2009 MiniCooper JCW, silver and black. Love the car, but...
The first clutch linkage had a problem at just over 9000 miles. It was making a noise when I engaged the clutch, and accelerated. I took it in. The service dept. at my Mini Dealer (where I bought the car) said the clutch had been "abused" and that the clutch had to be replaced. The service technician sent me a picture of the clutch linkage, saying "the linkage had been "glazed" because the fluids inside the casing got so hot."
I drive the car to and from work. I don't race it. I've driven standard on Mazdas, Pontiacs and Audis. The least distance a clutch lasted with driving in my 20s (read: probably drove much harder then) was 30,000 miles.
Today, the same issue started to happen to the replacement clutch. I have 20k miles on the car. Now, the service dealer will not do anything unless I guarantee to spend $2000 to check out the car. They say if they determine that the clutch wore out because of my "abusive driving" then I will owe them $3400 to replace it.
I called BMW of North America. They connected me with a Mini representative who WOULD DO NOTHING without my commitment to spend the $2000 for a "diagnostic."
Amazing. These guys are putting clutches out there that fail in under 20K miles every time (IE. see: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0f65bf/287).
The clutch failed on my MINI JCW after just 7,032 of LIGHT city/freeway driving. As with the other complaint on this website, the dealer said it was wear & tear and wanted me to pay $3,200+ to replace it. I suggested that MINI was supplying its highly-tuned JCW models with a clutch not able to handle the power, as there's no way a clutch should burn out at 7,032 miles, even if the car has been driven hard (which it hasn't). I should add that I've been driving stick shifts since I passed my test at the age of 17. After a lot of back-and-forth, it now looks as though the dealer will share part of the cost, although I'll still be out of pocket by at least $1,000: insane for a leased vehicle barely more than a year old. Of course, if MINI won't honor the warranty on clutch problems, I don't blame for the dealer for wanting me to pay, and they have been very polite and helpful with this issue. But it will sadly make me seriously reconsider buying another one of these little hot-rods.
Dealer called clutch failure excessive wear and accused me of "racing" my car. I drive 5 minutes to work in city traffic. No racing, no quick take-offs, etc. The dealer said they would replace it as a "good faith gesture" but not under warranty. Clutch failure at 3700 miles is a joke.
- rsmythe,
Yuma, AZ, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Clutch failed at 23K miles. I have babied this car since I bought it. Mini claims it is a wear and tear item and NOT covered under warranty.
- pheinrich, Sacramento, CA, US