We bought our 2012 Clubman S new in February of 2012. I read through this forum and was nearly spooked out of buying one but the wife insisted. We are only up to 19k miles on ours and it has been flawless thus far. How are others cars holding up of the same vintage? Are the later engines experiencing issues like the earlier engines?

 

Can't really speak for my Clubman, hardly has any miles on it yet. But my 2012 MCS has nearly 33k on it, and the only problem I've had was some worn rear end links causing a rattle. Replaced under warranty. My 2013 MCS Clubman has been flawless as well, but I haven't even gone 5000 miles on it yet. Haha.

 

My 2012 Clubman S hasn't had any issues, only been in for its normal oil changes so far. <knocks on wood>, currently sitting at 23k miles

 

Just change the oil every 5-7k miles and auto trans (not sure if you have AT) drain/fill every 10-12k miles and hope for the best! I'm assuming the dealer replaced the thermostat already?

 

Yea, I change the oil at the 1/2 year mark and then the dealer does the annual service so the oil is getting changed about every 5k miles. Full synthetic. I didn't realize the auto trans needed that much service (we do have an auto). You sure about that?

Not sure about the thermostat. I'll have to check on that.

 

It's up to you, but recommended. If you want to read a nice long thread on it here you go:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ed-at-80k.html

The tranny holds ~6qts of fluid total and a normal drain/fill changes ~2 qts. So if people are starting to see problems at ~50k, then if you did 3-4 drain fills before that time you'd have changed most of the fluid as preventative maintenance.

 

2013, slightly newer than yours at 20K right now. No issues except for original fit and finish problems:

Leaky Clubman door window
Doorsill placards unglued

both fixed by dealer under warranty.

 

That post is about 1st gen cars.

 

2012 Clubman S 50th Anniversary Edition at 30,000 miles and running like the day I left the dealership! This is my second Clubman; the first was a 2009 Justa and that had more interior issues (computer, wiring, etc.) but no engine problems and also was in great shape at 60k.

2012 Clubman S 50th Anniversary Hampton South Florida USA

 

With the same Aisin 6 speed auto, right?

 

Getrag 6 speed manual

2012 Clubman S 50th Anniversary Hampton South Florida USA

 

My 2010 Clubman has been trouble free. I think you will find that most are having no problems. People usually come to car forums looking for answers to problems their cars are having. It skews things so it looks like there are more reliability problems than there really are.

Dave

 

I feel like we're all jinxing ourselves in this thread, but my 2012 Clubman (non-S manual) is sitting at over 35k miles with no issues so far!

 

Our Clubman leads a very easy life. No kids and my wife doesn't work so the only time the car is outside is when it is actually being driven. We are in Upstate SC so the weather is almost always nice. She won't drive in cold weather and often skips her errands if it is raining. We are 9 miles from any shopping so the car doesn't suffer from short trips and frequent cold start/stop cycles.

 

I've a 2011 Manual Justa with 66k hard miles on the odometer. CEL just came on (I'll start another "Help me out with this problem" thread for that :P ), but other than that the car has performed wonderfully.

 

The 1st Gens that dont have the CVT have the same AISIN 6 speed auto as the 2nd gens. Heck, even the 3rd gen has a similar gearbox--they 'upgraded' it with the 'sport' programming feature. Hopefully some stronger internals but who knows...

 

I wasn't aware that the earlier years had any more problems than the later years.

 

Are you talking about the auto trans? If so, I think it has to do with mileage. Since they all have the 'same' transmission the possible problems that may creep up on the 2nd gens are being experienced by now by the 1st gens. Even if the 2nd gen trans turn out to be more reliable, trans fluid is still cheap insurance.

The N14 engine (pre 2011) problems have been well documented. The N18 engines are a little better, but you still should change the oil more regularly than every 15k.

 

The N14 engine was made from 2007 to 2010 in the Cooper S models and to 2012 in the JCW models.

Dave

 

correct, i edited my post. i always mistype the gen boundary as the LCI boundary.

 

One thing that I forgot to add was that I am beginning to hear a slight pulley squeal coming from the passenger side engine compartment when I shut the car off. Reading on this forum I think it might be the water pump bearing. Will point it out to the dealer next service.

 

Our 2011 Mini Clubman S will be three years old on Friday,May 23 so I took it to the dealer on Monday ,May19 for it's last free oil change.The battery died in the dealers driveway with no prior problem.So I also got a new free battery with the last free oil change. The MINI has been problem free for 19,500 mi. otherwise.

 

I wonder why your battery died so quickly. I'm still on my original, but I plan on replacing it when I do the next oil change in January 2015.

 

I might have jinxed myself by chiming into this thread :(. I noticed a drop of oil on the ground in the garage this weekend, climbed under the car and found that I have the N18 leaky sensor problem that the MINI engineers never got around to fixing.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-check-it.html


If you have not checked, check it because the oil can eventually wick up to your ECU and fry your computer. The techs are supposed to be checking during the oil changes, but they are not.

 

Interesting. The tech said I had a small oil leak which they fixed when I took it in a few months ago for the 2 year service. I wonder if this is the issue they fixed?