My CM S has some intermittent clutch noise at about 5K miles. It was fixed today by replacing a new clutch for free. Driving is much smoother than before. I was told most of the clutch will die within 50K miles, no matter it is CM or hardtop because this is sporty car. What is your experiences on MINI clutch?

 

Everyone loves the clutch on the Countryman.

See this thread:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ly-clutch.html

A clutch should last more than 50k. The one on our R53 is at almost 90k and feels great. Had some BMW's go over 200k on original clutch. That line they gave you is total BS. The CM is really not that fast of a car either, so while it is marketed as sporty, it's just a smart package for a small SUV with a lot of marketing fairy dust sprinked on top.

 

I wonder is it normal that the clutch only runs around 50K. What about other sporty car brand?

 

Please forget my previous post, I did not read the reply carefully. I was told the new clutch they replaced is a new model they put on all CM in 2013. Is the new clutch still BS? How long does your clutch on the Hardtop last?

 

If you follow Fred's link, or search on "clutch", you will find extensive discussions of the inadequate clutch installed in CM until the '2013' revision was released. The new clutch operates as a "normal" clutch and significantly improves the startup, especially in the ALL4 models. Traditional clutch life is far longer than 50K miles for most users in most cars - YMMV.

 

I racked up about 240K miles on the three manual transmission vehicles I owned prior to my CM. Never had clutch issues on any of 'em, even after 125K on my AllTrak Celica, an AWD vehicle with comparable power/weight to the MINI.

 

Well, after I got my clutch replaced by the dealer, the dealer suggested me to extend my maintenance to 72 months because even the clutch is a new model (same as CM 2013), he estimated the lifetime is still less than 50K because it is a sporty car. Then I asked what about the clutch lifetime of hardtop, he told me it is similar. I am thinking of if that is true or he just wanted to persuade me to purchase the extension of the maintenance.