Has anyone else suffered a catastrophic transmission failure? I picked up my '07 Cooper Monday night and drove about 50 miles. Everything was just fine. Actually, it was great! This morning after driving 25 miles I tried to downshift from 6th to 5th, and the shifter wouldn't move into position. In fact, it wouldn't move far enough to engage ANY gear. In some situations it might have been just an inconvenience, but merging onto the DC beltway made it less than enjoyable and more than a little thrilling

I stopped on the shoulder and shut down the engine (lucky to get there, and had no other choices). After a minute or so, restarted the engine, and was able to engage 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th. 3rd and 5th weren't happening. In 3rd and 5th the symptom is similar to moving a stick shift lever ALMOST all the way to a gear, letting out the clutch, hearing/feeling grinding noises as the shift lever pops out of the position. And yes, I made sure to fully push the shifter as far as it would go before letting out the clutch.

The first thing I wondered was if it could be operator error. Heck, I've only put half a million miles over the last 40 years on cars with stick shifts, and for what it's worth, never had to repair or replace a tranny OR a clutch. Ever. Even with higher mileage cars (150k - 200k miles). But maybe I was missing something. Nope. Tried everything I could think of.

Symptoms got progressively worse through the day, so I called the dealer. The first words out of the service writer's mouth were that they were accepting appointments for the 1st (or maybe 2nd) week in October!! so I said, 'Let me get this straight... I just picked up this new car from you, it doesn't shift into 3rd gear, and I have to wait 2 or 3 weeks to get a warranty issue looked at?' As I'm thinking to myself WTF? Amazingly, right about then he said there was a cancellation for tomorrow morning. Yeah, right. He did give me an appointment first thing tomorrow, though. I don't care why.

About 10 times today, when stoped at traffic lights and in neutral, the tranny wouldn't go into ANY gear, and then when it did only with a lot of force. I'm thinking that the possibilities are:

1) no oil in the tranny, or not enough
2) maladjusted shift linkage (at least that's how it apeared at first)
3) any guesses? Please, I really want your input here. I've gotta deal with an unknown, it's my first dealing with the service department (wish it had happened at the 10k oil change) and I'm really thinking I need a new tranny.

Thanks to all of you who have offered great information in the past, and to those who can help. For now, I'd prefer not to name the dealership, but if they aren't forthcoming with a workable solution, I suspect I might not be so reluctant to share all pertinent info.

What a tragic way to begin a love affair with a great car

P.S. How do I contact MINI customer service, just in case?

 

Sorry to hear of your problems. The dealer is your best bet, as in my experience, MINI USA customer service is totally worthless.

 

First, sorry to hear about your ordeal with your new Mini.
Second, be as positive as possible knowing your service guys are there for you and you were able to get in quickly.
Okay, that's said: I've have the same issue with a vehicle of mine years back. It was just a loose linkage and an easy fix. Just could not find a gear to save my life. Frustrating for sure and a new car to boot.
Start small and work your way up from there. You'll be back on the road in no time.
However it turns out, please let us know!

 

Thanks. Of course I'll be going in there with a smile, positive attitide and a box of freshly baked doughnuts (they work wonders!). I want to give the dealership the opportunity to exceed my expectations. Having a plan B ain't such a bad idea, either, just in case

 

Could be the clutch slave cylinder is kaput.

 

Probably is something very simple.

 

Clutch slave cylinder low on fluid?

 

Same symptoms happened to a Mini owner at the Mini in the Mountains and it was a clutch slave cylinder. Schomp Mini replaced it on sight.

 

Which dealer are you taking it to for repair?

 

Kurt, I'd prefer not to mention names until I give them a very fair chance to make things right. I'm pretty steamed right now, as you can well imagine, and don't want to flame anybody. If you want to pm me, I'll be glad to answer your question, but I don't think it's fair to slam them in a public forum without giving them the chance to do their thing.

One of the greatest things about the internet, and its greatest curse, is that anybody with an opinion, a computer and an internet connection can publish pretty much anything they want without censorship. I have every expectation that these folks are going to do the right thing, and when I show up tomorrow morning with a smile, handshake and a box of doughnuts, I want to give them the same oportunity to make things right that I'd also want to have if our roles were reversed.

In retrospect, the only thing that could have been handled beter IMHO would have been for the service writer to have omitted telling me that appointments were booked two weeks out. That just pushed a button for me that didn't need to get pushed. I'm sure he meant well, and he proved that by finding me an appointment tomorow. Just sometimes, folks don't think about how their answers, even the littlest and most insignificant comments, might affect others. I worked in retail for a long, long time, and learned customer service from some of the best. So it's tough when I get what I feel are substandard actions from folks who I am sure know better. I almost have come to expect substandard service nowadays, haven't we all (that's a whole separate thread, isn't it?), but not from MINI. I'll for sure keep everyone posted on what transpires, and will do my best to be fair in reporting the details. Tthanks to you all for your input!

 

I would have insisted that they have a flatbed trailer come get it and take it to the dealer. Your MINI comes with roadside assistance. If the transmission is that wonky, I don't think the car should be driven. Good luck with the repair and I hope it is something minor.

 

I thought about that, too. But I was able to drive it, at least for a while, without using 3rd and 5th, and the service writer indicated that it was okay to drive. Plus, I was VERY gentle on the transmission, thinking that if it was minor, I'd be living with it for a long, long, time. Thanks for the comments!

 

Yeah, I agree with the roadside assistance comment. That's part of the car buying deal. If it is something minor (adjustment, etc) you don't want to exascerbate it with additional stress of trying to get it into gear. Just my $.02 And you've already done the schedule, so what's my point? I don't know, just typing!

 

Had a very good experience with the dealership this morning
Good communication, understanding, and an attempt to sort out the problem. Plus, they installed my mudflaps while I was there The report I got back was that they has adjusted the shift linkage a bit (not much they can do on the outside of the tranny) and that they had road tested it and it was okay. Then they got the shop foreman to take me for a ride to show me it was okay (I'm amazed how much faster the passenger seat is than the driver's )
The car shifted perfectly for him, so I signed off on it and left. Figured I'd drive a test loop just to see for myself, and the very first shift into 3rd, it didn't. Same thing with 5th. I drove it on 3 of their loops just to be sure I wasn't doing anything stupid, like not depressing the clutch all the way, etc. and it got progressively worse. Obviously temperature related.
Stopped back into the dealership and they asked the shop foreman to take a ride with me. I drove this time, and at first, it didn't miss gears (naturally). But just a bit later, it got back into the pattern, and got progressively worse, to the point that it was tough just to get it into any gear. So glad the foreman was there to experience it.

Anyway, the two possibilities put forth, so far, are:
defective tranny
defective dual-mass flywheel.

Either way, I know I'm going to be well taken care of, and am in a 2006 loaner Cooper that works just fine until I get Dr. P Back. I'll post more info later as it happens. Thanks to all of you for your support. And I'll also post a new thread on the positive experiences with this dealership.

 

Good to hear that you are being taken care of. Glad that you could reproduce the problem live for them. Hope they get it fixed quickly and permanently for you.

 

Wow, to read that ALL CAPS headline, you'd think the tranny blew into bite size pieces. I'll bet it's nothing more than linkage setup/adjustment. If it was the TRANSMISSION that failed.... (EDIT)...just read your update. That's not good, that's not fun. You have a warranty, it'll get fixed. Enjoy your Mini SOON, I hope!

 

FWIW, the tranny did refuse to go into gear at the end, and even the shop foreman couldn't get it to shift until it cooled off a bit. And it made some really interesting noises in neutral with the clutch out when we got it back to the dealership. Sounded to me like a bunch of loose pieces rattling around in a squirrel cage. Did it blow up? No. Did it fail to the point of potentially causing a serious traffic accident? Yes. More than a dozen times I was stopped in busy intersections when the light changed to green unable to get it into gear. Is that serious enough for solid caps? Seemed like it at the time. Sorry if I made a bigger deal out of my issue than necessary but I really wanted to get some info quick, and looking at all the other threads that seemed like the most effective way to get people's attention, and potential help. And it worked to a degree. I have posted in this thread, and in a separate thread, the WONDERFUL service I've received from the dealer, and while it's not their fault that the tranny failed, they are doing everything in their power to fix it. A new tranny is on order and should be installed early next week.

I agree with the possibility that it could have been a minor adjustment, but that adjustment would have to have been done on the INSIDE of the transmission. The technician had already adjusted everything he could on the outside before we went for the ride. I'm told that the service departments do not take trannies apart; it's a replaceable item for them.


To put the incident into a larger perspective, it is the ONLY (solid caps) transmission failure post I've come across of this nature. Not one single person has replied with a similar issue. So one car out of how many thousands on the road has the problem? As a percentage it's infinitessimal. And to be honest, when I made the original post I was more than a bit upset for lots of reasons, not the least of which was the close call I had drifting to the side of the beltway in rush hour traffic, dodging 18 wheelers and stuff. Not a great way to start one's day. Anyway, thanks for your input. I appreciate your comments and the fact that you care so much about the brand of cars we have chosen to love and own.

 

The transmission was replaced last week, but the dealer had to order the 'new, special' fluid for it So two days later (Friday) I finally picked up the car. I've put about 400 miles on it since then, and everything seems to work just fine.

Nobody knows the cause of the problem, but the important thing is that it's been fixed. Thanks again for all the support.

 

Glad to hear it! Thanks for stopping back by to tell us that they fixed it right up. Who was the dealer?

 

Good luck with the new gear box!

 

that sucks but it must happen to someone. Not all cars can be trouble free. I hope that will be the last problem you have with your MINI!

 

Although not exactly the same, lots of familiar issues.
Check these out:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=96638
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=106704
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=105153

 

Arnbut-

Thanks for those threads. I hadn't looked at them since I didn't have the dreaded 3-2 squeal. What seems to make sense, though, is that now there is a 'new' transmisison fluid required, and apparently I was the first one to get it at Tate, hence the extra two day wait to get my car. Perhaps this new oil is part of the solution? Or at least a band-aid until a better solution is found?

I know from working in a BMW motorcycle dealer that BMW will replace known defective parts with exactly the same parts until 1) they admit there is a problem (which they are traditionally VERY reluctant to do), and 2) they have a replacement. So if they have new transmissions (with known or suspected problems) in the parts distribution warehouse, that's what they're going to send out until they're gone or until they have a better replacement. The alternative is letting broken down vehicles with defective parts sit until the 'new and improved' parts are available. In the case of motorcycles, it was sometimes as long as 3 months. How'd you like to tell a customer that his brand new, $20k toy was going to be out of service for 3 months or possibly longer? Or in our cases, $20k-$35k.