Hey,
I've got a 03 CVT Mini Cooper with 58k miles on it. I just got my tranny replaced which was pretty damn expensive.. I was just wondering, when driving it in this mode, is their a wrong, or right way to do it? I really don't want to replace the tranny any time soon, or ever again really. I guess I drive my car pretty hard.. but I'm not sure. It's my first and only car..

Last week I drove up from Union City, CA to Santa Cruz, CA going through the mountain roads, and on my way back I noticed my car was jerking and I ended it having to get my transmission replaced. I really don't want to have to go through this again, but I was wondering if I was pushing it too hard possibly, or did it just happen to fail at that time?

Also, is their any noticeable difference when you keep it in SD mode, rather than actually shifting up and down?

Thanks

 

The problem with CVT transmissions is you lose the feeling of the car changing gears, as there are no gears. The manual mode simulates gears. Using the paddle shifters is kind of fun though, and it allows you to feel more connected with the road.
The CVT transmissions have an issue with the jerking thing. You might find threads on NAM and MINI2 regarding this issue. They call it "rubber banding" I think. I hardly think the jerking warrants a transmission replacement. I've heard others have had the software upgraded and it went away. Having said that, another person in NAM named Velveteen Mini has had her transmission replaced (under warranty) and is now having electrical issues (no longer under warranty). Also, my neighbor, who owns a 2005 MCa told me she was having the rubbing banding issue in the morning at start-up when she backs her car out of her driveway (uphill). So there seems to be issues with the CVT transmission. From my meager knowledge of how CVT transmissions work, I'm hypothesising that it is possible the belt inside that moves the gear ratios might have stretched or oil got onto an internal pulley.
This should be serviceable. I noted that on the pricelist on my dealer's service department that cars with CVTs cost more for inspection 1 and insection 2 services. So I suspect these issues are checked out there. If you haven't had inspection service done on your car yet (and it is expensive), you should get it done. Inspection service is actually preventative maintenance, and hopefully, you needn't have to fix your car very often and since it is expensive, thankfully, you don't have to do it very often.

Hope you get your issues sorted out.