Am I the only Mini Cooper driver to have lost the clutch completely after 2 seasons of AX and 10,500 miles? 2003 Mini Cooper.

Dealership says it's a wear part so no warranty. Worst wear they ever saw, no friction left and it damaged the flywheel. I'm looking for some statistics since I'll obviously be appealing this to the next level. They know I ax the Coop.

Otherwise I'm out of pocket in the neighborhood of $2000 if I can't get some of this covered.

ClutchlessAugs

 

OUCH!, go aftermarket, clutches are around 500 bucks(for a race clutch) im sure you can find someone close to put it in for under 1500.....check the sponsors on this site im sure there is someone reasonably close to help you, i would if you were close to me....

 

Augs, it is Mark Chiles fault . I just had a transmission replaced and traded the Cooper 5 days later for an S2000. Rob needs a Topeka ride now. I may be there in BStock. Now if I can still have post race burgers even without a MINI, I will be a very happy jarhead.
Chris

 

>>Am I the only Mini Cooper driver to have lost the clutch completely after 2 seasons of AX and 10,500 miles? 2003 Mini Cooper.
>>
>>Dealership says it's a wear part so no warranty. Worst wear they ever saw, no friction left and it damaged the flywheel. I'm looking for some statistics since I'll obviously be appealing this to the next level. They know I ax the Coop.
>>
>>Otherwise I'm out of pocket in the neighborhood of $2000 if I can't get some of this covered.
>>
>>ClutchlessAugs


Your 5-speed Midland Gears transmission isn't the most durable gearbox and MINI seems to agree as they will soon be switiching to a Getrag 5-speed beginning in July (start of 2005 production).


I honestly don't see how can you claim the clutch damage as a warranty covered repair. If you are polite (and lucky) MINI may decide to split the bill as a good will gesture but I seriously doubt they will foot the bill for the whole thing.


I guess that is the price to pay when subjecting the car to the rigors of autocrossing.

 

Sorry to hear about this.

I have an MCS with 6 speed transmission used for street and a little autocross and track a few times a year. Built in 10/02 and has 12,500 miles. I had Quaife LSD installed and the clutch looked OK with no real wear to be concerned about. So maybe the 6 speed holds up better than the 5.

Maybe you'd do better with a racing clutch (there are more than one for the MINI). Labor should be much better than $1500. For $900-1500 you can get the Quaife and clutch installed. The Quaife is $1100 for the part alone.

 

H stock brothers, and I'm not whininng, just looking for statistics.

Can't use aftermarket parts and race clutches if I'm staying in H stock....


AXAugs

 

H-stock! Got it. Oh well.
Maybe it is time to think about the Getrag 5 speed for the MC. Will it fit in your MC?
Or maybe time to think about MC with CVT? Better not wear out that transmission!
Or maybe time to think about MCS with 6 speed for more durability?
Not sure what might be the best option for you.

I have not heard of any others with worn clutch after so soon.
I wonder about your clutch and if it was any different than other MCs.
Can't imagine getting that much more wear from doing 4 one minute runs monthly for 2 seasons. In my area that is only 24 events in 2 years x 4 minutes each event = 96 minutes of shifting. I hardly shift in autocross.

I think your clutch wear is happening on the street. You might have an experienced driving instructor watch you use the clutch and give feedback. You don't want to ride the clutch or drive in such a way to use up another clutch if you replace the one your have. In street driving you might do fine and in the autocross you might be riding the clutch-that is also possible. Any other drivers for your MC? They might also be a factor.

I did loose my clutch pedal recently, I was found to have a failed master cylinder and that was replaced under warranty (12,500 miles). My clutch works fine.

 

I thought his clutch blew out?

 

I simply cannot imagine that 2 seasons of autocross could have burned out a clutch since shifting gears is one thing that is not done much on the autocross course.

Although I might launch hard, I rarely shift gears on the course after I get to second gear. Even if you are shifting on the course a couple times, that only adds up to a few hundred shifts over 2 years. I can do a couple hundred shifts just driving around doing errands on an afternoon.

 

Augs,
About the only way I can see you getting this covered under warranty is to claim poor engine performance at low RPM. It's true....So true that they've made several updates to their own ECU since the cars introduction.

I'm actually concerned this might start happening to more MINI owners. I've always considered myself failry easy on a clutch but find myself riding this clutch more then I should to keep the motor in the power band.......Best of luck, If anyone can talk themself into getting this covered under warranty it's you.

You might want to add this dealer to your gift basket list.......

Stuart
HS 47

 

i had problems with my clutch as well, squeling and making wierd noise from takeoff, found out that mini has been having problems with the clutches, just came out with a new clutch stronger, i am one of the first to have it dont in the northwest area on a non 04 mini. by the way mini cooper s is a 02 with 34000 miles, clutch now has 500 to 1000 miles on it, all the work was under warrenty.


chris

 

If you have a habit of pouring on the power before the clutch has fully "connected", then excessive wear will occur. Slipping the clutch too much and riding the clutch are often associated with short clutch life. Do you do a lot of stop and start driving on steep hills?

The BMW Car Club had some good driving videos on shifting in the M5. With lots of power that car could eat clutches quickly if shifting coordination was a little off.

 

$2,000 to replace a clutch on the Mini? That's insane. Most I've ever spent on a professional clutch job was $800 and I thought that was extortionate.

 

thanks for the input and the advice a little more about me and the car to avoid the morre obvious advice.

I'm an experienced autocrosser and been through Evo I and II...I don't ride the clutch, if anything I ride the brake too much as I'm a left foot braker on most autocross courses...in second gear. I've done one Pro Solo with a co-driver, so the car has seen exactly one co-driven ProSolo and 4 National events...along with the usual locals. The car won the Atwater National and The Atwater Pro in H Stock with my codriver at the wheel. I'm the Utah 2003 H stock champ and I'm leading the locals currently.

My typical ax launch is to quickly slip the clutch versus dropping it and then short shift into second.
This worn out clutch IMHO is atypical..so I'm looking for statistics. 10,500 miles and two seasons of ax and daily commuting to work by an experienced driver should not wear out the clutch to the point it damages the flywheel. Hell the BRAKE pads are still the OEM originals.

New clutch, flywheel and labor, all in presently at $1560.94.

SlowfootAugs

 

Thanks man, I'm working ALL the angles! My best to Lolita.

Miniusaugs