I replaced a 2003 MCS (13,000 mi) with a 2005 MCS (currently 5,000 mi). During the time I had the 2003, I noticed the friction point on the clutch gradually moved up, untill the clutch pedal was almost fully released as the clutch itself engaged.

I assumed this was from clutch wear and attributed it to the need to slip the clutch a bit to get a good launch with that tall 1st gear. I thought this would be less of a problem with the shorter gearing for '05, but after 5K mi. my clutch feels like the '03 did after 13K mi.

I don't down shift a lot, or ride the clutch. I've driven a lot of manual transmission cars and bikes, so I don't think I'm abusing the clutch. I'm starting to be a little paranoid and have begun trying to really 'baby' the clutch, but I shouldn't have to do that. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there any adjustment in the clutch can be done during maintenance, or is the travel in the pedal "all there is?"

 

i thought these clutch pedals were auto adjusting?

i have about 19k miles on mine, still grabs very strong.
I don't abuse the car but drive spriritedly and very smoothly.

I downshift often. never had to replace a clutch on any of my cars that ive owned so far.

 

I had to get a new tranny last winter, an other story. The Tech. said my clutch looked like new at 40k miles.

I never launch and spin the wheels, upshift very smooth, and rev match when downshifting. 95% of my motoring is on the highway, so that helps.

Been driving things with clutches since I was 10. After 40 years, I have never wrecked a clutch.

 

I have 101K miles on the original clutch and I do track the car a lot.

 

We got our MCS back yesterday after getting the clutch replaced at ~8k miles. Unlike on our Cooper last year, this repair was covered under warranty, seems the slave cylinder failed. There were no symptoms until the morning the car went into the shop, the clutch pedal wouldn't pop back up... Luckily the car was scheduled for service that day anyway. Tech said the clutch was completely gone... According to the service writer at our dealership, this is the second 05 they've seen the slave cylinder go on.

This was a big change from when the clutch went on our old MC last year at ~25k. The warranty didn't cover that one due to excessive heat spotting on the clutch wheel... odds are that was caused by another licensed driver in my home who rode the clutch as they drove across The Dragon...impatient:impatient

 

My O2 Cooper had 35,000 miles on it and had no clutch problems whatsoever. I do drive agressively, but I am not new to stickshifts. I was having my new wheels/rims put on and it randomly started slipping out completely making it undriveable. The dealer said it was probably the tranny and would be covered by warranty so it was towed in. 3 days later they told me that the tranny was actually replaced before I bought it (at 25,000 miles) and that it was the clutch and that it was "normal wear and tear" not covered by warranty. At 35,000 miles? You have to be kidding me. They werent kidding and it cost $1400. Then my cooling fan went out and it had to be towed back, this was covered, but somehow in tow/repair a nickel size gouge was scraped out of my brand new rim that I had only driven 20 miles on. I love my MINI but I will never buy another 1st year production. I think I have a lemon and the dealer just wants to sell me a new one. Too bad I cant afford it after the $ spent on upgrades and repairs!

 

That's a nightmare...but I have had similar issues to you.

I have an early '03 MCS. My cooling fan went out about a month ago, and I had to get flatbedded back to the dealership (Bob Smith Calabasas). I had gone to them for regular service a couple times prior to that event and had been complaining about problems with my clutch every time. Each time they told me the same thing your dealership is telling you "normal wear and tear"

I took it to a different dealership (South Bay MINI), told them about the clutch and they replaced the whole thing, including the flywheel. There was scoring on the flywheel so that's why they replaced it.

MINI USA is aware of the clutch issues and are allowing replacements to be covered under warranty now...it's kind of a recent development. If your dealership hasn't figured it out, I hope you can find a better one to take it to.

 

My clutch makes this howling noise at start when it's cold. I have 45k on it so I guess dealer won't fix it for free. Or would they?

 

The howling is what I had. Take it in.

 

so is downshifting bad? I'm trying to rev match now because I heard it was bad on the tranny if you don't rev match.
[font=sans-serif]Cookie[/font]

 

I would love to know how to get MINI to honor their warranty... If anyone out there knows how to do that please help me.

My 2004 Mini is about 18 months old. I have about 16K miles on it. I drive it back and forth to work. I was so proud of it and every time someone stopped me in the parking lot I would tell them how much I loved this little car. Then one afternoon I stopped at a stop sign and put the car in first gear and I could not move. The engine was still going but nothing happened when I let out the clutch. I called roadside asistance and 75 minutes later a tow truck relieved me of my broken baby and took it back to Irvine BMW/MINI where I had purchased it.

I was bummed to be out of my car for the weekend but at least I knew that it was on warrantee. It was on Monday afternoon when the bottom fell out of my world. The service associate at Irvine BMW called to say that he needed me to approve work of about $2500! WHY!?! I asked it is under warantee. We consider the clutch to be a wear item, He told me. So it will probably not be covered under warrantee. WEAR!?! At less than 17 thousand miles? I couldn't believe it. He assured me that he had seen clutches with as little as 11K miles whose clutches were gone too. It didn't make me feel a lot better. I told him I would have to get my breath back before saying yes. I immediately shot an email to MINI USA. They were sure to be able to talk some sense into the dealer. We were good customers. I have never raced the car and I have had cars with clutches that I drove for many years without any trouble. I got an email from Mini basically saying that "the dealer is most qualified to make a determination..." So they were cutting me loose. We called an independent BMW mechanic that my husband has used on his M roadster (also purchased at Irvine BMW) and he said that he had never heard of normal wear causing this kind of failure but that he had never worked on a Mini because they are almost all still under warrantee. I looked to see if there was anything I could do but basically they had me over a barrel. I called and authorized the money. What could I do? I needed my car. It was not a big surprise when the service associate called to say that they could not find anything wrong except wear. It was just their word. I still believe that something was wrong.

Now my heart is broken. I can't hop in my car without thinking about it, worrying that it is going to break again. I planned to keep this car for many years. Now I am trying to figure out how I can scrape together enough money to sell it and buy something else within the next 16K miles before I have to pay for another clutch. Krassanova - do you know who said they were starting to cover the clutch problem? I certainly didn't get to the right person.

 

This sounds a lot like what happened to me. I parked the car at my friends house, then about 10 minutes later i get in it and its getting hard to shift, i dont think much of it. Then about 2 minutes later the car is not moving. I have it towed to my dealer and they tell me the clutch has been burned up. I was pretty suprised when they told me it wasn not covered under warranty. I asked if the clutch should have slowly gone out, like most others. But he always avoided my questions and charged me 1600.

 

There's your problem right there.

Believe me, I hate using the phone more than anyone on the planet, but there are some things that just can't be handled over email. Negotiations are one of them.

 

I find the MINI trans/clutch to be awkward. I had my clutch replaced at 33k under warranty. It oftens feels that it isn't engaging until 1/2 to 3/4 of pedal travel under normal driving. But I have concluded it is just the way the MINI is as if I am on a flat surface and engage the clutch without gas, it engages almost immediately so I just leave it be. But I do always have it in the back of my mind...

 

 

[QUOTE=karenguthrie]

I got an email from Mini basically saying that "the dealer is most qualified to make a determination..." So they were cutting me loose. We called an independent BMW mechanic that my husband has used on his M roadster (also purchased at Irvine BMW) and he said that he had never heard of normal wear causing this kind of failure but that he had never worked on a Mini because they are almost all still under warrantee. I looked to see if there was anything I could do but basically they had me over a barrel. I called and authorized the money. What could I do? I needed my car. It was not a big surprise when the service associate called to say that they could not find anything wrong except wear. It was just their word. I still believe that something was wrong.

QUOTE]

That BS. Tell them you want to see the "worn clutch" when they take it out for garage wall decor, ask them to include all the shreaded pieces of clutch material too. I would not trust them at ALL. WERMIN!!!

we have 65,000 on ours btw.

 

they cover brakes under the maintenance so why wouldn't they cover the clutch? Karen, I definitely wouldn't let that one go without further battling.

Matt

 

This is the kind of story that gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I started this thread because I've noticed that the engagement point on my clutch has moved from the point where the pedal is about 70% released to the point where it is about 90% released. I've got less than 7000 miles on it, and I'm concerned. Now I'm even more concerned that, if it goes out, it may not be covered under warrenty. I'm 59 years old, and have driven manual transmission cars often, I've never seen this kind of thing before. I don't abuse the clutch, and even started 'baby'ing' it, but then realized that that I shouldn't have to do that.

I love driving this car, but I don't think I like feeling that I may not be able to depend on my warranty. Maybe its time to move on.

 

 

So, not covered as a warranty item, for 4 years, but covered as a maintenance item for 3 years. OK, I feel better. I'll see how its going when I reach 3 years. Hopefully, it will be doing well. I do love driving this thing!

 

I had a clutch replaced at 9k under warranty.

 

Dont feel bad Patrick.....My flywheel and clutch were done within 3hrs of owning the car.........My fault in away....I jumped on it and slammed second and mashed the dual mass flywheel together and heard a loud metal to metal noise.....Found out the flywheels had a problem and there was an updated one.....I have around 7k on it now with no problems and run my car harder than most people im sure....Im very abusive to cars and something always happens to them.....My place knew what i would do to the car and expect it to be fixed quite a bit....

 

My original clutch (2002 MC) lasted until 58,000 miles. But have seen a few postings with premature wear.

 

I am the one in post 11 with the clutch problem. I just wanted to add a few notes. First of all the car was only 18 months old so it SHOULD have been covered under the 3 year maintenance if not the warrantee. Obviously not. As far as emailing MINI USA goes, I agree that the phone is better in general but I was so upset and furious that I wasn't sure whether I would end up in tears or threats. I felt that with an email I could do a better job of laying it out calmly. I did get the little "how did you like your service" survey last week and I let them know in no uncertain terms that I was NOT happy. I got a call back on Monday but missed it. We are playing phone tag. I will keep you all updated with the results. I don't really expect things to change and even if they pay for it at this point it will take a lot to repair the trust. Like one of the posters said. I am 47 years old and have owned stick shift cars about half of my life without ever seeing this type of thing.

 

brutal. is all this premature clutch wear from design (i thought bmw was all about design), parts (crappy global supply parts at lowest price), or assembly (english)?

very disconcerting.. reminds me of the rash of broken window regulators in the last 3 series...who would have thought that bmw still couldn't make a dependable window regulator!