I'm an Mini newbie. On my recently purchased '09 6-speed S, as I push on the clutch I can feel a "click" as it engages (or is it disengages?). It's not audible but I can feel it (i.e., it's not "fluid" throughout the push like other cars I've driven if that makes sense). It also sounds a little like I'm pushing air like pumping up a basketball until it engages. Other than that, the clutch seems to function just fine. I did a search and found a few references to a pin or bushing or something that might be the culprit but not sure.

1. Is this normal?
2. If not normal, is it something I should be concerned about (doesn't really bother me at all or affect my driving)
3. Where should I start looking? I didn't see anything noticeably wrong in the linkage.

Thanks. Great forum here. - Matt

 

If you look under the dash, I believe the click comes from the pedal hitting another part in that area.

My 07 makes the same noise.

 

Thanks. I'll take a look again (when it warms up a bit here). How long as it been occurring in your '07? In other words, should I be concerned?

 

I posted about this a few days ago. It's caused by side-to-side play in the pedal. I believe the slop is caused by a worn bushing at the top of the pedal. I am still waiting for the part to arrive to see if that's the fix.

 

I saw your post but I didn't notice the same wobble or side-to-side motion with my pedal, but maybe it's because I don't know what a properly functioning pedal feels like. Let me know how the bushing works out.

 

I had the click and a squeal when letting out of the clutch. The dealership tried saying something was rubbing together so they zip tied something up under the console. Well, it didn't fix it, so they replaced that whole clutch pedal assembly. I'm now 4 months out from the repair, and it seems to be solid. The pedal feels different than before, but it doesn't make any noises or clicks anymore.

 

Let us know if it is indeed caused by a worn bushing
I would be very interested to know if the squeaky clutch pedal issue can be fixed with replacing a bushing and not the whole assembly.

 

I had this on my R53 at about 30,000 miles. The dealer told me it was caused by the throw out bearing. They replaced the whole clutch assembly & TO bearing under warranty.

 

Well, that's exactly what I was hoping NOT to hear. If that's the case I'll just go as long as I can with this clutch. In the meantime, I'll inspect the linkage and wait to hear on zrickety's experience with the bushing. Thanks.

 

I can push the pedal and see what it's hitting under the dash. Unlikely to be a throwout bearing if you have the same issue. When I'm mindful of how I push the clutch, I can use it without the 'clicking' effect. I'm pretty sure it's a $2 bushing for a poorly designed part.

 

I wouldn't be surprised. Every repair I've made to my '10 MCS has involved a poorly engineered bushing.

 

I replaced both bushings on mine ('09 JCW) with new ones and still had side to side wobble. Wound up making a thin metal sleeve (rolled thin gauge sheet) that goes in the hole before the bushings are installed. It took up the extra clearance so the wobble went away. Seems either the hole is too big or the bushings aren't big enough from the factory. I read complaints of this on brand new cars. The clutch pedal rubs on the slave cylinder.

Nate

 

I second that.

Also in response to OP, I also observe the same effect on my clutch pedal when engaging on my 08 One. For me it is definitely something mechanical from within the drivetrain and nowhere near the pedal. It seems though, that the clicking does not occur when there is a certain enough amount of throttle applied while engaging the clutch.

In addition, I have noticed my clutch pedal occasionally giving my foot a quick tap back, sort of like a baby's kick from within its mother's womb (if one can imagine). This occurs whenever the car has been parked, brake pedal is pressed and the clutch pedal is pressed to initiate shifting into first gear to bring the car into motion. But if I stop midway through, where my shifter is still in neutral while both pedals are pressed down, and I replay the motion of re-pressing both pedals in the same fashion, the 'tap' does not occur.

I suspect the tap is an occurrence of the 'hill-start assist' feature which utilises the rear brakes and clutch pedal play to function. I only gather this since knowing our MINIs' clutch and brake fluid are shared, leading me to assume it is all fluid and mechanical function related.

 

My clutch pedal has all of these traits as well, but my visual inspection of the linkage didn't turn up any worn or broken parts. I just chalked it up low tolerances on the bushings, just like the sway bar bushings, and the control arm bushings, and the subframe bushings, and so on and so forth. You get the idea.

 

Check the easy stuff first. If I was not under warranty I'd drive until something broke.

 

I think I know what you mean, OP. It's kind of a notchy feel as you press the pedal in. It feels like a mechanical issue in the clutch itself, and not like the pedal's catching, or that you're really overcoming any resistance. It's just a little click or pop with tactile feedback as you press down.

I've got 120K on my clutch, so I'm not surprised by the issue. I also had it on my high mileage VW Golf from the 80s and I think perhaps on my 70s era Ford Pinto. It may just be normal wear and tear. I'm not sure it's the TO bearing, as that typically makes a noise when the clutch is fully disengaged. But, hell if I know what it is. I'm curious myself.

 

Mine is acting up also, my clutch pedal has too much side play which allows the stopper (that stops the pedal from going through the carpet) to come into contact with the plastic hydraulic cylinder mounted on the floorboard. Look for a shiny spot where the pedal is hitting it. I'm getting tired of plastic parts on my MCS!

 

I haven't noticed the 'tap back' but the hill-start assist surprised the heck out of me (I had no idea these minis had this feature and have never had a car with it). At first I thought something was wrong with my clutch or brakes (i.e., why is my car not drifting back!??). Still haven't had time or good weather to inspect my clutch linkage/bushings but will hopefully get to it this weekend.

 

If there were air in the system that would cause a push back, experienced it myself. Bled the hydraulic system and no issues since.

 

Will give that a shot thanks for the advice

 

I just test drove an 09 JCW that had a notchy feeling midway through the clutch engagement like I would expect from a two step clutch. At the point of engagement I could also hear a slight squeak when the clutch was depressed and the window down.

Not knowing these cars well and never having encountered the same symptoms with others I assumed it was a problem and passed on the purchase.

 

Air is in the clutch slave cylinder cause the plastic round tip to vibrate against the clutch fork because its bouncing on air bubbles. Sounds like a cricket in fast forward doesn't it? Funny thing is my clutch slave was all quiet for awhile, during that time my right front caliper would vibrate badly when mashing down on the brakes! Now the air traveled back to the clutch slave, its been moving around.

 

It's a worn/bad bushing. There's a TSB on it, IIRC. I had it replaced under warranty a couple of years ago on my 2009.

 

Any additional information regarding the TSB? My car's out of warranty and I don't mind working on it myself if it's not above 'amateur' level.

And also just for a nice tip for anybody with clutch pedals not returning all the way to their un-pressed position (requiring using the top of the tip of your toe to pull it 10% back up), the clutch return spring may be replaced to remedy this expected wear and tear. It cost me a few bucks and took me about 5 minutes to change. May 7 for you since mine was snapped off and did not require removing. Its location is just above it actual pedal where your foot presses against. You'll see where it is and how it looks like; it's a spring.

 

I spent half of Saturday and all of Sunday replacing clutch pedal, both bushings and installing the return spring wasn't easy, well since I figured out what works I could do it again easily. Lubed the sliding plastic parts with Gorilla Snawt. I'm surprised you didn't run into trouble compressing the return spring in order to get it on both bottom and top steel shafts or mounting points!