I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S. The vehicle does an unusual amount of creaking and cracking–you know, the sound that metal makes when it is cooling off. Now, I expect this when I have been driving a long ways or driving at high speed but… Now, the car creaks and cracks after short distances in cool weather (last night, for example, in less than two miles in stop and go traffic) and it creaks and cracks when I stop at lights. And the creaking and crack appears to move around, sometimes from the front of the car, sometimes from the back. The dealer, of course, assured me everything is normal.
Back in the day I had a little Ford Fiesta which burned a valve, allowing unburned fuel to collect in the catalytic converter and, boy, did that creak and crack and, I might add, glow bright orange. My fear is that I have a similar problem with the Mini.
I’d appreciate any thoughts about the cause of the noise and how I might determine the real cause.
Thanks to all
The engine and the exhaust system get very hot very quickly, by design. It doesn’t take a long highway trip to get them hot. The supercharger generates additional heat, and your car has an intercooler to cool the intake air. With all this heating and cooling going on I’m not surprised it makes some ticking noises.