I am the new owner of a 2010 Mini S. I absolutely love it. I purchased it in August. Unfortunately, and this could very well be because of the extremely cold weather in NY right now, but the engine has been starting up a bit louder than usual and at times, you can even feel the car shake for a moment, then it settles down.

Any experiences?

Thanks in Advance!

-Frank-

 

There is/was a service bulliten on the hydraulic tensioner on cold starts causing noise issues

 

found it. thanks!

 

You are right there was a SIB on the matter but I have heard horror tales of not only changing the tensioner but also full-on complete engines under warranty and after a short while the problem turned its ugly head for once more. It is called the DEATH RATTLE, in forum talk, (text it in youtube.com) and if what you see in videos is anywhere near then you have exactly that. That is to say that all minis are a little noisy on start up. MINI solved the problem in summer 2010 by re-designing the timing chain (made a little bit larger) so that it wont wear the tensioner and lead to an engine failure. I will post the link shortly.

 

"Last year MINI finally solved the dreaded cold start issue that afflicted the R56 Cooper S. Or so they thought. As it turned out, while the issue was eliminated in some cars but only alleviated in others. So MINI went back to the drawing board and looked the issue with fresh eyes. After further research they believe they have finally (and definitively) solved the issue for all cars with a modified timing chain. Specifically they’ve made the chain very slightly longer which has eliminated the chatter that was known as the “death rattle”.
The new components should come online at the Oxford Plant in time for March builds. For those with older R56s still afflicted with the issue, MINI will be offering an official fix for your car. Of course keep in mind that this will be a case by case process and you should work through your dealer."

SOURCE:
MotoringFile » Archive » MINI Solves R55/R56/R57 MCS Cold Start Problem (Again)

 

This was written in January 2010. I presume at some point in 2010 production the issue was officially resolved.