Ok, I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks but I think i've come across a way to get the cold start chatter to stop within a few hundred feet of driving after starting the car.

As we all know the car will chatter for a little while after being started and driven, It usually occurs between the 1500-2200 rpm range from what I have noticed.

First of all I have a 2008 Cooper S with an automatic transmission, 18070miles.

Ok so after starting my car one day I got the rattle. ugh. so in the days before I've been trying some hyper-miling techniques and had been shifting the car into neutral and letting it coast. So after driving around the block and it still rattling the street I turn down is on a grade, not huge, but enough for it to roll down on it's own.
so I turn on to the street from a stop and its still rattling and shift it into neutral and let it coast.

the road is three blocks in length and I was able to traverse it in under a min. total road time has been less that two Minutes at this point. when I get to the bottom of the street at the red light I shift back into drive and continue and NO MORE RATTLE! it was certainly the quickest the noise has ever gone away before.

So since then I have been doing this when ever I get the rattle, Like this morning. I pulled out of the driveway and now on a level grade street I drive to the stop sign in the diagram I provided (red line), then continue and shift into neutral about where I marked it (green line) and coast the rest of the street (yellow line) and when I reached the end of the block, A standard suburb city block, Rattles gone. I Google earthed it and I was able to get rid of the rattle with in 800 feet.

I have proven this to my self multiple times now and it seems to be a quick fix to the problem. I know that this isn't a permanent fix but I'm putting this out there for the people who just get it those times and want it to stop.
I hope this helps for some other people too

-Peter

 

have you taken it to the dealership. There is an official fix. I took it into my dealership to get it fixed and haven't had the cold start issue since.

 

I know there is a "fix" for it, it's seems to work on some cars and not on others from what I've heard,
I've been meaning to take it in but I just haven't been able to let them take the car for like a week to prove I have it and then do the repair, It's my only car and I'm under 25 which is the minimum age for them to give me a loaner
so that kinda leave me in a tricky position.

 

It should not take a week for them to hear it and fix it, especially now that it's been out for a while. If you complain that it's rattling like that, they should just fix it - period. They only changed the tensioner on my '09 Clubman S - that was at 3K and now at 15k I haven't heard it since. You could be doing real damage to your engine if you don't fix it - quick. Worst case it should take a whole day for them to do it if they change the chain and slides too.

Don't keep running it like this, please.....

 

Depending on your insurance carrier you might have rental car coverage with your insurance policy.... I know with Geico if I needed it I can get rental car coverage when my car will be out for repairs. I have so many other rental car coverages though from several sources so just look at some of your policys you might as well.

I also agree that you should get the car in to the shop asap so that it can be fixed. The longer you wait the more damage that is being done to your engine... Why continue to let something like that occur? At my dealer(saw them take a car that had the issue) they just looked to see it hadnt had the work done already and then took it to do it. Was simple and painless I assume the issue has been talked about enough and fixes acknowledged that they no longer need as much diagnosis before starting work now...

 

My understanding is that when coasting in gear, the MINI will cutoff fuel flow. However, if you coast in neutral, then the MINI actually supplies a tiny bit of gas to the engine. Something for you to test out.

 

Ok guys, I'll have a talk with my MA about it, I was going to have it done a while ago but I needed the car that week and when I spoke with the service reps they told me that the would have to keep the car in order to confirm it in order to fix although this was like 2-3 months ago. Has it changed since then?

also do we know if there is any damage being done to the engine though?

Jcauseydf - does it? idk I know it does supply a tiny amount while in neutral but as long as the RPM's are lower than when in gear aren't you saving gas. that's usually the case when I use it. But if you say it cuts fuel when in gear then idk. I just slip it into neutral because you can coast further with less resistance from the engine.

 

if it's cold it keep some fuel going to heat the cats and the engine. A cold engine is a dirty engine....

anyway, this trick only helps with the symptom of the problem not the cause. It may make the situation more bearable until a convinient time to fix it comes up, but it's no long term solution, that for sure!

Matt

 

There's a thread somewhere here on NAM that discussed this. Supposedly the computer will cut the fuel when it detects the RPMs at are certain levels with respect to speed and the transmission is still in gear, e.g. when coasting down a hill. In that situation, no need for fuel as the transmission keeps the engine spinning and ready for when throttle is needed.

This may be different with an automatic, not sure.

 

but here's the deal with fuel cut off. It cuts off if you are in engine braking, and above a certain RPM IF the engine is at normal operating temp. The friction slows the car faster than in nutral. You save fuel in gear if the hill is steep enough so that you don't have to use gas earlier than coasting out of gear. So if you save gas or not is really dependant on local conditions. But none of this is on topic to the issue of what's up with the car, and getting the clatter to go away faster.

Yes, the clatter causes increased wear, most notably stretching the timing chain, and wearing the chain guide. There have been some cases quoted where timing gears have been damanged, chains have broken, and more damamge caused because of these failure. these failures are rare when compared to the incidence of the noise. Anyway, my take is that damage is real, but very slow to get so bad as to really brake anything. But it's there.

To the OP, get in touch with your dealer, see if thier policy is still to confirm before repair, or if they have other ways to approve the repair so that your down time is minimized. If they will do the work, schedule it so that the impact to your life is as small as possible. But saying "I won't deal with this cause it's an inconvinience and the problem NOW is small" is really rolling the dice with your car and it's long term health.

Matt

 

I agree with the Dr. If you are hearing that noise it is damaging your engine. Coast on down to your dealer for cure #4 I think.

 

If you don't get it fixed, it can lead to complete destruction of your engine. That will strand you longer than a week. Bite the bullet and get it fixed.

I had the rattle, but it was fixed by MINI of Mountain View. My driveway is a steep switchback that has an altitude drop of about 400 ft. I go down in 1st gear with no gas. Before the repair, this never stopped the rattle. So, I don't quite understand your technique.

 

I'm going to have to take it in next week sometime, this weekend isn't really a good one. But don't worry guys, you've opened my eyes, I knew it was a problem but it kinda has been one of those "aw i'll do it later" things.
I'm not getting the rattle all that often but when I do, I do the neutral roll and it seems to help it go away quite quickly, then the car feels fine.

I'll get it checked out soon, I'll give them a call tonight and see what the deal is.

 

Why not get a video clip on your cell phone?

 

I had that rattling problem with my r56 as well. I took it to the dealer and they fixed it. They said it was the tensioner that went bad and had to be replaced. All in all, it was a 2-3 hour job to fix. I haven't (knock on wood) had the problem since. Good luck.

 

I just noticed a funny sound on my wife's car when she started it up. It sounded like injector clatter, loud enough to have me open the hood and listen. It sounded like the injectors clattering pretty doggone loud and ominous. It stopped after about 15 or 20 seconds of idling.

Is this the infamous cold start rattle?
Does the fix have a bulletin number associated with it?

 

Mine literally sounded like a chain was loose in the engine. Almost like metal grinding on metal of a sound.