Well, mine has been getting a little notchy and difficult to put into 1st and 2nd sometimes, but I've also got over 100k miles on mine, so I figure it's just wear/abuse. Don't know why yours would be acting up with such low mileage.

One of the things that you might check though is the clutch. You mention that the pick-up is pretty close to the floor. Before I had my clutch replaced (quite as while back), the engagement point was getting closer to the floor and the pedal felt really stiff. I also seem to remember the lower gears being harder to shift into at the time. Getting a new clutch fixed the problems. You shouldn't need a clutch at 10k, but it might be worth checking out. Maybe something there is out of whack.

 

Sorry for not closing this out!!

It turns out when they did the TSB for dual mass flywheel replacement, they did a faulty install (don't know specifics) but it caused my clutch to wear prematurely. The tech quickly determined the clutch was dragging, and they replaced it under warranty. that was last spring/summer... I actually sold the car last Thanksgiving!

 

OK, well at least it was resolved. I didn't notice how old the thread was when I posted. Eh, the info may help someone else, though.

 

Doh, I didn't notice how old it was either, sorry

 

The thread may be old, but it issue isn't dead for all MINIs, lol. I'm having a similar issue--happens once in awhile when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Usually happens when I'm mid shift and catches me off guard that I can't shift to second. If I force it, it will go, but I've found that if I double clutch, I can then shift easily. Not sure why it's like that, but happens every so often. Pretty annoying.