While driving normally, my automatic shifts at 9, 19, 29, 39, 49 and 59 mph. Do all automatics do that. I think it's kinda cool...

Really? Shouldn't it shift depending on how much throttle you're giving it? If you peg it to the floor, I would think it would stay in each gear a little longer...can't be certain though, as I don't have one

I just realized that on the AT the paddle shifters are not just the little silver triangles above the horizontal parts of the wheel but extend behind the entire steering wheel itself and can be used at "9 and 3" pretty easily.

My MCa up-shifts at those speeds under very light acceleration except I have never seen the up-shift listed at 59 mph into seventh gear, could that be a lock-up of the torque convertor?

A lot of steptronic users say that theirs normally start out in second gear, mine starts in first and hits second at 9 mph under low torque acceleration.

Old Chrysler Automatics would 'learn' your driving style and adjust shiftpoints accordingly, think disconecting battery would erase the 'learning' and you could 'teach' it again.

Now that I am passing 1200 miles, I will check and see what the sport button does for low torque acceleration shift points.

This might have been covered here in one of the 58 pages of this thread, but I noticed last night as I opened the car to get in it, that the courtesy lights get brighter after unlocking when you open the door.

Of course, I haven't even had my car 24 hours. I'm sure I'll be "discovering" all kinds of amazing things in the next few weeks as I get to know my car!

Congratulations on your new baby! Yup, you'll find a lot of things. I suggest you check through this thread, a few pages at a time, because you'll learn a lot that might not be in the book (or is rather obscure).

What? you got a 7-speed tranny??

Yeah, that's why I said when "driving normally"... And my bad, there is no shift at 59 mph, I got a little carried away...

The AT shift points change dramatically based on how heavy you are with the throttle; the more power you're using, the later the car shifts. Also, engaging the Sport mode with the AT at highway speeds shifts the car from 6th to 5th and keeps it there. 6th is such a high overdrive, the car can't reach top speed in it; max air drag is reached well before the engine can get to it's RPM for best horsepower.

...didn't know my new Mini would come w/ a huge oil leak :(
still trying to get it fixed, -only 600 miles and leaking about an oz or 2 per day.

So you're adding a quart of oil every two or three weeks? I assume since the leak hasn't been found that the oil isn't dripping on the ground? Sounds like a poorly assembled engine, which would be very difficult to fix.

Still, that's not as huge as I've seen. I once installed a VW Bug's oil cooler with the wrong seals. They failed and I was leaking a quart every 150-200 miles; had to add three quarts of oil to the engine during a single day's drive from Watsonville to San Jose. Not fun.

In the late 60s, a friend helped me rebuild an engine (he was the expert). Unfortunately, he put the scraper rings on upside down. Needless to say, it looked pretty amazing driving down the road, boiling blue-white clouds of smoke from the tailpipe...

They are trying to locate the leak now (just brought it into the dealer). Yes, it is leaking to the ground, -yet there is oil sprayed all over the engine, so it's difficult to tell exactly where it is coming from. I believe it's coming from the lower metal tubing that goes into the turbo (there is a skinny black metal tube). That tube is pretty wet w/ oil and it appears it is coming from that area (then dripping down to everything below and getting on the fan, ....just making a mess)! arghhh, it's not even 2 months old!! I trust they'll fix it, -I hope.

That could be a simple as a bit of metal caught in the sealing area of the tubing, or maybe the tube is cracked. Either way, it's pretty simple to fix.

Sounds like all they have to do is run the engine for a minute with the hood open, a leak that size should be pretty obvious. Good luck, tell us what it turns out to be.

I wonder if pressure washing the oil away and then running the engine would clue them in.

You bet it would, particularly if the car is being driven where there's a lot of dust to get picked up by the oil.

Yes, but not something the OP would want to do, since there is great risk when using pressure washer under bonnet
(MINI Maintenance shop may use a 'mineral spirits' type pressure washer).

Actually the Turbo is a likely candidate, as it has its own oil supply and return lines, as well as its own pump
(that circulates oil {for cooling} after shutdown).

Scariest aircraft engine failure I ever had was just a failure of the scavanger pump that evacuated the lube oil from turbocharger;
(cracked its housing and and sprayed oil all over hot exhaust pipe, could see a billowing stream of smoke from that engine until shut-down
and was never so happy to see the appearance of the streak of an oil leak).

Automotive Turbochargers also have dedicated circulation lines for coolant, making for a sometimes difficult diagnosis of a coolant leak.

not too get too far off on one topic, I'll share two things I learned...

1) I did not know I'd have such bad coverage from the mirrors. It's bad driving technique to turn the head to look when changing lanes or merging; the mirrors should be relied on so your peripheral vision is still looking ahead. However, that assumes the mirrors do a reasonable job... I find, the MINI's mirrors do not... or at least not for a tall person who has to sit far back from them, cropping the viewing angle too much.

2) Whoever designed the wiperwasher had a sick sense of humor.
2.a) There's a dead zone just to the left and below eye level. You get muck, smashed bug(s), bird droppings there and your wiper will just shmear it, and no amount of wiper fluid, or change in speed (20mph, or 80 mph) will get the fluid + wiper trace to clean it.
2.b) If you use the wiper wash with your windows open, you'll get spray into your car from the liquid traveling around the windshield pillar. ...keep the windows closed if you use the wash.

I didn't know that a 30 degree temperature change would cause the Tire Pressure Monitor to kick in. So this morning in the cold rain I got to check all 4 tires (fine, just down a couple pounds because it's COLD) and then remember how to reset the monitor.

Must be a BMW trait--my old '94 did that!

As for turning your head before making a lane change, that's a difference of opinion. Many (most?) instructors teach it. And I've heard it's actually a part of at least one state manual. At least, that's what I've gleaned from a previous thread. Personally, yes, I turn my head.

I always do a quick head-check. Every once in a while there is a car there- and it saves you some pain.

I set my mirrors this way:

http://www.securitydriver.com/aic/st...ticle-101.html

+1 Been doing this on all my vehicles for years!

I do too, it eliminates almost all blind spots. I set them even a little more extreme than what they describe. Between the two side mirrors and the rear view, believe it or not, it pretty much makes one continuous mirror. On the highway it's invaluable. A quick glance at the mirror and out the side window is all I need to know that the coast is clear. I never have to swing my head around.

Yes, it's pretty obvious to me where the leak is coming from, I haven't heard back from the dealer yet ...i'll keep you updated as to what they find.

Curious how far back all who replied (+) sit? I'm all the way back, or one click forward. I'll try it for sure tho, not to worry. Thanx.