Ask MF: Why Does my 2007 MCS Tick?

cymru66 » Blog Archive » Is that my R56 MINI Cooper S ticking? May 15th, 2007 Link

[...] the burning question has been answered for me on the awesome MotoringFile.com web [...]

OttoMannS May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

Gabe May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

RB May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

Gabe May 15th, 2007 Link

My five windsheilds on my ‘02 never really bothered me (thank you State Farm insurance). The stumble did though. Stalling wasn’t fun either.

RB May 15th, 2007 Link

Oh yeah, there was that blown engine at 28,000 miles, minor thing.

OttoMannS May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

Gabe May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

OttoMannS May 15th, 2007 Link

Actually the word I was looking for is “quieter”.

More on MINI ticking… at iNomis May 15th, 2007 Link

[...] file has a post about a BWM engineers response to engine ticking. Besides the “normal” ticking noises I [...]

Adam May 15th, 2007 Link

I never noticed a ticking.. :o

Mini vanilli May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

lavardera May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

OttoMannS May 15th, 2007 Link

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

ISELLEM May 15th, 2007 Link

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. :)

MINItron May 15th, 2007 Link

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.

lavardera May 15th, 2007 Link

No worries Otto. If you have been reading you realize that all the crits of the R56 start to sound the same.

OttoMannS May 15th, 2007 Link

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!

Jeff May 15th, 2007 Link

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!

saakey May 15th, 2007 Link

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 ;)

Marty May 15th, 2007 Link

thanks! Now I know why!

For some reason I thought that they had badged a deisel a Cooper S by mistake :P

Marty

Brendan May 15th, 2007 Link

My wife’s ‘07 GTI ‘ticks’ too. It’s just direct injection. No big deal.

Dennis May 15th, 2007 Link

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

Jon May 15th, 2007 Link

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 ;)

msh441 May 16th, 2007 Link

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)

Aussom May 16th, 2007 Link

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.

ImUrTrboLvr May 16th, 2007 Link

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.

ISELLEM May 16th, 2007 Link

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.

Dave Mac Mini May 16th, 2007 Link

My engine is very quiet at idle…no tick that I can hear.

newbie engine sound question - MINI2 May 17th, 2007 Link

[...] been pretty well documented what the ticking is (if you’re willing to accept MINI’s explination): MotoringFile » Archive » Ask MF: Why Does my 2007 MCS Tick? Founding member of R56 Anonymous: "Hello. My name is Mike. I’m a driving enthusiast… and [...]

ImUrTrboLvr May 21st, 2007 Link

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.

Chevy Feb 3rd, 2008 Link

Just **ing drive, man. Does it really bother you? You want a noiseless car, man?

Dennis Oldland Mar 17th, 2008 Link

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?