When starting from a dead stop or creeping in traffic, it's impossible to excellerate smoothly between about 1700 RPM and 2000 RPM when applying the throttle lightly. Basically, the engine revs up smoothly to this range, but the transmission doesn't seem to be engaging. Once revs hit this range, the torque converter engages very abrubtly - enough to lurch the car and snap your head back in the set. The problem doesn't seem to happen when applying throttle more aggressively - not a good think when driving in heavy traffic. It also happens in sport mode, although not as noticebly because the engine revs through this range more quickly even with low throttle application.

Is this normal, is anyone else experiencing this behavior? I'm used to it at this point, but it's annoying to the point that passengers complain about my "rough driving"... I either have to start very slowly so the trans shifts gears out side the 1700-2000 range, or start quckly to get above 2000 where trans engagement is smooth.

Thanks,

-Scott

 

Are you using the Sport button when you notice this?

 

It's actually worse without the Sport button. The Sport button seems to move the RPMs and shift points enough that the occurrance is still there but, very minimal.

-Scott

 

Sometimes...

 

I have to be very careful coming from a dead stop or creep in Minerva- it is especially problematic if I have been driving the Altima for like a week and then hop in the MINI---- but it disappears magically if I drive Minerva for a whole week and get my foot trained right for the car. It can be driven smoothly, I promise. Your foot just has to get dialed in. Is your MINI a daily driver or a sometimes car like mine? And oh yeah, she goes flying off like a bat outta hay-yel in sport mode. I find it quite thrilling to do... I like it this way. When you say, GO, the car DOES. It isn't my grandmother's Buick after all.

 

Also- don't be "scared" of it- if you lighten up on the throttle the minute the car leaps forward then you get some engine breaking and it slows and jerks the passenger's heads around even more. The more I TRY to be smooth, the worse the car leaps about. If I just drive, it behaves. How long have you had the MINI? If not long, then you just need time and practice. And your passengers may have to realize they are in a MCS, not some marshmallow ride, slow accellerating, granny-mobile.

 

Have you tried manually shifting down to first gear when you're about to slow or creep in stop and go traffic? I don't have that problem but that's mostly because I use full manual 99% of the time so when I get into stop and go traffic I only go thru 1st and second gears. Full auto stays in 2nd so you'll get that jerk problem when it starts searching for 3rd instead of staying in 2nd.

 

The Sentra i drove does the same thing. it is a 2004 auto. anyway, when lightly accelerating, i would get a rough shift from 1st to 2nd, but not when applying more throttle. i have heard that automatic transmissions "learn," to a certain degree, the habits of the driver and adjust to them. i have no idea whether or not this is true and no way to prove it but it makes sense as i generally accelerated at a moderate to fast pace (for a Sentra). also, my friend used to have an auto tc and said that the transmission shifted differently after he had disconnected and reconnected the battery.

one again, i have no verification and no reason to believe or disbelieve my friend. however, i do think that this is a possibility as i have heard of this "adaptive shifting" with CVT transmissions. at the very least, this will give you another possibility to investigate.

 

Does Minerva's turbo rev up and down when you come to a complete stop? I've noticed Nic II will jump up and down a bit even when I'm sitting at 0 mph after I've driven for a bit. Some people told me it was the fact that it's an auto MCS, so I'm curious. It hasn't stopped doing it since I got it.

 

The fact that it jumps isn't that big of a deal, except that if I'm not keeping my foot very firmly on the brake, it tries to accelerate forward a foot or two. I'm just waiting for it to make me jump into the rear-end of the car in front of me!

 

yea i noticed this too. but like stated before the issue is that the auto doesnt downshift itself any lower than 2nd. ive kinda gotten used to it and it doesnt bug me thats its rough when im being lazy, but when im fully awake (usually on the drive home) ill down shift with the paddle to first to avoid that. trust me down here in South, FL there is tons of traffic so this was one of the first things i noticed as well.

 

I'm going to try to start using my manual shifting types more to see if I can get used to the feel. I've never driven a manual, and when I tried it in my '07 MC, my shifting was all over the place, especially when using the paddle shifters. It just seemed too easy to shift too soon, and I'd jerk the car forward because I'd shift down too soon, before the rpms decreased sufficiently. I'll try the manual shifting this evening on the ride home and see if that stops the turbo jumping after I've stopped. Honestly, I didn't realize it didn't shift into 1st. What's the logic behind that?

 

i honestly dont have the slightest clue im assuming gas efficiency was in mind when they designed it that way. i also have never driven manual but my fiance's mini is manual and its all he has driven. he explained to me where to shift, etc. so it will take a while for both of us to figure it out good luck!

 

Yes, especially when I first get stopped, I kindof hear her going vroom vroom vroom then she gets a little more settled if I sit there for a minute.

Honestly I have never used the paddle shifters. I always think I need to play with them, but I am either in traffic or on such a boring straight flat road that there is no playing to be done, or I am on a drive with those CRAZY :impatient AMOKs and it was all I could do to keep up and keep out of the ditches and shiny side up! Forget playing with paddle shifters, sheesh!

The biggest thing for me has just been to get my foot callibrated right and then it is fine. I'll try the paddles though....eventually.....

 

Never driven a manual before either but I specifically wanted the auto MCS cause it had tiptronic shifting. It's basically like the old logitech steering wheels that I used to play racing games back in the day where I had to push forward or back when shifting. So I assumed I'd naturally "get" it once I drove the MINI in full manual mode. Took maybe 2 days or so of a few hours driving to find good shift points while commuting. It'll come to you guys if you just put in the time to find where it feels good to shift. ABout the onyl warning I can give you is be careful if you put the pedal to the metal for some reason. If you're in a high gear like fifth or 6th in full manual mode and decide to slam the pedal down for overboost, the car will automatically shift to 3rd and rev quickly to 6k rpm. Just be ready to shift to next gear when that happens. ie Make sure you naturally know which direction to shift up when that happens and not downshift by accident.

 

What is does this mean? Is it the verb form of "to excel" or what . Anyway, in normal mode the automatic transmission starts in 2nd gear rather than 1st, presumably (my opinion) for less wheel spin and a smoother take off. If you are in sport mode or manually down shift to 1st at stop, then you will find quicker engagement, but I don't think that translates into a "smoother" take off. It is not clear what you are describing, but you may require a dealer visit for a software evaluation.

 

it was a typo. maybe im the only one who understood what they meant?

 

No, you're not the only one. I understood it meant accellerate as well.

I still maintain that there is a "sweet spot" in full auto mode. You just have to find it. And it helps to not dwell on whether the car is going to surge forward.

Thanks for the encouragement darmog. That is what I have been thinking all along. I have driven a stick quite a lot in the past, but I got the auto because of a bad left knee. I thought it would be cool to have the little paddle shifters so that if I wanted, I could shift, but without aggravating that darn knee. I just need to get it out there and use them.

 

Once you get used to the paddle shifters it's all good. There's something about using your thumb to downshift that is just so cool. After driving manual for over 30 years, the paddle shifters make it fun again.

 

maybe you can take it to the dealer and have a tech drive with you so you can see if its normal....you can always test drive one on the lot and see if they ll do it

 

I noticed this a few days after getting my MINI (always drove manual). Some people might call it normal some not. I don't like it at all myself. There were a few times I could have rear ended some one when it surged. If you take it in for service they will say its operating in specifications. It might be but all the auto's I have driven didn't do it. They just designed it and didn't account for this problem. Some people say the JCW auto kit helps the issue (trans programing update possibly)

 

ive driven all automatic cars before too and like you said none have ever done this. this is the first turbo car i own though, all my other ones were economy cars, and this might be a factor in why the car acts the way it does when you let go of the brake. i also havent had a car with a similar transmission so that might play a factor too. i think the two things together might be what makes the cars drive so different.

 

I have owned a few Turbo cars (STi, WRX, Z32 and Supra) They were all manuals and varied in the Turbo lag area. I can say this issue is not a turbo related problem ex. Lag. The turbo is very small and its twin scroll. Most modern turbo cars have done away with that side affect. I think the problem is the programing of the transmission. I also think Mini will do nothing to resolve this. As far as they see it there is no problem. I have only driven a few auto turbo/supercharged cars. But they didn't do this, maybe there are other's who can chime in on this. People that have more time driving with auto trans that are 6 speed. My friend has a GTI with DSG..thats what the S should have!!

 

I took the car in to the dealer for another issue and asked about the shifting behavior. The feedback from the service manager was basically that the transmission learns from how I drive the car. Since I do a lot of stop and go driving, the transmission is reacting with the behavior I'm seeing. He suggested I manually shift the transmission several times a week as this will teach the trans where I like to shift. I've now been doing this for several weeks and the shifting behavior has indeed changed.

The other thing I've noticed is that the transmission is noticibly rougher shifting when the outside air temp is below 40 degrees. This is regardless of whether or not the car is fully warmed up.

 

I have the same behavior (abrupt take off) in my auto. I've only had my car for 1200 miles so I'm sure part of it is me learning the quirks. Using the sport button does seem to lessen it for me too. Starting out in 1st gear doesn't seem to have much affect to me. I will try manual mode for a week or two to see how things go. I didn't realize this transmission had the ability to "learn".