I test drove both a used and a new Cooper last week. For some reason, the used one (2002) felt as though the shifting wasn't quite as smooth... am I smoking crack, or has anyone experienced this?

 

... i guess i have to drive a new one to make sure ... and then drive a couple while on crack just for comparison ....

But mine (new last June) still feels smooth and precise ...

 

I've found the opposite: I've got 23k on mine and it's infinately smoother than my friends '03 with 300 miles. I've never felt a gearbox change so much during the first year of ownership.

 

I'm with Gabe on this one.

My 02/02 build MINI Cooper 5-speed with 9xxx miles on it
is much better shifting than when it was new.

 

My gear box has also seemed to improve with age. With just over 5,000 miles it is much smoother than when new.

Then again, maybe it's me that has improved. But it seems that in all the other aspects of my life it's "The older I get the better I was".

 

yeah,

my shifting has gotten smoother too.
i remember everything (including shifting) were very rough when my mcs was new.
now, my mcs is getting smoother and smoother as she ages.

bbt4

 

.....the old cooper, did it have the recall work done? or could it be symptom of the transmission link cable problem everyone has been talking about?

 

>> could it be symptom of the transmission link cable problem everyone has been talking about?

No. Not in any way related to the shifter cable recall on early build
MINI Cooper 5-speeds.

I had that recall, and the problem was that MINI engineers were trying to
be helpful, and they put in a magnetic latch on the linkage so that if you
flubbed a shift, and tried to mash the gears together, the shifter linkage would
pop apart and you wouldn't destroy your transmission.

The problem was that the magnetic catch wasn't quite strong enough for
normal "spirtited" shifting, and came apart.

You could just reach in, and push it and it would clamp back together and
you could motor-on your merry way, but it was a pain on a hot engine.

So they bolted it together so it can'c come apart anymore.

Nothing to do with jerky shifting.

 

It loosens up a lot with just 2K. Had to have the tranny replaced, and the new one was so tight it was hard to get it into gears. Just a couple of hundred miles and it is better. Can't wait until it is properly broken in and the shifting is even smoother.

 

My 02 MINI also has become less jerky and shifts smoother then when new and I have about 9500 miles on it

 

The only S I was able to test drive was a 2002 trade in w/5k on the odo. My MA said that the clutch had "broken in" and it shifted better than a brand new one. Other than getting used to the pattern it was fine.

The car hadn't been detailed for resale yet. I don't remember any faults. I'm just hoping my BRG/B MCS will be as well behaved when I pick it up next week.

Deak