Or maybe this should be what have I got. My lovely fiancee and I now own a Mini. Her old car was becoming a very large money pit and had been in the shop for one week then a week later another week. I know NOTHING about this car other than it's a 2005 with 21,000 miles a sun roof and automatic transmission. that seems to be something like the Porsche triptonic transmission. (ablity to "shift' but automatic) I went over the car to make sure everything worked and do know the original owner who has had no problems with it. So on to my questions.

1. I'm panicking now after reading that the transmission will blow up. Is this like 1 in every 100 or 1 in every 10 thing? Should I be loosing sleep?

2. Is there a place I can find the "option" codes or read the vin number so I can figure out what I have.

3. With low mileage are there issues I should look for?

4. Any other helpful advise. I live closer to Havana Cuba that the nearest Mini Dealer, I have an independent shop guy that I permit to do light maintenance work on my out of warranty Porsche. He has worked on Mini's before. Anythong I should have him change or look at?

Thanks,
Keysguy

 

the trans on these in auto are prone to problems but that doesnt mean yours will fail, just keep up on the services and dont try and be a race car driver with it.

 

Check this thread for the answer to your second question.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-car-has.html

good luck with the new MINI

 

Thanks for the info, so far we are having a blast with this car

 

We've had many threads here on MINI's CVT. I've followed them fairly closely because my wife brought one home a few years ago. It now has over 50k miles and is still doing great. Other CVT owners have reported going well over 100k miles without any problem.

The bad news is that IF it goes completely belly-up (not just needing an adjustment), it will probably need to be replaced with another transmission; either another CVT to sweat out, or a manual. I've read that dealers have charged between $6000 and $8000 for a new tranny (they all seem to make it beyond the warranty period).

I could not find a reliable estimate of the percentage of MINI CVTs that have completely died, but there may be a few here who believe they will all croak eventually. MINI may know, but they aren't saying. Several here have reported going through the expensive replacement process, but there are probably also thousands that haven't.

My wife knows about the CVT risk, but she won't budge. She loves her '06 MINI, and won't even let me to talk about getting a newer one. Maybe because '06 was the only year for her favorite color; space blue. One year newer and we'd have a non-CVT, but it wouldn't be space blue either.

It may help to have the transmission fluid changed somewhere around 35k miles. It takes a special tranny fluid, and there is quite a bit of labor time involved.

Yours is a low mileage car, so just keep up with the scheduled services as detailed in the owner's manual. When you first turn the key to start the car, look in the center of the speedometer to see the miles to go before the next scheduled service. Better be looking when you first turn the key because it doesn't stay there long.

I found our used MINI's service history by contacting the dealer who sold it and giving the VIN number. They were kind enough to send me a copy of the service history. Hopefully, you can get a service history too. Cars with such low mileage should probably have oil changes every year anyway.

 

You didn't say which model MINI you have. Only the R50 had the notorious CVT.

 

He did mention it was a 2005 automatic, so it's the CVT

 

Could be an "S."

 

Thanks again for all the replies. it is not an "s". It's a base model with lots of extras. Once I get all my perpetration for Isaac done I will do some more reading about this car.

 

I had the same car 05 CVT. Sold it after 100,000+ great miles. Never a problem. But that is not a guarantee.

Read the threads here on CVT's. And make it a "MUST DO" to change the auto tranny fluid on regular intervals.

Unlike you, I live near a MINI dealer and they had a tranny drain/refill service as part of the maintenance services.

It is something you can do DIY or a decent shop can do as well.

Now, close the windows. It's getting ready to rain. :-)

 

What you have 'done' is gotten yourself a great little car with absurdly low mileage I thought I found a gem with my 04' with 53k miles, you lucked out my friend My wife and I never set out to get a Mini we just found ours with low mileage for a stupid-low price ($8000 is a hell of a deal if I do say so myself). As far as the tranny goes the only thing you can do is keep up on the maintenance and hope for the best. I don't know if switching to a manual is really the answer either as when I took mine in to a Mini specialty shop he commented on how fragile the manuals can be in R50's but the motors (03'-06') were bullet proof. So just enjoy the car like we have and quit worrying. It'll bring you far more joy than pain I assure you. WELCOME TO THE CLAN!

 

I like that attitude. Yeah, many people had issues with R50 transmissions. I got my car for $1,500 because the PO blew the Midlands. But you own the car already. So you can drive it in fear, or enjoy it. If your trans goes, worrying and wishing won't make it last any longer. But either way, you will enjoy the car more if you don't let "internet fact" rule your thoughts.

 

Yea I learned that a while ago If you spend all your time worrying about what COULD happen you never have time to enjoy the car. If it breaks, fix it and move on. Otherwise HAVE FUN WITH IT DAMN'IT! lol

 

Thanks again for all the re-assuring words. We've had the car for a week and a half now. When the opportunity presented itself to buy this car I could not pass it up. Were in desperate need of a dependable car for my lovely fiancee'. (with working AC) We got a great deal on it and paid under blue book. All I knew about Mini prior to buying this one was they were made by BMW, they are fast little cars and there are bunches of them out there so they are easier to get repaired than her Saab. I was worried becasue the last thing I needed to do was buy her a car that was going to have issues. I'm feeling lots more confident. I stick with my 986/boxster even though the IMS bering is repoted as a failure spot. If you read some on-line fourms it happens to every one of them. Researching further shows it's only a small percent of cars that have the IMS failure. I guess I just need to hear that this is the case with the transmission in the Mini. Very small percent of cars have issues and you have to keep up with maintenance. I've had the opportunity to drive the car a bit now even forgoing our usual Friday Night trip into town in my Porsche, instead driving her car in. So far I am loving this car. It's fun to drive and I haven't even tried "sport" setting. I had some time today to sit and read the manual. When the rain and wind stop I'll sit in the car with the manual and try and figure out all the buttons and *****. Few more questions:

1. I can't find the clock, previous owner says they never found it either. There can't be no clock. That's just not right.
2. The lens covers on the tack and speedometer are hazed over. Can new ones be ordered and how easy is the removal?
3. Parts? On-line who are the major players with good reputations.

Thanks again,
Keysguy

 

If you own it drive it and smile and fluid changes will never hurt a car but never changing the fluid will, just flush it when its getting a different color or hits 30k , happy motoring.