At 80K now, (non-MINI) mechanic recommended a manual tranny fluid change. Afterward, the shifting seems a little more notchy in feel, and it even seems a little more difficult to put it into first, especially if I'm rolling even a tiny bit.

Anything to worry about?

did your mechanic use fluid from MINI or aftermarket? there has been a lot of discussion about what aftermarket trans fluid to use. MINI will tell you that the fluid is good for lifetime or 100,000 miles, so technically you didn't need to do it.

there is a very good chance that your mechanic used the wrong trans fluid.

The problem may not be in the transmission and could be in the actual shifter, maybe the linkage.

It was aftermarket. Some brand called Synchroshift, I believe. I don't know the weight. I doubt it's anything mechanical, because it was noticeable pulling out of the bay of the service center.

I'm going to call the center tomorrow to see what they put in, and replace it with MINI branded fluid if necessary.

When I changed mine I went with what I believe is the consensus on here: Redline MTL.
I changed mine because my shifting seemed notchy, and changing the fluid made things slightly better. I can tell you that even though it's considered *lifetime*, my fluid needed changing. Both the add and drain plugs on your gearbox are magnetic, and mine were very hairy with metal filings, and the fluid itself was very dark. I can't speak for Synchroshift, don't know about it.

A quick Google search shows some debate over these two fluids. Are you in a cold climate? Maybe the Synchroshift gets a little jellied in the cold? Hopefully someone with some anecdotal evidence will pipe up on this thread.

Well, I took it back to the shop on the 29th and told them what was going on. They didn't really explain anything, but they re-did the transmission fluid change, and now it's shifting fine. Makes me wonder what they did wrong in the first place. Wrong fluid? No fluid? Hard to say.