Hi All,

I (finally!) traded in my Honda Accord for a 2007 Cooper S with some JCW upgrades. I've wanted a MINI for years and finally found the one with nearly everything on my wish list for a great price.

So, I've been driving it a week (smiling every minute) and have noticed a few things that have me concerned. They could be normal for a MINI, but because I come from a long line of Hondas (with few strange noises or issues), I thought I'd better get familiar with my new little friend's quirks.

The first thing the boyfriend and I did (after driving off the Audi dealership lot), was to take it to the local MINI dealer. The service manager was great--popped my key into the computer and pulled up the history they had on the car. It's not comprehensive for the life of the car, but the Carfax we got from the Audi dealer has some additional info. There were a few repairs/replacements done at Seattle MINI that I wonder about--normal or not. I won't go into those here.

Right now, I'm a little concerned about a popping/shifting noise that happens when I turn sharply and usually going a little faster than normal. My boyfriend thinks it may be a bushing and should be ok for now, but will need to be fixed in the near future. It reminds me of popping joints on a person--kind of a hollow, deep sound with the slight feeling of a shift. I used to own a 1976 Honda CVCC with bad CV joints---that sounded like cards in spokes/machine gun typing popping. The MINI sound is usually just one popping/shifting when I turn.

Any thoughts on this. (Sorry this is so long...it's my first post, so I'll get the hang of not talking so much next time.)

 

The only way to tell is to get it on a lift or on jackstands and start tugging on the front end suspension components. None of them should have any excessive play. Don't forget to check the front control arm bushings too. We could have countless guesses at what it is but I think you'll agree that it will only make your head spin around on its axis. Have a qualified tech check it out and they'll find the problem if it indeed does exist.

 

Thanks. Definitely had planned to make an appointment with the MINI dealer service departmant to have it checked out soon. I used to own a '67 VW Beetle and learned that some weird noises and "behaviors" were just Bug things. I'm trying to figure out the same thing with my MINI.