Jakedog
08-18-2005, 04:04 PM
Does anyone know who makes the Mini's clutch? Mini, BMW, or a third party to meet import requirements?
I picked up my MCS at the end of April. While on a road trip to San Diego (see gallery) I got stuck in a traffic jam in El Paso. I could only inch along and after a while the clutch pedal started staying on the floor and the clutch would stay engaged. I would have to pull the pedal up with my toe. It would only stay down when the pedal was depressed for more than a second or two, like in traffic or slowly backing up. Going through the gears, everything worked fine.
I finally got it in to the Mini Center (after waiting a week for an appointment). They replaced the slave cylinder, but the replacement was faulty also! They had one left in stock and sure enough it was faulty too. The third one they overnighted in was finally a winner.
The car drives beautifully now. Before the replacement, the clutch had a really long play. Starting off in first always seemed difficult for me, and I've been driving a manual transmission for 25 years. Now it engages just right.
I've read on other sites about all sorts of clutch/transmission problems where the dealer would not cover it under warranty, saying it was poor driving habits. Having their own OEM parts fail negated that option with me. I just wonder if it was a bad coincidence or is this an inherently weak part.
I picked up my MCS at the end of April. While on a road trip to San Diego (see gallery) I got stuck in a traffic jam in El Paso. I could only inch along and after a while the clutch pedal started staying on the floor and the clutch would stay engaged. I would have to pull the pedal up with my toe. It would only stay down when the pedal was depressed for more than a second or two, like in traffic or slowly backing up. Going through the gears, everything worked fine.
I finally got it in to the Mini Center (after waiting a week for an appointment). They replaced the slave cylinder, but the replacement was faulty also! They had one left in stock and sure enough it was faulty too. The third one they overnighted in was finally a winner.
The car drives beautifully now. Before the replacement, the clutch had a really long play. Starting off in first always seemed difficult for me, and I've been driving a manual transmission for 25 years. Now it engages just right.
I've read on other sites about all sorts of clutch/transmission problems where the dealer would not cover it under warranty, saying it was poor driving habits. Having their own OEM parts fail negated that option with me. I just wonder if it was a bad coincidence or is this an inherently weak part.