New Clutch???

J

JDM

Senior member
Driving back from Nottingham this afternoon and noticed a strange grinding / knocking noise coming from the gear box area when slowing down and bringing the clutch up in second gear, for T junctions or slow roundabouts. Not noticed this before. You can also feel it through the clutch pedal.

Took it straight to Stratstone BMW in Doncaster where it is booked in next week for other bits ans bobs to be sorted. I took the car out for a drive with one of their technicians who for once agrees that something isnt right and there is definately a noise coming from the gear box. Usual case from past experience is either "that is a perfectly normal noise sir" or the noise fails to make a noise on the test drive.

Upshot is, he thinks maybe a new clutch is needed or a spring is loose / worn. Thankfully if this is not covered under the warranty which it may not be as its probably classed as a wear and tear item, the BMW dealer in Swindon where I have bought it from have confrimed they will cover the cost as I have had the car less than 30 days.

So next Tuesday its booked in for the following:

* Replacement glass and seals to both drivers and passanger doors (due to vertical scratches in the glass)
* Replacement of front fog lights
* Investigation of bluetooth microphone as people keep telling me its a very bad line
* Investigation of intermittent clunking noise coming from rear of car (possibly the inevitble spring problem)??
* Investigation of clutch / gearbox.

The list is growing day by day, bet they love me down there lol
 
That will add up from a dealership.

What mileage have you done ? Seems a bit early in the cars life to me for this trouble.
 
riche said:
That will add up from a dealership.

What mileage have you done ? Seems a bit early in the cars life to me for this trouble.
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Just clocked up 35K...

srhutch said:
That's bad if they sold it to you with a broken spring. A PDI should have picked that up.
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Yeah I thought that aswell. It might not be anything at all, might just be me hearing noises and a bit paranoid with the whole well know problem of this.. The car doesnt sit un level so I guess it may be something else if there is a problem. Even so, id there is a problem then a PDI should pick it up. If it is anything serious beloeve me the dealership will be getting some hassle!
 
A bad driver riding the clutch, etc. could destroy it in less than 5,000 miles

I recall someone on here posted how they slipped the clutch all the way out into traffic island to get acceleration :thumbsdown:

Good to see the dealer just getting to work on everything in one go
 
billygilly said:
35k wow.. BMW thought it strange I needed a clutch after 50k
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Might not be a clutch, he just thought it might be. Guess all will be revealed on Tuesday..

cj10jeeper said:
A bad driver riding the clutch, etc. could destroy it in less than 5,000 miles

I recall someone on here posted how they slipped the clutch all the way out into traffic island to get acceleration :thumbsdown:

Good to see the dealer just getting to work on everything in one go
Click to expand...

Exactly, doesnt take long to knacker one up if driven incorrectly.. Im impressed with Dick Lovett to be honest, they seem to have bent over backwards in sorting the car out... so far at least anyway.
 
JDM said:
billygilly said:
35k wow.. BMW thought it strange I needed a clutch after 50k
Click to expand...

Might not be a clutch, he just thought it might be. Guess all will be revealed on Tuesday..

cj10jeeper said:
A bad driver riding the clutch, etc. could destroy it in less than 5,000 miles

I recall someone on here posted how they slipped the clutch all the way out into traffic island to get acceleration :thumbsdown:

Good to see the dealer just getting to work on everything in one go
Click to expand...

Exactly, doesnt take long to knacker one up if driven incorrectly.. Im impressed with Dick Lovett to be honest, they seem to have bent over backwards in sorting the car out... so far at least anyway.
Click to expand...
That's good. Their Hungerford branch are also very keen and eager to impress. Stupid name, good company.
 
Good to hear u are having good servicethus far,from ur dealer.
i have only,unfortunately got the choice of 2 anywr near me,in the west of Scotland,either 1 in Glasgow(that i havnt heard many good reports about),or my local 1,which i find okay,but they dont ever treat me as a valued customer,despite using them for both warranty work and servicing.......even when the car was under 2yrs old and worth alot more than present :thumbsdown:
(maybe as i never bought it there)

Anyway,rant over,lol
 
Courtesy car for the day....

img1834y.jpg


Bmw 318i Sport Plus Edition... 1403 miles and absolutely gutless.. It feels so sloppy compared to the Z.. Makes you realise what a good car the Z is and how good it makes you feel driving it :D
 
Did you see any luck people picking up their 11 plates when you dropped off your Zed?
 
DrNick said:
Did you see any luck people picking up their 61 plates when you dropped off your Zed?
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To be honest I forgot its new plate day, probably because its my birthday *cough cough* :D
Didnt really notice anyone picking cars up though..
 
Good to see the supplying dealer stepping up to the plate, even though they've got six months of obligation under SoG, too many still argue about it.
 
Well got the car back last night... Heard those ever familiar words "we couldnt replicate the fault sir"... Beleive me I was down there within ten mins showing them the fault. The upshot is its gotta go back in next week sometime when they can sort me another loan car out because they needed the one back that I had.. P*$$ed off is not the word!!

Anyway, it was in for a few other bits and pieces to be sorted, glass to both doors and seals replaced and fog lights too or so I thought... I think the content of my email sent to Stratstone this morning gives you an idea of why I might be feeling slightly inclined to set fire to their faces!!!





Dear Mr *****,

Just wanted to drop you an email to firm up a few things which we discussed last night when I came to collect the vehicle.

• The problem with the clutch/gearbox/drive train is still un identified. I raised my concerns about continuing to drive the vehicle with the problem still being unresolved and you informed me that by driving the car, it would not cause any further damage or be dangerous to myself in anyway.
• I informed you that the front fog lights had not been replaced as I was under the impression that this had been authorised by Dick Lovetts. You informed me that the fog lights had not been authorised for replacement by Lovetts and that they had told you that the condensation would disappear. This information had not been relayed to me by Lovetts or yourself and my last conversation with ******* ******* on the day I picked up the vehicle was to run home from Swindon with the fog lights on to see if this would dry out the lamps. I did this and nothing has changed. *****’s email to me on the 5th of February stated that I was to bring the vehicle to yourselves to obtain a quotation for all of the work to be carried out, there was no mention that these would not be covered. You mentioned to me yesterday that you would email him to clarify this matter.

On another note, the works in connection with replacing the glass and seals have been done; however I was not happy to find on my trip to the supermarket straight after picking the car up that I couldn’t get my shopping in the boot as the old glass and seals together with the cardboard packaging had been left in the boot. This resulted in having to leave my shopping at the supermarket, go home and empty the boot and then drive back to pick the shopping up. The reason why this had been put in the boot in the first place rather than directly in the bin is unknown to me, but the fact it was left in there and not checked prior to handing the car back to a customer is not very professional at all.

Secondly, I was very unhappy to find a scratch on the leather to the passenger seat in the light of day this morning. It is my guess that trim or tools have been left on the seat base while replacing the glass although of course this cannot be proved. I can assure you that this was not there before bringing the car into your garage. I am very particular about my car; hence the reason for the scratches being removed and the other work being carried out.

I await your phone call as promised yesterday to arrange a courtesy car for me so that the vehicle can be brought in for further investigative works with the clutch and drive train. With the problems listed above I trust that you will give this matter your most urgent attention and arrange for the vehicle to be sorted without delay.

Please note that the disgruntled content of this email is not directed at yourself John, I know that you have bent over backwards to try and sort the issues out for me even though the car wasn’t bought through yourselves. I’m just annoyed at the service that has been provided and think I am well within my rights to be annoyed. If it wasn’t work being payed for by Lovetts, I would be paying nearly £1000 to have my car given back to me with a boot full of rubbish and a scratched passenger seat.

I would appreciate a response to this email.

Kind Regards
 
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