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MINI Cooper Clutch & Transmission Questions

542 messages,  Last post on Mar 03, 2013 at 5:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? MINI Cooper, Transmission, Convertible, Hatchback

    
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Messages Page 30 of 55

#290 of 542 Re: THREE CLUTCHES IN 30,000mi?! [cbriansmith902] by minijcwfan

Jun 18, 2010 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: cbriansmith902 (May 18, 2010 5:43 pm)
Hi C. Brian Smith:
We have a 2006 Mini cooper S JCW and have just replaced second clutch. Car has a total of 20,000 miles on it. My wife drives it so gently the brake pads are virtually new!!!
We purchased an extended maintenance agreement before the expiration of the initial maintenance agreement. Dealer covered the first clutch job before expiration of the initial agreement. Now Dealer says that the second clutch job is not covered under the extended maintenance agreement, because it had not "worn" enough, even though it failed. The symptoms of both failures were exactly the same.
Apparently Dealer and Mini are going to reimburse me for a nominal portion of the $1800 it took to repair it. That's not good enough.
 
minijcwfan

#291 of 542 Re: THREE CLUTCHES IN 30,000mi?! [minijcwfan] by boxingday

Jun 21, 2010 (10:17 am)

Replying to: minijcwfan (Jun 18, 2010 2:47 pm)
As much as I enjoyed driving the mini, I am so glad I sold it when I did. I lost money on the resale but my clutch problems are gone! I must get at least one email a week on this same issue, Mini has a very weak clutch and just won't own up the simple fact that this should be a recall. I have a friend that works as a mechanic for BMW and Mini and he has given me the inside word....."get rid of that car or be prepared to spend money on a regular basis for the replacement of the clutch"
Good Luck!

#292 of 542 Re: Mini clutch issues [31rhodium] by boxingday

Jun 21, 2010 (10:33 am)

Replying to: 31rhodium (Jun 17, 2010 7:58 am)
This was my last reply to someone else with your similar problem......
 
As much as I enjoyed driving the mini, I am so glad I sold it when I did. I lost money on the resale but my clutch problems are gone! I must get at least one email a week on this same issue, Mini has a very weak clutch and just won't own up the simple fact that this should be a recall. I have a friend that works as a mechanic for BMW and Mini and he has given me the inside word....."get rid of that car or be prepared to spend money on a regular basis for the replacement of the clutch"
Good Luck!

#293 of 542 Re: THREE CLUTCHES IN 30,000mi?! [cbriansmith902] by mshawkman

Jun 24, 2010 (6:24 pm)

Replying to: cbriansmith902 (May 18, 2010 5:43 pm)
Hi Brian:
 
I have a 2009 JCWClubman that I bought new last year. It only has 5,000 miles on it and the clutch failed this past weekend . Like you and others,I was told this happened because of the way the car was driven . I have been driving for over 40 years and ALL my cars had manual transmissions. I flipped out when I was told this. The dealer wanted to charge me $3,900.00 to replace the clutch and I flipped out double . I told him that this was a FLAWED clutch and was prepared to contact everyone I could, including the consumer advocate at my local television station. They are now replacing the clutch and only going to charge me labor (which is bad enough!) After reading all the posts on this site, I am very skeptical about keeping this car. I belong to a MINI car club, and so far I have yet to hear of anyone else with this problem.
 
It's a shame that BMW/MINI has not seen fit to recall these clutches, and have made it so difficult for us.
 
Hope everything turns out okay for everyone,
 
mshawkman

#294 of 542 New Clutch in 12,000 by krampus

Jun 25, 2010 (2:46 pm)

I have a 2008 Mini Clubman S. My wife and I don't drive much, so it only has 12,000 miles. The clutch just went. Mini San Francisco said it is because of "clear abuse from high revving." We're middle aged and drive carefully. We've driven manual transmission cars for over 30 years and never had a problem like this.
 
I complained to Mini USA. They said they'd get the bill reduced by 10%. Not great given this will be at least a $3,000 repair.
 
I wish I looked into this before I bought the car. I'm not looking forward to another $3,000 repair in another 12,000 miles. I may take boxingday's advice and dump the car.

#295 of 542 New Clutch in 12,000 by mshawkman

Jun 28, 2010 (1:43 pm)

I hope you did not agree to the 10% reduction in your bill...IT IS NOT ENOUGH!! I really fought with my dealer and exposed everything I had read abouth the failed clutches.They are aware of the problem, only they are just trying to get away with not having to take care of it; if you don't let them know that you are aware of all the bad exposure, they will get away with it. I did not have to pay for my new clutch...you should not have to either.
Good luck!!

#296 of 542 Re: New Clutch in 12,000 [mshawkman] by georgiat

Jun 28, 2010 (2:18 pm)

Replying to: mshawkman (Jun 28, 2010 1:43 pm)
Looks like Mini is trying to pull a fast one on everyone... We bought a brand new 2009 Cooper S and by the 12,000 mile mark, it was making a screeching noise whenever the car started off in 1st gear. We took the car to three different Mini dealers in LA and Orange County, and were met with the same story from all. They had to open up the car to see if it was a MINI faulty part, or if it was "Abusive Driving" on our part. And that we would have to pay for the examination.
 
My boyfriend and I have driven manual cars all our lives and have never ever seen this problem in any of our other cars. The service guys basically admitted that this problem occurs in MINI cars but that they were not liable for the repairs. I mean, what's to stop them from claiming "Abusive Driving" every single time so they never have to pay for their problem?
 
My advice, go into a MINI dealership on a busy weekend when there are a lot of people around, and kick up a huge stink, stating very loudly all the issues you have, and how poorly MINI has treated you and your clearly faulty car. Then see how fast they turn around and decide to pay for their faulty workmanship.
 
We ended up getting rid of our lemon of a MINI. It was a cute car, but was far more trouble than it was worth.

#297 of 542 Re: New Clutch in 12,000 [georgiat] by docrox

Jun 30, 2010 (9:39 am)

Replying to: georgiat (Jun 28, 2010 2:18 pm)
I have just been told the same thing and am in the midst of the battle.
I have a 2010 S with 3,600 miles. I have driven stick off and on all my life. It started making a metal on metal noise shifting into first. Two days later, it did it sometimes into 2nd. I called my dealer who said to have it brought in ( dealer is out of state). There is a dealer in Madison Wisconsin who is new to Mini (4 days) and the tow would only pay to them since they were closer, so I couldn't use the dealer that I purchased it from. After he checked it out he said the clutch would need to be replaced and it would be under warranty. Then he called and said the Mini Rep. had examined it and said it was due to improper driving and I had burned the clutch and flywheel down to nothing. I know I have driven the car properly. After battling a bit, they have said they will pay for parts but I have to pay labor at $1750. Doesn't sound right.

#298 of 542 Re: New Clutch in 12,000 [docrox] by mshawkman

Jul 02, 2010 (9:08 am)

Replying to: docrox (Jun 30, 2010 9:39 am)
The clutch burned out at 3,600 miles? I thought mine was bad at 5,000! There definately is a problem with the clutches. I had to pay for my labor as well; $1100. Your labor is high in Madison; I live in Los Angeles and maybe we just have more problem here. I wish you well...hopefully we won't be having any more problems after this.

#299 of 542 Re: New Clutch in 12,000 [mshawkman] by docrox

Jul 07, 2010 (9:58 am)

Replying to: mshawkman (Jul 02, 2010 9:08 am)
I continued to fight and won. I asked to speak to the Mini rep who was making the decisions. The service dept. called me back after a few hours and said they had talked to him and he now authorized a one time "courtesy" repair and would pay everything. The tech who fixed the clutch and flywheel called me saying when he test drove it the car mat was catching on the clutch and that may have been the problem. He said it would ride the clutch. That is encrouraging but I will still get out of the car. I now have the car back and the clutch never felt like this. I bought the car new with no miles on it and the clutch always felt tight. Now it is loose and smooth. Not sure what this all means, but am putting it out there in case someone else has the problem.

Messages Page 30 of 55

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