Please lend me your ears...

[gubsta]

Hi guys,

Sister in law's Mini One 2009 1.4 sounds terrible to me - just sounds so bad on start up and then perhaps gets smoother when warm. It drives ok just sounds awful. 56k miles.

I tried to capture on video and sod's law didn't sound as bad... But even when warm the engine sounds tappety to me.

Cold --> https://youtu.be/fH6V6P-ASWY
Warm ---> https://youtube.com/shorts/72uuVrW1qAQ

Please can someone with a tuned ear give me a view - do they all do that sir?

Thanks in advance!

[gubsta]

Well glad to say that I wasn't going mad.
Car stuttered into limp mode about two days later and it transpired that the o-rings as part of the cam cover gasket had failed and the spark plugs were fouled up with oil.
New cam cover kit and spark plugs and problem solved.

[E-bmw]

It should be impossible for oil to get into such a position to prevent a spark getting through & as oil is a good insulation media it shouldn't conduct the spark away, so you should be prepared for the "issue" to return.