hi, i was teaching my GF to drive my new 06 MCS...
and on occasion, she forgets to step on the clutch and tries to shift...

and of course the car makes a grinding noise.... that scares the crap out of me.. ....

now, how bad is it for the car? i mean she only did it couple of times...

but the sound is just bad... and is that bad for the clutch? or the gears? thanks for any info.

 

This is good background on manual shift transmissions and how to drive using one-
http://cssdrivertraining.com/manualprimer.htm

Quote:
A Note On Clutch Wear

One of the biggest concerns people have when learning to drive manual shift is the inevitable wear and damage that can occur to the car. While this is certainly important, it should be known that most modern cars are designed to take some occasional wear as a normal part of their operating life. Using the clutch will wear it out; there's no avoiding this, just as using the brake pedal will wear out the brakes, opening the car door will wear out the hinges, etc.

The way a clutch works is through friction (hence the term "friction point"), much like a brake. The clutch consists of two metal plates, one connected and spinning with the engine, and the other connected and spinning with the wheels (through the transmission). When the pedal is raised, the plates come together, and like a brake, friction is used to transfer the rotation of one plate to the other. The car stalls when the wheels on the road overcome the power of the engine, and the wheels spin when the engine overcomes the inertia of the wheels. Just as brake pads wear out, so do clutch plates. They need occasional replacement. In a new car, a clutch should last at least 200,000 to 250,000 km (125,000 to 150,000 miles). Undue wear occurs on the clutch when the driver holds the clutch too long at the friction point. Ideally, you should only hold the clutch at the friction point as long as necessary to make the car move forward smoothly. However, new drivers tend to hold the clutch too long, in an effort to locate the friction point accurately. With time and practice, this tendency should disappear. If it doesn't, the clutch will need to be replaced prematurely.

Another source of damage is termed grinding the gears. This occurs when the driver tries to change gears without the clutch, or without the clutch fully depressed. What happens is the gears inside the transmission grind against each other, unsynchronized, causing the gear teeth to gnash violently. They may eventually break off and cause very expensive repairs.

A new manual shift driver should learn in a car that's relatively inexpensive, so that such wear and damage is less consequential. You wouldn't learn to drive a Porsche without already knowing how to handle a clutch and gears, for instance.

----------------------

So go and get a rental and learn on that. Save your MINI some wear.
Grinding the gears a little isn't too bad but over and over isn't going to be favorable. Grinding doesn't wear the clutch but riding the clutch does. For the clutch pedal, just press and release the clutch fully to change gears and get your left foot off the clutch pedal and on the brake or dead pedal as needed.

 

^^ Like he said. Get a rental/beater. Unless you feel like dishing out cash to replace the clutch or more... I taught a few girls in my old Saturn back in the day... I also went through two clutches in 3 years.

 

Well, I'm screwed then! :impatient I'll be learning how to drive manual on my brand new MCS. *prays* ...Don't worry...I'll be fine................................LOL

 

What????!!! Who has ever gotten more than 40,000 miles out of a clutch? If you can make that claim, you're not driving it very hard, Grandma.

 

Yeah, don't worry about it. Just make certain you wear out the clutch within the first 36k and 3 years so that you get a free new one from BMW. The 2 or 3 times you grind the gears just won't do any significant damage.

 

Don't worry...it keeps the gears nice and clean. When you get your transmission replaced the techs will all be impressed with how shiny the gears are!

Paul

 

MINIhune got it right ...

Be afraid, VERY AFRAID.

However, you can match the RPMs with the road speed, your good to go!

 

Clutch wear really depends alot on the driver's skill and if you doing alot of shifting in urban areas.

My '82 Honda Civic got 80,000 miles plus before I sold it with the original clutch and it was going just fine. My '84 Nissan Sentra needed a clutch when I got it used with 22,000 miles on it and another one at 72,000 miles when I sold it. Lots of urban miles and maybe not the most durable transmission compared to the Honda.

My MCS has 27,000 miles and the clutch is doing fine. I taught my daughter how to drive manual on it and she did fine. Only a few noisy instances. In the three years I've driven it I had a minor grind of the gears maybe four times total. Sometimes a mis-shift in Autocross or a quick move in traffic will lead to less than perfect results but most of the time you can be really smooth.

When learning to shift try practicing on a slight downhill straight. It's really easy to do well. Then key on being smooth and practice.

 

Here is a fantastic website/forum for learning a manual and other manual tranny talks: www.standardshift.com

 

I wish you all the best with that, perhaps things have changed with the newer warranties, but BMW would not change out my clutch under warranty at much less then 20k miles even though it was clearly wearing oddly due to issues with the transmission & related things that others had experienced as well. Seems to be one of those things that may depend on your dealer and how much they want/need to get paid for things vs use the warranty coverage. They can always fall back "its a consumable" or blame driver usage...

 

I sold my '90 Geo Tracker with 90,000 miles and the original clutch - plus I had learned how to drive a stick on that vehicle! I don't drive like a grandma, but I don't abuse my vehicles, either.

 

First car was a 1995 Honda Accord. It got totalled by an old ^$@#$ who did not see the stop sign and floored it to try to cross before me...

the car died with 185,000km's on it and it's original clutch. I drove that thing for 4 years pretty hard, hitting the redline AT LEAST twice a day.

 

I'm surprised. My 2002 warranty clearly states that clutch wear is included during the first 36,000mi/36 month period. I have also had a complete brake job (new rotors and pads) done during that timeframe.

 

I would guess you get more than 20,000 miles out of a set of tires too.

 

Thats cool, glad for you - perhaps in this case the Mini warranty was better then the BMW. I just hate how all the dealers can have such different policies and skill levels as 'franchises'.

 

Think of it this way: If it didn't make a grinding noise, you'd never know that you were doing it wrong!

 

bwahaha more like 8k with me!

 

And how much on your clutches? (Help me out here...I'm trying to make a point - but I forget what it was)

 

depends which kind...

 

My old Taurus SHO, a car well known for early clutch lives, had 106k before it finally bit the dust.

I've got 42k on the Mustang GT that I'm replacing with the MINI, its clutch is as strong as the day I got it. Well, except for Ford's lousy throw-out bearing. But that's not my fault.

Of course, now that I say that, it'll give up the ghost before I sell it.

 

My 1990 Ford Probe never had the clutch replaced. I had it about 140,000 miles

 

Off topic but...Why teach your GF to drive stick on your new S. Can't you get her started on someone elses car?

 

my other car is a 05 E46 M3 SMG II.. taught her how to drive that too! she just wants to drive my cars! she actually drove the manual better than the SMG! hahaha... no one that i know has a manual that will let her borrow to learn! haha... well, at least it's not the M3 that's she's practicing on! haha..thanks for all the info. i will just tell her to drive the M3 for now...

 

Now, that's the only valid example of the bunch


Hondas, mini-SUVs, Geo, and some Ford under-stunners ... give me a break!