Can you post some of the pics.

Also what did it cost you?

 

Here are the photos the lease company sent to me, which I uploaded to Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9737927...7621776903634/

I also took some myself, including this video:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97379272@N00/3750102775/

Will upload some more to Flickr later, showing that there was still a reasonable amount of lining on the flywheel side of the clutch plate, as opposed to the pressure plate side in the link above which has obviously failed completely.

Total cost is being quoted as ~GBP1,500 to replace the flywheel, pressure plate, clutch plate and release bearing. So, cheaper than the opening post but not by much. I had no say in which dealer did the work.

I emailed Mini Customer Service today.

 

Thanks for the pics. Hope you can get good news from Mini.

 

I did not get any reimbursement for the clutch repair at first… Mini USA had me work with the dealer directly and fill out complaint forms etc, but no luck in getting any money back.

We had another ongoing problem with very loud intermittent valve noise. The dealer did not know how to fix this problem and after 4 visits we used the “Lemon Law” here in California. With the help of an attorney this law allowed us to turn in the Mini and get most of our money for the all of the car payments we made reimbursed including the clutch repair.

We were really liked Mini at first, but after working with Mini USA and the dealer with no good results, the Lemon Law was our only way to get rid of unvarying difficulty. We have replaced the Mini with a GM product…

More Mini owners need to speak-up on this clutch problem. This will make Mini USA look into it as a defect with the clutch and not a driver caused problem (you know many others just pay the price & drive away thinking it their fault)

 

good luck with this. what boggles my mind is that BMW tenaciously sticks with contractors that historically have supplied spotty products, like LuK clutches and DM flywheels. they are the weak links in the manual MINI drivetrain. most folks that race swap out the LuK crap for tougher and more dependable clutch/flywheel components.

what is even worse is that more MINI dealers are playing Jedi mind-trick games with their customers, stonewalling them into guilt that indeed it was their fault the DM flywheel is warped or the plastic T/O bearing is shattered because of "aggressive" driving.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys - I'll keep you posted.

To be honest, my priority is challenging my employer to prove that this was caused by "abuse" before they can legally deduct it from my salary. After that, I'm happy to help them recover the costs from Mini!

Beggars belief that BMW believe 11k miles from a clutch is in any way acceptable - clearly something isn't fit for purpose here. I wonder what level of failure we'll see when the R56 models get to 5/6 years old relative to other cars of the same vintage?

Rather ironic that they hide behind the 'abusive driving' excuse when the car will kangaroo/stumble all by itself in traffic with both feet off the pedals, and when they include a button labelled "sport" which does little else but give you extra revs at the start of the gas pedal!

 

What I want to know is WHY on earth is a clutch replacement $3000? That's insane. I know I'm due for one soon (I'm at 107k miles) but I'll sell the car before I ever pay that much for a clutch job.

 

All new clutch parts and DM flywheel (which cannot be resurfaced) amount to about $1,600. The rest is labor, depending on the labor rates at yr dealer, for about 10-12 hours. That's why it's so dammed expensive.

And not worth it. For a car with 107K I'd investigate another setup by another company, like Clutchmasters.

 

Okay I'm confused. Here's the factory clutch kit for $289:
http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NMG1221/InvDetail.cfm

and the Flywheel for $110:
http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NMG1220/InvDetail.cfm

So it looks like these $1600 in parts can be had for about $400, which is 1/4 the price a dealer charges? Am I missing something?

I went to my local dealer today and was quoted "around $2100" for the job. When I asked about bringing my own OEM clutch parts they said it would be like bringing your own steak to a restaurant. I guess where I'm going with this is that I don't mind paying more for my dealer to to the labor on my car. I trust them more than anyone and i like that they're backed by the company that made the car. However, I will not be taken advantage of when it comes to a part that has a fixed price, as parts should. If the dealers are marking p parts to make more on service calls, I'm inclined to take my out of warranty work elsewhere and buy OEM parts online for reasonable prices.

Are dealers normally marking up parts or does anyone know if parts don't have set prices from the factory? Just curious. I'd rather not spend over $2000 on my clutch if I can get it done for around $1400-$1500. As I stated before, I'd put the thing out to pasture before I'd blow three grand on a clutch.

 

Well, it came to GBP 1,600, and I'd expect the labour rate to favour a lower price in USD than a direct conversion at the current FX rate.

About GBP 800/900 was simply for them to drop the gearbox out and have a look at what was wrong i.e. all labour. Not sure if that included reassembly.

In terms of my predicament, it's all gone quiet. Mini weren't interested, so this has all been charged to the lease company. Imagine the relevant paperwork to try and recover the money from me is buried in someone's intray right now. Needless to say I won't be chasing them to process it!

If my car was out of warranty due to high mileage, I'd be highly tempted to go for an aftermarket clutch kit to get rid of the stupid dual-mass flywheel.

 

I do believe there is a law that states all of the relpaced parts were to be given to you after the repair. That includes the throwout bearing. I would call Mini USA and ask them why the dealer did not give you all of the replaced parts.
Ronnie948

 

Hi Viper1060,
Pls check post Burned clutch after one year???
as many people offered advice to help me. What a horrible experience I went through but at least my car is certified ok as far as the clutch is concerned as it was determined nothing was wrong with it in the first place. What a run-around and the negotiations lasted weeks. I have lost all joy in driving and owning the car as several other problems had to be fixed but were covered under warranty. What next? I'm afraid to find out.

 

I do not understand your post Happyheartmom, your clutch was found to be OK, so whatever stress you went thru was self imposed. You got all worked up, spent a lot of time on the net finding information to support your position, and then it turned out that wasn't even the problem - that in fact you had no problem. You do not have a burned out clutch at all, yet you keep referring to the thread as if you did.

And all you folks who insist the Luk clutch is "crap", how about the millions of BMWs and MINIs already on the road with no clutch problems whatsoever? How can all a companies products be considered crap if the overwhelming majority of them work just fine?

I'm not suggesting these MINIs that have a bad clutch at low milage don't have a problem, but I'd sure like to find out what it is rather than just saying "they're all crap"

One of the posters above says the lining was completely burned up on the pressure plate side of his disc, that indicates a slipping clutch in anyone's book. Why was it slipping? Why couldn't these experienced clutch drivers tell it was slipping? What could cause it to do this (besides saying "they're all crap"?) in the first place? These are the questions folks need to be asking of MINI......

Does anyone who had theirs replaced early due to being burned up have similar mileage now with no problem?

 

[MINIdave I do not understand your post Happyheartmom, your clutch was found to be OK, so whatever stress you went thru was self imposed...[/quote]

Minidave, Try to imagine my suffering if I had agreed to pay the $2,500 they originally told me it would cost to fix the clutch. They called me to tell me the problem was the clutch and that they would charge $700 just to go into the thing to "determine" whether or not it was "user error". After weeks of negotiating, they dropped the charge by half. What if we had agreed? Many customers might not have even questioned the first price.

"One of the posters above says the lining was completely burned up on the pressure plate side of his disc, that indicates a slipping clutch in anyone's book..."

This too could be the result of improper installment or adjustment.

Another thing that came out in my origianal post. Dealers accross the US dealt with the problem in non-consistent ways. Some gladly replaced the clutch, no questions asked. Some went through various negotiations and had it replaced free also. While others just went ahead with the dealers original diagnosis, paid, and didn't even question it.

It's important to know what problems people have with cars and their dealers. As more people realize this and other sites exist, you might very well see more posts show up. After all, these are new cars. I would love to know how many others have clutch or other major problems a year or so down the line.

I recall you were trying to sell a mini and perhaps saw my post as a threat to a successful sale. I am sorry about that and hope you were finally able to sell it. Believe me, if it was feasible, I would sell my 2008 mini s also.

 

first i think that you should demand some sort of apology. They complete mis diagnosed your mini issue. They said clutch hmm, did they drive it did the check engagement point did they investigate anything about it before recommending dropping it. It sounds like a scam to get customers money. I am glad happy that you held your ground i know i would have as well. I am also glad it was not your clutch and it is ok. I know the fear about driving the car.
I know if i told this to a customer i would be out of biz fast. I can not charge you a diagnostic charge on your computer if i can clearly see it something simple. Would you come back to my shop ever again I think not.

 

Again, I think this is a clear case of a customer who suffered anguish needlessly, but refuses to accept any part of the resposibility themselves. She noticed smoke coming from under the hood, she assumed it was the clutch and had the car towed to the dealer. The dealer said "if it is a clutch" they were going to charge here to tear it apart, becasue if they found no defective parts, they would assume she burned it up.

If you had a custome bring in a computer with what they assumed to be a major problem (smoke pouring out of it) would you tear it down for free? Especially if the teardown involved 8 hours of labor?

I don't think you can compare the two scenarios.......

I agree that some MINI dealers do not handle their customers well, but it's also true that some customers get very excited and start calling their lawyers over what later turns out to be nothing.

In happyheartmoms case, they found no clutch problem and I don't think they even charged her for the tow. She started a thread which ran a large number of pages excoriating her dealer, MINI, Luk clutches and got a lot of people excited over what turned out to be.................nothing.

If she had anguish over spending $2500 on her car, maybe a little bit of common sense would have helped her out, maybe a little more explanation from the dealer might have helped allay her fears too. I don't know, but for her to join in a thread about bad clutches and say "see my post too" when she did not have a clutch problem strikes me as wrong.

Once again, I ask for an explanation of what is happeneing to these clutches, not suggesting people are at fault here or anything else, but if "all Luk clutches are crap", why are millions of cars around the globe still driving around on them?

 

Minidave, again, the dealer told me it was the clutch. Not "maybe"

It is important for others to see these posts because of the information and experiences others have - and will be - experiencing. Both with their cars and with their dealers. Seems like you have a problem with that.

I'm becoming very suspicious as to who you might be or what you might represent.

 

Your missing it.... If i had a customer who brought a computer to me and said i think it is burned up i think i saw smoke coming from inside the case. I would well hmm smell for the tell tell signs of O3 aka ozone the chemical smell left behind from burning pvc and polycarbonate in the plastic jackets of wires. If i smelled nothing i would fire it up right there. If it fired up and seemed normal why would i waste my time and my customers time in this matter. I mean i do not want it in my back log. It would have been a simple 1 hour tech time to check the issue out. That is what mini is there for and a dealer for that matter.
The point i am making here is the dealer dropped the ball major in not doing his or her due diligence. That is my beef with the whole we are going to charge you to tear it apart and then suddenly when they do there due diligence they find in deed nothing is wrong and 5 min 10 min 30 min of real diagnostics and they would have found that out day 1 or 2 not 20 days latter after they are angered there customer.

The clutch story is all about MTBF or mean time between failures. Luk Cluthes seem to have a lower MTBF than people expect. That is not to say they are not with in standard of the car industry. The clutchs that fail premature are the example of QA issues in manufacture of the product of installation of the product. This could also play into the MTBF graph that some clutches fail early while some last longer for a balanced avg of life being the stated MTBF range to the car manufacture. That is how parts are ordered for most items built from components.

 

For what it's worth, I'll share my experience. I'm at 108k with my original clutch from 2004 and it's still going strong. I drive 130 mi./day round trip for my daily commute so those are freeway miles, but I'm pretty impressed with the longevity of my factory clutch. I'm about to replace it before the winter just to be on the safe side and am leaning toward keeping my flywheel rather than going with a lighter one and dealing with clatter. Besides, I don't race anyone I just occasionally like to take off or pass quickly.

 

I take issue with people coming to the site and bashing members who have a problem

I don't like that our MINIs have problems, and I don't deny that things can and do go wrong, but how dare you attack Heart felt Mom.

But to come to any site, whether a fan site or not, and suggest that the operator caused the problwm well.... Its just irresponsible.

Post the facts, post your opinions for sure, but keep the unsubstantiated rhetoric out please.......


__________________

 

Had the SAME exact issue with my Mini. Here is my cross posted positive story.

Thought I would share a positive experience regarding clutch failure. I purchased my 07 Mini (all JCW parts short of wing) with about 5,000 miles on it and since have placed about 14k more miles on it. Last week I noticed an inconsistent throttle, and my RPMs would jump 10K RPMs and immediately drop.

Called Knauz Mini (North of Chicago) to set up an appointment to one, inspect why my engine was acting up, two fix the cold start issue.

It was five days before I could get in, and low and behold, after sitting the car for the weekend, I drove to and from work Mon-Tues and was losing more and more power. Tripped no CELs, and was able to determine it was the clutch, and it was going fast. It died next morning on the side of the highway. Had it towed to the shop where they confirmed my suspicions

Mind you I do not track the car, I have been driving a stick for 15 years, and know how to properly handle a manual in stop in go traffic. Granted driving on the highway in Chicago is not the best conditions for the car, but I have had several other high performance cars, and have never come close to blowing a clutch in worse driving conditions. That said I have no idea what the original owner did. Did I mention the car was an import from Italy?

Having read all these horror threads, I expected the worse. I could not have been more wrong. Knauz gave me a loaner and the next day my MA, Steve, who has been great ever since I bought the Mini, called me to let me know all the repairs are covered by Mini, and I could pick it up the next day (tomorrow). There were countless apologies for my inconvenience by several people at the dealership.

Lesson being, if your clutch acts up, be honest and courteous with the dealer while explaining the situation. Bad mouthing the car, dealership, etc will not with you any friends.

 

Well IMCBParker,

I'm not in this to make friends.

In my case, the car was smoking and it was towed to the dealership where it sat for several days before I even had a phone call from them. It was then they told me in no uncertain terms it was the clutch and that it would cost $2,500 if, after it was opened up at a cost of $700 & if they determined it was determined to be "user error" or abuse or however they phrased it. It was finally reduced to half. And finally, the clutch was determined to be fine as something apparently got in there and caused the smoking.

My particular scenario had nothing to do with how "nice" we were. Some nice folks might have given the ok at the $2,500 figure and drove away with a much lighter wallet. Or succumbed to the $1,250 figure.

But yours is a case in point showing great disparity in how these cases are handled. Discrimination in how the cases are handled, hopefully not determined by the dealership's evaluation of the customer's friendliness. Very interesting for the rest of us to know.

These threads show a consistency of tactics used to deny responsibility for a manufacture's quality control issue or sub-standard product. Our cars are relatively new, Yours an 07, mine an 08. Let's give it a year or so to see what problems show up.

Best wishes and good luck.

 

HappyheartMom, I understand your frustration, but again, not all shops are alike, and I was simply sharing a positive story in these threads of horror stories. I read all the clutch related threads, including your unfortunate tale. As far as my car goes, I have less than 19k, which is still low.

 

So, please tell what happened, We have a 2009 Clubman S clutch went at 4,000 and now again at 7,900. Husband and I have each been driving manual for more than 25 years, including VW, Porsche and Audi. Very frustrated and want to be armed in dealing with Mini

 

Much more technical people on this forum than myself, but my JCW 2009 just had clutch go out at 14,000 miles. I've driven stick for 30 years but dealer suggests I need training on turbo sticks. Also says clutch not covered, but HUGE forum over at Edmunds.com has 309 posts suggesting MINI users are experiencing clutch failure often. Dealer wants to make deal, pick up clutch if I'll pay $800+ for fly wheel. This sounds really dishonest. Many angry owners posting at Edmunds.

Can anyone confirm that I'm on firm ground saying clutch should be covered under original OEM warranty?