Has anyone with a FWD model had these clutch issues? I was pulling uphill the other day and have had a smelly clutch the past couple of days. It seems to be fine and I don't have any issues starting on a hill.

 

They should replace ALL clutches on these cars as they are faulty and they are aware they are faulty!!!! Call MINI USA and don't stop until you find someone who will listen. Post on every forum you can and don't go away quietly. They should recall 2011 and 2012 manual transmission Countryman. I find it outrageous.

I have sent emails to MINI execs, automobile magazine editors, motoring forums, Facebook and I will not stop until MINI does the right thing. And if they don't do the right thing, then shame on MINI. We are paying for a car which we are afraid to drive. Love to look at it, but hate driving my Smelly Clutch.

 

Knowing BMW, and I do know them (or MINI in this case), they're not going to do anythign for owners of older countrymans. This is just like the broken subframe issues on 2 generations of 3 series BMWs. Many many many many many people complained, they did one off good will fixes if a customer screamed enough. Finally a class action lawsuit and 5 years of time, they had a settlement to only fix one generation of 3 series. All the other owners got left out

BMW doesnt give one crap about its customers, Ive talked to them directly several times. They almost always take the attitude that the customer either abused the car and caused the (inherent design flaw) to fail. Ive dealt with them on several cars Ive owned in the past and got nowhere, so I dont expect much out of them on this.


On the other hand, One good thing though is BMW/MINI do read forums. They see our complaints. Ive seen BMW reps reach out to individual owners after they see complaints posted on forums. Though the outcomes usually are not disclosed because BMW usually makes the complaining customer sign a NDA once they address whatever issue it is the customer complains about.

 

I sure hope you get somewhere with this but I fear it will fall on deaf ears. Good luck with your quest.

 

I have been following this thread and will add my voice to the chorus of complaints. I felt the clutch slip and smelled burning on my Countryman All4 while driving up a steep slope on I-70 in the mountains in Colorado. 4000 miles and 9 months old. I have driven standard transmission cars for over 20 years.

The dealer, Schomp Mini in Littleton, CO held on to the car for a few days and were able to duplicate the slip. (They put on 60 miles and left us with an empty tank.) A garage manager, Matt, said that clutch failure was always driver error. Said they had sold hundreds of them and they aren't coming back. Another employee, Alistair, told us they had just replaced a clutch on another CM with 1,500 miles on it. A third service staff, Kristin, admitted that the clutch was too small, that they had two CM in the shop with the same problem, and she was negotiating with Mini to replace the clutches.

In the end they offered to pay 70% of the cost of replacement, but this was the week Mini announced they are changing the clutch composition and software. I don't want to replace with the same clutch and am waiting to hear what they are using. The clutch is not slipping while I drive around town.

The garage manager, Chris Calhoun, first acted like he didn't know there was a problem with the CM clutch but later seemed to agree that the change in components would indicate a problem. When I asked why it a replacement would not be covered 100% by the warranty, he said Mini's warranty would cover the clutch if the car had 30k miles, for example, but they consider low mileage cars to be driver fault. On his suggestion I called 866-ask mini but they would not help giving the reason that there is no recall.

Anyone dealing with Schomp Mini on this problem please let me know. Any advice is welcome, too.

 

Clutch started slipping/smelling for the second time at ~17k. As dealer (MINI of Portland/Lithia) and MINI USA made it clear they would only repair the clutch once, as 'good will' (ha!)...

I launched that ticking time bomb of a car last weekend for an American vehicle. Sorely disappointed in MINI of Portland who failed on so many levels it is incomprehensible, and MINI/BMW for under engineering a vehicle and then failing to support customers on a $30k+ vehicle.

There's a longer rant brewing but I'm too busy at the moment. Suffice it to say: NEVER AGAIN!

Strongly suggest that prospective buyers look elsewhere. POS car, company, and service.

Tad

 

NOT acceptable. MINI USA will cover 100% of the repair but you may need to push back hard. Contact MINI USA directly. Use social media outlets to tell your clutch story and express concerns. Do not take NO as an answer from your dealer. This is a much bigger story then they will let on.

 

Our second clutch is also showing signs of premature - no surprise there.

We've made our position loud and cleat to MINI USA. Replace our clutch with the new upgraded unit and new software or buy back the car. We will settle for nothing less.

 

A forum member found that my replacement is a refurbd clutch based on part number

 

Just curious, if BMW says "no", what do you plan to do?

 

BMW is working with us, they know our expectations and a plan of action is in place. If all fails and they still say no, I'll continue to leverage social media outlets to tell the story and most certainly will never buy or recommend a MINI again.

 

It's crazy hard to get my car going.. Seems like the clutch is going

 

Please update thread if your clutch has failed and your dealer's response.

 

Is this true????? How can I check my replacement clutch?

 

I believe that info is in this thread. I remember reading that exchange in one of the "clutch" threads.

 

I decided not to use Ralph Schomp and had my car towed to MINI of Loveland. It was Ralph Schomp told me my clutch failure was not a covered item and cost to repair would be 3200.00,after talking with the SA at Ralph Schomp and then after talking to Chris Calhoun he told me it was covered but I would have to wait 10 days for a service appointment and loaner.
My clutch failed @40,000mi in less than 2 years of ownership. Most of my driving is highway BTW.

MINI of Loveland towed my car and gave me a loaner which they loaded on the tow truck and brought to my house when they picked up my car. MOL replaced my clutch under maintenance coverage with the old clutch as they do not have the new one. I called MINI USA and asked them what would happen if the clutch failed again as only one clutch is covered by MINI over the lifetime of the car. The new clutch has 2 year warranty on it and will only be replaced at no cost to me if if fails again and it is deemed to be manufacture defect.

I will be getting rid of this car as soon as I am not upside down in it. Believe me this is my 3rd MINI and truly this Countryman has been the worst from a standpoint of quality of the three. It has been in the shop 9 times since I owned it all for manufacture defect items.

I was a loyal MINI customer but no more.


OH BTW MINI USA told me they are only replacing the clutch in new production Countryman's because "customers" did't like to feel of the clutch as it was too soft. They say there is no defect it is simply due to customer feedback regarding the feel.

 

MINI Countryman All4 clutch stinks. Shame on you MINI. Buyer beware because MINI don't care.

#shameonyouMINI

Ditto the sentiments noted above by minmor719. What an epically disappointing ownership experience this has been.

 

From reading about so many clutch issues including testers from car magazines you would think mini would have some concerned. I haven't even had any problems with my countryman and Im angry with mini. Hearing this stuff is making me think this is the first and last mini I'll be getting.

 

I think there isn't an issue with the automatic. And the issue with the clutch seems to be with the All 4. But for those of us with a manual All 4, we're really screwed. We were smart enough to lease this car, so we can happily drop it off in 12 months. And as the 2011 leases begin to mature, I will post on every used car forum to warn people away from buying these used cars.....and indeed there will be a lot of them.

I get those of you who are MINI loyalists. I get that you love your MINIs. I love my kids, but it doesn't mean they never screw up. And when they screw up, they need to own that. MINI screwed up with the clutch on the Countryman All 4, and they need to do the right thing.

 

I own a 2012 All4 manual. I smelled the clutch once or twice in heavy NYC traffic. I've solely owned manual cars from since I started driving over 20 yrs ago. I've daily driven manuals in NYC for nearly 15 yrs and never had a clutch issue.
Now that put aside, I agree with a vague engagement and weak clutch performance but had otherwise not been effected by these discussed issues other than the smell a few times(which was still a concern on a brand new $32k car).
I now have 8k on my CM. Yesterday I was driving through a snowstorm upstate which caused wheelspin etc, followed by heavy slow traffic ( ie repeated engagement)
Needless to say this heavy use with surface conditions caused a pretty heavy smell of burnt clutch. ( for quite a long time, not breifely)
Since I had not really been effected since the initial brief 'burn odor' months ago, this reoccurrence is of concern. My 1st service interval is now upon me and I will be sure to mention this to the SA.
I'm a VW guy and really like this car for its AWD w/ Manual combo. It's (my) co. lease car that I really plan to buy. I like the 'package' of this car and have had no issues so far but also don't want a lifetime of a weak clutch.
Dealer replacement aside($3200 is truly insane for a clutch), I'm not sure I'd even want another stock clutch. The Dual Mass FW design is to fault w/ a combo of the 'weak' friction material.
Obviously No one wants a horrible fail prone clutch or wants to deal w/ a $3000+ dealer replacement. Something that's failing well within warranty( and clearly is subjective to coverage). What a hassle!
What no one has mentioned is a proper replacement. I'm not referring to the 13' redesign ( basically a different clutch compound. Likely a Sintered base)
I know there currently isn't an aftermarket alternative, at the moment.
But, it is possible. I've already spoken with a reputable aftermarket clutch co who would design a proper Single Mass FW and sprung disc Clutch conversion.
The estimated street price is $1200~ or less than half of the dealer option. With better performance, feel and longevity.

Without getting into that too much here.
What's the interest of owners willing to do this? I know this will be the route I'm aiming for. I like the car and don't want to 'hate it' and dump it simply because of an easily correctable part.

 

A couple of thoughts on this:
1. As long as the cars are under warranty, there is not a lot of incentive for the aftermarket to develop a solution as parts would sit on a shelf. Once warranties start expiring and there is a need, then the aftermarket will come through. Basic supply and demand, and right now it's too early in the lifecycle of the CM to have enough demand, but that is sure to change.
2. The cars are under warranty and many people here even paid for extended warranties and maintenance plans (I did not.) As long as my car is covered under warranty and maintenance, my first course of action is to get the work performed under warranty at no cost to me. I don't want to spend $3,200 or $1,200 for a part that should easily last 100,000 to 150,000 miles on what is essentially a new car.
3. If I end up keeping the CM past the warranty period, I will absolutely look for an aftermarket solution and go to my specialized independent MINI garage to have the work done when (not if) the clutch fails.

I'm very conflicted about this car. There are times when I wish I still had the amount of rear cargo space I had in my old Jeep Grand Cherokee, but 90% of the time I really like the packaging, I like driving it under normal conditions, and I have had no trouble with it - other than the clutch that can't handle steep grades. I'm heading up the Sierras in an hour or two and we've had several feet of snow over the past three days. I'm sure there will be a lot of stop and go and I'll be smelling burnt clutch.

 

This does not make me feel confident at all. I sold my E46 M3 after 8 years without needed a clutch replacement. My traded in our Legacy GT after 7 years without needing a clutch replacement. I guess this car is not going to be a long term car, if BMW/Mini will not address the design flaw in the clutch.

I just noticed oil drops a week ago on the garage floor too, 10k KM (6k miles) on our '12 ALL4. Going to have to book a service appointment for it.

 

So I befriended a MINI tech and talked to him about the smelly clutch, he said it's not a huge issue for MINI because the ratio of manual R60's to autos is very small. Meaning there isnt enough of a population of manual minis, and at that an even smaller population that are having problems (mainly All4 6spds). Because of that MINI isnt too concerned.

He did tell me if my clutch ever went, to let him know directly...

 

So it sounds like he did confirm that the clutch problems are pretty much limited to all-wheel-drive cars. This seems to be consistent with what members on this forum are reporting.

 

This has been our thought all along. The numbers of ALL4 manuals being sold is probably very small, and therefore is not in MINIs best interest to recall. Sucks for those off us with manual ALL4s.