Hello,
Was wondering if anyone has had any issues with premature clutch wear/slipping on their JCW? My 09 JCW Clubman clutch appears to start slipping under hard acceleration during the first 10-20 minutes of every drive. Seems like once it warms up it quits doing it but I def got the engine reving faster and accelerating quicker than the power is getting to the wheels. It seems like a definite clutch issue. Ive been pretty fair on driving my car, not to hard, car only has 14K miles. Im pretty shocked to run into a slipping clutch issue this early on in my Mini experience.
I did buy the car used and first thing i noticed is that the JCW clutch engages sooooo late. All other cars Ive owned started to give you the engage feeling just after letting the clutch pedal off of the floor board but this JCW just doesnt give any idea if the clutch is gnna engage until the last 10 percent of the clutch pedal travel.
Wondering if other owners have experienced this with their JCW? Im guessing my next step is to get car into the dealer to get the ball rolling with possible clutch replacement.

 

It should be covered under the 3yr 36k mile maintenance plan. If you have a stick, especially JCW i could see the extended maintenance plane being worth its price.

 

Mine engages in the early part of the clutch pedal travel; I would suspect something is amiss on yours. I don't know if anything in the system can be adjusted to engage the clutch pedal in different parts of its travel...?

If it does turn out to be the clutch itself, hopefully, your dealer is one of the better ones. Some folks have encountered push-back from their dealer when it comes to replacement clutches, while others haven't had a problem getting theirs replaced under either the warranty or maintenance plan...

 

If it's slipping now, it's not going to get better, so you're right to get it into the dealer asap.

Since you bought it used, there's no telling how the previous owner drove it. They may have been one of those folks who think it's OK to rest your foot on the pedal while driving, or they may not have been a good clutch driver.

There have been some defective dual mass flywheels show up too, that have caused clutches to fail prematurely. In those cases the center part of the flywheel was not riveted together properly, worked loose and caused the flywheel to run unevenly.

 

Recently discussed here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-or-false.html

Short answer is 'yes', some owners have also reported premature clutch failure.

 

Unless it"d part failure, they will call it "normal wear and tear" which is not covered. Even though 15Kmiles is way premature!

I was lucky enough to get mine done under warranty, but when I picked the car up, the service dude was like "They were nearly going to charge you for this because the clutch plate is worn down to the rivets!" It's a crap shoot for sure.
If you have the money to pay the dealer for a clutch, I would recommend getting one of the new OS Giken street clutches. Pricey, but for the same money installed as an OEM it's the far better option. Just go to an independant Mini service place for installation.

That's what I will be doing when my new clutch craps itself. I'm guessing 30Kmiles????

 

My clutch slipped once, at around 19K and when I called the dealership they had me call the 800 number and have it trucked in immediately.

They were not able to reproduce the event -- despite the techs driving her hard enough to burn half a tank of gas in 100 miles -- but if they had, my service writer told me that they would replace the clutch with one with an improved design under either the warranty or service plan depending on what they found when they opened it up.

They ended up doing nothing since it didn't slip while it was there, but they would have if they found anything that would justify replacement.

Don't assume that your dealership will give you a hard time, they might be just as nice as MINI of Sterling

 

I have about 28,000 miles on my 2009 JCW and it has slipped 3 times in the past month. I wasn't sure if it was the clutch or a tranny issue as mine always does it in 4th gear when under a load as I accelerate off the ramp onto the interstate. I am due for service so I will ask about it then but my guess is they won't be able to re-create the problem and will send me on my way. At least I will have it documented.

 

Can someone explain to me what it means when their clutch slips? I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

 

While engaged in gear and not on the clutch, the drivetrain still slips and not all of the engines power is transmitted to the transmission as the friction on the clutch is not as high, thus the clutch is slipping. In higher gears especially under load the car might rev higher than it should normally.

 

Day by day the clutch is getting weaker. The weather here in Northern VA has been kinda nice and im driving around with the windows down. Now I can smell the clutch while at stoplights and tonight while going thru the local drive-thru at taco bell the lady leaned out and asked me if my car was burning up? LOL looks like ive got all I can outta of the clutch on my JCW Clubman. 14K miles on a clutch, yikes. I sure hope the dealer doesnt say they cant duplicate the problem and send me on my way. Otherwise next time they will have to foot the bill to tow it off the highway when it finally decides its had enough.....



Robynlori, Did you take your JCW to Mini of Sterling also? thats where my JCW is headed to on friday morning.

 

Thanks for the explanation Yetti

 

09 JCW Clubman just died today on the way to work. Waited 2 hrs on roadside and got it towed to local mini dealer here in Northern VA. Only 14K miles on the car and the clutch is gone. Ive had it into the dealer twice already for clutch slipping and clutch engaging wayyyyy to late but all dealers said this is normal, could not duplicate. I guess when the mini service advisor has to help the technician push the car into the garage they will now realize the clutches have a problem on some of these JCW's. Ive never had a car with clutch failure even after 100K miles on them, let alone just 14K of normal driving. Hope mini stands behind their known defect and repairs this one. I dont wanna have to go ape^&*% on a service advisor when he tells me this is operator error.
From the amount of rattling and burnt clutch smell I experienced earlier today I will be suprised if the dealer wont have to change out the flywheel along with the clutch assy since this problem has been going on and on, causing more wear and damage because they would not look into the clutch issues Ive taken the car into the dealer for. Oh well....

 

Yes, they have been AWESOME!

Even though they couldn't reproduce the problem EVERYONE there has been so nice and helpful and my SA, Kevin, insisted that I have the car trucked in so that I wouldn't end up stranded by the side of the road.

They are by far the best car dealership I have ever dealt with!

 

OUCH! I hope they take good care of you!

They kept my car for two days and my SA had the techs drive her hard to try and reproduce the error so that they could justify replacing the clutch, I REALLY REALLY hope that if mine dies and leaves me stranded it is not on one of the three days a week I bring my 17.5 year old dog to work with me because he will not be happy sitting by the side of the road waiting for roadside assistance to come get us!

Although the last time they trucked my car in to check the clutch, the driver from Henry's said that he sometimes brings his dog to work....

 

Kudos to Passport Mini of Alexandria for replacing the clutch kit without any hassle or problems on my 09 JCW that had a complete clutch failure with only 14 K miles on the car. They didnt give me a hard time at all... they removed the trans, confirmed that the clutch was dead and got it replaced, cleaned and detailed car all within 1 day. Im happy that MINI didnt give me a hardtime. Hopefully this great customer service continues in the future.

 

Glad it worked out right for you. I had the same thing at 14K, the dealer took care of it no questions, no hassles, no problems. The clutch has been fine since. To all that have or had slippage, get it in before it's too late. My Dealer SA told me Mini/BMW supplied a redesigned/new material clutch (PP&TOB) implying it is a known manufacturing deficiency.