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MINI Cooper Clutch & Transmission Questions

542 messages,  Last post on Mar 03, 2013 at 5:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? MINI Cooper, Transmission, Convertible, Hatchback

    
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Messages Page 7 of 55

#61 of 542 2006 Mini Cooper Convertible transmission problem by 06mc_conv

Jun 20, 2007 (12:27 pm)

I just bought a brand new 2006 Mini Cooper Convertible with the auto CVT transmission. I complained immediately about the car hesitating to go into reverse when the car was shifted into reverse. They stated that was customary for the CVT engine. I advised that I had owned a 2007 Nissan Altima and that it too had a CVT engine and that you could not feel it shift at all (hence the reason for getting a CVT engine). I have owned the car for 45 days and only have 1300 miles on it. Yesterday the car after stopping at a light in downtown Denver traffic would not go in drive or reverse. Mini picked the car up and called me today to tell me the transmission is shot. They stated that they are going to put a new tranny in car. I advised that was unacceptable as the car is brand new. They agreed to buy the car back and give me a new one. The dealership, Ralph Schomp Mini, has been phenomenal and will keep me a happy and loyal customer. DO NOT BELIEVE when they tell you that it is normal for the CVT engine to hesitate and shift hard.....the whole idea behind the technology is that you do not feel the transmission shift!!!!

#62 of 542 Who do you trust? by iraida2

Jun 25, 2007 (7:46 pm)

Hello all, I am a Mini '03 owner - 36000 miles on the car. I went to Carmax for an appraisal and they found everything in great condition, except for the transmission which they say shifts hard. 2 weeks ago I took the car for a service visit at the dealership (now off warranty) and they found nothing wrong with it. I don't feel like it's driving differently - would the mini dealer have detected this on inspection or is Carmax trying to give me a run for my money?

#63 of 542 Re: Who do you trust? [iraida2] by hotwlz

Jun 26, 2007 (3:47 am)

Replying to: iraida2 (Jun 25, 2007 7:46 pm)
Hi, if you don't think there is anything wrong and the dealer doesn't think there is anything wrong, the most likely Carmax wasn't being truthful. If there was a problem and you are off warranty, the Mini dealership would have at least given you an estimate so they could do the repair.

#64 of 542 Re: 2006 Mini Cooper Convertible transmission problem [06mc_conv] by nona47

Jun 26, 2007 (5:37 pm)

Replying to: 06mc_conv (Jun 20, 2007 12:27 pm)
I am glad the dealer came through for you, but still it leaves a bad taste when a brand new car is having tranny problems. I will have a problem accepting another mini fm the dealer as we ordered our mini fm Oxford- didn't care for all the bells and whistles the dealership always orders on their cars. Mine is a stick shift, and still has that grinding noise on first. It does not happen all the time but it makes you wonder where the fine German engineering went on the trannys in these cars....

#65 of 542 Re: Longer Version of Transmission Replacement [bfromhold] by zmaster2

Jul 10, 2007 (5:03 pm)

Replying to: bfromhold (Mar 01, 2007 6:33 pm)
I have a 02 mini automatic,I have 84,000 miles, I just took the car to a local mechanic,my car would not change gear from a standing stop, I went about 200 yards from the light and finally kicked into next gear this has happened twice, this time the check engine light came on, the mechanic pulled a 1787 gear ratio code, he could not find any troubleshooting for this code,he had to call England the maker of his diag machine to get a 20 page troubleshooting guide, I will find out tomorrow if its wiring or replace transmission at about 4800 bucks. I refuse to take my car to Flow mini in Winston Salem, NC, I have had nothing but problems with this dealer.

#66 of 542 It cost me $7000 instead of $5K by winniep

Jul 10, 2007 (7:21 pm)

Hi,
 
I wrote about my shot transmission back on May 23rd. I have since had my transmission replaced for $7K at the mechanics (the dealership would have charged me $8K+).
 
If anyone out there is having trouble with your CVT and would like BMW / MINI to do something about it, I am considering filing a class action. Anyone interested?

#67 of 542 Is Any Maintenance Required '07MCS 6 spd by motoron

Jul 16, 2007 (10:04 pm)

I didn't see any listed in service. Is that right? Therefore, everything would be warrenty issue?

#68 of 542 Re: It cost me $7000 instead of $5K [winniep] by sburchill

Jul 21, 2007 (1:49 pm)

Replying to: winniep (Jul 10, 2007 7:21 pm)
I would be interested in looking into this. We bought our son a automatic 2003 mini cooper from a lady driver last Oct. It had 10,000 miles on the clock. Since then, my son has noticed a problem with shifting. We took it into the dealer in June for them to look at the problem after the engine waring light came on. They just reset the waring light and said there was nothing wrong. However, on the invoice they stated that " Faul was P1786 Transmission Ratio Actuator. They reset transmission adaption values and cleared vault memory as a courtesy to customer" They also informed me that it needed its inspection 1 service and informed us that would be around $800.00. We opted to take it to a local car place who works on minis and BMW's because they were charging $450.00 for doing the same thing.We received news form the shop that the transmission was about to go, the car has just 17,000 miles on it. The warrenty ran out in Jan. I had the AAA tow the car to the MBW dealer, who after inspection confirmed that it did need an new transmission. I was asked "how do you want to deal with this" I explained to the service person that this could have been avoided if they had bothered to investigate the issue back in June insted of just resteing the fault memory. I also stated that I did not expect a BMW transmission to go out after 17,000 miles. I am now awaiting news from them ater they speak with the BMW/mini rep. I would be interested to hear what anyone thinks and if I do have a case against them.
 
Thanks,
 
SB

#69 of 542 Re: It cost me $7000 instead of $5K [sburchill] by winniep

Jul 21, 2007 (3:31 pm)

Replying to: sburchill (Jul 21, 2007 1:49 pm)
I have had experiences with the mini dealership where they did not do a thorough job in checking everything, resetting the computer, and then returning the car to me. It is extremely frustrating not to mention expensive (taking the car in and out of the dealership, and once the warranty runs out, the parts and labors are BMW prices). I have talked to some lawyers, and some say that we have a case. I am still looking for a GOOD one who would represent us. Anyone interested please email me at no2numba-tu.com, so I can get a list going. The first step after finding a lawyer is to get a demand letter over to BMW to compensate us for the money and time lost. We could commence litigation if BMW does not respond within a certain amount of time. Those of you who know other Mini drivers, please spread the word. I am tired of being taken advantage of by big companies.
 
Just got back from another Mini Blog and here is a suggestion for all to do:
 
One immmediate option we have is for everyone to open a case with the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). I opened a case with them on 7/13/2007 and at that time only 1 other issue had been opened regarding the MINI CVT transmission. I feel that if enough consumers open issues with NHTSA the MINI Corp. will be forced to respond to this issue in some way, hopefully a recall since the issue seems to be occuring after the car is out of warrenty. The contact information for NHTSA is as follows and it only takes about 15 minuites to open a case. (You will need your VIN number)
 
NHTSA 1-888-327-4236 or http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
 
Please pass this information on to any other blogs to get the word out. I refuse to pay MINI another 7-8 thousand for a new transmission.

#70 of 542 I Just Built a Mini by joem5

Aug 24, 2007 (12:30 pm)

I was wondering at 26k how i got checkered intrerior?
          Someone can answer but, no way am I buying a Mini after the horror stories I've been reading on here sounds like my old MBG. The Brits never could build a car.

Messages Page 7 of 55

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