Hi Folks,

Just wanted to get someone else's opinion on this before I get all worried and take the car in and have it checked out....

I just took delivery of my mini the other week, and a few days into it, I decided to look at a home on Mt. Tam. I didn't realize it when I got directions, but the place I was planning on looking at was situated off of a very narrow,EXTRA-SUPER-DUPER-STEEP dirt road. I shimmied the car down to where the house was, but getting back up the hill (and I swear this slope went straight up) was a totally different story. There I was, in my poor car, which was really struggling to make it back up. I have the CVT option, and although I obviously had the car in Drive, my car kept rolling backwards and making these very funny high-pitched struggling-car noises. I eventually cut the engine, waved at some random guy doing yardwork, and got him to drive my car back up the hill, dissecting the slope into a series of angles instead of trying to go straight up. The car seems to be driving OK now for the most part, but I'm concerned about those funny noises it was making. I have noticed that it doesn't seem as "peppy" as it was when I first took it home, either. Should I take it in to have it looked at? I can't have a non-peppy BellePepper mini!

Cheers,
Belle

 

Yes. Get funny noises checked. Also, on steep hills, the weight is transferred to the rear wheels with front wheel drive. I have been in a situation on an icy hill where the only way to get up with front wheel drive was to back up.(not a MINI though) Get yours checked out. The CVTs have had some fluid problems as well....[LIST]

 

Hey BP,
If the car does not drive as it did before "The Climb", take it in. Just my 2 Lincolns..
Jim

 

Hey BP,

Yeah, get it checked out ASAP. BTW, I work near MT. Tam and ride my motorcycle thru Lucas/Nicasio/Hwy 1/Stinson, etc... Where are you going to have your Mini serviced? Will it be at Sonnen? Just curious about local service areas, since I just got mine 2 days ago and will more than likely have it serviced closer to home(Concord).

trixander

 

Do you have DSC/ASC? When you say "struggling" - were the wheels spinning at all?

I have found that on dirt/gravel at low speeds (particularly climbing) DSC does more harm than good. To maintain momentum on such loose surfaces, you need to permit some amount of slip without cutting engine power or using brake force. At times it can be impossible to climb a hill with DSC on.

Don't know if this was your problem, but just a thought.

(Don't misread me as saying that DSC is bad. It just has its place - on slick hard-suface roads.)

 

I has this happen once, I had four people in the car and we had to stop at a red light on a very steep hill, when it was time to go we just BARELY made it over the crest of the hill, I was seriously worried that I was not going to make it and I had a whole line of traffic behind me!!! That's the last time I go on that road with more than two in the car, for sure! Stupid place for a stop light anyway...

 

>>Hey BP,
>>
>>Yeah, get it checked out ASAP. BTW, I work near MT. Tam and ride my motorcycle thru Lucas/Nicasio/Hwy 1/Stinson, etc... Where are you going to have your Mini serviced? Will it be at Sonnen? Just curious about local service areas, since I just got mine 2 days ago and will more than likely have it serviced closer to home(Concord).
>>
>>trixander

Hi trixander-

I'm probably going to have my mini serviced either in Concord or in Pleasanton b/c I live in Martinez. I was just looking for an apartment in the North Bay - the commute to the City is much better from there than from where I live! Did you buy from Concord? I got mine in Mtn. View.

See you at the dealer's!

-Belle

 

>>Do you have DSC/ASC? When you say "struggling" - were the wheels spinning at all?
>>
>>I have found that on dirt/gravel at low speeds (particularly climbing) DSC does more harm than good. To maintain momentum on such loose surfaces, you need to permit some amount of slip without cutting engine power or using brake force. At times it can be impossible to climb a hill with DSC on.
>>
>>Don't know if this was your problem, but just a thought.
>>
>>(Don't misread me as saying that DSC is bad. It just has its place - on slick hard-suface roads.)

Hello Mini2Go-

Thanks for the advice. I do have DSC/ASC and I thought about switching it off while I was ascending. The ground seemed stable enough so that I wasn't really spinning wheels, but if I'm in that situation again (don't think I'll be moving there, though!), I'll give it a try.

Love the car, but it just isn't built for off-roading.

Thanks again,
Belle

 

>>I has this happen once, I had four people in the car and we had to stop at a red light on a very steep hill, when it was time to go we just BARELY made it over the crest of the hill, I was seriously worried that I was not going to make it and I had a whole line of traffic behind me!!! That's the last time I go on that road with more than two in the car, for sure! Stupid place for a stop light anyway...

 

Hey BP,

I bought my S outta state from Int'l Mini in Wisconsin. I couldn't handle paying over MSRP, nor waiting 6-8 months at Pleasanton( which is one of the only dealerships in CA that's selling at MSRP ) for a spec'd S.

Commute time from North Bay is definitely smoother into the city.
BTW, the hills in the city have me a little worried too. I used to live there, and I remember struggling to get my POS rear wheel drive car up Taylor street/*** Hill area, and in some spots in Noe Valley. But then again, the tires were pretty shot and I had zero traction Even with my S, I would avoid some of the hills - especially if it's raining.

Good luck with your car!

 

I'll add my 2 cents: by all means get it checked & soon!
Also, see CVT recall threads & "Poor Sick Mini" threads in Mini Talk & Beneath the Bonnet fora.

If your Mini was built in October or early November '02 you may be a victim of a transmission fluid mix-up at the factory and/or be in need of a software upgrade.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I did take it in yesterday. I had an oil leak. It's been taken care of. Phew!

bigbud, mine was a late November build. I'll check out those threads.

Thanks again,
Belle


>>I'll add my 2 cents: by all means get it checked & soon!
>>Also, see CVT recall threads & "Poor Sick Mini" threads in Mini Talk & Beneath the Bonnet fora.
>>
>>If your Mini was built in October or early November '02 you may be a victim of a transmission fluid mix-up at the factory and/or be in need of a software upgrade.
>>
>>Good luck.

 

My MCS will not climb a steep dirt road with the DSC and ASC on. Any wheelspin and it's curtains, the power cuts down and the car won't go !! Turn off the DSC and the ASC and it's a different story, the car feels like the space shuttle blasting off.