Brought my new Countryman in to have the clutch looked at. My driveway is quite steep and if I start from a standstill from the bottom, I can get some chatter from the clutch. If I have to stop halfway up, I have to give it a lot of gas to get going and I get a pretty bad burning smell when I reach the top.

Dealer diagnosed and put in a new clutch and flywheel. I asked if the "S" clutch is different than the JCW clutch as I was hoping to get a more robust clutch. Service Manager says an upgraded part was put in, but the parts department said the "S" and the JCW both have the same part #. Still waiting to hear back definitively, really hoping a better clutch exists or I am going to be spending a lot of time at the dealership.

My daughter said to me "Dad, its a new car, shouldn't it be able to make it up the driveway?"

I did get a 2014 Cooper hardtop as a loaner. Averaged 39.5 MPG in mixed driving. Base model and still was pretty fun to drive!

Mike

 

First, sorry you are experiencing clutch issues on a new car. I hope that the dealer replaces the clutch and life goes back to happy.


The early versions of the countryman S All4 had a weak clutch. It supposedly was improved with a new beefier version with the 2013 model year, so theoretically yours had the good clutch. Don't know if you've seen this thread but it might be interesting reading: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ly-clutch.html


I had a 2012 All4. We special ordered it and the stick shift was the deciding factor for getting this car. I threw in the towel and traded it after 18 months / 24k miles because I could not even drive the darn thing around San Francisco. I had to plan special routes or take a different car if I was going to certain places or going to dinner parties at certain friends' houses.


And no, I'm not trolling. Well kinda. We still have an 06 MINI which is running like a champ. I come in for the R53 forum, but always check the R60 forum for clutch updates.


Again, I hope the new clutch takes care of the problem for good.

 

I did see that thread and spent a few hours reading through it previously. I don't remember if when they replaced your clutch if it was with the JCW version?

How many times did they replace your clutch?

Has anyone heard of aftermarket clutches that are beefier?

Mike

 

The clutch was not replaced on my car - at least while I owned it. I went to a couple of dealers who basically said it operated normally - which was true when the car was driven on flat or mostly flat terrain. They offered to tear it down to inspect the clutch but the cost was prohibitive at $1,500 to $2,800. I kept driving it hoping the clutch would fail before the maintenance plan expired.
I had fun moding it and enjoyed it around town. That being said the ongoing clutch saga along with other mechanical issues (resolved under warranty) soured the ownership experience. I started picking it apart and wishing for more room and comfort for the 400+ mile round trip from SF to Reno. Long story short, I bailed and traded it in.
We would probably still have it if the clutch had functioned properly or if the dealers had been more cooperative and replaced it with the updated version.

 

Updated versions aren't necessarily much better. I've got the same problems with my '13 Paceman S All4. If I need to take off quick on any kind of an incline, it's no-go and stinko city. Luckily there's only one intersection on my usual commute to anywhere around home that gives me grief, so I just have to carefully time my incursion there. But it's not just on inclines -- I got it smelling up pretty good in some stop-and-go highway traffic, and just a short time ago in parking lot traffic. I can't imagine if I lived somewhere really hilly like SF. This will likely be one of the shorter-lived cars in my vehicle history as well just for that reason. Well, mostly for that reason.

One thing that I have found very interesting, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why, is that I don't have this problem in sport mode. At least it's not as bad; I can launch hard and it does grab and go, though I haven't really tested that theory on a hill yet.

 

That is interesting that sport mode helps, I feel like the engine doesn't have the torque to make the car go up the hill if on a steep incline...maybe the additional hp/torque is enough to help.

What about the spec clutches? Will these fit?

http://www.specclutches.com/parts.as...39&y=2012&t=70

I have heard the clutches are the same as in the Cooper S?

I wonder how many stock clutches I would have to go through before Mini paid for an aftermarket?

 

I find it hard to believe it's the same clutch in the Countryman & Paceman as in the Cooper S. The clutch in my '10 Cooper S was much stiffer than the one in my Paceman or the '12 Countryman All4 that I test drove a couple of years ago. In fact my first thought when I first pushed the clutch in was, wow this pedal is soft.

 

Thanks to this thread among others, I just got my clutch replaced in my 2013 MINI CM JCW. I took it in as soon as I felt it slip and groan in 1st gear. As expected, my dealer refused to pre-order parts without a tear-down inspection and wouldn't authorize a tear-down unless all my symptoms could be replicated....otherwise I would have to pay.

I live on a steep grade of 10% and only when the clutch is hot do the symptoms appear. Needless to say, the tech couldn't replicate the symptoms on flat city roads after the clutch had cooled down. I even took a drive with the tech but didn't want try to force the symptoms for fear that he would label me as "abusive". Thus my dilemma.

I did some research, placed a complaint into MINI USA, wrote a very clear letter on the issue with other supporting case studies and sent a copy to corporate and the dealer. Within a day, the dealer had miraculously found a lost bulletin grandfathering my build date. Upon teardown, although they did not find any damage to the friction material, the flywheel was cracked and the clutch plate showed heat scoring.

It pays to persevere...

 

It's the same clutch, here in Europe 90% of the drivers have manual gearboxes ,we are more used with gear changing and clutch.When you can smell the burned clutch it's too late.A powerful S cooper with a lot torque and a heavy feet will kill it easily.

 

The travel on the Countyman's clutch is like no other I've ever driven. The engagement is nearly 3/4 of the way out. After driving it for a week I got back into my Focus ST and popped the clutch forgetting the MUCH shorter travel in the ST.

We never sit at a light with foot on clutch, never give it gas until clutch is all the way out, and we always shift smoothly, no power shifts. Hope it serves us well. After hearing so many stories, we bought the extended warranty to be safe. I've not experienced and clutch slip or smell as of yet.

 

I believe the clutch is considered a maintenance item, so covered under the 3/36 maintenance but not warranty...

Now that I have a new one, I am babying it as well...

 

Bought extended maintenance as well. We are covered 7 years 100K. I never buy such things but with the iffy reliability it was a gamble / investment that I thought might be in our best interest.

 

Dude, born and raised in France, been driving sticks since I was 11 in Dad's Simca and Citroens on the road to our house, three out of four current cars in the garage are stick shifts. The clutch in my 2007 BMW 650 which has a ton more torque and is driven in San Francisco all the time is still original. The clutch in my 2002 330cic driven under same conditions is original, same with 06 MINI. The CM clutch in early prod was not up to the task under arduous conditions, period.