So...

Driving home today I downshifted from 3 to 2nd.. maybe at 2000 RPM.. high pitched squeal...I press in the cluth and shift back to third...no problems.. back down to second..high pitched squeal again. At this point I just took it out of gear and coasted to a stop.

I put it in first at the light and drove away with no problems...but I'm really sweating this at the moment.

The symptoms line up... notchy gears, touchy clutch and high pitched squeal when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd.

I leave on a roadtrip in 13 days. Am I screwed three ways blue?

EDIT: I'm at 2300 or so miles as well.
:(

 

Not really.... basically sounds exactly like my car.. I'd get it in to the dealer sooner than later. They'll most likely replace the clutch and flywheel. There may be other issues too.. have you noticed your clutch pedal is noisy too?

 

No, can't say that I've noticed that.

Though this is a very unique sounding vehicle...to state the obvious

 

johnblz when was your car built? Mine is third week of production.

 

How can you tell which production week one's car was built? Through the VIN number? I know from the stamping on the inside of my driver's-side door that mine was built in 02/07...does that info help at all?

 

krut:3rd week as well.

 

John - do you have the LSD as well?

 

yes on the LSD.

 

Oh no, not you too! I would definately get it to your dealership ASAP. 13 days is still plenty of time just in case anything is wrong, at this point who knows. Be sure to mention to your SA about others having the same problem and have had their tranny and/or clutches replaced. Im sorry to hear your car is making the same noise. Please keep us updated!

 

Hello Trinity.... Congrats on getting your car back. Please keep us updated on how the repairs are holding up.

 

Good grief! I'm a week 3 build, too. And have LSD. What do I have to look forward to? What are the symptoms? I have 5000 miles on mine, with no sign of any trouble in any way. (Knocking)

 

Unless you are carrying pigs in the back, a high pitch squeel when downshifting into 2nd would be an indicator.

 

Took it in this morning. I'm without wheels until we get this resolved as the only way to get it in this week was to forego a loaner.

It gave me the second gear squeal three times last night and twice on the way to the dealership...to the point where I was avoiding downshifting into 2nd at all.

Happy happy joy joy.

UPDATE:

SA called me tonight to verify that they did replicate the issue. He is researching (this forum and others) to find similar issues. Awaiting a response from PUMA, though he did mention that he'd like his regional rep to look at it next Tues?

10 days and counting till my 10 day roadtrip in the MINI I bought with this trip in mind.

 

Looks like I get mine back tomorrow. They pulled the transmission on, replaced the clutch and lubed some things. Will be curious to find out what was lubed.

 

there's an easy joke there, but I'm gonna take the high ground...

 

I talked to my SA today--she said there is no recall or service bulletin yet on this issue, and wasn't aware of any problems. This is the response I got when I reported the cruise control dropout, which IS now covered by a bulletin (and a programming fix). Interesting. I hope I avoid all these problems, but I'm a week 3 with LSD, so...

 

Update:

No update, MINI is still at the dealer awaiting regional service reps and PUMA response. I leave in 7 days and to my knowledge no parts have been ordered.

PUMA ticket was put in Tues morning...no response from them yet as per the SA.

I called MINIUSA to try and escalate, they advised they have no way to escalate to the technicians at MINI. I know the dealer is in a pickle with a potential huge repair (warranty) bill and stuck between wanting to satisfy a customer and complying with policy..

 

I hate to hear that. I sure hope they get it in gear and do the right thing. The bill goes to MINIUSA not the individual dealer.

 

That's true. But the dealer gets reimbursed from the manufacturer at a lower rate than they charge for service.

 

I apologize for reasking this question. But, has anyone been able to have the noise (when the clutch is depressed) fixed in their MINI? I think mine makes a louder noise after longer trips. I have been told that MINI does not believe this is a problem.
I have been playing it cool with my dealer, as they are the ones responsible for the maintenance of the car, I kinda feel they are a monopoly able do to what they like. I don't wanna complain too much because they are the ones that will be taking care of my car for the first 50000 thousand miles. So I feel I can't express all my concerns.
I am also wondering if MINI is holding off on acknowledging a fault until one is already stuck with a defective car.
I don't wanna sound negative, I love my MINI! Everytime I drive it, I am playing with it and showing off. But really, I bough a new car for one reason:TO AVOID CAR PROBLEMS!!!

 

There have been a couple of reports of the trans. and flywheel being replaced, but I don't recall whether they said it actually fixed the problem.

Not sure what you are worried about. You think they might consider revenge if you bug them? It could work the other way. If they get to know you as a person who is very particular about their car and creates a stink when things are not right, they may take extra care to keep you happy. If you are quiet as a mouse, they don't need to put much effort into taking care of you.

They may still be trying to analyze the problem. Or, they may not be telling the dealers much. I get the impression from my MA that info does not trickle down from BMW very readily. For example, BMW neglected to inform the MINI of Mountian View MAs that the NAV was supposed to have voice actuation. They were originally told that it didn't.

Probably should not have bought a new model in its first year of release.

 

My dealer replaced my trans and it has fixed the problem. No more noise, no more notchy gears. I wouldnt worry about being upfront with your dealer about issues you are having with the car. I doubt they will hold it against you, its their job to handle concerns like that. Go get it fixed!

 

I think the trick here is if the new replacement parts solve the problems or MINI is just replacing the same old parts bound to fail again at some point in time...

 

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If your quite ... you loose.

Also Besides first year model, if you read the problems with the first gen cars, its not like they are known for reliability (in my experience).

 

Is this problem only on the manual. Sorry If someone already answered.