I have a 02 MINI Cooper with a 5 speed and 58,000 miles. It began to make a squealing noise (similar to when a belt slips) when engaging 1st gear. I have heard of this problem when the car is cold, but it was quite warm out and the car was warmed up. Other than the noise I had no other problems, the car shifted fine with reverse occationally being hard to engage. Now the car will not go into gear. Sometime 1st or reverse will engage, but the car will only move 10-20 feet or so then disengage. No grinding noises though. It is now at a transmission shop and they pulled the trans and they said it looked fine and the clutch showed virtually no wear. They seemed to be at a loss?? They haven't tore into the trans yet. They have had my car for 8 days and haven't dianosed anything yet. My car is out of factory warranty, but I do have an extended warranty through carmax. Any help??

 

Your car does have a Midlands transmission which has very weak synchronizers. It is probably that. Hopefully carmax will take care of you. Most 02 or 03 coopers have been through a couple of transmissions.

 

I just wanted to clarify that the squealing noise was when the clutch was released. They did take the tranny apart and found nothing wrong, just normal wear. They didn't seem to be sure why the car will not move. I have worked with this shop before and they are reputable. Now they want to replace the clutch, but they have now had my car nearly 2 weeks. Anyone have any similar problems??

 

The mystery transmission problem was finally solved. After a third inspection of the transmission they had determined that the diff "had spun on the spline". Carmax had sent an inspector to check it out and they will cover it under warranty. Its a $3000+ job!! That is the first extended warranty I have got my money back on.