Well, my '07 goes in to the dealer Monday, 12/27. Seems that now that it's gotten colder, my manual transmission shifter will no longer return to the middle of the neutral gate on it's own, making shifting dicey at times. Single digit morning temps, and I have to struggle to find third gear! Not fun.

Anybody else ever experience this?

 

Well, the MINI was dropped off at Classic MINI this morning, and I got a phone call a few hours ago that they need to over-night air a part for the car. They gave me a '11 MINI as a loaner, similar to mine, except with an auto trans. Hopefully I will have my car back tomorrow. We'll see then what the problem was.

 

Well, after getting the car back, the issue was dirt in the cables and the routing of the cables. The technician was surprised I was even able to drive the car. He pulled the cables out of the car, cleaned and lubed them, and then reinstalled and properly rerouted them. Shifts like a new car again!

I must put in a good word for Classic MINI in NE Ohio here as well. I had a few other minor complaints with the car, and they were all fixed as well. The thing that impressed me the most though was my complaint about a slight knocking/rattling sound coming from the rear of the car. The tech discovered the sway bar mounts were bad and replaced them (something about MINI finding that some of them were slightly undersized?). But the tech also found another rattle coming from the rear seat back latches. He pulled them apart as tightened them up as well. The car is quieter now than when I got it!

Thanks Classic MINI! One of the best dealer experiences I have had.

 

Glad you got it sorted out.. thanks for the update! Sounds like your dealership is a keeper too, congratulations.