Just drove a 2007 MC Automatic for a few hundred miles. I noticed that when in traffic or other times when driving really slow (stop and go) the car seems to drag as if the breaks are being slightly pushed when I take my foot of the gas. This happens mostly when I am trying to coast between 10 and 20 mph. I take my foot of the gas and the car shifts down to 2nd or 1st gear and slows as if its in a gear that is too low. The car coasts fine at high speeds. Any other non-S automatic cooper owners have this issue?

 

When I was test driving the automatic I noticed that too. Not sure why they do that but since all of them do that I don't think anything is wrong with your car. The dealer explained that the down shifting is a feature. I remember reading something in another thread about this I think it was the owner of the first night fire red MINI on NAM that mentioned it. Just out of curiosity I didn't really test this when I was test driving but does it do that when you're in the manumatic mode?

 

I have not really played around with the manual shifting feature too much, especially in traffic. I just thought it was strange that the car would downshift instead of coasting in traffic. Thought I guess using the manual mode and keeping it in second gear would prevent it from doing that. Strange feature, but I guess its something to get used to. Great little car otherwise.

 

i think thats normal... i have the same thing in my 745i

 

Wait! You have a 745i? What use is an MCS to you?

 

lol am a student ... studying abroad

 

must be some student budget you have...

 

Damn with my finacial aid i could barley afford food

 

I have an auto MC, and I too have noticed this issue, like if I'm trying to coast to a red light all of a sudden the gear change really slows me down. To the point that my coast falls short and I need a little gas to make it to the stop light. Ithink it's normal, and annoying.

 

I drove several Cooper automatics for a total of about a week-and-a-half and all seemed normal to me. Perhaps the behaved similarly to my normal driving style, but nothing problematic even crossed my mind.

 

It sounds like the auto MC is trying to act like a manual one. It has been almost 20 years since I have driven a stick, but when I was taught, my instructor told me not to coast toward a stop. He said always downshift that will give me more control over the car.

I didn't really notice it when I test drove an auto MC yesterday.

 

I've always used engine braking in first gear under 20mph and the automatic seemed to match my driving style during my test drive last Saturday.

I've been told that a car would detect decelleration without any throttle and turn the injectors off, while an engine idling with the clutch out continues to use fuel. Perhaps economy is influencing the decision here as well?

 

I think it's a performance thing - the car's tranny programming "anticipates" what gear you'd actually need to accellerate from the current speed when decelerating and shifts proactively to that gear - so if you need to get out of a tight spot and you punch it, you're not slushing along in the wrong gear for the few moments it takes to downshift... on my 2006 MCSa, the behavior is a bit different in D vs. SD auto modes.

 

The MC auto drives much more like a manual. THe car downshifts, that is most likely what you're feeling. Most cars don't do this, BMWs do.

 

I'm the NFR owner mentioned above who talked about this! I'm the only one I've ever heard say it.

I have seen this on all MCa that I have driven, including R50. I think as also said above, this is just a transmission configuration that we are not used to, namely that it downshifts differently than the 3 cylinder japanese cars I (we?) are used to.

Now that I've had my car a month, I notice it much less. So yes, it is a phenomena that feels a little weird, but it is totally normal.

 

The 2 MC R53 loaners I drove did this also. It was very annoying & not very economical. I mean instead of coasting to a stop at a redlight you now have to give the car gas to make it to the redlight.

 

Sorry to say this Guys ,but my 07 MCa doesnt behave like that. If it does I dont notice it. There might be a slight drag when I cruise to a pace before a traffic light, but I think this is beneficial for me. A slight reajustment of my foot on the pedal gets me in sync for the new throttle position. I think it is just getting used to the new era of I DRIVE.

 

Another reason to drive the stick. I hate transmissions that control you.

 

thanks for all the input. I am switching from a 96 toyota with a three speed tranny. I am used to coasting to red lights and always laugh at people racing up to them and then breaking hard....guess thats gonna be me now hahahh.

 

My MCa (06 R50) does this as well. It used to bother me, but now I'm used to it. It varies depending on what speed I'm coming down from as well - especially if I'm coasting from mid-acceleration (even if it's slow, like I'm stopped at a light, traffic moves so I go, but it's going slow so I let off the gas to coast a little)...that's probably when I notice it the the most.

But the MC I test-drove and the one I had as a loaner recently all do the same thing.

 

Yeah, unintended early downshift to 2nd was more noticable in the MCa that I had as a loaner when the sport button on. I also thought I noticed that the car was starting in 2nd from a stop, because when I manually paddled it down to 1st, it felt a little less composed but quicker when I pulled away from a light.

 

I think it is a great feature. It is one of the reasons I'm considering buying an automatic for my wife. Hard to adjust to the unexpected I guess.

 

Oh for Pete's sake! I know one shouldn't draw attention to the fact when one has been ridiculously stupid (that being me up until now for not realizing this). But I claim the following is the definitive reason the MINI feels different to us and we experience this "drag".

We are used to 3 speeds, there are fewer possibilities for downshifting (at low speeds you're probably already in 1st). The new MINI is 6 speeds, so more low gears to downshift through (could be coming from 2nd or 3rd).