MF Exclusive: For all those who might have missed the story initially (and all 200 comments) some R56 Cooper S’ have been experiencing some odd noises on start-up. After posing the question to friends at MINI early this year, we finally have some answers. Sources tell us that the cold start or noisy start issue that some R56 owners have been experiencing has been acknowledged, at least internally, and a fix is in the works. Various solutions have been sought from the dealer level on up to address the problem (with very mixed results). From an engineering standpoint the problem has to be repeatedly replicated to find the source of the issue and that takes time. According to these same sources the problem is within the engine management software and a fix is currently in the works. This is still preliminary but hopefully those who are experiencing the issue won’t have too much longer to wait.

If this is indeed a software issue, a simple software update could solve the problem as it did with the engine stumble and/or yo-yo experienced by many 2002-2003 MINI owners. As always, we’ll keep you posted as information comes in regarding this issue.

Related:

+ R56 MCS Cold Start Issue Exposed / MotoringFile