Here is the short version. My car makes a rubbing sound when I release the clutch to move off from a stop in the morning when I just start driving the car. Once the car and the temperature outside warm up the rubbing noise goes away. I took the car to MOT and they indicated that it is the clutch that is slipping. However, MOT wants me to put up 1,100.00 for them to take down the transmission to see why the clutch is slipping. The reason why MOT wants me to put up the cash is because MINI is say that the mileage that I have on the car since they changed my clutch and flywheel is too short. Therefore, if MOT does not see anything wrong with the clutch I will have to pay for the work. The car is still under the maintenance and bumper to bumper warranty. Any advice on what direction I should proceed in would be helpful.

 

Does the noise occur everyday or perhaps after sitting for a few days ?

I have found that if Wensley has been sitting for a few days and its been "moist" outside I will get a brief "rubbing" noise when I release the clutch from a stop. My theory is, just as your brake rotors rust a little (check them after you wash the car and let it set over night without moving it) the flywheel rust as well. I would suppose it is from washing or if it rained or its really humid. It is this rust that contributes to the noise, after a few engagements the rust is gone and no more noise. The brakes will groan a bit too until the rotors are wiped clean.

Hope that's all it is......I wouldn't want to comment on MOT until I've heard the "long version"

Cheers,

Mike

 

Take it to a different dealer...

 

I think I've been noticing this too. I'll have to mention it the next time I go in for service.

 

It happened to me twice. First time, they change both flywheel and clutch. The noice came back after couple of thousands mile. I report that to my MA at the dealer just to let them know of the issue and keep in their record.
I left it alone until it was getting worse (25k mile later), then I went back to the dealer and asked them to sit with me for a test drive. They confirmed that it was the clutch issue that made the noise. They fixed it under warranty.

 

There have been lots of discussions about this known problem. Just search on dual mass flywheel.

Here's a snippet from a post I made last summer:
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Had ours done recently at the dealer--they installed a new flywheel and a "remanufactured" clutch. All warranty work, no issues. We experienced the problem from a couple thousand miles. The problem was reported on two visits, but they were unable to duplicate it. Noticing that the problem usually occured after the car had been sitting for a day or two, we left it at the dealer when we went out of town with the request that they just let it sit in the lot for a few days (dropping it off on a Friday helped) and not charge us for storage. I told them they could keep it for a couple of weeks if necessary, and that their techs were free to drive the car as much and as often as necessary. They did reproduce the sympton (the squealing noise) and get a subsequent approval from some 'area rep' whose approval is requried.

Since a MINI dealer is not going to give you a loaner for a few days while your car sits so that the symptom can maybe be reproduced (especially for a warranty problem that is very expensive to the manufacturer), I think that having a work around for your transportation ahead of time makes a big difference. It shows the dealer that you appreciate the difficulty of diagnosing intermittent problems and recognize their documentation responsibilities to the manufacturer. This establishes a cooperative relationship with the SA and the dealer, rather than an adversarial one. True, it was inconvenient, but preferable to paying the couple thousand dollars the repair costs at retail.
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And, go figure, now it is making the noise again. I'll report it at the next service interval.

 

You might have a point about the flywheel noise, I just had mine replaced because of the "diesel" sound and never thought that the "rubbing" noise was related. Since I've had it replaced I have heard neither.

I am suspicious of the replacement though because I have read several cases of the noise coming back and having to go through the replacement again.

Mike