thefleet

I went for a less than a 2 mile drive and pressed my 04 530i in 2 and 3rd gear. After coming home, i smell the clutch burning.

Did any of you ever had this issue?

The car has 36K miles on it. Sport 530i 04.

orlee008

maybe its the new clutch seating into the plate?? did it feel like it was slipping or was it gripping as it should??

orlee

s4iscool

why did you need a clutch so soon?

thefleet

I just bought the car 2 months ago, it had 35K on it.

Just one day driving and the gears started slipping. Anyways, dealer refused to replace clutch saying its abuse issue. Had to fight and all. In the end they warrantied it out and replaced it.

So now the new clutch smells. No the gears were not slipping or anything. I know how to drive manual, so thats nothing new for me.

Need some advice how to fix this issue..

MidnightRider

I would say the prior owner abused the clutch. That should have lasted MUCH longer. Agreed that BMW should repair it under warranty. If the clutch is properly engaging, then wait to see if the smell goes away. Sometimes there is a coating that needs to burn off from the manufacturing process. If it is still around in a week, I would bring it back to the dealer. Try reducing the amount of drop clutch burnouts from 4000 rpm and see if that helps.

thefleet

Thanks.

You have no idea the amount of crap the dealer was giving me before!

The smell was far worst and the cheif mechanic said, nothing is wrong and keep driving it. He said its the tires that are causing the smell.

Anyway i had to fight my way out of that.

But they said we will only do ONE time clutch repair. So now what do i do? How do i prove them i did not abuse the car?

s4iscool

you are probably ok, just break it in nicely for 1000 miles. Then it shold grab well, and not give you any issues. The friction plates just need some breaking in, although I never experienced excessive smells during this process...maybe the bmw clutches are a bit different. Nevertheless, I think you are fine, but keep an eye on it.

Lamont

I remember a clutch burning smell when I got my 2002 530. The smell went away after a week or so of driving. The 550 I just test drove on the dealer's lot had the same smell when we returned to the lot. There was no hard driving on the test drive and the car had just 12 miles on it. I'd guess it is just the clutch breaking in.

thefleet

Thank you guys.

I drove my car for about 100 mls today in different stop and go traffic. So far no smell.

MidnightRider

Yeah - you should be fine. Enjoy the new car and thank your dealer for being accomodating. A kind word goes a long way.