running super until I stopped on a slight hill today and was parking. My foot slipped off the clutch, and she stalled. I thought nothing of this as I was just "parking". I came out to leave in my car and pushed in clutch, and had her in first and pushed start button as usual......nada!.... No crank of engine...lights were a system red service , and engine light on. power is on to radio and all electronics. Had CAA come over ..they tested battery all good...they say it is either a clutch sensor malfunction or a starter........??????Can anyone ou ther please help????

 

The green arrow is where the clutch switch is, sometimes it doesn't have a zip tie holding it in place and can pop off. If it didn't pop out of place, you can take a magnet and place it on the switch then try and start the car to see if the switch is bad or not. Just make sure its not in gear.

 

I have a 2005 R50 and I do not have an external switch like the one pictured. The one on my car appears to be "built-in" and much slimmer in size...almost flat? Everything turns on in the car and in the engine bay (power steering, etc.), but when the key turns to start there is nothing? I tried the magnet test, but no luck.

 

Hey brother did u ever got this fixed? It was the sensor??

 

Thank you for the images! You're the man I have a 2007 Mini Cooper that just gor clutched replaced, however my mini wont start until I press on the clutch ridiculously hard to the point where I'm smashing it. Do you think it may be the switch or the Clutch Cylinder? I'm new to the R56 Mini Thank you

 

Did you ever correct the problem of having to push very hard to start car? I am fighting the same problem and found replacing the clutch switch did not repair it. Do I need to replace master clutch master cylinder?

 

I replaced the clutch switch and it still takes almost pushing clutch pedal through the firewall to start the car. Do I need to replace the clutch master or am I looking at a wiring problem. If i push as hard as possible to the floor the car starts.The magnet trick works to start the car, so it should be the switch. Should I try another switch or has anyone seen other issues? Please help, I can start car but wife can't push pedal hard enough.