Unlike Scott, I just don't think it could be more obvious that there are big problems with the clutches installed in the all-wheel-drive cars. I don't see how anyone who has followed this forum closely for the past two years could think differently.

At least one good thing is that Mojito is not correct about the resale value. Just look at kelly bluebook or nada and you will clearly see that CM's in fact are holding the resale value better then the vast majority of other vehicles.

We continue to be amazed at how well minis hold their value. We recently sold our 2003 R53 for an amazing $6500. It had more than 150,000 miles on it, and also had body damage, and, similar to the 2011 CM, the 2002 and 2003 model years were well known for having significant problems.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but the Automatic Transmission CM seem to be a bit more reliable. Almost 22k or essentially trouble free driving. Best balanced vehicle that I have ever owned.

 

That's why we ordered our replacement 2013 with an automatic. We just wanted to make sure we steer clear of the clutch fiasco. When we ordered the 2013 we were aware that there were going to be changes to the clutches, but we just were not confident that the problems were going to be fully resolved. Only time will tell if we were right or if were needlessly cautious.

Looks like the 2012's are turning out to have a better frequency of repair record versus the 2011. Hopefully the 2013s will be even better. That's what happened when BMW brought out the original Mini hard tops 10 years ago. By the third and fourth model years most of the early problems were pretty much resolved.

 

lol

Continue to fixate a major problem on random men you find in gas stations.

 

If that were true the thread started would have gotten more than 19k to get away from his Mini.

 

I was going to keep out of this thread until I read this.

Scott, I am French. Born there, lived there, educated there, carry the passport from there, taking a break from making Buche de Noel to type this. Note that I have taken four trips over the pond this calendar year and spent four weeks in Switzerland and three in France.

Points I want to make:
1. The reason the French Forum does not have reports of failures is there is not a lot of activity for the Countryman. I did a search after reading your post and 5 pages came up. I saw posts from Mat92 who is also on NAM and has a beautiful white on black CM and knows how to use a camera.
2. The reason there are no reports of clutch failure on the French forum is the CM is a rare sight there. I saw two of them in the three weeks I was there this year and one was from England. I saw just one in 2011.
3. The French market is all about low fuel consumption and the CM sucks at that. I would be shocked if 80% of the CM's sold there were not diesels and even more shocked if they were All4's. I don't have MINI sales numbers to back it up, but anyone who has been in France knows that most cars there are small and diesel powered.
4. Not all French people know how to work a clutch. My dear 67 year old Mother revs up her little Peugeot to get it up the driveway and make sure the poor thing does not stall in front of the neighbors. I'm surprised her clutch has lasted 7 years and this is a woman who has been driving stick shifts since the early 60's.
5. Not all Americans are bad at driving a stick shift, especially the ones who are on this forum. If you're on here you have some sort of a disease called enthusiam for your car and chances are that like you, people on this forum who have had multiple vehicles with manual transmissions know how to shift properly. There is no possible way you are the only person in the entire United States or on this forum who knows how to shift properly.

Oh yeah, I think the clutch on the CM All4 sucks. Mine has not failed yet (maybe it's those French genes which means I know how to use the devilish thing), but it feels like no other car I've ever owned and also smells like no other car I've ever owned. There's a problem with it.

 

The $19,000 that Sir Stirling claimed he received for his truck on a Subaru trade is not meaningful. Obviously the dealer undervalued his CM to make it sound like he was getting a fantastic deal on the WRX. It's a game that car dealers play with trade-ins all the time. What we don't know is how much he would've had to pay for the WRX without a trade in. Feel free to disagree, but Kelley bluebook and nada are typically pretty good indicators of used car values, although no source is perfect.

For example, right now per kelley blue book the value of a 2011 all-wheel-drive countryman with no options at all is $23,350 for a trade in, $24,935 for private sale, and $26,635 retail. If he sold his car for $19,000, especially assuming his car had some options, wow did he get ripped off Unless his car had some damage. But the real story likely is that the dealer applied some of the value of his trade in to the price they claimed they were selling him the new car for.

 

time will tell, but who is going to pay top dollar for a car with a known clutch issue than the manufacturer is not standing behind?

 

I do understand the point you're making, but look at how well used values for the early mini hard tops held up despite that they also had major known issues. I also found that surprising. My guess is that used values are holding up simply because they are popular cars. The clutch problems are already widely known. But yet the values for used all-wheel-drive countryman still seem to be holding up. Perhaps the used values would be even higher if there were no clutch problems.

 

That may be because they drive diesels, which have a lot more low-end torque than the gas engines.

 

Sorry, but are you really going to quote THEIR press release and stand behind it as being the gospel truth? You don't really think that they would EVER voluntarily issue a press release that admits culpability for a poorly designed component. Or do you?

Improve the feel... Come on. Yes the feel sucks. Pretty handy that "improving the feel" should also result in getting the expected wear from the clutch that was missing from the original design.

My sole issue with you is your steadfast adherence to your belief that all Countryman All4 manual transmission owners are to blame for premature clutch failures. In spite of all the data presented, you cling to the notion that all failures are completely the result of operator error. Stunning. Puts it all in perspective for me.

 

It's not difficult to tell that it was written by somebody in their PR department with input from the marketing and legal people

 

People, people...if you feel your specific vehicle has a defect, get it fixed. If it is warrantable dealer should fix. If you can't get resolution, take it up to MINI
USA, keep at it. I did and got resolution and buy back for my Clubman. All this banter back and forth is fruitless on a forum like this. If people are so dissatisfied with their CM, head to Honda or Toyota and get that "perfect " vehicle.
These types of forum entries are tedious and usually posted by a car buyer with buyers remorse or too high expectations. And yes, I do have a choice whether I choose to read these posts, but when generalities are made about a model, one which I've owned for 2 years, trouble free.....I feel inclined to get involved to let novices/newbies reading these know that these type of negative posts affect a extremely minor amount of CM owners having reliability issues with their Countryman.
Resale value continues to be high due to the Brand, Reputation, Owner Experience, etc.....if the brand were as bad as a select few make it out to be, MINI sales would be down, and resale values would be on a decline....neither is the case..MINI is having their best year, and as mentioned before, most models top out in their respective categories with regards to resale.....

That's my thoughts, Peace to All.......move on........

 

I will post as I see fit. Not as you see fit.

Peace all, indeed.

 

How are they fixing it for 2011 and 2012s? Don't you think they should put the new clutch and software updates for those of us experiencing clutch issues with the original faulty design?

 

Thanks for sharing your story. I agree with your sentiment. Can't argue with stupid. I'll PM you if I have any questions as we continue our quest for MINI to put the new and improved clutch on our ALL 4 or terminate our lease.

 

So sick of this bitching and whining.

I'll be glad when the third MINI in our family arrives next weekend and I will unsubscribe from this god-awful anti-BMW cesspool of a thread. I hope you enjoy your WRX or whatever it is you're going to buy. Be sure to join the Car and Driver web site. They hate MINI over there in the comments sections and all you haters will feel right at home.

Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring

 

I needed to replace my clutch in my STi at 60k. I was pushing 400whp, but still.

 

No one has forced you to read or comment on anything. Again, sorry if people complaining about a real issue we are experiencing with our ALL4 manual Countryman offends MINI loyalists. MINI may be a great brand, a great car, but they screwed up, and I don't get why people are so up in arms about it. I just want MINI to do the right thing. I'd like to love my MINI too. If you're annoyed by these posts, you should be annoyed with MINI. This issue is not a figment of our imaginations.

 

Amen...I am done with this thread. they should change the header though.....should read "few of us with ALL4 Manual CMs......."

 

I didn't say anyone forced me to, I just don't come here to hear people compare BMW to YUGO and call them equal. I get that you are having problems. Take it up with your dealer or MINI corporate. Nobody here on the NAM forum is going to fix your clutch for you.

 

Who said we are t getting it fixed? Hell my mini has spent 46 days in the shop in less than 18 months. Pathetic.

 

No problems here. All4 S in auto. Had an R53 before this.

 

How many miles do you have on yours?

 

There's a certain skill that is completely unrelated to the other pedals in a car - the brake and gas pedal - that some people have and some do not. Add in the fact that the Mini clutch is probably not as strong as it could be and hello problems.

Europeans in my age bracket - I am 57 - cut their driving teeth on a stick - it's almost a seventh sense. Otoh, Americans in the main were brought up on automatics. No insult - that's just reality. A clutch is not an on/off switch - it's a skill. So, unfortunately, the clutch issue will remain until Mini beef up the system.

If you have any concerns over driving a stick, as I have with my wife who occasionally drives my R60 when her r53 is not big enough, buy an automatic.