I'm looking for similar experiences out there, just to make sure we're not paranoid...

My wife's 2011 R60 CMS (not an All4) has been a blast to drive. The main reason she got it was to have a fun car with a manual transmission. For the most part, it's lived up to expectations. The notable exception began after 12 months and 12K miles. She started hearing a ringing sound when on the throttle which went away when she pressed the clutch. Our dealer diagnosed a bad throwout bearing, sending pictures and eventually the parts to Mini. Problem solved, no charge, felt pretty good.

Almost exactly 12 more months and 12K miles later (last week), she started hearing the sound again. Took it back to the dealer and today, we're told it's the throwout bearing. Again. Still expect it to be covered, but now worried that every 12 months/12K miles we'll need a new bearing.

Just to note, no mention was made about poor driving or related problems the first time. We'll see what they say after opening it up this time. Between my wife and I, we have over 40 years driving experience on manual transmissions and have never had this kind of problem.

I have seen other threads with problems related to clutches, but our clutch is fine, just frail throwout bearings. Any one else seeing that?