Hi all,
Recently was on a road trip in FL. Car was doing well until gears were not grabbing and clutch finally gave out. Mini was towed with roadside assistance to nearest dealership 80 miles away. Monday they will look at it due to recent influx of recalls. Total of 14880 miles on car. Awaiting verdict.
Has anyone else had stick clutch issues or failure and what was the out come? I'm under full warranty 2010 JCW

 

Car was still accelerating but acted like it wasn't holding boost or pressure. I found out that it was the clutch as symptoms progressed and ultimately the car would not engage in any gear and was at a complete stop. Was on I75 When the gears stopped all together. Even an hour after the car cooled down the clutch still wouldn't engage. Pretty ridiculous. I have had other manual cars and never had a clutch go out under 50-70k miles.
The dealership said that it needs a tire rotation and alignment which the maintance program doesnt cover? Is that true.

They also suggested a 15k mile turbo carbon deposit cleaning and the valve system which also isn't covered under the 36k maint. What do you think and what is the procedure for this cleaning? Is it easily done at home? And Cost? I have the Bentley manual coming in from amazon soon so I should be able to answer some of these questions myself shortly.


Thanks guys

 

 

This is true. This is why I rotate my own tires.

 

So mini contacted me today and states clutch is gone and is under warranty. But when they check the flywheel if scortched or damaged glazed they wont cover it. Waiting for verdict. If it is that seems like BS with 14880 miles would be rediculous. What should I do if they want me ti cover it due to (abuse or whatever. They come up with? I was thinking contact district and regional. Corporate and even use my lawyer if they give me issues.
My car is 400 miles away from me right now since I had to work. Should I see if they can ship it back for free and pick up their enterprise. Car too?

Whats cost of dealership flywheel and cost of install?

Any help would be great.

 

So mini told me that they wont cover the clutch and claimed it was (bad driving habits). Wish I could have atleasted raced it. Lol. Not sure what to do they want $2800 to fix it. Any advice?

 

what did they say? was the flywheel damaged? was the clutch worn out?

 

So I called MINI corp. That was a big joke basically they just read off the report from the dealer stating that the clutch was completely worn and was stated to have been from "bad driving habits" The corporate guy said he stands by the dealerships word since they inspected the car. I told him I have never raced it and that it went out after 80 miles heading back from vacation with out slipping or skipping gears. I told him I have had cars with 50k and 70k before clutch went out and showed signs aka slipping or having to skip a gear first. I tried to call the dealership but no one answered. Tried to speak with tech or someone. Called the dealership that sold the car they state the car was inspected and the there was nothing wrong. So going to file a Lemon law and Consumer affairs complaint along with litigation with my Attorney. I figure I will let him handle the situation since it seems to be a bunch of BS. The corporate guy said oh it is easy to burn a clutch up at that milage. I said oh ya how so. He said if you ride the clutch or keep it engaged too long. I said okay I never did and was in and off the clutch ASAP every time with smooth shifting and maintained low RPMS by up shifting to next highest gear. Guy was a waste of my time. Let you know how it plays out. Hope to put a fire in someones *** in the corp.

 

The original clutch systems had a manufacturing defect from Valeo on early model R56's.
The dual mass flywheel binding rivots were incorrectly installed causing excessive movement and play in the flywheel.
That movement accelerated wear on the clutch disc itself, leading to failure.
Calmly ask your servicing dealer if yours fell within that supply period.

However, its true that if a person [not yourself] was dead-pedal'ing the clutch when stationary or resting on the pedal when in motion, it would cause failure to any clutch...
But the manufacturing defect, if its the same 'bad batch', added to the premature destruction.

- Erik

 

50-70k on a clutch?

my last 4 vehicles all went over 200k on original clutch.

my current gmc sonoma (soon to be replaced by countryman s all4 manual) has 287k miles on original clutch

the others were 76 rabbit, sold at 201k, original clutch
1980 rabbit, sold 225k, original clutch
1980 toyota tercel (inherited from dad with 34k) scrapped due to rust at 235k, original clutch

 

I bought my 2007 MINI with 25k miles on it March of 2011. September of 2011 and 6500 miles later under my ownership, the clutch went out... same thing. Took the car to MINI of Austin (then still under factory warranty), they gave me a similar story: excessive clutch dust was viewed through some "access port" (?!?!?!? I wasn't aware out cars had any such port) and told me it would be $1650 to tear the car down to fully inspect. Further, due to the amount of clutch dust observed, it was very likely driver fault and not a parts issue. If I wanted them to fix it, the total was going to be right around $3200 (Clutch, dual mass fly wheel, TOB & labor).

After reading about numerous clutch issues experienced by owners on this forum (and several other interweb sources), a common theme appeared: most seem to think the factory clutch is a bit thin to begin with and the dual mass flywheel causes many problems, not to mention the stamped TOB is a grenade waiting to happen. I realize these are just my opinions and those of others who found themselves in my position.

After getting advice from those who I feel are 'esteemed' members of this board (like Way of WMW), I decided to go with an OS Giken clutch, the only aftermarket alternative most would suggest or stand by. Yes, expensive (~$1700 for just parts when I picked one up) but I feel well worth it. The part is amazingly well built in my opinion, has rebuild kits available down the line and the TOB is a solid monster. I believe my car is very well mannered now. I feel like I have a solid solution and something which is far more likely to last than the factory offering (Stock S or JCW clutch). Driving is not that far from stock but you do have to have a good habit of getting fully on and off the clutch asap. The OS Giken will get a little 'grabby' when hot, and I can't honestly say it's the most fun to drive in any stop and go traffic (ie 5PM bumper to bumper on a busy interstate). Despite these little differences, I wouldn't have any other solution in my car. I love the stock like pedal feel and engagement, the solid shifts and performance.

I'd really suggest the OS Giken in the end... and cost actually came out less. I found a reputable MINI dedicated mechanic locally, and in the end saved several hundred dollars over what I would have paid MINI of Austin!

/ramble

 

You are boldly going where I myself have gone before. I had a very similar issue. All documented here along with photos for your viewing pleasure (your flywheel will be toast, trust me):

http://www.mini2.com/forum/mini-club...seal-deal.html

(Actually, I state 75,000km in the post, but the clutch problem started closer to 56,000km).

The final outcome is here:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/dealershi...ong-story.html

with a few more details in this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/second-ge...ed-2000-a.html

Actually, I'm still waiting for the flywheel reimbursement they promised me.

In my opinion, you're wasting your time with the legal approach. You'll have to prove the clutch failed due to mechanical default which will require and independent inspection and assessment in order to determine the cause of failure. That will cost you and isn't guaranteed to work. Also, if you have them change the clutch, they won't give you the old parts, since they're sent back to the manufacturer. Of course, you can have them changed at an independent and you can keep the parts, but then you've got no warranty coverage. Besides, clutches - like brakes - are a wear item, so it's all stacked against you. Sorry to be pessimistic, but I went through all this. In any case, the lemon law won't apply either since you don't meet the conditions (dealer has to be given a chance to repair, etc... read the fine print as it's quite restrictive).

I don't want to rain on your parade, and I know you're frustrated and pissed off (believe me, I've been there), but I think you're going to come out the other end significantly poorer and completely angry. I'm not trying to irritate you, I'm just being realistic because I've already been there and done that.

Good luck to you.

 

How much to install a new clutch? thinking giken or clutchmaster. Does the new stock mini clutch kit still have plastic throwout bearing?

 

Well corporate mini was useless they wouldn't help with anything. Guess this leaves me with fixing the clutch and maybe going to civil court to recoup some cost after remediation . Would it be a bad idea to have them do the eom setup and have another so called warranty on the clutch? And flywheel

 

Get a secomd opinion, preferably not from the stealership as I like to call them. Find a reliable foreign car shop. Try Sunshine Minis .org if you have not already for recommendations in your area.

 

My local guy who came highly recommended charged me $750 for the install of the Giken. The other two BMW/MINI shops in the area wanted $1250-1800 for the install.

I've heard repeatedly the Clutchmasters for MINI are garbage. With this car it seems you either go Giken or stock. *shrug*

 

Ya dealer wants 1400 install private person 700. Car is stranded at the dealer unfortunately. Think I will just have them do it. Kind of need my ride back before next payment. Kind of got me by the short hairs.

 

Sorry to hear about the tough spot you're in. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the replacement. There's still people out there who swear they're seeing 'regular' mileage out of the stock gear. Best of luck!

 

Don't count on any warranty after the reinstall. Like I said, clutches are considered a "wear item". You may have a case if the TOB or flywheel explode before you leave the dealers lot, but after that it's your word against theirs.

The dealer price you quote sounds about par for the course.

When they installed mine, I just went with the OEM parts. The feel afterwards was from another planet. The OEM clutch setup that came with the car when I purchased it (new) felt nothing like the new OEM setup. Pedal was butter smooth, smooth engagement, better bite point, etc...

Assuming its installed right and driven properly, I think the OEM gear is decent (and I've driven many manual transmission cars over my lifetime). Mind you, I don't race or thrash the car...

One thing you might want to think about is asking to see the old parts.

 

Got the car back. Man the clutch was grabby when I first got in it. It seems like it is more broken in now. How long would you say to break in the clutch? Just smooth shifting right and no racing for a bit?

 

I continue to marvel at some of the Mini dealers. How they'll use the old "blame it on the customer if you can" approach. Which is pretty short-sighted if you want repeat business. Because there's no way in hell I'd buy another car there even if I was going to buy a Mini. Or pay to get it serviced either. The other one I love is the failed fuel filter, and they say "we tested your gas, and you put bad gas in your car". Like you have any control over what's in the freaking gas, or you really want to use the crappiest gas in your Mini. That one generally doesn't fly, and many of the "you abused your clutch" cases the dealer finally did it warranty. Some owners had theirs towed to another dealer. It's just too bad really. 14k miles, it was defective we all know that.