I agree the clutch is a wear and tear item along with brakes, but it clearly states that brakes are covered, even on MINI's website. Regarding the clutch, it's more of a gray area, but the original poster's case is a car that is less than a year old and only has 14k miles on it. You have to be a really sh*tty driver to have it fail that early or abuse the crap out of it, and based on the OP's post, this does not seem to be the case.

Also, it seems the dealer is giving the OP the run around in terms of the issue. They "think" it's the clutch but are not 100% certain. I guess we will find out on Monday, after they do a thorough check. For them to immediately say the clutch is not going to be covered under warranty was not only a poor diagnosis but bad from a business/customer service stand point.

 

More like...my tax dollars at waste. I'll stop there with that one though, without turning this thread into a massive political debate with you. I'm sure you'd be a fun one.


Back to the matter at hand though, you didn't listen to anything I said did you?

IT'S NOT THE DEALERS CHOICE WHETHER A PART GETS WARRANTIED.

Granted, some dealers seem to let things slide more than others, but ultimately it is BMW/MINI corporate who mandates that stuff...and they are notoriously stringent on warranty claims.

They completed the service that they were asked to complete, replace a failed clutch. It's either the customer or MINI that will be paying them for the labor and parts. When you drop the car off, you sign something saying that you want the car to be fixed and you assume any charges not covered under warranty. If they ask him to pay, its because MINI USA won't cover the warranty claim. If he wants to make a scene about it like you're suggesting, it should be at MINI USA....not the dealership.

If you buy a Toshiba laptop from BestBuy...let's assume it has some sort of 2 year manufacturer's warranty. Well, if there's a problem with the computer, who do you call and complain to so that it can be fixed under warranty? Toshiba. Not BestBuy...who happened to be the Toshiba dealer in this case. If Toshiba fails to cover the claim, who would you get mad at? Toshiba.

 

Am I missing something here? The OP has not had anything replaced yet. The dealer won't know for certain if it's the clutch until Monday at the earliest.

 

I know...I'm was just trying to prove a point to Island maser...

 

mine failed in the first 10k miles, they said it was due to abuse and refused warranty. Mini USA sent me a survey after they checked my car, the next day they call me about fixing it on warranty.

 

Not true. My '99 Nissan Maxima started having clutch problems at 3K miles, and finally died at 12K miles. I drove it normally. Nissan replaced the clutch under warranty. A defective part is a defective part, regardless if it's a "wear item." To wear out a clutch at 14K miles, you'd have to brutalize it. I'd use your AAA card (you have one, right?) to take the car to an independent mechanic to see if they agree with your dealer. If they don't, you have more leverage to use when you go up the Mini Corporate ladder.

 

Wow I was gone for a day and this thread blew up. It's good to see some positive responses.

At this point, we just have to wait and see what the dealer says tomorrow. My fiance is so angry about the way she was treated that she wants to sell the car regardless of the outcome. I think she'll regret that in the long run because I know she'll miss it.

Good suggestions about what to do if they stonewall me. We certainly don't intend to pay for this. We have a spare car so we'll sit the thing in our driveway for a month while we fight them if necessary.

 

koitus,

"I don't know of any car manufacturer which covers brake pads or clutch discs under warranty...unless they are defective."

What part of this did you not understand? I said, "...unless they are defective".

 

They should not have just said it would not be covered under warranty. The dealer has no way to determine if the clutch was defective or if it was abused without tearing it down. They should have told you they would need you to agree to pay if the part was not defective (and covered).

 

Do U have the luxury of a 2nd dealer close by? If so, get BMW to tow it on their dime to get another opinion.

 

After all, they are plastic....

Any mechanic who's worked with LuK components knows its hit or miss, with misses more common. Right about the time I was having so many defective clutch component issues with my 05 S (all covered under warranty), my Toyota mechanic bought his wife a low mileage used 8-series Bimmer from the 1990s, and the first thing he did was dump the LuK clutch and f/w components and installed a Clutchmasters setup. "Much more durable and MUCH more dependable," I remember him saying.

 

Heck, you can sit the thing in THEIR driveway for a month.

 

These threads scare me a bit. Though if my clutch does fail can always back up my end of the story against abuse by saying my first mini "survived" 2 years and 40k miles.

 

We just spoke with the dealership about the car. Ironically, the same service rep we dealt with on Friday was a completely different person today. He said that they believe it is the clutch (again, no idea what on the clutch failed??) but that they are working with Mini to get it paid for since my fiance is a "valued customer." This rep's attitude did a complete 180 from Friday, when he in not so many words told my fiance to f-off. This leads me to believe one of three things is going on:

1. He was just having a really bad day - it happens to all of us sometimes.
2. They took apart the car and realized the broken part couldn't have been caused by abuse/poor driving/normal wear and just don't want to seem like they are backtracking.
3. They have someone monitoring these forums who put two and two together.

He said we won't know the warranty decision until Wednesday, so now we're back to another couple days of waiting. I really think it's strange that they don't know what broke on the car. I don't believe they can go to Mini and say; "We think the clutch broke but we're not sure, pay us to fix it."

 

I might have missed this. Please forgive me if I have.
Did they give you an estimate on how much it was? If so, how much was it if you don't mind my asking?

Reason I ask is I wanna be prepared in case something like that happens to my car. My baby's my first daily driver stick shift and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the clutch died prematurely. I'm hoping it'll last, but you never know. I baby the car, but nonetheless, I'm still worried that the 'learning-to-drive-stick' in it might have caused some damage to it.


Also, best of luck to you on getting this situation fixed! Never want to see anything like this happen to anyone.. :(

 

They haven't given me an estimate, but from what I've seen through searching the forum it's $1800 + (someone correct me if I'm wrong.) I know this is a pretty labor intensive repair.

 

More like $2800-$3000, depending on market labor rates because the dual mass flywheel ($800 or so) cannot be trued, so a new one of those gets thrown in with any clutch replacement, which is the smart thing to do anyway.

 

Won't it be significantly cheaper if you do an Aftermarket clutch at a reputable transmission/mechanic?

-Will

 

The dealership left a message with my fiance this morning. They are repairing the clutch under the maintenance plan as a "one time goodwill repair." They say we'll have to pay for the rental because maintenance plan repairs don't include a loaner/rental car.

I tried calling them back to find out what part broke, but the receptionist puts me through to voicemail every time I call. I'm hoping they will spell it out on the repair order when we get the car back.

I'm not too excited about paying for the rental, but all things considered I could have had to fight a lot harder.

Now that I have a resolution, and for all who were interested, the dealer is Mini of Fairfield County in Stamford, CT. They are owned by BMW of Darien. If anyone ends up working with them in the future, I would suggest bookmarking this thread just in case they give you a hard time about any clutch issues.

 

I have gotten loaners for my Maintenance Appointments. That could vary dealer to dealer.

 

maybe. Many here do, esp. if the cars are being raced, atuo-x'd, or tracked, or if the car is off warranty.

 

+1 I have received loaners for the maintenance appointments also.

In the end I'm glad it worked out for the two of you, but correct me if I'm wrong, but your fiance is probably not too happy with these clowns? Just because you bought your car from them does not mean you have to stick to them for your maintenance. I would try a different dealer, but that's my opinion.

 

She's certainly not thrilled. We have New Country Mini in Hartford, which is 5 mins from my office so it might be worth giving them a shot for service next time.

 

I hate seeing these type of threads. I'm glad they are repairing it, however I don't think you should have to fight that hard for it. Also if its a defective part, why should it be a "one time goodwill"? What if the part goes bad again?

 

Once it's fixed you could ask the guy why he said no warranty at the onset. He might not tell the truth if his dealership's been told by Mini to stonewall clutch failures as abuse, but it might be worth asking. IMO these clutch issues are similar to the fuel pump/"bad gas" threads. Then at the other extreme you've to Orange Crush who drove the wheels off his car on a track, burned the valve cover and a wiring harness, and they said no problem dude, we'll fix it for ya. Good thing they came to their senses. If some nice gal starts pressing the issue about her boogered up clutch on a year old car I don't think it's worth a few hundred bucks to any car operation in the big picture.