[Prowillys]

I've had my 2015 Midnight Black Cooper for a couple of weeks now. I really like this car better than my past cars, 2006 Cooper and 2012 Cooper. I do have one concern. When I press the starter toggle and the engine starts to turn over I get a strange clunking/banging/rattling kind of noise just as the engine actually fires up. Not while it is cranking to start but at the moment that it "comes to life". It kind of sounds like something hitting the fire wall inside the engine bay.
Does anyone else have that issue or does anyone know what it could be?
Thanks in advance.

 

[jeremybingham]

I've noticed a sort of clunking . I think it's the exhaust and am not concerned but you could always get it checked

 

[Prowillys]

You know I think you are right. It does seem like the exhaust may be bumping the car as the engine does the initial "shake" to life. It may have to wait for a while. My closest dealer is about an hour and a half away. No MINI dealers in Syracuse, NY. Rochester is the closest.
Thanks for the post jeremybingham. If you find that it is indeed the exhaust please let me know.

 

[johnan]

The engine does give a hefty kick when it fires up and any pipe work, such as the exhaust, could easily contact another part if it is slightly misaligned during assembly.
There is not much free space around these power units.

Worth having it checked, as there should not be such contact and ultimately things like the catalytic converter which is part of the engine end of the exhaust, could become damaged over time with repeated contact with another component or the bodywork.

 

[Prowillys]

Not to mention it makes it sound like a "cheap" car. I know I'm pretty picky about my cars but it is brand new and of high quality. It shouldn't sound like that. I had a $300 1971 Plymouth Duster as a first car about 32 years ago old that made noise like that. I think it had a loose starter or broken motor mount.
Anyway, I will get it checked out. The car is perfect and I want it to sound and look perfect as well. Thanks Johnan.

 

[jeremybingham]

I think mine does it but I tend to think it's a high compression surge as the car starts and may be particular to the 3 cylinder motor. I'm not overly concerned. It sounds like a healthy bark to me rather than contact.

 

[Finjohn]

Knock solved

My 2015 "S" had a knock when start/stop was pushed that got worse and worse over time. Took it in last week and it turned out to be both lower engine motor mount bolts were loose from day one. Dealer tightened them under warranty and completely eliminated the knock. Hard to believe that it left the factory loose. Happy, but wow!

 

[jeremybingham]

I cant imagine it left the factory loose as the robot that fits them is very fjssy and torques them perfectly. We watched it register an error as a bolt was missing and the whole line was stopped till it could comp!ete the task. More likely for some reason they worked loose with use eg poor supplier application of thread lock? Mind you even robots have off days!

 

[Nitratas]

Hello, i have a similar noise but i can't really be sure - is there any chance you have a recording of the sound you get on startup?
Did you get it sorted?
Was it anything at all similar to this?

 

[navii]

Yah, my mechanic replaced an engine mount and shortly after this rattle on immediate start up started. So I think it must be a loose engine mount too.