not sure which thread to ask, but my R53 2005 automatic cooper S selector lever the metal part has become loose, wondering if it an easy fix to change the selector lever everything works just the lever is loose and rattles over bumps and worried it will stop selecting one day, lost the spring loaded feel

 

We have a 2005, and had the same issue. It seemed to function fine, but was covered by the warranty.

 

I was having periodic hard shifts, on my MCS AT at 140,000 mi, so I decided to attempt a fluid change as good preventative measure for it developing into something worse. The bad shifting was maybe a missed shift here and there every 100 miles or so.

I followed fishbones guide, and didn't drop pan or replace filter. I did 3 drain refill cycles with D4 ATF, driving a hundred miles or so between drains. I noticed that the transmission was noticeably having difficulty shifting from 1-2-3 and 3-2-1 at all times if I don't let off the gas between shifts. There are frequent shift hesitation and flares. Gears 4-6 are fine. I did 2 more drain & fills after this with Valvoline Max Life high mileage, because I ran out of D4. The shifting didn't get better or worse with the switch.

After reading through the forum tonight, I did notice that the level check is supposed to be performed with the car running, I did it with it off- so maybe so overfilled?

My final thoughts- I've driven about 500 miles since the ATF change and it hasn't gotten better. Would the TCM have adapted by now? Is it worth paying the dealer to re-adapt it? I ask this for this reason: If I use the paddle shifters to run through the gears, I have no issues shifting at any RPM I wish. Makes me think the problem could be electronic?

 

Ok, A couple of thoughts.

1) it is possible that you have enough wear, and the change will not solve all your problems. you may have to change the filter too.

2) I used Toyota ATF spec 3309 - $5.00 a quart at the local friendly Toyota dealer. There are specific modifiers in that fluid. I don't know if Maxlife has them as well.

3) do a ecu reset. -link is to a topic here on NAM. It does make a difference - even when you have not changed fluid.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ni-viagra.html

When I did ours at about 90k, the improvement was noticed at once.

Good luck.

 

The fluid you used was fine. It may be a case of too late to help. Try the reset mentioned above.

I heard the bad shifts are a sign of a bad valve body. Your valve body may be damaged and need to be replaced, that is the least difficult thing to repair on the tranny. If it has worse damage, you may need a rebuild or new tranny. Search the 1st and 2nd gen forums for valve body, someone describes how to replace it yourself. You access it thru the tranny pan. I do not think replacing the filter (which is just a window screen) will make any difference. You have enough new fluid that it would have cleaned it up a lot by now. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-resolved.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-cooper-s.html

It could be a fluid level issue. I never did the flow temp test method. I always drained cold, measured and replaced the same amount. Note what the Fishbone PDF says about how much fluid is supposed to drain when cold and compare to how much you got out during your several drain and fills. You may have to drain and fill again when cold to adjust the fluid. Or borrow or buy an infrared or laser temp thing to measure the fluid temp if you try the flow temp method.

 

When I did my drain/refills I didn't use a thermometer. I idled car for 15 min, cycled briefly through gears, and then added sink warmed ATF Til it dribbled out the drain hole. Running through the gears on jackstands set the check engine light off anyway, so I already had done the ECU clear post drain, sadly.

Checked today to see if I was overfilled, pulled the plug, nothing came out. No visible leaks- I'm thinking my level must be at or close to proper.

If the consensus is that the transmission ought to have adapted by now, I take it a dealership TCM adaptation wouldn't result in anything different?

I guess at this point I'm looking at buying a valve body (perfect for Xmas buying season, wish I knew for certain it would fix it) or trying to trade the car in for a different one. I'm underwater on the loan though :/ I'm kind of bummed because I spent last week overhauling it in my garage to replace the water pump, and I figured I'd do the fluid while I had the car decommissioned. Got it all back together and now I'm quite bummed it shifts way worse than it did before the fluid swap. Surprised that the MINI Aisin is crappin out. The Aisin tranny on my 1999 Saab 9-3 is at 295k miles, it's never skipped a beat, and its had a hard life. Only did fluid on the Saab every 100k... grrr

 

The only thing in common between your old Saab Aisin auto tranny and the Mini is that both were made by Aisin. The Mini uses some new type of space saving gear design to fit 6 gears into a small package. Also every auto tranny should be flushed at 40,000 to 50,000 miles or at least a few drain and fills if, like the Mini, you cannot do a flush or fluid exchange thru the cooler lines.

 

I think your supposed to check the fluid with the engine running and up to operating temp, if its not running the fluid drains in to the pan so a lot of fluid should come out. Like clutchless I just put back in what came out. Maybe your actually low on fluid and that's causing your problems.

 

Okay , so I'll try to do:

1. Warm up to idle
2. Turn off to fill so it doesn't barf on me
2. Add warm fluid
3. start car THEN loosen drain plug and watch for dripping to stop.
4. If it doesn't drip, repeat from step 2

I've lost track of how much came out/what went in. Plus I'm not the original owner, pre existent fluid levels may not have been original OEM spec either.

If I could start over
And measure better I would, in the beginning I was more accurate keeping track of I/O , but during one of my drain cycles, I left fill plug out with tube and funnel attached when I started the engine. An indeterminate amount of black ATF belched forth into the cavity where the brake booster is.

I'm also going to do another 3 cycle drain refill with some Dino 3309. It looks like the new MaxLife, though approved for 3309 has a way thinner viscosity.

 

Don't waste your time doing more drain and fills. It will not change how it shifts unless your fluid level is too low. I would just pour in 8 ounces and take it for a test drive. See if it shifts any better. ATF fluid levels are only approximate, a certain range is acceptable. If a little better, pour in another 8 ounces and do another test drive. I do not trust the running engine overflow fluid level test.

 

I agree with clutchless, the first time I opened the drain plug since buying the car new, half a quart came out (car was cool, not cold). Removing the standpipe, 2 quarts came out. I put 2.5 'cold' (unheated, 80 deg F) quarts back in and all is fine. If I ran the engine with the drain open more would've come out than that half a quart for sure. Hope that helps.

 

Clutchless & Yesti,

That's the first time I've heard anywhere to somewhat disregard the standpipe technique. Seeing as how no members are up in arms about this suggestion I feel confident about giving this a shot... Fingers crossed, it'd be a joyous relief if this solved the issues!

 

I ended up adding an entire quart today and initial impressions are great ! At the very least its shifting back to normal. I'm going to have to drive it more to see if it improves/declines... But I'm having a hard time not being excited that this may have done the trick. Thanks guys !

 

Great! I always changed the ATF cold. About a pint drained out when removing the drain plug and about 2 quarts more drained out after removing the overflow tube. I documented it in old posts (a few years ago) and in the PDF by Fishbone to which I contributed the second gen part (same transmission, just harder to access). He put in the part about using the overflow tube temp check for fluid level. I never did it that way. It appears you were just a pint or so low on fluid.

 

One thing I forgot to mention, the fluid level check is done with the car level, not on Jack stands. Not sure what you did but glad it's better and hope that fixed it!

 

Sorry if this has been addressed but I read through most of the posts and couldn't find any reference. I recently changed the engine in my 2010 Cooper S and at the same time decided to drain and fill the transmission and replace the filter. I filled up with the Valvoline Maxlife per a recommendation that I read here or in another forum, not sure.


I followed the fill/check procedures that I have read about and initially everything seemed to be good. A few harsh shifts from time to time but nothing that alarmed me. However, since the colder weather has set in (Syracuse, NY) it is having a hard time shifting. The 1- 2 shift is very hard and it lags quite a bit through 2-3 3-4 etc. When warm it was better but still a bit hard on the downshifts. I re-checked the level when it was warm although I did not have the car running at the time. Quite a bit of ATF came out and I let it drain to a trickle before replacing the drain plug. Took it for a drive and noticed an immediate improvement in the shifting even though it was still warm. The hard downshift was not noticeable and the upshifts barely felt.


I should note that my wife primarily drives the car. When I checked with her after a couple of days she said everything seemed good and I thought great problem solved. Then she tells me a few days later that she noticed the hard shifting again. So I wait till the next morning and take it for a run. The temp was about 40 so it wasn't very cold but I did notice the hard shifts and lagging like before though not as pronounced. Again, when it warmed up everything was smooth.


I plan on re-checking the level but I was wondering should I have the car running when doing so and does anyone else think that this is an overfill issue?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

 

I followed the suggestion of the previous posters and largely disregarded the official procedure. YES, I did fill it until it trickled. But then I closed the plug and added an additional quart. I was advised to only try a half quart, but I went nutty and went for the full quart. The idea is that it's better to be overfilled than under. This worked well for me.

 

celticfc - you appear to be low on fluid. As stated above, add a pint and see how it drives, then you may have to add another pint. Do not bother with the flow fluid level test, it just causes problems and inaccurate readings as evidenced by many posts above.

If when cold, (and engine off) you open the drain plug, about a pint or more should drain out. If not, then you are low on fluid.

Is this the fluid you used: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/v...ntent=10422333

Nice Synthetic ATF fluid!

 

Thanks for the reply, I agree that it would seem as though I am low on fluid but that does not explain why it shifted better after I drained some from it. I will check the cold level E/OFF on the weekend and see what happens.


Thanks guys, I'll let you know how I make out.


That is the fluid that I used, price was right compared to the alternatives.

 

Make sure your car is level!

 

Update - 2 weeks ago I took our 2005 r53 to European Exchange in Hackensack NJ - http://www.europeanexchange.com/ - The rough shifts, slipped shifts, clunking, etc was getting too frequent. For $750, he rebuilt the valve body, and included fresh fluid and filter. The difference is amazing, it drives like new. I have not been able to catch it at all. we put 500 miles on since then ( Now I feel good enough about it to post ).
The contact is Ritchie. Mine was done in a day ( I called ahead ). For all of you in the NY Metro area, I highly recommend this before replacing a transmission. feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

I've done 2 iterations on my 2005 S and there seems to be improvement but not complete. Couple of notes:




1. I found Valvoline CVT ATF that specifically says Mini Cooper on the bottle. http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...751_0006431190


2. When I drained the fluid, there was no standpipe to remove. Thought that was odd. Though I did have it flushed a couple of years ago and maybe they removed and did not put it back. Question: Should I replace it?

 

The standpipe seems to be to check levels with the car running, which I've never done because it seems like a PITA. How much fluid comes out when you drain? If its about 2.5 quarts then that's normal. Bottom line, put back what you take out and you should be good. It takes at least 3-4 drain fills to change most of the fluid.

 

I'm getting about 2.5 quarts out so that makes sense. I'll do it a couple more times. Thanks!