Hello everyone,

The reason for creating this thread was to understand how and what causes flywheel hot spots, I have only had the Mini for a year driving only 8000 miles thus far. I have no idea how the first owner drove the Mini. My MCS is at the dealer today because of an accident that happened 3 weeks ago, something hard hit my transmission case. My AAA insurance is covering the labor ($1900) and throwout bearing($?), however no insurance company or even an extended warranty will cover brakes, clutches as they are normal wear and tear items.

The dealer recommended that I replace the clutch disk and pressure plate since the transmission if already off the Mini, on the other hand my flywheel is in bad shape with hot spots on its surface. So I gave the ok to go ahead and replace the flywheel, clutch disk and pressure plate. SA told me that the clutch fork are fine. Dealer told me that I had at least 50,000 miles left before the clutch needed replacement, that's why I went ahead and did it now. 100,000 miles isn't bad for a clutch though.

Dealer initially wanted $1800 for the flywheel, clutch disk and pressure plate. I told them that genuine Mini parts are available on-line for a fraction of the quoted price. They called me back and gave me a much lower price, $1287, good enough!

Any feedback greatly appreciated!