HI I am new to NAM and I do not own a Mini as of yet, I have been reading a lot of reviews and there seems to be some problems with the clutch going out and transmissions problems. This has me concerned as I do not want to buy a car where the clutch goes out every 15K miles or so. Could you please enlighten me on this issue. Thanks for your help.

 

I had the same concerns about the Mini before I purchased. I also read the the consumer reports review of the Mini. It received high marks and best buy for 2009. The review showed poorer scores in some areas for the earlier models, however each year the Mini continued to improve in each area that it was weak. Minis may not be perfect but appears that they are working on it.
What's written is not always the overall picture. For each owner that is going through the maintenance nightmare, there might be 100's owners that never had an issue.
My suggestion to you is to pick up a Consumer Report read it for yourself. Call your Mini dealer ask them about the clutch and transmission.
You might not get the exact answer that you want, but hopefully you'll be better informed before you make your decision.

I read the threads, the reviews and made the calls. My MCS 6-spd is 3 weeks old, so far my favorite toy I have ever purchased. The staff at my dealership were helpful and honest. If or when I have a issue. I feel confident they will be diligent in resolving it.

 

YAMA CAT

Thank you for your response and comments and good luck with your MCS.

 

I don't know why you think that every MINI clutch goes out and is replaced by 15K miles. My '06 has almost 50K on it and the clutch is fine. I'm sure MINI has some defective clutches just as I'm sure that some of the clutch issues are caused by the driver. If you're worried about the clutch, get the automatic.

 

rhawth99

I didn't say every MINI clutch goes out and is repalced by 15k miles, I said I read some reviews and the owners were having problems with their clutch and transmissions going out. There were also issues about the automatic transmission going out and most of them being the S series. There were some who had to put a new clutch in at 15K and then again at 35K. Just concerned about these issues. Thanks for your comments.

 

I have checked Consumer Reports frequency of repair records for years and have found them pretty accurate predictors-even in the days when I owned several Fiat 124 Spyders. The weak spots were accurately represented. As others have said, Consumer Reports now recommends the newer MINI due to improved dependability of the later year models.

Some people that buy MINI's are relatively new to manual transmissions (because they are so much fun). The clutch on any make can have a short life if the driver rests their foot on the clutch pedal while drivning, holds the car on a hill by repeatedly engaging the clutch (new MINI's have hill hold - no need for this), revs the engine to unnecessarily high RPM before releasing the clutch, etc.

The MINI clutch starts to release almost immediatly when you just start to depress the clutch pedal so it may be more particular to less-than-correct technique. The S transmits alot of power over a small clutch area but people hot rod some MINIs to much more power than stock with the stock clutch and it seems to hold up OK from the posts I have seen.

CR did not note clutch problems on new generation MINI's and I have had no problems in my 3,000 initial miles. I think Yama Cat's recommendations are good.

Finally, if you snoop around in most message boards - regardless of car make-it is easy to get spooked as people are MUCH more likely to post problems than say "85,000 miles and no issues!!". There will typically be a much higher percentage of negative posts.

Good luck what ever you decide. I sold my 3 series convertible and bought my MCS Convertible and enjoy this car as much as any I have ever owned

 

gawannamini

Thank so much for your response, you were very informative, beautiful car you got there. Thanks again.

 

Thanks and good luck. Let us know if you buy a MINI

 

so when you shift, do you not press in the clucth all the way (to the floor)?
I'm still playing around with where mine engages/disengages.

 

um... 123,800 miles and no issues

 

^^^Wow that's impressive.

 

Thank you for the post... My MINI has 3,000 miles and after reading some of these postings I am sure my MINI will self destruct in about 30 miles. It is the nature of message boards as there certainly are problem cars by every car make but a message board is not able to determine if the occurance is 1 in 1,000, 1in 100 MINI's etc. From the postings it is easy to get the impression that the problems are widespread when that may not be the case.

 

Cars that are spritely driven are going to have more of these problems that cars that are not.

You do not hear of this kind of problem on a Buick.

Minis are amazing little cars and hold together pretty darn well.

 

Buicks also don't have clutches........

I agree that the clutch problem and incidence is way overblown here. We had one member who wrote extensivly about all the MINI clutch problems and warned everyone to look out for this because she'd taken hers in for a supposed clutch problem - which it turns out she didn't have!

However, she did not retract any of her warnings even thos they weren't based on her own experiences.

MINIs are no more prone to clutch problems than any other car.

As to the automatics, I think you have your facts wrong, the transmission woes concern earlier series non-S cars with the CVT transmission. All current MINIs use a conventional 6 speed auto trans which has been pretty much bulletproof.

Bottom line, don't worry about it. If you're buying a used car, have it inspected thoroughly first. If buying new, you have a 4 year 50K warranty to cover you.

 

Did not say "clutches" -- Said "this kind of problem" ie drivetrain - was meant to be an hyperbole.

Bottom line -- we both agree.

 

OK, but her question was specifically about clutches and transmissions........

But you're right, we do agree.

 

I have been driving manual trannies for over 30 years and I always push the pedal to the floor. I have never had a clutch problem on any of the RX-2'S Rx-7's, Fiat 124 Spiders and numerous BMW's that I have owned.