Hey everyone...here is my problem....I have a 04 MC CVT with 60k miles on it. My wife usually drives the car and we have had no problems with it....she started the car up this morning as normal and it started fine pulled out of the driveway and stopped to turn left on the main road....when she turned onto the main road the SES lit up the EML lit up and EP came up on the gauge cluster where the drive selection usually is.....and to beat it all it is in limp mode....won't rev over 2k and its 35 miles to the mini dealer....I've tried to dissconnect the battery and reset the ECU...that didn't work all the codes are still there and still in limp mode....I've read about the wiring harness issue that people have but they have intermittent problems before it goes out and this came on all at once.....any suggestions???? I'm stumped and we need our second car! Please help!!!

 

I'm by no means an expert, but I've read posts like this before that end up with "I had to get my transmission replaced."

I'd get it to a dealer ASAP.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

Don't tell me that...I can in no way afford a new CVT tranny right now....10 grand just isn't in the cards......

 

Bad thing is that it will run and you can drive it in limp mode so the tranny is functioning......jesus this is stressing me out.....I've got enough to pay for and worry about right now without something like this happening.

 

here's some research, but i'm afraid it will not make you happy

http://www.motoringfile.com/2003/09/...#comment-63600

excerpt:

"And then: ten days ago I took off from home on a cold morning in #1 “gear” as usual and then it seemed to “upshift”, on its own, into Drive and lugged. It repeated this act and then the “Check Engine ” light came on and the instrument panel “Gear” indicator display showed “EP”. I went home and read the Owners Manual and for EP it sais “Go directly to your Mini dealer and give him $6,000.00″. (Joke, but true finally). Since I was two months out of warranty, I went to my foreign car specialist(AutoHaus Frankfurt in Murrieta Ca) ( whom I have learned to trust) and he called the dealer in Escondido CA who told him “You must replace the CVT. It can not be repaired. We have them in stock” My car guy said that he would replace the “Range Sensor” and the “Position Sensor” The BMW (Mini) also had them in stock (big surprise). This cost $640.00. The CVT now acts just like it did when new.
"

this one is more optimistic - and points to software and battery:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/cvt-autom...sion-dead.html

"
loss of power fixed


I had the car back to the dealer again ,I was sick of the car occasionaly not reving pass 1500rpm ,this time EP came up on the display .Dealer agrred to put new gear box in if necessary. I demanded a loan car whilst my car was being fixed . After four days I received a call to say they had found the problem .The car has had software upgrades and a complete new computer installed previously to rectify the problem. Guess what the problem was ?. The Battery. 3 years old and giving low voltage puting the computer into a spin.The dealer installed the battery free of charge. After several days the car is running like a dream with no faults so I am keeping my fingers crossed."

The search I used was this:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

 

I had this happen on my Dodge Stratus. It turned out to be an output sensor on the transmission and $140 to fix. I'm not saying this is the same type of problem, but most of the CVT issues involve the CVT breaking and the car just stops! If you are in limp mode, it could be the sensor, computer, or battery. The bad thing is it will still need to go to the dealer. (Had I known BMW was so expensive for maintenance I never would have bought a Mini).

I also have a 2004 with 42K on my CVT (I love it!) but after reading this board for awhile I took out an extended warranty through Direct Warranty to cover everything including the CVT to 100K. It cost me $1500, but I sleep better at night.

 

OK took it across the street to my neighbor who rebuilds cars and we scanned the codes....only one code P0638.....anyone have a bentley manual??

 

This is pretty good news. I'd try a new battery before taking it to the dealer. Especially if you are on the original one, you're about due for a new one anyway!

good luck!

 

I will try the battery....also we tried to clear the P0638 and it popped right back up without hesitation......so maybe i need a new throttle body.

 

OK so I went through and checked and unplugged adn replugged every connector and vacuum hose and reset the ECU again....turned it back on and teh ELM was on but the EP on the gauge cluster went out and went out of limp mode.....went back to my neighbor and scanned it again and still throwing P0638.....cleared it one more time and it stayed cleared.....runs fine...no problems...runs and shifts great....I torture tested it just to make sure...ran it through its paces and everything is fine now...no codes no limp mode no stutters.....I'm going to change the battery to be on teh safe side and keep a close eye on it....but for now everything is well.

 

I'm guessing it is the battery getting low.

I'd still be nervous about the CVT, though.

 

Unfortunately this is a known issue with the CVT. One that belt breaks the transmission is toast. Just a bad design, sorry .

 

P0638 Throttle Actuator Control Range/Performance (Bank 1)

 

I knew the 02-03 cvts were prone to failure...seem like the 04 cvt is more reliable....from what I've read the 02-03 cvt's came from the factory with ATF fluid in the gear box instead of the thicker CVT fluid. Well I'm thinking the battery....it did clear up for 2 days and came back briefly today....It went into limp mode while driving on the interstate pulled over cut the car off and turned it back on and all was fine. The CVT failure I know of is the belt breaking and the car just stopping....but ours is just going into limp mode and through the P0638 code. I'm going to try changing the battery and see what happens. This seems to be just an intermittent problem.