Hey guys,
Here's my issue ...
My ‘05 MCS recently became a victim to the infamous clutch ticking / “diesel sounding” / helicopter / “oooorrrrttt” / "chewbacca" sound(s) that everyone has been complaining about for years. I brought the car into the dealership about 1500 miles ago and they did the typical SIM 210105 and I got a new flywheel installed (#21-20-7-548-804). Now, during this warranty repair they never called me during the day to let me know what they we’re doing to the car – they just did it. When my service advisor called, he told me “car’s all fixed, come pick it up – we replaced the flywheel” I was a little shocked / pissed off. I wished they would have called me because I would have told them to change the clutch while they were there – ohh well.

Now 1500 miles later, the sound is back – same as before. So I made another appointment for the April 21st. Now I’m worried that they’re going to bring the car in, pull the transmission to find out the clutch disc and/or pressure plate is the culprit and due to these two parts being “wear and tear” parts, they’re not covered under warranty thus I’m left to pay the bill. How do you guys think I should handle / approach this if it happens?

Ohh yeah, my ’05 MCS only has 35000 miles on it

Thoughts / advice?
Thanks guys
Peepers

 

I am pretty sure that this problem is strictly the result of the flywheel and is not the fault of the clutch.

 

It's still under warranty, so it'll be covered (as long as there is no abnormal clutch wear - although this one still confounds me - I mean, what if abnormal clutch wear is one of the symptoms/causes in some cases???). They replaced both our clutch and flywheel at 12,000 even though they reported no abnormal clutch wear, so I guess it's dealer-dependent (and not MINI-USA) as to which parts get replaced. I'd report that the problem returned and needs to be repaired, hopefully for good (or at least until the clutch wears out normally).

Good luck,
Greg

 

guys
i'v got a uurrt sound too, very quiet, not every time and only at slow take off, i thought it sounded like a stuck brake caliper. on the passanger side front wheel??
DId you all determine that this is covered under warranty?
my MINI is an '05 S w/33,000, and 1 year warranty left?

 

So here's the update on my situation .....
Brought it into the dealer and they replaced my transmission with a remanufactured OEM unit -looks brand new to me (from what I can see), along with new 215mm clutch - all under warranty
Hopefully this solves the infamous clutch ticking / “diesel sounding” / helicopter / “oooorrrrttt” / "chewbacca" sound(s)

 

dont think it was the tranny, it's the dual mass flywheel, they are crap at best. to confirm, take yr car, park it, put in first with the emer brake on, give it a little gas, and slowly let out the clutch. if you hear the loud groaning/squealing sound, you have a glazed DMF. and dont let the dealer jerk you around, this is a common problem not only on the R53s, but the R56s as well.

OP the dealer should've replaced the clutch as well, along with the DMF, like mine did with my 05 S with only 25K. $2,600 total bill (under warranty thank god.)

 

Good luck, My 03S has been making that sound off & on for the last 2 yrs. I was told by someone else it is common and not to worry yet.

 

You need a new clutch kit. If you continue driving like that, you run the risk of getting the clutch pedal stuck all the way down to the floor when you least expect it. My '05 S had the same exact clutch failure (Disc glazed) and was replaced under warranty when the car had 25K miles. No questions asked. Known fault with OEM MINI clutches which are CACA. Second replacement clutch seems to be holding up much better than the factory one (It has an updated 2006 part number). I am at almost 41K miles. Time will tell if this will outlive the factory clutch.

 

ya know there is a trend here, confirmed by my SA: replacement parts are holding up much better and lasting longer than the factory installed parts. shoot if I wait long enough maybe all the parts on my MINI, minus the engine, will be repalced, and I'll have a whole new car!

 

Mine was solved by replacing the clutch (under warranty).

 

+1, but after a number of "can not replicate" trips to the dealer and some raised voices/tempers from the customer .