Yeah, this was my first time visiting this dealer as I am new to the area. Im going to get a hold of the service writer at the old dealer I used to go to. He was always much more helpful and willing to help.

 

Interesting thread, this is what makes NAM and it's people such a great site! My R59 is at the BMW dealer and they gave me a 2012 ALL4 with ~24K on the clock as a loaner. POS clutch failed today and my wife had to come pick me up.

The one positive was MINI roadside assistance was very friendly and helpful! This handles like an old school bus "MINI" is now back at the BMW dealer... good riddance. Sorry to hear about all those that have been stranded.

 

Got car back yesterday with new twin mass flywheel, clutch and various other parts, fork levers and springs installed. Major new clutch parts are #21-20-8-606-067 and 21-20-7-595-577.

Car drives like a totally different animal. Dealer knew nothing about a service bulletin. My advice is to do what you have to do to fry your flimsy clutch to get MINI to install this replacement under warranty. Our build date was March 2012.

It's a big job so don't expect to see your CM for at least 4 or 5 workdays.

 

+1

 

That's so great. But if BMW were an honest company they would have long ago notified all the owners of the cars with the defective clutches, rather than wait for complaints. No doubt there are owners out there who don't know how much better their clutch should be.

 

At this point, I have given up all hope at taking care of this issue. I have taken the car in to one dealer, who said nothing is wrong. Called MINI USA, who sided with the dealer.. I even contacted a buddy of mine who is a MINI dealer technician, who spoke to his boss and he told me there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.

This isnt the first time that Ive dealt with this type of BS with BMW/MINI. As far as I am concerned, and as much as I enjoy everything about the car except the clutch. I think I am done with BMW products. Theyre overpriced, some of their design is an afterthought and if there are issues, they blame them on the customer instead of owning up to them.

I really REALLY wish I had bought an automatic.

 

I really wish I'd bought the automatic as well, as I'd still be driving the car. But I look at the positive side ... I learned to drive stick on this thing and thought that's just the way it was, so now I can drive anything.

 

How many miles on the car? Did you buy it new? Is the clutch actually slipping?

 

NO WAY the original clutch in our CM was anything but a serious design/engineering flaw. I drove the brand new car off the lot at Fairfield MINI in CT and driving the car up a ramp onto the LI Ferry to bring the car back to LI, the clutch started slipping and smelling like sh$*&^! The slipping and smelling continued until it failed. Both my wife and I are "mature" drivers who have driven manual transmissions for a combined 60 years and this car's clutch was flaky from day one. We are lucky it lasted 6500 miles of rather pampered driving. We count ourselves lucky to have had it totally FAIL and we will seriously ponder buying another MINI when this CM gets near the end of its warranty period because we seriously do not want to fall prey to a total MINI meltdown if/when another component on the car fails. . . . . . . out of warranty.

Did some quick math on this clutch and steering angle sensor/clockspring warranty job and without a warranty this would have cost between $4500 and $5000. Labor rate at Habberstad MINI is $160/hr. and they had to have put in 12 - 15 hours of labor. Sort of takes your breath away . . . . . but not in a good way. All on a $35,000 car with 6500 miles. Love the car but already looking at a non-MINI replacements two years down the warranty road.

 

28k. i bought it with 7k on the car. its not slipping, just driving like absolute crap and smelling like burnt aspargus every time i go uphill

 

I felt the same way while I had the CM. The clutch was not replaced while I owned it, but I was afraid it would blow up while going through the Sierras in the middle of a snow storm and it got to the point where I could not drive it around San Francisco without crafty navigation to stay away from steep hill stops.


It cost a lot more to make the switch than a clutch or two or three but I bailed out after 18 months and 24k miles. It's not how I wanted it to go down but it was worth it cuz my winter drives are totally serene now that the CM is gone, and I no longer have to plan alternate routes while running around The City.

 

2013 All4. Complained to dealer few times about clutch. Third time at dealer I had technician drive my car. Clutch replaced. That was at 15k miles. Went for service and complained about clutch pedal coming back to slow from being depressed. They discovered glazing on flywheel and excessive wear. Clutch replaced. That was at 30k miles. Not sure if I can afford to keep that car after warranty runs....... And yes. Mini clutch smells like....

 

you burned thru 2 of the improved 2013 clutches in 30,000 miles?

sounds like driver error to me

 

It's my wife's car. She drives manual for 20 years and never had vehicle with auto. Dealer said that she drives to aggressive. Really? With 2.5 year and 8 months old kids? They didn't ask more questions. She drives my 500hp evo with HD clutch spring and no stalling nor slipping the clutch.
New clutch material is softer. Car doesn't stall as often as before, pedal is light, but I'm sure it will last max 20k miles. We drove all4 paceman and clutch feel is different
That is her 2nd mini. She had 2005 hardtop with manual . 108k miles when sold. Never had a problem with a car. Just change oil, brakes, tires. Countryman it the whole different story.

 

After experiencing a smelly clutch back in January, I took it to the dealer and was told it was perfectly fine. I have a 2013 so it's already the updated version. Four months later, the clutch failed on a busy highway at 20k miles. I just got it back recently after the dealer had it for 2 weeks trying to diagnose a fuel pump issue. The whole reason I bought a new car was to have something safe and reliable -- my CM is neither!! I'm seriously considering just ditching it for something else, which really bums me out.

 

I hear ya, man. I got rid of my CMS. Im kind of glad I did. 99% of the reason was the smelly clutch. I had it and BMWs unwillingness to fix the issue.

 

Mine is at the dealer right now because of a failed clutch.

 

Our CM is also at the dealer, had to have it taken in on a flatbed earlier this week. Clutch has been an issue since day one. Husband mentioned it on multiple visits but surprisingly it is not showing in their records. Just one time it says engine is cutting off (Hubby told them it would slip when trying to engage and would stall the engine). Car has 12K on it. Has anyone been able to get this resolved?

 

That brings up a good piece of advice in working with your dealer on warranty issues, regardless of who the manufacturer is.

If you have a complaint that they can't duplicate, make sure they give you a receipt showing what you complained about and that they were unable to duplicate the issue. That receipt could come in very handy later on if the problem does not go away.

A good example would be a minor problem that becomes a major problem after the warranty expires. The receipt could help you prove that the problem existed before the warranty expired and that it should be repaired under the warranty. Otherwise it's their word versus yours.

 

I am the owner of the minCountryman my wife mentions 2 posts above. It is a 2011, with between 12-13,000 miles. I was just told that Mini USA has refused to repair the clutch under warranty. Mini USA's reason for not honoring the warranty is the dealer's info does not indicate/prove that the problem is due to a manufacturing defect. The local dealer's service manager points his finger at Mini USA, Mini USA implies they are reacting to information sent from the dealer....

Mini USA and the dealer service department are trying to say that the car's clutch falls under the service warranty not the overall 4 year warranty. This in their minds justifies them not honoring the warranty that I still have most of a year on.

Certainly one would like for the dealership to put what we the owner sees as the problem on the service report. I have, in fact, tried to get additional information on service reports. The problem I found is, if they can not "reproduce" the problem the service manager may refuse to report it on the form. Obviously no service manager wants to list a continuing problem he can't find or fix on a service report. I know of no way to cause that information to be reflected on service reports, maybe someone else does?

I am stunned, first that my dealership, which I tried so hard to get to fix this problem on multiple occasions, is rolling over and saying there is no evidence the problem is a manufacturing problem. Secondly that 2 days after they supposedly started working on the problem everyone seems to be switching their story on me and saying Min USA if refusing the repair, claiming either normal wear and tear or user error, not sure which. I thought i would be picking up my car with the clutch problem finally fixed this PM instead as I understand it they want me to pay for towing, new clutch, all the service work....

From what I am reading here the last thing I want to do is pay the Min service department to put another, probably defective/to small/low mileage clutch in my car. So what do I do?? Pay to have it towed to Harrison Motors and have them put a functional clutch in???

 

Don't let them get away with this nonsense. Sounds like you next step is to send a certified overnight letter to Mini USA, copy the dealer, describe all of this in detail, and tell them if they don't immediately honor the warranty on your car you will immediately file suit, including a demand for reimbursement for all of your expenses for legal representation and other expenses to enforce the warranty.

Please also identify the dealer here so that all of the members are forewarned about buying or having their cars serviced there. There's no excuse for a dealer refusing to give you a receipt, especially if you specifically requested it.

If they still refuse to fix your car, when you get to court you can testify about the dealers' practice in this regard, and it will just be a further indication to the judge that the dealer and BMW are trying to do everything they can dream up to avoid honoring your warranty.

I've never heard of a dealer who will refuse to give you that sort of receipt...I have never even had to ask for that whether it be a Mini, BMW, Mercedes, Ford or Nissan dealer.

 

I didn't have a problem. I called and told them about my clutch. They told me to bring it in. I dropped it off and they gave me a Paceman as a loaner. A week later I got back my CM with a new clutch that they put in the JCW. Total cost was. $0.00.

 

I think it's just a matter of convincing them that they are not going to get away with not honoring the warranty. They know it's less $ and better customer relations to just honor the warranty versus having to pay a customer's legal bills, get bad publicity, and eventually have to fix the car anyway. Unfortunately some owners will just fold and pay the bill. Unfortunately that merely encourages them to try to pull the same with the next customer.

 

According to the dealer Mini USA is telling them they want authorize the parts or repair under the warranty. According to Mini USA the information supplied by the dealer tells them the issue was not caused by a "manufacturing defect". Both the dealer and Mini USA are agreeing as of this PM, that my car is outside the "service" warranty although I am still well within the 48 month warranty. They are arguing that the clutch falls within the service warranty not the regular warranty. They are both saying that the warranty decision is final and will not change. Mini USA is saying they will review the situation in the customer service department and decide whether they can make some sort of exception or special ruling. The last lady told me that it may take 3-5 days for them to respond. I have little hope that Mini USA will decide to fix the problem and none that the dealer will assume responsibility. They are hoping I want wait the 5 days without a car.

I am not claiming that my dealer would not give me a receipt for services rendered. I am claiming that they do not have to write what I said/claimed on their service report. I am also saying that they may choose to write down the symptoms or their "analysis" of the problem without mentioning what the customer said the problem was. In this case they admit that there is a report of the car stalling out, cutting off....I am positive I made it clear that this problem and others occurred when letting the clutch out and in my opinion was obviously clutch related. I am positive that I specifically mentioned having very specific problems with the clutch right after taking delivery and several times after that. I know they told me they tested for the problem and could not reproduce it, so they could not fix it.

The point being that no matter what you tell the service advisor before and after service, including after you get a receipt.There is no way to make them put anything they don't want to on their service repair form. This is a basic catch 22 they have us trapped in. Car manufacturers can and do decide not to authorize parts and repairs for specific costly repairs if their dealer's service department does not document reason for them to believe their was a manufacturing issue. Certainly it is not in the best interest of any service advisor to document issues on service reports in any way that might legally bind the manufacturer as having manufactured a car with a manufacturing defect.

 

MacMitch, so their "system" is rigged to work for them and against you. Again, I hope you don't let them get away with it. Please let us know what happens.

If you are desperate to get your car back, another alternative is to let them fix the car, pay for it, and then send the letter telling them if they don't immediately reimburse you, you will file suit. I can tell you from personal experience that their tune will likely change once they see that you have actually commenced a legal action. They know very well that if you take them to court it's likely you will prevail.

You don't have to play by their rules...you should set the rules.

One more thing...you can really help yourself to apply pressure by identifying the dealer. The dealer is not blameless here. They obviously are not screaming loud enough to BMW to get action, and their telling you that BMW won't pay for the repair is nothing more than an excuse for them to wash their hands on the matter. Just look at all the other forum members whose dealers were able to get the work done under warranty.