I just talked with a friend that also has a CVT. 2003 w/5 speed auto and 85K. No problems.

 

I knew they were out there!!

I hope my MINI will go far. I plan on keeping for years to come. I did not opt for an extended warranty due to worries that the companies would go under in the economy.

I am glad to see some high miles here!

 

Well my 06MC CVT has 42,044 getting 2nd service Monday plus recently added a megan exhaust she sounds great...

Art

 

Just to post my 2 cents worth...

Closing in on 100,000 kms with no problems whatsoever. Not too shabby considering the extreme weather conditions that range from -40 C to +35 C. But its definitely time to change the fluid!

 

My wife is out of town for a week and I drove her 05 MCca yesterday.

-75 miles on the service indicator. Just under 27k on the odometer.

Called to make an appointment for tomorrow for the 1st service. Maintenance agreement has expired. Quote is for around $600 for the service including transmission fluid change.

Yikes.

I'm curious as to the driving style of those who had problems. Does anyone know if "spirited" drivers are having more problems than casual ones?

 

Just passed the 92,000 mark. As per others changing the fluid on a regular basis is the key. Whenever I make an appointment for fluid change the service rep insists it is a lifetime fluid.

I see several companies offer a filter kit - it appears that it involves dropping the pan and replacing a screen filter. Anyone ever replace the filter along with the fluid?

 

04 - 83k w/ no issues and I didn't have the fluid changed at 60k but will do so this week.

 

2005 r52. 84k miles. no problemo.
fwiw, xmission is a ZF product. high marks in the marine/diesel market.

 

2006 R50 CVT 38,500. IMHO the CVT makes this low torque/horsepower car much more spirited and fun to drive. Purchased from a GO Buick dealership last June with 24,000 miles on it. Bought an extended warranty, still under the MINI warranty. Whatever breaks gets fixed. It has had it's first service which changed the CVT fluid. Drivers door window motor took a vacation and the battery only lasted 35,000 miles. These are the only problems I've had with the car and the MINI warranty and Ralph Schomp service department made them all disappear quickly, easily and at NO CHARGE!

The Carfax showed my MINI had only seen a dealer once for an oil change at 14,000 miles. The previous owner and first owner was a Major Car Rental Company. So you know it was never broken in just pushed full throttle and thrashed by someone renting it since the day it was started. That should show that at least some of the CVT's can handle the same abuse as any other type of transmission.

I wonder how many of the people renting it didn't think it was working correctly since it never seemed to shift unless they floored it.

 

We have a local club member with over 110K on his '03 CVT, and he's done at least 9 track events with it that I attended, and he's had no problems, so I don't think "spirited" or town/highway is the answer either. I think regular fluid changes and service (which he has done) is the key to the longevity of these transmissions.

Not only is MINI using them, but they're in hundreds of thousands of Nissans too, and even Audi uses them in some of their cars, and I have not heard of these horror stories with them.

I think part of the reason these get so much attention here in the forum is their cost of replacement and the fact that there is no repairing them. I cannot understand why this is an $8k replacement - that's just nuts!

 

Slightly over 32K on my 2006 MC with no problems and very on top of fluid changes.

 

2006 MCC bought new. 40K miles and never an issue. I drive it hard, use sport mode a lot and manual shift in the mountains. If it was that fragile I doubt it would have survived this long as hard as I push it.
That said - extended warranty seems to be prudent.

 

2003 R50 CVT with slighty over 100k miles.

 

I put 128k on my '03 in two years with no CVT issues. I recently spoke with the buyer and it now has 200k with no problems.

 

04 with 80k, I had the cvt computer reset about 10k ago b/c the rpms were revving up when decelerating. That took care of the problem til just recently. I plan to make an appt to have it reset again. Does this sound problem free? I feel it could be worse and I too are keeping my fingers crossed. I just paid my last car payment this month.

 

REALLLY stupid question.. I know..
Buutt....
How do you know if you have a CVT transmission? Is it just if you have an auto? Because I do.

 

If you have an R50 or R52(AKA Cooper non-s) and your shifter looks like this you have a CVT.

 

I have an R52 and my shifter looks like that. But my climate controls are different. Not that it matters, just thought I would throw that in.

So I guess I should be easier on the transmission then, huh? Bummer.

 

 

I have '05 with 79K miles and it seems like everything but the CVT has gone out! (broken drive shafts, oil seals, exhaust system, multiple wiring harnesses). I've put around $5K into the car this year alone. Must be the Chicago winters / poor road conditions.

I do have the high-revs/unexpected down-shifting problem when throttle lifting at 60 - 70 mph. The dealer said they could not re-flash the ECU any more to fix this (apparently you only get so many tries).

 

Just hit 70k couple of days ago on my 05' cabrio.

 

I have 82k miles on my CVT and have a commute of stop/go city driving and blast through traffic in sport mode all the time (not recommended or safe really) and bust her out through the hills around me. The trans has had no problems and shifts and moves like a champ. I love these transmissions! They're so smart in their programming to!

 

I had almost 56.000 miles in my indie blue 04 non-s befoe i traded in, no issues whatsover, i did a transmission fluid replacement at 53.000 to be safe because i was thinking of holding onto the car for a much lnger time but then decided to trade it in...i sorta miss him.

 

How much are you guys paying for a fluid change? Bought mine used and figure I had better get it done so I know. thanks

 

Up to 85k now 2003 CVT no problems

Fluid changed at 50k
going to do again at 90k