Ask MF: Why Does my 2007 MCS Tick?
This latest edition of Ask MotoringFile comes courtesy of Josh in LA:
> I’ve had my 2007 Cooper S for almost a month now and have loved every minute. However there’s one thing that I’ve wondered about. At idle I can hear a light ticking sound comes from the engine. Is this normal?
Great question Josh. The short answer is yes, this is normal for the engine in the 2007 (R56) Cooper S. The reason has to do with a new bit of technology not present yet in most cars; direct injection.
In fact I asked Erik Sonntag, lead engineer and head of the MINI’s drivetrain development this very question at the US R56 press launch. In his response, Mr. Sontag explained that the ticking sound is typical of almost all direct injection, high-output gasoline engines and that the new MINI’s powerplant was no exception.
For those curious, the benefits of direct injection over old-school fuel injection system are increased power, better power delivery, and better efficiency. You can read more here.
However, a lot of R56 owners are pretty upset at the engine idle noise to the point of rejecting their cars.
Anyway, thanks for the engineering insight.
>However, a lot of R56 owners are pretty upset at the engine idle noise to the point of rejecting their cars.
A lot of early R50/R53 owners weren’t too excited about the incessant whining from the power steering. I for one thought it was frankly embarrassing. A tick, I can take.
The power steering whine never really bothered me it was the “Stumble” that my dealer never could get rid of from my ’02 MCS plus, multiple cracked windscreens, broken shock mounts, and more, which in the end made the decision easy to buy an ’04 MCS. Which has been nearly flawless.
Incessant ticking… turn up the volume.
My five windsheilds on my ’02 never really bothered me (thank you State Farm insurance). The stumble did though. Stalling wasn’t fun either.
Oh yeah, there was that blown engine at 28,000 miles, minor thing.
The whine from the power steering was due to the previous electro-hydraulic setup. In fact, the whine was ‘hushed’ even more in the ’05 and ’06 builds. Next time stand outside of a ’02-’03 and then a ’05+ and the steering whine is not as pronounced on the newer cars.
Going back to the “ticking”of the PSA engine. While I am not refuting the fact that the dieseling noise is due to the direct fuel injection setup, the noise at idle is still pretty loud and gives the impression that something is wrong with the car. The ticking seems to be louder on the MCS than the MC.
Dealers in Europe are replacing the chain tensioner piston and even the engine tappets (very big job) all under the direction of BMW technical support. Apparently, they believe there is something wrong with the engines but every diagnostic/repair seems to be a shot in the dark.
The big question is how this noise will affect these engines with 50K-100K miles down the road?
Just playing devil’s advocate here.
>The whine from the power steering was due to the previous electro-hydraulic setup. In fact, the whine was ‘hushed’ even more in the ’05 and ’06 builds. Next time stand outside of a ’02-’03 and then a ’05+ and the steering whine is not as pronounced on the newer cars.
Yes – my ’05 sounds better. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hushed.
Actually the word I was looking for is “quieter”.
I never noticed a ticking.. 😮
I actually like the ticking sound my MCS makes. I think it sounds cool and unique. The only thing that would really bother me is if it affects the life of the engine AT ALL.
that ticking is your mini drumming its fingers, waiting for you to get on it!
Ottoman – who are you? I’ve seen these same story’s dragged out by Frankinmiami whenever he wanted to cast bad vibes. You are dragging out these bad stories from Mini2, some sort of rumble that was different than the fuel-injector sound. I have not seen any epidemic of this on NAM. If you are Frank, lighten up already – it will all be sorted out by the time you order your clubman.
Lavardera, you lost me right there. I have no idea what you are talking about. Who is this Frankinmiami? Anyway today I am in Munich, Germany which is far, far away from Miami (If my childhood geography lessons serve me well) but have heard great things about their beaches and the hot women (Wink!).
Anyway lighten up! Take a deep breath and relax! No need to get worked over a different point of view. After all, this is what makes Motoringfile a cool place to talk about the cars we all love and feel passionate about.
Cheers!
Otto
pretty much all direct injection cars “tick” go listen to an audi or a VW with FSI. They will all do it. The fuel injectors are spraying at such a high PSI that it causes a ticking noise. Its completely normal. I guess if people don’t like it… they will have to stick to slower, more poluting engines that get worse fuel economy. 🙂
My ’96 VW Jetta had a definite tick at idle from the fuel injectors. You could sometimes hear it inside the car. The engine had over 70K when I traded the car away, and was none the worse for wear. It also was not a direct injection engine.
No worries Otto. If you have been reading you realize that all the crits of the R56 start to sound the same.
Hey Lavardera, you are so right about that! Let me not fall into that trap. There is much to like about the R56. Some minor tweaks inside and out could make it the perfect replacement for my ’05. Heck, I may even keep the ’05 alongside it!
All this talk of ticking makes me wonder if someone should call homeland security. Maybe the cars are synchronized to explode at a set time! Could this be a plot by Detroit to kill all of us cool mini drivers?
Who has Tom Ridge’s number on speed dial? Hurry… (tick tick tick)
Get in, relax, drive, and have some fun!
Is it like a values ticking kind of sound or the sound my current R53 is making due to a faulty flywheel =/ …I’m guessing, one way or another MINIs just like to tick… I hate ticks… makes the car sound cheap and like you don’t change the oil or something.. quite embarrassing to have a car ticking when you spend all this money for them…thank goodness there’s a stereo 😉
thanks! Now I know why!
For some reason I thought that they had badged a deisel a Cooper S by mistake 😛
Marty
My wife’s ’07 GTI ‘ticks’ too. It’s just direct injection. No big deal.
Does the MazdaSpeed3 tick too?…couldnt wait to see the all new Subaru WRX STI … hopeful its not as awful as the all new Subaru WRX 08…in looks…
currently…puttering along the awful LakeShore Dr with my R53…without the Runflats…whew…
H’py Motoring…
dreaming abt Zoom…zoom…lol
My point about the tick and anybodies dislike for it would just be while I adore my 05 for its refinment I can tell you horror stories about the 02. All new cars take a while to work out once they hit the real world. I would not have traded my 02 experiance for anything, at the time it was a great car. I am sure the tick in the R56 will just be a audio character mark to help me stand out while next to less interesting cars 😉
Oh, no Gabe!
The R56 looks BETTER than the R53!?!
The R56 handles BETTER than the R53!?!
The R56 is FASTER than the R53 (even the JCW)!?!
Now, the R56 DFI ticking is NORMAL!?!
As a R56 owner, I appreciate a positive information and feedback (then again I don’t need somone to tell me how great it is… I’m enjoying mine every day)… but it’ll only convince the nay-sayers once and for all that your in MINI’s pocket!
(KIDDING!!! Of course)
My ’02 MCS sounds tame in comparison to what’s posted here! The main noises I hear are the electric steering (more ‘cool’ than annoying), supercharger whine (also a ‘cool’ sound), light gear rattling in idle when the clutch is fully released, and some annoying plastic trim clicking / rattling noises while driving (can be fixed with a screwdriver, double-sided tape and felt foam).
Windscreen-wise the previous owner must have replaced the standard model with an Australian Standards version, which has taken several high speed road stone impacts with magnificent grace and little damage. Otherwise I’ve had no problems with my MINI. I won’t be trading it in soon, unless new models (aside from R56) woo me otherwise. It feels good to own the ‘classic’ ’02 R50 MCS. It still looks new, modern and hopefully becomes a collector’s item down the track.
I’ve noticed the ticking and always thought it was the valvetronic, but thanks for clearing it up any way.
I got another huge question about the turbo in the R56:
Now i’ve heard that with AUDI and SAAB’s turbos u are really supposed to let the engine and turbo run at idle for at least 30 sec to a minute after a drive, to prevent the heads from coking (from carbonation) i know the R56 has a intercooler that stays on after ur drive, but i don’t think that solves the problem. Would appreciate some feed back.
the r56 turbo is water cooled as well as oil cooled. Also the water pump circulates water for up to 5 minutes after you shut the car off. No cool down nessecary. I would probably still do one for good measure if i was at the track and just came in off of a session… but thats me… probably a little unnessecary.
My engine is very quiet at idle…no tick that I can hear.
Aside from the normal ticking, anybody notice their shifty sticker…ooops, or a sticky shifter in their R56 lately. Happening to me w/ 2000+ miles on it.
Just ****ing drive, man. Does it really bother you? You want a noiseless car, man?
My 2006 MCS ticked at idle from the day I picked it up. When the clutch is depresses, the ticking goes away. I reported it to the dealer on the two free visits and the mechanic suggested I wait until near the end of the warranty (Now only about 4000 miles away) and take it in for a warranty repair since it was recorded on their system. But what is it and what are they going to fix?
<p>Hi Dennis-</p>
<p>Weird coindicence.</p>
<p>I was meadering the net and ran across this site, then recognized your name.
I couldn’t remember from where though…then it hit me…I saw your name on the paperwork for a ’65 Signal Red Triumph TR4 I just bought.</p>
<p>Twilight Zonesque…lol.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’d love to talk to you about your old car. If your up for it, please drop me an email@
<a href="mailto:ttaber@charter.net">ttaber@charter.net</a></p>
<p>Thanks!
tta</p>