psa_engine_range_in_detail/

An ’04 press release was my reference as it has detailed info on valvetrains. There are major differences in the valve train in n/a and turbo guise. only valvetronic is mentioned and only for the n/a engine. My understanding was vanos is a hi performance version of valvetronic in BMWland and thus only available on the turbo’ed engine.

in any case, we are probably splitting hairs on terms. :D And we can blame marketing for any confusion.

By: MCS Engine noise when cold - Page 128 - MINI2 - MINI Forum

MCS Engine noise when cold - Page 128 - MINI2 - MINI Forum — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:12:50 +0000

[...] Looks like the issue is offically solved!! Yay :) Looks like the issue is officially solved!! Yay MotoringFile Archive MINI Solves the R56 Cold Start Issue [...]

By: MINIC

MINIC — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:24:31 +0000

Now we just need a recall.

By: Malcolm

Malcolm — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:13:33 +0000

Just book mine :) the only thing that is bugging me is that the have to remove engine from place :( :(