How to know if clutch needs replacement (Mini)
Discussion
Funnily enough i posted a thread here about a clutch but this is a separate case
My girlfriends 2016 Mini Cooper has a completely loose clutch pedal that doesn’t allow the car go into gear, she called Mini breakdown cover and they picked the car up, today the dealer is saying they can’t diagnose anything unless she pays £1500 (yes) for them to diagnose the car (yes, seriously!). The car is at their dealership and they’re refusing to touch it unless she agree’s to pay.
According to google and my brief knowledge of clutches, what she tells me about the clutch doesn’t show any sign of normal wear, I.e stiff clutch pedal, noises and the car slipping out of gear causing a loss of acceleration.
I drove the car recently and it drives fine and shows absolutely no sign of wear.
Now the clutch may be buggered in a way I dont know yet but she doesn’t know what to do and neither do I, the car is under warranty but obviously doesn’t cover wear and tear which is fine however they want £1500 just to find out if it’s the clutch or not. They said it’s 5 hours work which will cost that much.
The car isn’t driveable so can’t pick it up and drive it to a normal mechanic.
A quick search on click mechanic.com shows a clutch replacement for £650, it’s completely natural for us to recover the car to a garage to replace the clutch but what if we take it there and the mechanic says it’s fine and it’s something else that Mini should cover under warranty.
I never have a good experience posting in the GG section so if you don’t have anything nice or constructive to say, don’t bother!
My girlfriends 2016 Mini Cooper has a completely loose clutch pedal that doesn’t allow the car go into gear, she called Mini breakdown cover and they picked the car up, today the dealer is saying they can’t diagnose anything unless she pays £1500 (yes) for them to diagnose the car (yes, seriously!). The car is at their dealership and they’re refusing to touch it unless she agree’s to pay.
According to google and my brief knowledge of clutches, what she tells me about the clutch doesn’t show any sign of normal wear, I.e stiff clutch pedal, noises and the car slipping out of gear causing a loss of acceleration.
I drove the car recently and it drives fine and shows absolutely no sign of wear.
Now the clutch may be buggered in a way I dont know yet but she doesn’t know what to do and neither do I, the car is under warranty but obviously doesn’t cover wear and tear which is fine however they want £1500 just to find out if it’s the clutch or not. They said it’s 5 hours work which will cost that much.
The car isn’t driveable so can’t pick it up and drive it to a normal mechanic.
A quick search on click mechanic.com shows a clutch replacement for £650, it’s completely natural for us to recover the car to a garage to replace the clutch but what if we take it there and the mechanic says it’s fine and it’s something else that Mini should cover under warranty.
I never have a good experience posting in the GG section so if you don’t have anything nice or constructive to say, don’t bother!
Can't offer any comment as to what's wrong but I will say that a few year ago a trade customer of mine (he was a used van dealer) was pestered by his wife into buying her one of these BMW Minis. I don't remember which model it was.
The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
I can't believe it would take five hours to decide whether the problem needed them to get at the clutch. And it seems extraordinary that they'd expect you to commit to taking on such a big job without any sort of diagnosis, especially since it seems obvious this isn't normal wear and tear and should be covered under the warranty. It seems to me they've already decided it needs a new clutch and plan to charge you for the work, and maybe reimburse you if the warranty company agrees to cover it. Which is a great business model if you can get away with it.
Chestrockwell said:
According to google and my brief knowledge of clutches, what she tells me about the clutch doesn’t show any sign of normal wear, I.e stiff clutch pedal, noises and the car slipping out of gear causing a loss of acceleration.
If it slips out of gear then you likely have a gearbox issue.I THINK what you meant to say is that you put your foot down & the revs go up but without a corresponding increase in vehicle acceleration. The symptoms you gave in your previous post about clutches.
Edited by paintman on Thursday 9th December 19:54
paintman said:
Can't offer any comment as to what's wrong but I will say that a few year ago a trade customer of mine (he was a used van dealer) was pestered by his wife into buying her one of these BMW Minis. I don't remember which model it was.
The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
There is a crazy impressive guy on YouTube that does clutches mobile and he seems to do a lot of Minis.....probably because of the dismantling required.The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
Makes what must be a 6-8 hour job look relatively easy, does it in all weathers and does detailed filming too.
@ the OP.....Can't believe a main dealer made such demands TBH. Surely they should say they'll diagnose first and if it is the clutch from wear and tear or misuse you pay then? Either way for a car under warranty it seems an awful position to be put in. I sadly have experience of a lemon car that was made worse by awful dealer(s) and manufacturer support. Stressful....
AgentZ said:
paintman said:
Can't offer any comment as to what's wrong but I will say that a few year ago a trade customer of mine (he was a used van dealer) was pestered by his wife into buying her one of these BMW Minis. I don't remember which model it was.
The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
There is a crazy impressive guy on YouTube that does clutches mobile and he seems to do a lot of Minis.....probably because of the dismantling required.The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
Makes what must be a 6-8 hour job look relatively easy, does it in all weathers and does detailed filming too.
@ the OP.....Can't believe a main dealer made such demands TBH. Surely they should say they'll diagnose first and if it is the clutch from wear and tear or misuse you pay then? Either way for a car under warranty it seems an awful position to be put in. I sadly have experience of a lemon car that was made worse by awful dealer(s) and manufacturer support. Stressful....
wouldn’t want to be his back in 20 years time though… 
Triumph Man said:
AgentZ said:
paintman said:
Can't offer any comment as to what's wrong but I will say that a few year ago a trade customer of mine (he was a used van dealer) was pestered by his wife into buying her one of these BMW Minis. I don't remember which model it was.
The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
There is a crazy impressive guy on YouTube that does clutches mobile and he seems to do a lot of Minis.....probably because of the dismantling required.The clutch went & he rang the mechanic that did ALL their mechanical work to fit a new one.
Wasn't best pleased when he turned it down flat citing the amount of dismantling necessary & that having done one they were just too much of a PITA for him to be interested in doing another.
Makes what must be a 6-8 hour job look relatively easy, does it in all weathers and does detailed filming too.
@ the OP.....Can't believe a main dealer made such demands TBH. Surely they should say they'll diagnose first and if it is the clutch from wear and tear or misuse you pay then? Either way for a car under warranty it seems an awful position to be put in. I sadly have experience of a lemon car that was made worse by awful dealer(s) and manufacturer support. Stressful....
wouldn’t want to be his back in 20 years time though… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7hbO8rlRA
paintman said:
Thinking of this chap?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7hbO8rlRA
That's the one. The sort of bloke I would talk to for advice about a clutch.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7hbO8rlRA
Looks like a PITA Im sure a main dealer would remove the whole front end with radiator and ac both needing refilling afterwards. But even at main dealer prices £1500 would cover the job surely.
I dont have new cars or visit main dealers after past attempts to empty my wallet with their huge charges for diagnostics and repairs.
I would get the car transported to a locally recommended mechanic and the job will be much cheaper.
I dont have new cars or visit main dealers after past attempts to empty my wallet with their huge charges for diagnostics and repairs.
I would get the car transported to a locally recommended mechanic and the job will be much cheaper.
is the clutch pedal level with the brake pedal for example is there movement/slack in the travel before resistance is met? Thanks everyone, so there’s an update, the car is going to be transported to Blackburn Mini, where she bought it and they’ve sort of agreed to fix it free of charge but I’m not sure if it’s a good will gesture or because it should be repairable under warranty.
The dealer it’s at is local to me so I had to grab a few bits and bobs out the car and I just had to double check on the price. I said in all seriousness is it really £1500 just to diagnose the car? He said yes because it’s 5 hours labor!
Just can’t believe it, that’s 15% of the cars value, 30% if she went ahead with it and fixed it!
Anyways have some M4 porn, spotted this in the showroom, I’ve got to say, it looks MUCH better in the flesh.
Speaking of main dealer prices, the carbon kit was 15k and the sports exhaust is 8k :O
The dealer it’s at is local to me so I had to grab a few bits and bobs out the car and I just had to double check on the price. I said in all seriousness is it really £1500 just to diagnose the car? He said yes because it’s 5 hours labor!
Just can’t believe it, that’s 15% of the cars value, 30% if she went ahead with it and fixed it!
Anyways have some M4 porn, spotted this in the showroom, I’ve got to say, it looks MUCH better in the flesh.
Speaking of main dealer prices, the carbon kit was 15k and the sports exhaust is 8k :O
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