I'm really really hoping someone has some idea as to what is going on with my baby.

So here's the details I have a 2010 R57 MCS with 107k miles. I finally decided that it was time to drop the pan on the transmission and change the filter, clean the magnets, and get a couple new quarts of fluid in there.

Worst decision I ever made.

The transmission is now shifting smoother than ever. It seems very "grabby" now with no hesitation like I had previously. The problems arise when I'm in between gears. When I'm not putting very much power through the transmission it "surges" and "slips". This is most noticeable between 30 to 50mph. Like if I'm just cruising along through town the tranny jerks and surges all over. It happens in spurts with multiple jerks/surges/slips altogether. If I give it a little more throttle or come off the throttle completely it'll stop.

There seems to be some correlation between barely having my foot on the throttle and giving it a little gas to keep at speed that it happens the worst. At highway speeds I can feel the same jerking very slightly, but not as severe. All the while there are no errors or codes being thrown, but it feels as if the tranny is about to fall out on the road!

What in the world have I done to this tranny? I'm on the second flush/refill and it hasn't gotten any better. Perhaps even worse. I know you can only get about 20 to 40% of the fluid swapped per change, so I figured doing it three times at least, but will it ever get better?

To get a few of the common issues out of the way I have made sure the fluid is at correct temp, level, and the car running (plus cycling through gears) when letting the fluid drain from the overflow standpipe / inspection plug down to level. I am using Mobile 1 3309 ATF fluid which meets the spec for this tranny.

Is there a possibility that the transmission control module needs to be reset? I know it is adaptive and may need to "learn" since I had old fluid in there for so long. Can it be reset?

Many of the transmission shops I've called around here won't even touch the car and the nearest Mini dealership is in Pensacola or Baton Rouge from my house here in Biloxi, MS. That's about 150 miles in either directions of me. Not a distance I want to drive the car with it giving fits like this. Am I just screwed or what?

Haven't seen this issue posted anywhere else on the forums after several hours of searching so really hoping one of you have some idea of what's up. Thanks!

 

By chance, did you compare how much you drained, to how much you put back in?

 

Yes I did compare the portions going in and coming out. Took about an eigth of a quart extra of pre-warmed fluid before it started to drip from the overflow.

Going to do another drain/ fill tomorrow should weather cooperate.

 

Big mistake. If you had the urge to change the fluid (not sure why you would) You should have done it at 50k miles and every 50k after that.

Just curious, Where did you fill the fluid from, and how do you know its filled to correct spec?

 

I decided to change the fluid as after plenty of research I found that while Mini calls it "lifetime" fluid that around 100k it begins to really break down. I drank the Kool-aid a few times on it and had asked the dealer three times she had been in the shop about doing the change. They refused every single time at 40k, 75k, and 100k.

There are some rather huge threads here about doing the change and the method. I've followed them to the letter. The tranny is filled through the top where you'll find a T55 torx plug. The bottom of the tranny has two places in which it can be drained. One is the 5MM hex keyed "inspection plug" inside which is an overflow tube that when the fluid is between 93 to 103F can be used to determine correct level. Excess fluid drains, what is left is at the very top of the tube in the pan meaning you have the correct level in the pan. The overflow tube can be pulled out with the same 5MM hex key to drain (most) of the entire pan.

There is also a secondary plug at the bottom of the torque converter that I've decided to stay away from. You can get another couple of quarts out of the TC, but that also means a more PITA filling process. As you'll need to fill until the overflow begins to drip. Start the car, run through the gears, and then probably fill another couple of quarts once the TC refills with fluid. This is not easy as doing this on a R56/57 MCS requires removing the air intake to the turbo and the coolant line. You'd have to run the car, get the TC filled, then undo it all again to put in the next couple of quarts in to finish up. All this while trying to keep the fluid between the optimal temp range.

All in all why did I do it? Because this tranny won't run forever with gunk for fluid. The old fluid was already looking pretty dark so it was more than time for it to be done. There wasn't a lot of particulate in the pan when I pulled it, so optimally everything should be mechanically in good shape up in the tranny. I just hope getting the rest of the old fluid flushed out will make her behave again.

 

How do people on here know the fluid "breaks down" at 100k? Curious how they figured that one out?

There is a reason we dont change the fluid at the dealership. You cant go by how dark the fluid is on this fluid. in 10k miles, the new fluid you put in ,will be just as dark as the stuff you took out.

Hope you have not done any damage to the transmission since you have said its shifting funny now between gears....Sounds like a band isnt holding ,or not enough fluid to hold pressure on the band.

 

Are you going to seriously suggest that this tranny could go 150k, 200k, 250K without a fluid change? If that is the case why do other manufacturers that use this exact same tranny (VW for example) recommend a 40k change interval? Yes... one time they said it was "lifetime" as well. After owners jumped them with toasted trannys they quickly went for the 40k interval.

Now back to wrenching. Rain has finally stopped. Hopefully I have better results with this last flush.

 

same nitcompoops (my german ) that said 15K on motor oil.

 

Did this get sorted out? My only thought would be to fill the trans, then go for a drive before pulling the drain plug to check the level. When I did it, I interpreted that the level is set when the fluid slows down to a trickle from the standpipe, not that every last drop comes out of the pipe. I don't know if this is enough fluid to make a difference or not.

I waited until 83k before changing mine, and had some odd surging/slipping for a bit as well. Shifting improved right away, but I did see odd behavior at light throttle, as you described. I haven't done the next fluid change yet, I will when it warms up.

I dropped the pan and found quite a bit of metal and crap in the pan. It also drained another 1/2-1 quart of fluid when I emptied the pan and pulled off the filter/screen.

Have fun,
Mike

 

How many liter of ATF oil needed? I am planning to change the automatic transmission filter for my R56 S model, mileage now is 110k+.

 

If you just do the change as per the stand-pipe method then 3 would be enough. When I did mine I got out 2 quarts and about 20 ounces. Put back in exactly what came out and all was fine. I did the job after the car sat overnight, in pretty warm weather, so that the fluid coming out and the new fluid that was in the garage were at the same temperature. I followed the VW '09G' DIY that I found and our transmission is the exact same as that in terms of the fluid drain and fill.

 

Thank you!

 

Well I know some of you wanted an update on this. Well the car isn't fixed yet, but I think we've tracked down the problem. The shudder issue is from the torque converter going in/out of lock up in very short intervals. Basically the TC is slipping.

Why is it doing this? When people say you can use the toyota stuff instead of hunting down straight JWS 3309 don't do it. Find pure JWS 3309 fluid (Mobil 1 makes some great stuff). This tranny is extremely sensitive to viscosity of the fluid used. Being that it is slip controlled if fluid is slightly out of spec you're in for some problems.

What I'm doing now is having a shop pump down the tranny entirely and do a full on flush with about 15 quarts of JWS 3309. Additionally (and I did not know this) BMW/Mini will sometimes add a little "shudder fix" additive to the fluid at the factory. This helps with the TC lockup shudder issue by slightly adjusting viscosity. If mine had this before and I flushed it out then I was SOL anyway until I add it back in.

 

But, I thought in your original post, you were using Mobil 1??

 

Not tranny fluid. I have seen trans fluid with 50K that looked like new. Now I have never seen a MINI trans fluid but any color in trans fluid would indicate wear from the clutches.

Engine oil different story, it's exposed to combustion material and high heat in the turbo etc, it goes dark pretty fast.

I am currently getting quote from local INDI shop to change trans oil in wifes car when it hits 50K.

 

Did you replace the fluid with the car on and the transmission on drive? You may be starving the transmission.
Need to get the VW drain plug adapter and the syringe to pump the fluid back in. All parts needed are 5 qts of ATF, filter and pan gasket. Got the kit from ECS tuning for less than 300 dlls. I recommend to have a scanning tool ready or have somebody that does as some CEL's will need to be cleared and the transmission adaptation needs to be reset. You need to get the oil pan off to get this done right. Do not drain the 2 qts and refill. This is not the best method. You need to inspect the 2 magnets inside the oil pan to make sure your transmission is healthy and the filter needs to get replaced. Now to the quick and easy procedure.
- Jack up the car and make sure is leveled on 4 jack stands if possible. We'll get to that. Better if you have a lift.
- Need to drill the brace underneath the bolt that is hard to get to. You'll see what I'm talking about when you get underneath. Get a guide drill bit first then a drill bit slightly bigger that the 10mm to fit it though the brace and get to this bolt. Spray paint or grease exposed metal.
- Remove drain plug and drain approx. 2 qts of oil that sits above the stand pipe inside the oil pan as mentioned in posts above. Collect drained oil and put away so it's ready for the remaining 3 qts of oil.
- Remove the 10 (I think 10mm that hold the oil pan) and carefully remove the oil pan. The 3 qts will come down with it. Make sure you have a wide enough recipient to get all the oil.
- Remove the 3 bolts that hold the filter. More oil will come down.
- If you can, tilt the car with a hydraulic jack to get most of the fluid from the torque converter. I don't think this will be necessary but I got it done. Be careful not to get the car off the passenger stand when you do this. I lifted from the driver side and pulled the jack stand and then lowered the car until fluid stopped coming out.
- Raise the car again and put the jack stands back in.
- Inspect magnets in oil pan, wipe oil pan clean and replace gasket.
- Reinstall new filter with the 3 bolts.
- Reinstall oil pan with new gasket with the VW drain plug fill adapter.
- Hook up the syringe and pump 3 qts into the oil pan.
- Ensure car is level on jack stands. This is important because you'll need to start the car and put the car in drive and run it through the gears. At this time traction control will flicker and the ABS light will come on and the car will hesitate a bit. It's ok, you'll clear the check engine light and ABS light with the scan tool at a later time. Leave the car in drive and finish pumping in the last qts of fluid. It is important the car be running for this because this keeps the transmission full and final level will be set after you pump the last of the fluid you should drain some after you remove the drain/fill plug. Meaning, you'll fill abouve the stand pipe inside the oil pan with the car running in Drive and that little oil over the stand pipe will drain to the correct level. At this time, remove the VW drain/fill plug adapter and some oil will come out into the collection recipient and replace drain plug.
- Turn car off and take the car off jack stands. Need scan tool to reset CEL's and reset transmission adaptation.
For me the car drives so much better, like new. Hope this helps. For me it was a simple job anyone can do. And you can save yourself some 500dlls and avoid the dealership which will tell you not to change the fluid and filter and keep driving it like that 'till the wheels fall off. LOL. Enjoy

 

Thanks for the order.

 

I'm intending to change the tranny fluid in my 2011 R57 S and I'd like to have a back up plan in the event the fill tube in the tranny breaks while I'm in the process. Anyone have the part number for the VW drain plug fill tube that fits the Mini R57?

 

Not sure what you mean by the fill tube in the tranny... are you talking about the standpipe that gets screwed back into the drain before refilling? If so, you can order one to have a spare around in case of problems. I ordered one for an R53 from ECS Tuning for about $9.

The standpipe is different than the VW fill adapter which is not needed, but can make filling the transmission easier. There's a fill plug on top of the transmission, but you have to remove some things to get to it and filling through it can be slow.