Transmission swap/cruise control
 

I need to replace my 04 MCS manual tranny. I want to upgrade to
an 05-06 six speed because the gearing in first and second is
supposed to be better.

I read somewhere that this is essentially a direct swap except
that the ECU needs to be reflashed AND that you will lose your
cruise control for some reason.

Can anyone verify if this last part is true. I do not really want
to lose my cruise control on top of having to spend big bucks
for a transmission that should last a lot longer than 46,000 miles.

Thanks for any replys

I didnt reflash my ECU I dont beleive. I have heard you lose CC. My car doesnt have it (mc40), so dont quote me....But the lsd, lower gearing and strength of the tranny wouldnt even make me think twice. :thumbsup:

Yes, you loose your cruise-control, but you can't do anything against it.
Even when flashing the ECU it will not adapt because the program for pre-facelift is written to the old transmission.

In my opinion, it is worth it ! Take of the CC-buttons and replace with a clear plate used in cars with no CC.

Hrm... Well, I went from the Midlands 5-speed in the Cooper to a late-model Getrag 6-speed and my cruise works just fine... No reflash or anything else was done and I'm running the OEM Cooper ECU. The only time my cruise stopped working was when I had a front wheel speed sensor go bad (driver's side). Swapping in a new one took care of that...

Im doing this swap next week and will report if my Cruise still works.
my second midlands has failed me. I got 85,000 on my first one and 55,000 on the second. lets hope the Getrag returns better.
I replaces my drivers side speed sensor about a year ago, is it a common problem?

I did the swap awhile back and oddly enough the only gear that works with the cruise control is 3rd :lol:

hello, my wife bought a2004 cooper S and the cruise control is also only working in 3 gear. The dealer spend 6 ours on the electronics but could not find the solution. We now found out that in 2005 the car got a new gearbox for warranty after that only 3 gear worked with the cruise control. My question is are the gear ratios different so the ecu cannot find the other gears? Can you reprogram the ecu for the newer box? Has the revolutioncounter something to do with finding the lost gears in c.c.? Greetings from the netherlands.

the solution??
 

ok my 2003 cooper is back together with the getrag 6 speed and Quaife LSD, running strong but lo and behold I had this exact same cruise control issue. first off I was getting an ABS fault light so I went down to the dealer to find out what it was. my drivers side wheel speed sensor had gone bad again. thank goodness for the 2 year parts warranty. replaced that and reset the code but still only had cruise control in 3rd gear. I had a long drive home and figured out the sollution. I pressed and held the cruise button until the dash light started to flash. I then turned off my car [yes while driving] turned the key back on put it in gear and tried the cruise again. there it was good as new in all gears. I hope this works for anyone else having this same problem. I use my cruise all the time but then I drive for extended periods on a regular basis.

hello, my wife tried your solution with turning of the car and pressing the c.c. button today but it did not workout. Its still only working in 3rd gear so i got to think about another solution. Anyway thank you for your advise. Maybe one day i will find the answer. Greetings from the Netherlands europe

cruise control reset?
 

Im not suggesting she did it wrong or that it would even work for your car but I realise I may not have been completely clear. while driving the car above 30 mph [you have to be above speed for the cruise to work] I pressed and held the cruise button until the dash light started to flash and then I released the button. the light did not stay on so I then turned the car off and turned it back on again and then the cruise worked properly.
I decided to repeat the instructions because I really hate the notion that people have unfixable cars.
reminds me of my passenger side xenon light that doesnt fire on random occasion.

good luck

Keep in mind that a wheel speed sensor that is bad or is going bad can and will cause your cruise control to work intermittently. I had this issue a few months ago - swapped the driver's front first per the recommendation of the MINI techs and it's been working fine ever since. If the wheel speed sensor is totally shot, the cruise won't work at all... If it's working intermittently, it'll just work intermittently...

hello all. the problem with the c.c. is that its working well but only in third gear. We only use the cruise control in six gear to drive on a steady speed on our motorways. We have tried your tricks but it did not help. The problem lies in newer gearbox. I think that because the ratios are different the software in the ecu does not regognise(hope i spelled it right)the Getrag gearbox . the information needed to recognise the box comes from the abs is carspeed , the other information is from the ref. counter is engine rpm. In the manual it says drehzalmesser is ref. couter. So i think the solution must come from changing something in the ecu software for which i got to go to a specialist. I will let you know if i can fix the problem. Greetings from holland europe.

The MINI maual says that cruise control only works in 3rd gear or higher!

when I did my swap my cruise control wasnt working. my ABS light was on giving a hard code. I had it tested and the drivers side wheel speed sensor was bad. they replaced it and reprogramed it and it worked fine. a few months later I tranfered that transmission into another car and the cruise isnt working again. originaly I put the 2006 getrag into a 2003 cooper. now the transmission is in a 2004 cooper S. I put the 2004 cooper S transmissioninto the 2003 cooper and the CC worked fine. so I now need to get the 04 car diagnosed but Im suspecting a bad wheel speed sensor again or maybe just a reprogram. I will let you know if I ever get unlazy and get this checked out. oh and YES it does work in 3rd gear. but that seems to be the normal responce. as usual everyone at any mini dealer I have talked to seems clueless as to what could be causing this.

hello chris, the problem is its only working in 3rd gear and not in 4 ,5 or 6.
I asked the kundenbetreuung in germany from bmw , thats the customer helpdesk. They could not help me because they had to see the car and they said i have to go to the local dealer again and the dealer can call them to solve the problem. The problem is i dont have faith in dealers. Maybe i will try the wheel speedsensor trick and exhange it, bye from the netherlands.

Gonna bump this thread up.

I plan to swap in an 05 and 06 trans and I just cant understand why shorter 1st and 2nd gear is gonna cause this issue? The final gears should be about the same as the early trans. There is no electronic connection to the manual gearbox other than the reverse switch.

Any more insight on this?

Never mind I guess I found the answer. Its all about the crank speed.

cruise control
 

Hello Professor,
I did not fix the problem untill now, my wife does not bother about not having CC anymore. The only thing that is maybe defect can be a wheel speed sensor, they go defect more often it seems. No connection to the box except for reverse? that is right. But how come the CC only works third gear and up? Is there a switch to the gear lever? This week I will study my worksshop manual again to find an answer. It still is an interresting problem. Greetings from the Netherlands.

HI,
I understand that several years have passed since the last message, but have you solved the cruise problem? I have the exact same problem as you.
Thank you

hi did you ever resolve this issue? I currently have it now?

Hello y up this post, similar problem, where is the coding gear ration on ecu ?

I managed to get mine fixed by @adriancl really nice guy fixed it super quick too best bets just get him to do it for yah.