Took mine in and the clutch was replaced under warranty.

 

I have this same "Orrrrrrrtt" sound on my 04 S, so it's not just the 02's. I only have 13k miles on my S. It only happens when the car is cold for about the first 5-10 minutes, then slowly wears off. Confusing!

 

You're right. Apparently, this isn't a problem that is particular to '02's and as more cars accumulate higher mileage it will become much more common. Many dealers are becoming aware of this and that's why very shortly, none of them will replace clutches under warranty for the "orrrrrrtt". I think I lost out because my service manager has it on his '03.

 

Finally, good news. My service manager told me today that Mini is finally
willing to acknowlege the "orrrtt" clutch sound in 1st gear as a defect covered under warranty. It's not happening much now, but when it starts up again as the weather turns colder and they can reproduce the sound...... the entire clutch assembly will be replaced. Whew!

 

well the bad thing is....the clutch isnt gonna fix this problem.....i know first hand bc my 05 mcs has the same problem even after i blew the twin mass flywheel after owning the car for 3hrs.......i had a newer updated flywheel installed and another clutch and i still have the rubber sqweeking noise at first start off.....its annoying and the bmw rep said he never heard of this problem nor can my master tech hear it himself.

 

I'm yet another to the "oooorrrt!!" club... Was in for unrelated service this week on my '04 with 39,500 miles & described the metal chair/concrete sound. They weren't able to reproduce the problem, and even I can't make it do it on demand. They only offered me some BS reply about climate conditions & how this could just be normal behavior.

<ooooh! I had a rant about my (not so) local MINI stealership but I will spare you all!>

Not sure what to do now as my service contract is up in less than 500 miles. I'm concerned that in a few months this will be a $eriou$ problem that I'll be footin' the bill for!! ...or is this just one of those things that will be annoying, but not be an actual mechanical problem for years to come?? Seems to work fine, just the awful noise once in a while.

Crap should I just deal with it & accept the noise or should I go back & insist they address the sound they said they couldn't make it do...?

Like the others, seems to do it most when starting on a hill, but can do it sometimes on flat or even slight downhill. It will make the sound when cold or hot. Seems to be the right combo of engine speed/wheel speed/load that does it, and I can even feel the vibration on the pedal a little bit when it happens. Funny for such a new, sporting car to have such a groaning complaint about getting going!!

I heard a 15,000 pound City Utilities vehicle make almost the same exact noise today....

 

Read my entry....two above yours. If you have already complained about the problem they can't deny it under warranty even if the warranty subsequently expires. However, you ought to get in writing now that you have brought it to their attention. The "orrrtt" will definitely come back when the weather is consistently cooler and they shouldn't have a problem identifying it. If they still hassle you.......call Mini USA for help.

 

that reference number is VIN specific. They said "they couldn't look it up by reference number." What's bizarre is that the earlier post to this thread from Division recommends a call to MINI USA with the reference number, so what's going on??

I'm taking my '02 MCS in for what is probably it's final service under warranty and I'm worried they "won't be able to reproduce" and I'll be stuck with a $major repair$ down the road a bit. Whatever the noise is it's definitely not normal and affects driveability of the car. If that's not warranty-covered then who knows what is. A clutch/flywheel/t-o bearing shouldn't make ANY noise at 45K miles in my opinion. Am I the only one? Anyone reading this thread have MINI of Sterling as their home dealer? Just trying to cover all the bases before Thursday. Thanks for any input...

miniwiley

 

I'm taking my car to Otto's Mini in West Chester, PA this Thursday to see what they say! I have about 8,000 more miles under warranty, and I'd really rather not pay for a clutch.

Anyone have a reference number to the post that said Mini was acknowledging this was a repair that could be fixed under warranty?

 

Search under clutch squeal.There are pages of references to this problem.Ours had flywheel update,clutch and throw out done under warranty.Mini USA are aware of problem.Some dealers assume it is clutch because they get paid more by you than Mini for repair.They took our old clutch out and it looked fine(highway miles)https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=33932

 

I had the same issue and I noticed that when I rev the car a little bit more(near to 2000 revs) from the stop the noise tends to get away. I do this regulary and it worked form me. I know it´s a long shot but you don´t loose anything trying.

 

My 2002 MCS had the same problem. The dealer's SM agreed with my diagnosis of a clutch and/or throwout bearing and replaced the entire clutch assembly under warranty. This took 3 days, and they loaned me a new MCSa (I found that I don't like to be shiftless!). No problems since then

 

I dropped my car off at Otto's this morning so we will see what they say. I gave my SA the Mini North America Ref Number just in case. They may keep the car overnight to try and duplicate the squeal.

 

this is what my dealer says it is....( note, they replaced my clutch 3 weeks ago and the problem was still there ).





NOTE... the catch can was installed after the return appointment was made for the clutch

 

What a pain in the ***!

People, return your car to stock before you take it in for major service! It's up to your SM to blame the mods for any problem you have.

"What's that? Your car bounces down the road irregularly and the brakes lock up sporadically? Oh it's definitely the aftermarket CAI and your oil catch can...we can't help you...that is unless you pay us $4,000"

crackers....maybe you could take the catch can off and try another dealership?

 

I will remove the catch can to humor them..... then take it back when the noise gets worse. Its just real annoying being played as a fool... Sadly, the next dealer is over 350 miles away.

Clutch replaced 1/11/06
noise still there 1/12/06
made return appt 1/19/06
catch can instlled by randy webb 1/23/06
return diag of problem catch can 2/1/06

Do the math

Oh yea,,, side note... they started to also blame it partly on the cold air intake( till I told them that it was put on by them 1.5yrs ago) then they back stepped and said NAaaa probably not that.

 

Crazy...

I heard some word from my dealership on my car. My wobble in my steering wheel was not caused by an unbalanced wheel, but by a nail in the front right tire. Run-flats are not cheap at all. so $300 later, I've got a new tire.

Back on topic. They are still keeping the car overnight to make sure they can reproduce the squeal.

Looks like i'm in a MCa all night long....

 

Usually only on cold start.Parts replaced no sqeal now.You will have to leave overnight so problem is observed.

 

Just heard from Otto's Mini (my dealer). They were able to reproduce the squeal this morning and they are replacing the entire clutch today. Might have the car done today if not it's done tomorrow!

BIG THUMBS UP for Otto's Mini. They have been absolutely fantastic.

Do you think it would help if I scanned my service paperwork and posted them on here for others to show to their SAs when getting this repair? Just in case they claim it's not covered under warranty?

 

I'm glad to hear they fixed you up at Otto's. I'm out of Mini of the Main Line. This sound often bothered me. It showed up on my '02 MCS last Winter and was starting up again this year as the temperatures got cooler. Like you, after I had lived with it for a while I was told that if they could reproduce the sound, the clutch would be replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, the noise isn't necessarily there every day and even then doesn't always sound off when you want it to. I chose a more radical path. I solved the problem by demolishing my car and buying a new one. I now realize that I ought to be more conservative in the future about how I try to fix things like this.

 

You might say you terminated the problem

 

Not sure if this string is still running but I am having the same squeal problem.

We have a 2003 MCS not mods.

Dealer says it's clutch wear and they have documented that the clutch has worn beyond spec. This makes sense that the sound would come from a thin clutch plate but it shouldn't wear out so fast. We have 30,000 on the car. Clutch wear??? I have driven sticks for over twenty years without problems.

The dealer says it is a sports clutch and more difficult to engage and so this may be the issue. I must admit, the clutch is touchy on these cars and it is difficult to take off smoothly wihtout a little slipping of the clutch, but still.

Any houghts on this getting covered under warranty. We extended the warranty for another year for this reason but it seems they do not want to cover it.

Thanks

 

There is no way in hell I'd accept that as an answer to the problem. I know because I went through the hassle to change out my clutch components and after checking the clutch with a brand new stock OEM clutch, it had about 75% of its life left. Unless you had premature clutch wear, which I highly doubt, I'd say your dealer is just trying to pull a fast one on you. Unfortunately for me, I was not able to get the problem fixed due to the mods I had installed; namely the smaller s/c pulley and lightened crank pulley. What irks me the most is that I complained to the dealer prior to having these pulleys installed and they gave me no indication that it would void my warranty when I wanted to get the squeal from my transmission checked. Just saddens me that I went through all the hassle to swap out the clutch components and yet I still have the aggravating "oooorrrrtttt" sound. I'm just gonna suck it up and either pay the dealer to diagnose/fix the problem or just wait till I get so annoyed with it that I trade in the MINI for something else. Fortunately it isn't a problem that needs to be addressed asap, so you can float around with those components for a while without it being a big issue (unless you are like me and any sound that isn't considered normal just drives you insane).

GotMINI

 

Here's where we are. Since the clutch is worn beyond spec Mini want's to split the cost of the replacement. Total cost to us about $1,000. They are replacing the clutch, throw-out bearing and flywheel. I'm not happy but somewhat ok with their offer. I hope this fixes the problem.

Does anyone know if Mini has redesigned the clutch, flywheel and/or throw-out, or are they using the same part that was originally issued?

 

Local dealer replaced clutch on my 2002 MCS last spring under warranty last spring, at no charge. With only 30K miles (IMHO ) on a 2003 you should demand the same treatment.

The replacement clutch/throwout bearing solved my "squeaky when cold" problem just fine