Do the 2013's have far fewer problems?
 

We now have 12,000 miles on our 2013 CMSA4, And we continue to notice that the build quality seems noticeably better versus the 2012 that we returned to BMW under threat of a lemon law claim. In fact, we have noticed that there are much fewer people reporting problems with their CM's on this forum versus past model years. It makes us wonder if BMW finally realized that they needed to drastically improve their quality control. Or did it just take a couple of years for them to get the bugs out of a new model?

Granted there are still some reports of problems, but the reports seem far less frequent and generally far less severe versus a year ago.

They may very well be better--sounds like your experience is an indication of it, but it's too early to tell.

Great car
 

Have had Darth for a bit over four months and am about to hit 10k miles. Very good car so far and quite happy with it. :thumbsup: No issues to report.

Still under 2K miles on mine, so no idea long term, but I know the clutch issue was resolved with the 2013's.

I did same with mine 2011 to 2012 as OP. The only issue so far transfer case went at 14k ( auto all4 s )

In the 15K range with Cider, and she's going in to get a loud clicking sound checked on Monday. But she's driving fine--just making the noise.

I don't think there's something really wrong (except the clutch) about '11 and '12 models, but, as you can expect, the factory has been solving the problems continually through the life cycle.

The major flaw of every Countryman made before November '12 is the clutch, but they solved it. I got mine clutch changed under warranty and I can say it feels way, WAY better!

I may not be very sure on this, but they changed the factory that they were building the CM at after 2011, therefore, from 2012 to present.. most of the Germans and Austrians are doing the work and they do a better job? :razz:
I have my 2012 CMA4 with 8k miles on it and no problems so far. I don't feel like there are going to be any problems with it, but I'll see in the future. :popcorn:

Where did they assemble the cars prior to 2012? I thought that it was always outsourced to Magna Steyr in Graz from the very beginning. I am very surprised they moved the location given the enormous cost of doing so.

All Countryman and Paceman assembly is outsourced to Magna Steyr, and it's ALWAYS been done on the same assembly line in Graz since 2010.

Yeah, I was probably getting these models confused with the others.

My 2012 All4 was less than stellar. Four trips to the service bay for oil and coolant leaks, and then there was that clutch. It was so bad I could not even drive it to visit some of my friends in San Francisco and MINI was not helping.
I was disgusted and traded it in after 18 months, now somebody has a nice CPO CM with a crappy clutch.

So, I have a 2012 ALL4 but I haven't noticed anything about the clutch. What should I notice?

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

Mine could not handle starting from stops on steep streets in San Francisco. Had to over rev to get it to go and in some areas of the City it would not start up. that was accompanied by the smell of burnt clutch. Been driving stick shifts in SF since 1988 and never had a car that could not be driven on city streets. Even my 83 Renault Fuego could handle those hills back then!

Fortunately, as I understand it, this is easily remedied by having the 2013 clutch installed. Fits the 2011-2012 models.

I've got a 2013 Paceman manual, and I'll tell ya, sometimes I feel like I have to rev it higher than I should to get it moving on any kind of an incline. It just has no grapes at all going from a dead stop. Oh, and I've been driving manuals since the mid '70's. Never, ever have I had one that felt so doggy off the line. Even a 1980 Civic wagon I had jumped better. I do like the car, but this is one thing I'm very disappointed about.

Test drove a new justa Countryman with manual transmission yesterday and noticed the clutch pedal required a much firmer push than my old '07 Just MC Hardtop. Not objectionable -- just heavier. I am guessing this relates to a beefed-up clutch assembly.

"Fortunately" only applies if your dealer is willing to help you make a warranty claim for the clutch. Unfortunately for me, two of them were not willing to do it, well one was if I agreed to pay for tear down charges of $800. And yes, the 2013 clutch does fit the earlier cars.
I am much happier with the replacement vehicle as it is better suited for my needs than the CM was so glad it's gone. Good luck with yours.

Have never driven a justa. The clutch problem is with the 2011-12 All4's. Can't recall a non All4 owner complaining.

Fredo -

Sorry to hear about your CMS. We got the automatic so the clutch wasn't an issue - thanks to the SO! I've spent time driving in SF, so I understand your issue. The only thing worse might have been bad brakes!

OK, I guess like most purchasers I thought the car was assembled in a Mini or BMW plant. I googled Magna Steyr and see that they are a contract manufacture. Wondering what the history is behind Mini deciding to use them vs assembling in their own plant (anyone know the history). I noticed that the car's engine came from England, the transmission from Germany, and assembled in Austria, just figured it was at a BMW plant.

All other Mini models are derived from the basic hardtop, so it sounds like it's viable and efficient to assemble them all on the same line (which is done in England).

The CM/PM are substantially different, and I'm guessing it would have been impossible (or at least very expensive) to modify the existing line to accommodate them (even if there was capacity to do so). Also (again I'm guessing) given BMW's substantial rise in sales in the during the last decade left them with excess capacity elsewhere for assembly.

I recall reading somewhere that Magna Steyr's assembly of Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chrysler Minivans for Daimler Chrysler in Graz ended toward the end of the last decade, so maybe there was capacity there that could be had less expensively and more quickly versus BMW constructing a new plant somewhere else.

I have also read that the X1 and CM/PM share many chassis components, so I wonder why they are not being assembled on the same line. Seems like it would be efficient.

I seem to recall that the engines used in all current Mini products are sourced from either Renault or Peugeot in France, but that final engine assembly is done in England.

Designed by Peugeot.

Doing Well
 

Picked up my 2013 Countryman Cooper S in June. Just passed 4000 miles. Car is running great, no problems, solid as a rock. Clutch is fine

We are now over 15k miles, and the only issues we have had with the '13 has been a cracked wheel bearing that was replaced under warranty a while back (was making a ticking sound), and that the Comfort Access system somehow allowed my GF to lock her keys in the car one time. Other than that, the only issue to report is that we need to use Top Tier fuel and an occasional bottle of Techron, or the engine will quickly start to idle noticably rough, presumedly due to dirty injectors. Interestingly we did not have this issue with the '12, even though the engines are identical (although the '12 was a stick, and the '13 an automatic)