I thought it was strange as I've never seen another car manufacturer offer such a thing, but I've been told by more than one dealership that Mini will replace the first clutch for free if you screw it up. I did not even ask about it, simply mentioned that I wanted to teach my girlfriend how to drive stick and that is one thing I'd be worried about - two different MA's said that I shouldn't worry because Mini will replace the first one for free. Somehow I still have a very hard time believing that, and can't find confirmation of it anywhere. Does anyone know the answer to this?

 

they replaced mine (and the dual mass flywheel) on my 05 S due to "glazing" under warranty. Technically while it is covered under yr 4/50, some SAs will bully people into thinking it was their fault and make them pay, to the tune of nearly $2,800.

And please rent a vehicle to teach yr girlfriend how to drive a stick, and not yr car....

 

$2800 for a clutch?

We're teaching her on my brother's Sentra, but even beginners that "have it down" can still slip up from time to time.

 

If I could trouble someone to explain to me how a clutch could be blown that would be great.

I am 200km (Canadian MINI) from completing my break-in and have been good to the clutch for the first 1500 km but gradually working my way to matching revs/blipping throttle for some more spirited driving on this car (I was fairly decent with my old Miata). Unfortunately, there are times when I may have been "jerky" or abrupt on my engagement...can I blow up my clutch this way?

I don't want to feather the clutch because I hear all these things abut glazing. Am I misinformed?

Thanks for the education.

 

I agree regarding it being strange too since it is technically a wearable item but my SA and MA mentioned to me that it is covered along with the other so called wearable items like the brakes under the free maintenance program.Now abuse to the clutch that I can't answer though.

 

The worst offenders are those that "Ride" the clutch. Sorta like people who ride the brake. If your foot is on the clutch petal then it better be completely engaged (to the floor).

 

it isn't covered under the warranty. they are covering it under the service maintenance contract. this has been true for bmws for the past 6 years or so.

 

2800 sounds about right using dealer pricing. clutch is about 4-500 and the dual mass flywheel is about 1400-1600. rest labor, etc.

 

Jesus....quite the contrary to the $500 job it would've cost on my old Mustang.

 

I believe it is all up to the head SA as to whether a clutch gets warrantied or not. They see a lot of these cars & know what normal wear, abuse & defects look like. If you teach your girl how to drive stick & you wear the clutch out prematurely do you expect they'd give you one for free? Maybe, but maybe not. That is a very expensive gamble. Safe bet is to rent a car for stick shift lessons.

IMO the MA will tell anyone what they want to hear. They sell cars, not service them & want you happy.

I had a throw out bearing going bad. My dealer changed that out & replaced my perfectly good clutch & pressure plate just for good measure. No cost to me. Service like that keeps customers coming back to the dealer for their next car.

 

I was told a few weeks ago before picking up my MINI that a worn clutch would NOT be covered by the maint or the extended warranty.

 

I'm betting it is on a case by case basis. They'd be stupid crazy to tell folks they'd cover worn clutches as a matter of fact.

MINIspud your dealer may have seen more than a normal share of abused clutches. That might explain what you were told. IMO that position isn't out of line.

 

my clutch and dmf and everthing else attached to my r53 was replaced in Feb with only 8 mos remaining on my 4/50 btb warranty, and my 4/50 scheduled mtce (back when i bought my car in 04 U could extend the 3/36 sm to 4/50 for about $500, a pretty good deal). $2,790 total. NQA.

no more manual MINIs por moi. I love paddles and torque!

 

I thinks you guys should do some searches on here! To my knowledge. It is NOT covered in under warranty except by defect and even then when there were known issues with throw out bearings on early model cars MOST dealers were denying warranty claims. There is always discretion and opinion on these type of things, and you can bet that those who have had clutches replaced did so under the guise of defect not abuse.....and someone learning to drive stick is considered abuse, especially from the dealer perspective

 

it isn't covered under the warranty. the warranty literature even states that. it is covered under the maintenance contract. obviously abuse may not be covered but if it prematurely wears out within the maintenance period, it is covered. see 1 post above your post from someone who had it done. I also had it replaced, however, it was a BMW not MINI (same/similar plan)

 

man i gotta call the service dept back then. grrr