I am in Seattle..which has some very steep hills. Today I was at a hill and I start to smell a burnt smell and I saw smoke coming from the engine. The temp gauge was fine but now whenever I hit the clutch for more than a few minutes I smell burnt rubber. Did I burn out my clutch??? The car runs fine....does anyone know if the BMW dealership in Seattle services mini's?
Thanks for any responses.....

 

Well for a start, NEVER keep the clutch depressed. Like at stops signs or lights. You WILL shorten the life of the throwout bearing in the clutch assembly. Always pop your tranny into neutral at stops.

Are you sure that you're not smelling burnt brakes?

 

I am sure it's the clutch....cause anytime I hold it down for more than a few minutes it stinks. The car only has 21 miles on it.....

 

Ok. Take it to the dealer and ask what's up. But remember not to keep the clutch pedal depressed except to shift. There's no reason to hold the clutch down for more then about 2 or 3 seconds.

 

Thanks for the info...I just hope the local BMW dealership works on mini's or this one is going to end up in puget sound......

 

There's a slim possibility that some kind of preservative coating is being burned off. Something usually removed before installation.

 

If the car only has 21 miles on it, you must be pretty close to a MINI dealership. . . .But it definitely sounds like the clutch is wonky.

 

It sounds like what I did to my clutch. I was told that it needs to be all the way in or all the way out, no leaving it partially catching. I noticed mine do that just after a few hundred miles. I think you'll be ok but take the advice of putting it in nuetral at stops and hold the clutch in as little as possible.