Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-49
We just had a clutch kit installed on the woman's 03 cooper (approximately 80k miles). The clutch would not disengage when the pedal was pushed in.
So I automatically envision a failed pressure plate, throw out bearing, or shaft sleeve. When they told us it needed a clutch kit I wasn't surprised as that would contain the pressure plate and bearing. But when they said it was probably the clutch disc that failed I knew they weren't on the money. A majority of the time if the actual disc wears and/or fails you get slippage. For the disc to not disenage and it be at fault, it would pretty much have to be fused to the flywheel. So I'm thinking if this is the case, then the clutch disc has to be the biggest crap part ever.
*While they were in there I also had the rear main seal replaced (an extra hour of labor, flywheel bolts, and seal, well worth it). This would keep me from having to pay the $1400 again for the labor to pull the transmission/engine apart to replace a $20 seal. Which of course would happen probably a year to 6 months after this work was done. Thank you Mr Murphy.
Spoke with the mechanic and looked over the parts.
A very honest fellow with great customer service skills. I'm not sure how often he does this, but I'm guessing a majority of their service customers aren't quite as informed of their cars inner working, nor should they necessarily have to be right. But we pulled all the pieces out on to his bench and inspected each one.
The clutch had more than 1/2 it's life left and the pressure plate had no visible wear, loose parts, or other noticeable issues.
The throwout bearing however is now in two separate pieces, instead of one unit. It was merely the outer bearing shell and what looked like a mangled piece of metallic-chewtoy material.
The sleeve also had wear, but more than likely from when the bearing failed.
So $1850 to replace the clutch kit and rear main seal because a $28 part failed.
*The design and strength of the throwout bearing is a joke. For a moving part that gets no lubrication and has to operate in a horrible environment (clutch dust, high temperatures, etc), it is horribly inadequate and should have been a tad more heavy on the duty side. The sleeve should also be at least a billet or cast piece, not the crap sheet-metal it's made out of. Because this too can fail over time and cause horrible issues with the throwout bearing.
I've got a 2002 Cooper, and am now on my third clutch and third transmission. Here's the story of my cantankerous clutches:
I bought the car in March 2003, new, and had no problems with it at all. As far as my driving habits and style -- I live in Los Angeles. Need I say more?
In Dec. 2005, at 49,500 miles, my clutch went out while driving during rush hour on the freeway, and took the transmission with it for company. It was still under warranty, and BMW/Mini replaced both the clutch and the transmission without any hassles at all, in only a couple of days.
In Dec. 2006, the second clutch and transmission failed (on a different freeway, just to change it up), with just under 11,000 miles on them. The dealer balked, saying it must've been the way I was driving the car, implying that as a woman, I must be an inept driver. I argued that if it really was the way I drove, how did I manage to get nearly 50,000 miles out of my first clutch? If that were the case, you'd think I'd have ruined the first clutch at 11,000 miles as well.
Refusing to believe I'd suddenly become a lousy driver in the last 11 months, I looked into a recall that had gone out on the 2002 models' shifter cables, which caused the same kind of failure I'd had. I discovered my VIN wasn't part of the recall, but still, it was suspicious that my car was presenting the same failure as the recalled cars.
Sticking to my guns, and ticked off about the insinuation about my gender being the cause, I insisted that BMW/Mini honor their two-year warranty on the replacement clutch and transmission. We argued back and forth for a couple of weeks, and I didn't back down. The dealer agreed to send out the BMW regional forensic mechanic, who I'll call Dieter, to come inspect the car and arbitrate.
After he looked at my car, Dieter decided that it wasn't my fault, and that the problem had been caused by a bad shifter cable -- the same shifter cable issue subject to the recall. Funny, that. So the dealer grumbled and called me lots of very colorful names, but replaced the shifter cable, the clutch and the transmission, calling it a "one-time, goodwill repair."
Clutch and transmission #3 have 12,500 miles on them, and are so far, holding up, though the clutch seems like it's slipping, and I'm saving up to take it in.
My husband and I purchased our 2005 Mini in Jan 2006. As everyone who drives this car we were thrilled with it's performance. It made us happy just to drive it. The mini is our 'second car'. We drive it rarely as our primary vehicle is a 1982 Mercedes converted to run on Vegetable oil. We wanted our 2nd vehicle to be a fuel efficient reliable car that was a pleasure to drive. We had that and more with our mini.
Three days ago I was driving in Pasadena, CA and the car refused to go into 3rd gear. I coasted to a stop sign where the car, no matter which gear I shifted to, remained in neutral. Pushing the car to the side of the road I waited for mini roadside assistance to arrive, annoyed, but ever so grateful this didn't happen on the freeway
Even before the car arrived at the dealership I was informed they were pretty sure the clutch was gone. There are only 17,000 miles on this car and the clutch is not covered under warranty. The service department is working with us to negotiate the best price on the repair which is good of them since in writing they are not under any obligation to cut us a break.
In the past few days I am hearing more and more about the inherent problems of the mini and its clutch. I am not going to defend my or my husbands driving techniques. The existence of this forum is evidence enough to me that the number of mini owners, with no previous difficulty driving manual vehicles, who are experiencing clutch failure is suspiciously high. This should be grounds for the manufacturers concern.
It is my hope that it does not take the serious injury of a Mini owner to get this company to rectify a situation that looks very much like an engineering defect.
Wow, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who posted comments here. I was really thinking about buying a 2006 Mini Cooper, but after reading all the problems people have had especially with the Clutch/Transmission I can now say FORGET IT.
A cool car with a nice interior is just not worth paying THOUSANDS in repairs.
There is no way I'm buying a car that is going to have reliability problems.
Hondas may be "boring" but at least they don't break down. I thought I could do better than my Honda which as 240,000 trouble free miles. I see now that I can't buy a German Car and expect it to be reliable.
My next car will be a Honda Fit. I'm sure it will be as trouble free as my other Hondas.
The 2007 and later Mini Coopers are of totally different design than 2006 or before, and are no longer comparable models.
Hello, everybody! I've been reading your posts and had added one myself about 3 months ago! It was about my MINI's gearbox! It was making noise and the representative of BMW in Greece said I should replace my gearbox which would've cost me some 2500 Euro! Wtf? So I asked for more advice and found the greatest thing! Not only they reconditioned completely my gearbox, they also fixed my clutch brakes and a new battery for "only" 1500 Euro! Which is good and I also found out that parts from a Rover 200 Series can fit a up to 2002 model MINI! Prices are different so go ahead and check more opinions before you fix your car! That's what I did and now I'm pleasantly driving my MINI again! IT'S SMOOOOTH!!!
I have to stick up for my MINI. I own a 2002 yellow MINI Cooper. It has over 120,000 miles on it. I just recently had the first major work done on it, which was replacing the clutch. They had to replace the entire clutch, slave cylinder, and flywheel. It cost $1500. The BMW dealership here will always fix it, but I found a local Goodyear garage that does great work and is usually much less expensive.
Grand Rapids, MI.
I drive a 2003 mini with 63,000 on it. My radiator fan won't turn on so the car is overheating. Anybody having this similar problem?
Just bought a 2004 Mini Cooper with 21400 miles pre owned and certified. The dealer said it was a great car and no problems at all. I had it not even a week (6 days) and the clutch went out. I got off the freeway and it wouldn't engage. It has a 6 year 100000 and 6 year 100000 maintenance. I don't even know if it will be covered (it better)???
Hi All. We are based in South Africa and bought a brand-new MINI Cooper S last year August (currently on 15000 km). The clutch is out and the dealer and BMW say that it is our fault and we should carry the costs. My wife drive the car to and from work, and she is not an aggressive driver. I suspect that there is a huge factory fault (world-wide) with these clutches and that BMW should take responsibility for the faults. Is there anyone else in South Africa experiencing this problem? We are intending to take the legal route with this and more voices are louder than one!
I'm about to buy a Mini tomorrow, but after reading all your comments about the Mini, I've changed my mind. Thank you all for all your inputs about the the car.
Thanks all for posting the comments, I'm printing them all out now & hoping the dealer will cover my clutch &/or gear box. Now for my story;
2007 Mini S. At 19k mile the clutch gave out without warning, no slippage/shifting problems in advance. Got it to the dealer. They said they'll start the tear down to determine if it's covered by warranty, but warned if they determine its driver error the charge will be $3k. Sounds like a fundamental design problem to me. Heck I haven't even had an oil change yet - condition based maintenance says its good to go for another 2k miles.
I've got the new Mini Cooper D, and the clutch went at 20K, and I've been left with a repair bill of £1500, as it isn't covered under warranty (told it was a wear and tear item!!!).
For a car that's under 12 months old, and hasn't been driven hard at all, I think this is outrageous.
Will I ever buy another Mini? DEFINITELY NOT. The clutch they have designed and used for this car is not up to the job.
Hey, I wish that I had read all of the comments about the Mini before we bought a 2003 S for our son.
We had the clutch go out on a test drive. We were told no problem, we will take care of the clutch if you buy the car.
With the clutch taken care of, onto the next issue; when my son shuts the car off, the fan does not shut off and runs the battery dead. Has anyone had this problem, and is it an easy fix? HELP.
I own a Mini Cooper S 2002. I'm selling the piece of crap as soon as I get it back from the dealer!! The car has done 80K. I have had the car for 3 years and am the second owner. I was thrilled to pick up the car after it had only done 50K.
Since owning it, I have had to replace the air conditioner and was not covered by warranty.
I have had a gearbox problem for the last 6 months or so. I could not get the manual transmission to go into 5th or 6th gear. It seemed to go into a miss connection and would grate. Then, it would be fine for a while or so. The problem continued. I took it back to the dealer a number of times. The dealer said there was no fault found.
BMW in Sydney Australia sent a representative to look at the vehicle after I had finally had enough of it faulting. They said it must be driver error. No fault found.
My gearbox and transmission finally failed totally in peak hour one night. I am really angry and would never recommend anyone to buy a Mini. I had to get the car towed. I only drive around the suburbs and drive it with care. It is costing me $8K to get a new transmission. I have been told it will not be covered under warranty. BMW refuse to admit liability for faulty workmanship or engineering failure. I have stuck to my guns but am told BMW will not pay one cent toward repair or parts. BE WARNED. This is no joke!!!
Funny thing is, that when I've wanted original parts at times, I have been told they have to come from overseas, and yet once I was forced to authorise repair OR not get the car fixed, they had a new transmission on its way from Sydney over night?? Coincidence??? You be the judge.