I just bought a 2007 with manual transmission. Clutch feels great at launch and has plenty of grip. I can accelerate in any gear and don't get any slip. Problem arises when cruising at speed (usually 60-65 mph). All of a sudden it feels like the clutch is disengaged and the engine revs up. It does it pretty consistently in 6th and now 5th gear. If I wait a few seconds (and keep the revs constant) the clutch suddenly re-engages and everything is back to normal. It's as if a gremlin is pushing in the clutch pedal and then letting it out. It happens only in the higher gears and thus far not in 1-3. I've never seen this type of behavior before. I've driven manuals for a very long time and I'm familiar with the feel of a clutch that slips. In this case there seems to be something else going on. Anyone have any ideas?

 

How many miles on the 07? Base car? S?

I don't have a good feeling about those symptoms. My old Tercel did that in 5th gear for a few days, then a week later I couldn't pull out of my work parking garage (up a hill to get to street). But it had over 100k miles on it.

 

If you are still under maintenance warranty I'd get it to the dealer asap. If it's slipping it'll burn the clutch and they'll say it was abused.

 

I find usually a clutch starts slipping in high gear, just like yours is now. It sounds like a clutch going bad to me.

 

It's a base model with 52K miles. Fortunately I have a 90 day powertrain warranty.

 

As far as slipping in high gear: I would expect it to show more symptoms in first or second based on my experience. I'm a bit confused that it would suddenly let go under a fairly reasonable load of cruising. I appreciate the comments.......

 

I find the opposite. In higher gears you aren't tempted to feather the gas at all like you are in 1st. Higher gears you just press the gas to go...and can feel it before you would in 1st when you'd have you can almost be used to some slipping/gripping.

 

The first time people usually feel the slip is up a hill in a high gear. Sometimes you can live with it, and get another month or so, but the end is near. Sooner or later you don't make it up the hill, or out of the driveway.

The old timer used car clutch test was at a stop, put it in fifth, rev, release. If it stalls, it can't be that bad. Once bad it will just spin in place even though it may still drive.

 

I tend to agree with your thinking.... I may try to do a little bit of testing this weeking. I can't see that it would be anything except the clutch needing replacement. I just hope the dealer does what is right!

 

When a clutch starts to slip it will do it under high load in high gear. It can still feel ok on take off. Could be a couple problems other than abuse as well. Rear Main seal or Input shaft seal leaking onto the clutch are also possibilities

 

OP check yr 90 day p/t warranty: sometimes clutches are excluded because they are a wear item.

Im not surprised here-- MINI/BMW clutches and flywheels are spotty at best. If yr dealer pushes back on yr extended, consider an aftermarket setup like Clutchmasters.

 

Pete: The key words in your post are "I just bought". This is a classic symptom of a worn out clutch. Take it back to the dealer and get them to honor their 90 day PT warranty. The clutch is certainly part of the power train and they can't blame you; you just got the car. You need a new clutch; let them pay for it.

 

Yes, clutches will begin slipping in higher gears first. In higher gears, a small change in engine RPM causes a larger change in vehicle speed compared to lower gears. At highway speeds, increasing the vehicle speed against the force of the air resistance requires quite a bit of power from the engine, and a worn clutch will become the "path of least resistance" and will start to slip rather than accelerating the car.

Another test you can do is idle the car up to about 2,000 RPM while you're stopped, set the parking brake, place the transmission in high gear and pop the clutch. Don't ride the clutch with your foot on the way up, just move your foot sideways off of the clutch and let it pop up freely under spring/hydraulic pressure. Obviously, make sure there's nothing in front of you. If the engine doesn't *immediately* stall, your clutch is worn out and needs replacing.

 

I really appreciate all the comments and thank everyone. Here's an update: today the clutch failed completely on I-95. The engine revs freely in every gear. At this point I'm not sure whether it's a worn disk or a seal leaking (as was suggested!) over everything. Regardless, I now have to get it towed 60 miles to the dealer so they can fix it under the warranty. I'm just thankful that it happened right away or I'd be spending the weekend under the car......

 

That stinks! But glad it happened now instead of a week from now.

I tell you one thing....I am not impressed with MINI manual transmissions. The first gens had their issues too - mostly gearbox stuff though I guess. So the second doesn't seem to have many gearbox issues, but they eat clutches.

Maybe yours was test-driven by idiots one too many times. Check in with us to report on how the new one feels.

 

Yep, a BMW 6 series just went out on a relative's car, and ever-so-slightly the thing would rev up while hitting the gas in sixth gear, totally not noticeable in any other gear at full throttle.

The only other thing I could think of is an oil leak, but it is probably a bad clutch.

 

So here's the final result: clutch is fine. I spent $200 to tow the car to the dealer after having a short conversation with the sales manager and a long conversation with the general manager. Both are true and honest gentlemen and agreed to replace the clutch. Lo and behold I received a telephone call from the technician: the drive axle on the right side slipped out! I guess it was slipping at high speed and eventually dropped out completely. Needless to say, no axle no go. It had the same symptoms as clutch failure. The entire assembly was replaced under warranty and now it's back to normal. Kind of bittersweet as I was looking forward to a new clutch! Hah! Many thanks again to everyone who responded. It's great to be able to bounce ideas to a group and get such a response.