I bought a 2010 JCW, that was a dealer car with 14,000 miles, in March. In April I brought it in for service (as the dealership couldn't tell me the last time it had been serviced), and complained about a sound/smell/stick with the clutch. The service team drove the car and couldn't find anything, telling me it was fine. Due to their diagnosis I drove the car for the next 6 months, noticing this clutch problem off and on. I brought it back in October for full service, again mentioning the problem. I was told again that nothing was found. In November, after putting only an additional 7,000 miles on the car, the clutch failed. I brought it in and was told that that was absolutely the problem. I refused to approve the $2000 tear down fee to diagnose the problem, as I am sure that this failure is not driver error. I have been driving a stick since I was 16 and have never failed a clutch before. I did a lot of research regarding this issue and found several others have had the same problem.

Mini came back saying it was driver error, without ever having looked at the clutch, but the dealership fought that ruling for me. They then came back saying they would cover the part, but I was responsible for $800+ of labor. I asked for the customer service number at Mini and called today. I was treated horribly. I was immediately told there was nothing they could do for me, without ever reviewing my case. When I asked to speak to the managers boss I was told that under no circumstances could that happen. I was cut off at every turn. I have never been treated so terribly by a CUSTOMER SERVICE representative in my life.

I called the dealership and told them of my encounter and let them know, again, that I will not pay for any work done on my car as it is clearly a warranty problem. I am waiting to hear back from them now.

Has anyone else had similar problems? If so, what happened? How did you handle the situation? Any and all guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

 

Hi, sorry to hear about your clutch problems. I went through an almost identical experience. I heard rattling from my clutch in April of this year when the car was still under warranty. I reported this to the dealership and was informed that it was normal. This noise continued until early November and I continued to complain about it since I could not hear this on other cars.

In November (at 75,000km), I noticed the clutch slipping in 4th under high engine load. The very same day I first noticed the slipping I returned to the dealership (car now out of warranty) and reported the problem. They informed me that due to a lack of available service appointments, I could either continue driving the car or pay €55 per day for 8 days until the next appointment became available. I drove the car.

Upon replacing the clutch and flywheel, I was informed there was heat damage to all components and the clutch was worn despite the low kilometers and the fact that the car is used overwhelmingly for highway travel. I was informed that the damage was due to "driver abuse" and that BMW would not cover either under warranty, or under "goodwill". I paid €2000 for the repair.

In addition, during the repair the dealership also damaged the turbocharger as it is now leaking black soot (I have the diesel engine Clubman) all over the engine compartment. Dealership has quoted me €1500 to repair/replace. They also informed me that they could not service the car for another 15 days. So I continue to drive with the turbo issue despite having reported the problem.

I am currently in the process of disputing this with BMW and have written to them just this week. I am extraordinarily disappointed with these developments, especially given the age and driving history of the car. I am taking this step by step despite the fact that it is hard to remain calm and patient. However, I am not optimistic that this will be resolved.

I asked the dealership to retain my clutch and flywheel and I have taken pictures of everything and extensively documented the entire affair. If I were you, I would try to remain calm and deal in facts in a polite manner. Keep a record of everything. Rather than telephone, I would use letters so you have everything in writing.

Good luck!

 

While I've not personally had such an experience (knock on wood) with my clutch, stories like yours seem to be on the rise (clutch failure coupled with atrocious customer service)...

Sounds like you've got one of the better dealers, although I agree with you that this is more likely a warranty issue than so-called "driver error" -- especially when there's a history of complaints and they haven't even bothered to directly examine the flywheel yet...

MINI corporate (and some dealers) are fond of throwing that 'cause' out because it's almost impossible for an owner to prove otherwise. But the fact that your dealer is absorbing the cost of the parts reflects somewhat favorably on them; a lot of folks on the forum have had their dealers cut them loose entirely by refusing to do anything at all... A few have gotten the clutch replaced under warranty -- parts and labor covered... It largely seems to be a craps shoot about how a case of clutch failure will be handled when the vehicle is still under warranty...

Unless others with first-hand experience chime in, you may need to search the forum (I'd start with the key words "clutch failure") to see how other cases were resolved.

Good luck!

 

So I just heard back from the dealership today and all of the costs are being covered! Good luck to anyone else out there dealing with this issue!

 

OP
My car is under warranty for another 5-6 years, and the warranty was the biggest reason I bought a 2011 MINI. Hearing stories like yours makes me feel uneasy, and insecure. I don't want to end up in a situation where my warranty isn't honored due to some flimsy loophole.

Do you have any tips on how someone can best handle their warranty if its met with resistance?

 

Good to hear! Who's your dealer?

 

So here's how I handled the situation. First, I bought my Mini at Bob Smith in LA, who were really great about it. It was only the manufacturer Customer Service Manager that was a problem. I continually insisted that this problem was not my fault. Given the circumstances there just seems to me to be no way that I could be responsible for this problem. I made it very clear to my service manager that under no circumstances was I paying for it. They helped fight for me. When I was told that there was no one else to speak to I got the name and email of someone higher up in the corporation and appealed my case to them. I provided links to others who have had the same problem, and dictated every turn of this process, as well as citing dates and names. I can't stress enough how wonderful the team at bob smith were, they helped through every step and were very understanding.

Good luck to all those with a similar problem. I am more than willing to help out if anyone needs any help in future with the same problem.

 

Well, like everything else, it's seems like a little persistence helps! Well done!