Hi everyone,
I own a 2008 Mini Cooper R56 1.6 and I’m dealing with an annoying idle issue during cold starts. I’m hoping someone here has experienced something similar or can point me in the right direction.

The symptoms are:

• On cold start, the idle speed fluctuates - up, down, up - and this repeats for a short while.
• Very occasionally the engine stalls once; when I restart it, the idle starts fluctuating again.
• After a few minutes, the idle stabilizes and the car drives normally.
• If I don’t wait and try to drive off immediately, I have to give extra throttle and the car pulls away roughly.
• Once driving, the car runs perfectly fine with no issues.
• When coming to a stop (e.g. at traffic lights), the idle is usually stable - only very minor fluctuations, if any.
• If the engine has been off for an hour or longer and I start it again, it can sometimes start perfectly with no idle fluctuations at all.
• No fault codes are present when scanned.

My questions are:

• Do you think this is mainly related to a cold engine?
• What are the most likely causes - vacuum leak, dirty throttle body, faulty sensor, PCV system, solenoids, etc.?
• Could a loose timing chain cause this type of idle behavior, or would that usually show more mechanical symptoms?
• Is this harmful to the engine if it continues like this?
• What would you recommend checking or replacing first to narrow down the cause?

Has anyone here experienced this exact type of idle issue on an R56, and how was it ultimately resolved?
Thanks in advance for any ideas or advice!