Ask the Car People.SM


MINI Cooper Clutch & Transmission Questions

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

You are in the MINI Cooper Forum.

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

    
Go to NHTSA to file a safety complaint.
Or call Monday-Friday (8 am to 8 pm ET) (888) 327-4236 TTY: (800)424-9153

Messages Page 34 of 55

#322 of 542 2003 Mini cooper base 5spd transmission by mininevergo

Aug 27, 2010 (5:29 pm)

Don't buy this car. I bought one at 48,000 miles and needed transmission repair at 56,000. If I had kept driving it would have been the "catastrophic failure" u read about. Clutch started slipping and then dropping very dark oil like drops on the ground. Input shaft bearings in transmission falling apart and draining oil/grease down the flywheel. All bearings are sealed except the nasty input shaft bearings. When lose enough bearings, the input shaft drops and guts the inside of the transmission so bad you can't even reuse the case. I did find a friend to repair mine no labor- $1400- new clutch, flywheel, input shaft bearings, back seal etc etc. Despite Mini telling people you can't get parts for trans due to illegal from Germany blablabla- the transmission was actually made outside Chatanooga, Tn. You can get parts from them. Don't wast your time though- repair bought me another 20 thousand miles is all and bearings out again. Friend says would never do it again for under $3500- still great price. Now funny sound under load or compression braking kind of like severe exhaust leak but only in 2,3,4,5 gears. 3rd really bad. Can rev with clutch in or neutral and sounds great. And 1st is great. Rest of gears will get me followed by wrecker drivers. Bleeding dark oil again with fresh honey colored oil in the engine. I am going to sell the engine and other parts and continue my payments for the next 4 years. I will take what is left and make playground equipment out of it. As far as the new cars having clutches go out in 5,000 miles just like in 2002 and all other years- sounds to me like BMW should be brought on fraud charges or something.

#323 of 542 Re: CLUTCH SQUEAL-GRINDING NOISE ON FIRST [nona47] by robbrennate

Sep 08, 2010 (10:49 pm)

Replying to: nona47 (Apr 03, 2007 8:15 pm)
I have an '02 Cooper Sport...it is an aftemarket "S" that is a 5 speed manual tranmission. I had a grinding sound that kept getting louder. I was told by my friend, and mechanic, that the transmission was grinding and that it was producing metal shavings in the tranny. He gave me about 6 months, but I got 2 years out of it. Today, 9/08/10, my tranny died in first gear. It was "hell" getting it on the tow truck!!! Now I have to get a new tranny! It was brought to my attention that BMW knew of thus problem and did nothing about it! If you have an '02-'06 you will ultimately experience this problem. Please let me know if you have had this problem, as well as where to look for a new tranny replacement...even if it is used!

#324 of 542 New transmission at 36,000 for 2006 S? by march30

Sep 14, 2010 (11:08 am)

I have a 2006 MINI S standard shift. I cannot shift into 2, 4, or 6th gears. This situation also happened to me in 2008. In 2008 a few shifter cables were replaced and some lube was added and shifting was back to normal. Between then and now I had some shifting difficultly but the next time I would use the car it would be fine. Could be a cold weather thing I was told. Warranty was up this February 2010. Right before the warranty expired I had the MINI Inspection I. Everything great. Couple weeks ago the shifting became slightly diffcult again and now I can't use 2, 4 or 6th gears. I cannot get the shifter into those slots. Brought car into MINI service center and they said I need a new transmission. What! I am in shock. The car has only 36,000 miles, is treated very well, and mostly has highway miles. Anyone have a similar problem? Any advice? They said a new transmission will cost about $5000.

#325 of 542 Nothing surprises me about the MINI..... by CeeeeCeeee

Sep 14, 2010 (4:49 pm)

However, I thought only the automatics needed replacement transmissions and that the standard shift models had clutch challenges. Your experience seems unusual! I look forward to hearing from others.

#326 of 542 mini clutch by boxingday

Sep 14, 2010 (10:01 pm)

Actually in my experience you have done very well...got to 36000 miles on one clutch.
I got to 19000 and needed the 3rd clutch replacement.
Sort and sweet ....these clutches are trash and Mini should own up and do the right thing! However that would mean $$$$ and ...well you know the rest of the story...Good Luck ;(

#327 of 542 Re: Clutch dead after 31k miles [afox30] by sable24

Oct 01, 2010 (2:09 pm)

Replying to: afox30 (Sep 19, 2006 11:09 am)
I have a 2007 Mini Cooper S. The clutch and flywheel went out at approx. 16,000 miles. The service rep basically blamed it on my driving and said it would not be covered! I continued to pursue it -- talked to the service manager after I informed them that I had posted my experience on several internet sites -- they finally agreed to cover the $3,000 expense as a "good will" gesture. Now at 37,000 miles, I again noticed some slipping at times, took it in to Mini to check, and they say that I will need another clutch and flywheel replacement in the near future, and of course, you guessed it, again it is because of my driving habits! (And let me just add that after the first failure I was very careful with this car so that they couldn't blame me for this again.) I have driven manual transmission cars for years and have NEVER had any unusual problems until these experiences with the Mini. It is obvious to me that MINI is never going to own up to the fact that there is a problem with the car, and they will continue to blame the owners/drivers. 2 clutch/flywheel replacements at 37,000 miles? It's outrageous!

#328 of 542 Re: 2003 Mini cooper base 5spd transmission [mininevergo] by forkliftguy1

Oct 07, 2010 (9:16 am)

Replying to: mininevergo (Aug 27, 2010 5:29 pm)
I need to find the bearings and 5th gear assembly. Can you give the contact information for the transmission company in Chatanooga?

#329 of 542 Clutch GONE at 1000 miles! by laguna_babe

Oct 09, 2010 (7:37 am)

Now the dealer is trying to say that it is due to my "bad driving". I have been driving clutch my whole life, and actually learned how to drive on a manual car.
Anyhow, driving my kids to school, car started smoking and that was it!
 
I had to have it towed, FOR THE SECOND TIME mind you! The first time I had it towed (at 200 miles) same burning smell. Police stopped me to tell me that something was terribly wrong with my car and I needed to pull over. The dealer claimed that they had accidentally left a piece of plastic wrap on one of the parts? BS...why didn't the plastic start burning the minute we drove it off the lot instead of 200 miles later?
Anyhow, tow truck driver said he has had to pick up a few minis lately.
 
We plan to fight with the dealer on this one. They want us to pay $3500 for a new clutch...at 1K miles! We don't even have our new tags yet! Our mini dealership has no idea what's about to hit them if they don't fess up and deliver a new clutch to us at no charge.
 
I cannot believe there is no class action lawsuit yet.
 
We live in Orange County CA. If anyone is interested in joining the fight, or starting a class action - let me know!

#330 of 542 Re: Fearing the worst re: transmission [winniep] by gfochtman

Oct 09, 2010 (10:19 am)

Replying to: winniep (Sep 11, 2008 5:07 pm)
Hi Winnie,
I am in Pennsylvania and I have had the same issues with my 2002 Mini. Currently I am in the process of a court hearing with my extended warranty company who has said that it was my negligence that has caused the transmission to fail. I would love to join your group!
 
Gina

#331 of 542 Re: Clutch GONE at 1000 miles! [laguna_babe] by mshawkman

Oct 09, 2010 (2:00 pm)

Replying to: laguna_babe (Oct 09, 2010 7:37 am)
Hi There!
 
I feel your pain; my clutch went out on my new JCW Clubman at 5,000 miles. I live in Los Angeles and belong to the Southern Cal. MINI Maniacs. We have members throughout the entire SoCal area. When I posted my problem with my clutch on our forum website, A lot of the members came to my defense and helped with getting the dealer to replace the clutch at no charge; the power in numbers was such a help. Please consider joining our club as all members are interested in the welfare of fellow MINIacs.
 
Best of luck in your fight with the dealer and MINIUSA!!

Messages Page 34 of 55

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement