Hello everyone, I am new to the forum (and to minis in general). I've been trying to troubleshoot a problem with my wife's 2007 Mini Cooper with 6-speed auto. We've had it for about 9 months and a few months ago it began manifesting a problem when accelerating in certain circumstances, typically when RPMs are fairly low and you would normally expect it to downshift. Typical circumstance is around 35-45 MPH but it can happen pretty much any time.

Instead of downshifting it seems to start stuttering, e.g. it downshifts and upshifts rapidly, resulting in a very disconcerting sensation as the transmission shudders or stutters. If you allow this to keep happening (instead of forcing a downshift) the check engine light may come on briefly, but my car chip did not register any trouble codes.

We initially solved this problem by just driving in sport mode all the time then it started happening again recently even in sport mode, though it's not as bad, I expect because the sensitivity to power demands is greater.

The transmission still responds normally to paddle shifts, so when this starts happening, the solution is to flick it to force it downshift. Everything else seems to be fine, most of the time it's very smooth and the engine generally seems to run fine.

Any ideas what could be causing this? I'm happy to bring it in for service but I'd like to be armed with information since the problem seems like it might be software related and is not aways easy to reproduce on demand. I read about the adaptive shifting ECU and tried to figure out how to reset it, but the only instructions I could find: http://new.minimania.com/ECU_Reset_P...50_52_53_MINIs

don't apply to the R56 model

 

I think I started to have the exact same problem recently. Did you find out the solution? Please advise.


Thanks.

 

Some of this sounds like you need to change your ATF. How many miles do you have on the MINI? When was the last time you did a tranny flush/change? It takes several changes to get most of the old ATF out. I would start with a few good ATF changes and go from there. If the ATF is burnt and cruddy it can start to raise havic with the transmission. Causing erratic shifts. slamming into gears and sometimes not down shifting or up shifting. I would find a good independent shop to do these changes for you if this is something you would rather not do. good luck!

 

+1

 

This turned out to have nothing to do with the transmission.. it was a problem with the ignition coil. The car was apparently compensating for the loss of power by trying to downshift, but because the power profile with the malfunctioning coil didn't match the way the transmission was programmed to shift, it got confused. Once the coil was replaced it worked fine.

It was certainly a strange symptom since the car seemed to run fine except when trying to accelerate under load.

 

Nothing more pitiable than a confused gear box.
Suggestion: Write that up and post it in the appropriate thread or threads for future reference using some obvious key words for the search engine to find. Yours can't be the only stumble like that in the MINI world.

 

My turn! +1 ^^

 

For the ignition coil replacement, how much does it cost?
My MC 2007 R56 has only 29,000 miles. Everything seems fine except the jerky acceleration at D mode under load.


Thanks.