My new - to - me 2003 Cooper S JCW has a pretty stiff clutch pedal and starts to engage as soon as you start to lift your foot. The shifter is also notchy, not smooth and easy like you would expect a performance car to be. Looking through old paperwork it looks like a replacement was recommended but it doesn't chatter or slip. It seems more like a pedal/master/slave issue. Has anyone else experienced and remedied this issue?
Thanks in advance,
Scott

 

I don't think I've ever driven a performance car that had a "smooth and easy" shifter. Short, notchy throws should be expected.
Also, my '03 MCS JCW has had a very low grab on the clutch pedal since brand new. In 11 years and 100+k miles that hasn't changed one bit. Just characteristic of the car.

 

I don't buy it. It's stubborn to get into gear, the clutch isn't disengaging completely when you push the clutch to the floor and it just doesn't feel right. I've driven a lot of cars and I know when one is right and one isn't right. If this car were new it would be at the dealer until they made it right. Unfortunately it's 11 years old with 151,000 miles. I'm on the hook for repairs so I'm reaching out to all of my resources.

 

if the clutch is not disengaging it will be hard to shift. And I'd bet the clutch master cylinder is week, assuming it's an hydraulic clutch.

 

Best of luck to you chasing ghosts. These cars are quirky as you will soon find out the hard way.

 

with front wheels on a ramp or jack stands( of course engine off) have a buddy step on the clutch pedal to the floor while you take a look at the slave cylinder to see how much it moves the fork lever. you will get an idea if the hydraulics works well or not

That's how I checked when i was bleeding the clutch system on my MINI after replacing the slave cylinder

btw, my Friend has a 2009 JCW, that clutch is 50% more stiffer than my Valeo clutch on non-JCW MCS 05.
Regardless, the stock clutch on any MCS shouldn't be that hard in my opinion. I had a gen1 G35....