finding second gear for a newbie.
 

Okay, this might sound daft to a long term MINI owner but i've had mine for a few days, since saturday.

when getting ready for a speedy getaway, such as coming out of a tight bend or entering a sharp turn, I like to drop into second and scoot along. I have found that in a rush to get to second I go into a no mans lands behind reverse. I can see that I am pushing too far to the left and locking the gear lever there...anyone else have this problem or is it just something to get used to. My mondeo you can slam into 2nd from 3rd w/o any worries of losing track of where your gear lever is.

Peter

You are using too much force to move the shifter. Do not grab or slam the shifter around. Guide it lightly with your open palm or finger tips, depending on upshift or downshift. With this technique, you will not accidently shift into reverse gate.

:thumbsup: I shift with my fingertips. It just goes there. It doesn't need brute force.
-skip-

Maybe you just need to drive it like its a Mini Cooper and not a Mondeo? Different car, different gate.

On another note, can you shift into reverse while moving forward? Isn't there a safety mechanism?

Peter,
it just takes time,
my first mustang i couldn't find 5th.
The other day in the MINI i didn't know if I was in 4th or 6th....
Just keep driving and having fun and getting to know your gear box,
Boxcars

You can shift into reverse while moving forward, however, you're likely to hear some sort of crunch. :lol: (<-- guilty of doing so once or twice) No synchro in reverse, I believe.

Yep. I had all these problems when I first got my MINI. Reverse was kin with 2nd, 4th with 6th, and 3rd was the designated grind gear. It was my first manual and I had no teacher. When I got it, the tranny was still not broken in completely.

Now that I've had it a year, it's the best thing ever. It's totally easy to drive. But, if you ever slam the gears, you're bound to end up in the wrong gear, or not even in a gear, or maybe listening to the sweet hymns your car makes when you grind them gears.

When shifting into a gear where you move the shift towards the rear of the car, I use three fingers. When shifting towards the front of the car, I just use the heel of the palm of my hand.

Ditto. :thumbsup:

When the adrenaline is flowing, it's a bit difficult to "shift lightly".

Install a short shifter. That will reduce the throw and resolve the issue in two ways:
1) with a shorter throw, you will not build enough momentum in the shift action to go past the lockout spring.
2) Less leverage available at the shifter will make it virtually impossible to accidently put it in reverse.

The short shifter will make for a faster and more enjoyable shift, but may tick off your s.o. if she/he has to use two hands to get it into reverse.

Someone does a bit too much street racing, methinks. :razz:

Mythbusters did an episode on shifting into reverse while moving. It would not go in, but made a hell of a noise. I think they wrecked the manual transmission on that old Honda they used. The automatic they tried had a safety mechanism that didn't let the car engage reverse.

I cringe every time I hear that grinding. It only happens every once and a while, but when it does, it sends chills up my spine. I've only been driving stick shift and my MINI for about 7 months. Sometimes it's just because I'm lazy, other times it's because I'm in too much of a hurry to shift. Either way, I scold myself because I don't want to hurt my baby!

yep, its the adrenaline thing, Trying to make the move on the road and then freaking when it does not go into gear. I have been called a bit heavy handed so I will be more "dainty" in trying to find 2nd. I am 40 and learned stick in my 30s so a bit of practice on the new box won't go missing

Hey, mauberley my car better be on the drive, you stole it!!! haha, we have the same car, you have good taste.

Peter

If his experience was anything like mine, it was more like taking any colour of 'S' model that didn't have a lot of miles on it. Bought mine less than a year ago. It's an '03 and had only 8778 miles on it. :nod:

Varga; join the club. Always felt like a "noob" when I did it. Only time nowadays it happens is when I'm completely exhausted.

I have the issue of finding no-man's land behind reverse on occassion, especially if I've recently been driving my TransAm's 6 speed, which requires significantly more effort...

Traded a RAV4 which had the feel of a metal rod in a barrel of rocks to shift, I could not believe how bad a shifter could feel, absolute rubbish.

I have now toned it down and find 2nd quite easily, in the heat of battle I may still struggle.

Now about the butter soft paint, got the first scratch today, sheesh.

Loving it though. Peter

I used to always think 3rd was 1st and be like "why is it taking so much love to get going?.....Oh. Duh!"

Shifting into second now is crunchy. Time to go into the doctor.

possibly look into short shifters, they should minimize the space for mistakes having a shorter throw and all.

Still feeling out the car, trying to figure out now if the car has DSC, I honestly think I got confused as I wanted DSC and thought when I was looking at the spec that I saw it but might have been confused with ASC which I now read they all have, DOH!

I am kinda surprised the gas cap cover does not lock, at 5 pounds per gallon of petrol I am wary of petrol thieves.

Lots to learn with the wee beastie.

Cheers. Peter

My gas cap locks whenever I lock my car. I thought this was standard on all of the MINIs. I've got an '04 MCS, so I guess I've really never thought about it for other models.

Anyone else know?

Mine locks too.

Locks on my '06 too. If you look at the cap/cover, you'll see an opening for a rod to poke through when the car is locked. Look in the open area right of the cap/cover, you'll see the rod.

Close it, and lock you car. You shouldn't be able to open the cap/cover.

Just pull it towards you, don't think about where it is going. Ignore the nice symmetrical drawing on the shift knob, it's more like pulling it along a diagonal line.

You'll get it . . .

I would prefer reverse to be on the far right of 6th to get it out of the "action zone" of 1st and 2nd. My old car was like that I never had any issues.

Does anyone know if there is some type of reverse lock out mechanism available? It would be great for track days.

The people here are right. You will get used to it. This is my first manual and i've done the track a few times. Never had a problem.

I don't think there's a lock mechanism btw. So you're only option is to GET USED TO IT!!!!!:nod: :lol: :thumbsup: