boooo!

 

Do you think the clutch situation will be fixed in 2013 and especially in the Paceman? And how would we know? Dealers always tell you what they want.

 

No you just attacked everybody indirectly. And you expect what when folks call you out on your ridiculous blanket statements? It's obviously not the driver's fault every time a clutch goes prematurely. Come on, let's have an intelligent discussion.

 

If your clutch was straight, you wouldn't be bringing it to the dealer for the second time. MINI did not change the clutch on the new all 4 models because customers complained they didn't like the feel. That may be what they said, but if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale.And by the way, starting out your post by calling the issues many of us have had "nonsense" is personal. You really have no clue if our issues are nonsense.

We get you love your MINI. Got that you don't want anyone to criticize your MINI. It's like the dad of Little Johnny. Little Johnny is a great kid. But he messed up, did something wrong. Everyone knows Little Johnny made a mistake....even little Johnny admits he screwed up. But Little Johnny's dad just crosses his arms and stamps his foot..."Don't mess with my Little Johnny!".

Good luck with that "feel". If it doesn't feel right genius, it's not right.

 

Hashtags on a forum?? What is going on here??

 

The whole title of this thread is inflammatory, as if all MINIs are so bad one should stay away from them. So I'm not surprised people are reacting with such enthusiasm.

I just wish if someone had a problem that was so bad it would cause them to leave the brand, they would just tell the forum what happened in their case and move on. I hate it when a car problem for a small number of people becomes a crusade against to bring down the entire brand. Yeah, it sucks to get a lemon but it happens. If you're convinced it's an engineering flaw and MINI is thumbing its nose at its customers, go get an attorney who agrees you've got good hand and let those who are happy with theirs be happy. When you get a recall or class action you can come back and gloat. Tell people the reasons why you wouldn't buy one but don't tell me I shouldn't. That's for me to decide.

Telling people they don't know how to use a clutch doesn't help either. Unless you personally know each member of this forum and their driving habits, you're in no place to accuse them of mismanaging their own clutch.

 

i think its to late for lawyers for the original poster of this thread. we need a "your clutch failed too" thread to get a tally of how many people here have had a problem and there story. then we will see if a lawyer is really needed.

 

Kurtster - I am not the OP of this thread though I did originate the "Smelly Clutch" thread. I agree with you that the title of this thread should have been directed specifically at the manual All4. Even stated so in a previous post.

Yes, I am on a crusade. Sorry if it annoys you. I am not carpet bombing MINI, rather I have been specifically critical of the clutch and the way MINI has handled the situation.

If anyone has read my many hundreds of earlier posts they would know the unbridled enthusiasm I once shared for this car. We ordered months before the first Countryman even hit the US. Spent weeks tracking the car through the production and delivery process. We thought we had the car that had all the characteristics we had been searching for. For what it's worth, the Countryman filled the slot previously held by an Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne S and BMW X5 respectively. This Countryman has been a bitter disappointment. It's a real shame because everything else about it works for us.

We have been in dialog with MINI USA. They created this course of action when they refused to install the new upgraded clutch in our car.

Good news for folks tired of reading my posts is that our lease expires in 13 months. When the car is gone, so shall I be too. Perhaps that time won't come quickly enough for many.

 

Started the "Smelly Clutch" thread here months ago. It's 10 pages deep with many accounts of clutch failures. I've also repeatedly posted suggestions for folks to post their clutch experiences in that thread but new threads like this one keep popping up.

If I had purchased the car, I would already have hired a lawyer. While I have not excluded that course of action, I have to consider the fact that I leased the Countryman and only have to tolerate it for another 13 months. Fortunately it is not our primary car.

 

So, exactly how many clutches has MINI replaced on your Countryman, how much did it cost you and is it currently working properly?

 

it appears that Mini has acknowledged and addressed the clutch issues fom November 2012 production forward..
http://www.motoringfile.com/2012/11/...-clutch-issue/

 

MINI has replaced exactly one clutch in our car and I freely admit that I have not incurred any hard costs directly related to this issue. However we continue to make monthly lease payments on a vehicle we don't feel comfortable driving.

But the soft costs i have incurred dealing with the issue are immeasurable.

Is it currently working properly? Dealer says yes. I say it feels and acts just like it did with the first clutch as it wore down and eventually failed. And by the way the dealer said the clutch was fine then too. Four times in fact they said it was fine, right up until it failed.

All we want is MINI to give us the new upgraded clutch and allow us to experience the thrill of driving a MINI as has been so widely espoused and advertised. We are being denied that chance and that is our story.

 

In a year and a half, 1. They wanted 875 to look at it, and 2500 to fix it. Only under the threat of a public lawsuit did Mini agree to pay for it, despite already having paid for the extended maintence to cover the clutch. It was replaced with a refurbd version of the OEM so it will probably last even less time.

 

Well, I just drove my new 2013 MINI Countryman S All4 6-speed from Highlands Ranch, CO to Fayetteville, AR today without any problems whatsoever... 800 trouble-free miles....

 

FINALLY! Someone with some relative info on this problem. Thanks for posting. My order for the Paceman is going in!

 

Congrats on the new ride! MPG??

 

Glad you found the link helpful. It has been posted previously and there is a whole thread on the topic "All Countryman getting new clutch this month" or something like that.

 

I for one am not confident the issue has been resolved just because they claim so. BMW is not a trustworthy company. Only time will tell as 2013 owners start to put mileage on their cars.

Mini offered to replace our 2012 all four with a new 2013 after we threatened to sue them under our state's lemon law due to the ongoing issues we've been having with the electrical system.

We ordered the 2013 with an automatic, even though we had no problems with the stick in our 2012. Then again, we did not have the 2012 for very long, and we drove it very gingerly because of the widespread clutch problems that were being reported.

We are reasonably confident the replacement car will not have similar electrical problems, given that the problems we experienced seemed to be relatively rare.

From the start we were always disappointed with the clutch and shifter in our current car. It is nowhere near as sporty as the clutch and shifter were in our previous R53.

I have my doubts, but I do hope that the new clutch material fixes the problems. This situation reminds me of the early first generation Minis that had a high incidence of power steering pump failures because the pumps were defectively designed. BMW redesigned the pumps for subsequent model years, but when the early pumps failed, If the car was out of warranty the customer was faced with a very expensive repair bill. Given the very high incidence of pump failures, the right thing for BMW to have done would've been to extend the warranty on the pumps to 100,000 miles. So not only did they not stand behind the defective design, they made huge profits selling the early owners redesigned pumps.

Just goes to show you what sort of company you are dealing with.

 

Yet you came back and bought another car from them. Why?

 

Simply because we do like the car. Then again if an automatic was not available, we would've bought a Forester versus a CM with another manual. We do prefer manual shift cars, but one of the loaner cars the dealer gave us had an automatic, and we thought it was pretty decent. We are hopeful that we will be happy with ours.

 

You are of course not the first person to ask us that question. Several of our friends made the same comment after watching what we went through with the current car.

 

Here's an example of how a trustworthy car manufacturer reacts to a problem. We own a seven-year-old Mercedes SLK. We received a letter from Mercedes a few weeks ago indicating that there have been some problems with the supplemental restraint system on the car, and that they were extending the warranty to 10 years or 100,000 miles.

If you look on the various Mercedes enthusiast websites, you will see no mention at all of any owners having a problem. So it's not like they were being pressured into extending the warranty. They extended the warranty because it was the right thing to do.

 

oh how naive you can be until you are in the situation we have been. warranty doesn't cover "abuse/neglect/user error" as MINI says we have done.

Find a non All4 owner thats clutch went out this early. I'll be waiting.

Subaru and others have no problem making a manual transmission with AWD. MINI cheeped out and threw the same piece of crap clutch in a heavier vehicle with a new drivetrain. If you honestly think BMW provides a great warranty and they are doing this under goodwill and not the threat of lawsuits, well I have a bridge to sell you.

 

Why not sell your MINI and go buy that Subaru or Mercedes and be happy? If BMW is truly not a trustworthy company, then you are trying to change a leopard's spots, which isn't likely to work.

 

I am afraid that Mojito is absolutely correct regarding BMWs approach to major problems with their cars.

The Canadian equivalent to our NHTSA forced BMW to replace the faulty power steering pumps (or Reimburse owners for the cost of repairs) mentioned above on cars sold in Canada, but BMW never offered similar assistance to owners here in the USA.