Mine also grinds from 1st to 2nd gear with 5K miles. It is definitely worse when it is cold but still occurs occasionally even after it is warm. Please let us know if anyone finds a fix.

 

autohaus of clayton in MO has my car now, doing a transmission swap on my MC, for the same issue you are describing.

 

I believe the only fix is to replace the transmission. It seems that most people on this thread who have reported taking it in have gotten I new one. Take it to your dealer and tell them what is going on.

 

Sounds like hydraulic slave cylinder went out which caused the synchros to go south...MINIs seem to have a problem with the clutch's hydraulic slave cylinder going out.....Definately something they need to adress as it happens to 1st gen minis also...(which is why i dont have 2nd gear as of now)


Jack

 

Just got my car back but they test drove it so u can't tell if it will grind when its cold, nothings happened so far even with my faster shifts. It is a brand new trans tho so everything feels stiff again

 

I just picked up my 2008 Mini S last week; now with 500 miles on it completely notice troubles with 2nd gear cold grinding.

Anybody have exp with Mini at VA Beach??

 

OK I brought my Mini S to Six Checkered Flags in VA Beach and after just a tad bit of persuasion (test drive with them) they are gonna swap the tranny by the end of this week!! Should be better soon

 

I just took mine in for grinding on the 1-2 shift. They say it's fine, they all do that. sigh. The clutch free play on mine is also all over the place. That's in spec too. When your dealer is 100 miles away, you really don't want to hassle with this. Do I like my Cooper S, yes. Am I sorry I bought it, absolutely.

 

Shyahh they said mine was fine too... so I told them my 2006 VW Jetta is better than fine, my 1994 Mazda Protege is like brand new, and my 1989 Mazda RX7 is practically fossilized and still better than fine!! Seriously after 100+ years of Manual transmissions I cant believe we still have to double clutch and granny shift, or even replace a clutch for that matter.

Then I told them; if I ever had a malfunctioned transmission completely serviced by a competent and reputable transmission specialist and it STILL GROUND 2nd gear, then I'd have them rebuild it again free of charge, or PAY ME BACK IN FULL.

I'm getting a new tranny installed by next monday, and if the problem still exists I'll be in the market for a new car again under GA Lemon Laws.

 

I told them that it was the worst shifting transmission of any car I have owned and that it shifted about like my father's 60's dump truck. They weren't impressed. I'm either going to have to live with it until they decide it's a problem or go up a level and see if I can get anything done.

Kind of funny that I would sell it but I couldn't in good conscience sell a car to someone with a problem like this.

 

I took my MC in for the 2nd gear grind problem. The dealer is an hour and a half drive from where I live. The transmission was nice and warm by the time I got there, so I couldn't reproduce the problem. I expected that might happen, but I was still kinda surprised because I rarely drive anywhere far enough to warm the transmission up enough to get proper operation. It was the first time I'd ever been able to shift 1-2 quickly without grinding. I was like "wow, this is what I wish my car was like".

Anyway, they kept it overnight and reproduced the problem in the morning. But they also reproduced the problem in a couple other new cars on the lot and told me "it's normal". Argh.

I'm about to call them back and drop that PUMA number that kimmc posted. Hopefully that will do the trick.

 

I also have the grind, but have trouble getting the dealer to agree since the car is already warm by the time it gets there. There is one problem that seems related that I can easily get a video of, basically when turning of the car and shifting into gear, it goes only 3/4ths of the way into first. I can then push down the clutch and put it all the way in or I can shift to second then back to first. Is this normal? Or can I get video of this to show that I'm having tranny problems?

 

Unfortunately, my dealer couldn't pull up that PUMA number (#13739808). Bummer.

 

I have this problem too, are we sure it's exacerbated by parking in gear? I have always parked in gear, not for any particular reason. I'm going in for my annual soon, and have 6500 miles. It has been doing this from the beginning, but not on every start. I had been looking for a thread on this for a while, I guess I didn't look hard enough. The dealer said it's "breaking in" shivers. I didn't believe it, but it's not something that reproduces easily. Maybe I should be more adamant when I go in for the annual.

 

British cars are neat. Their little flaws give them so much character.

 

I used to have this grinding problem when the car was newer, now with 12K KMs, I switched to Chevron 94 and the car seems much more responsive and the grinding seems to disappeared. I am not certain if it's the gas or the transmission got broken-in? Any opinion?

 

My dealer replaced the transmission last week for second gear grinding. I saw the invoice; $5000 for replacement plus labor out the door!!! Thankfully warantee covered it %100.

Ive got to say the new unit does indeed feel a lot better. I have not ground 2nd since it was installed, but then again it only has about 100 miles on it. So far I give it my approval.

 

Is the grinding a REALLY audible grinding, like passengers can hear it. Mine is just really notchy I think and while I can hear it because I know when to listen for it, I dont think passengers can.

 

yes its audible. Sounds like sticking a wooden stick into an electrc box fan... well maybe not quite that loud... Mine dont do it so far after tranny replacement.

 

Just a quick update: Second gear is now what it should be, without a grinding noise! Its been about a thousand miles since the tranny swap.

Bad news: The installer hacked it back together and I had to tighten a bunch of things down including the fuse boxes, AC lines, Engine mounts, and ram-air tubes.

Other than that I'm happy :/

 

Just saw this thread, and would like to add one more data point. We ordered wife's car back in august (R56 MC), and as soon as she drove it off the lot I noticed the 2nd gear grinding. Thought she was just getting used to the clutch and tranny, but the problem was basically the same as reported here, it happened mostly when cold, then it disappeared when warmed up. Was also told by the dealer to wait until the breakin period expired, but even afterwards the problem was still there. We opted to have the oil changed at 5000 miles (don't trust breakin oil and filter for longer than that), and as luck would have it the mechanic noticed the grinding himself and contacted us.

End result, they swapped the tranny under warranty. Not an issue since, and the tranny feels smoother as well... the original felt pretty stiff shifting.

So I would definitely suspect there is a silent recall on some of these trannies. All you with the issue still, be persistent, eventually they will relent.

Daniel

 

This might sound strange but when I shift from 1st to 2nd with my hand on top of the shifter I get the grind. When I do the same shifting with my hand curled around the **** while pulling back, no grind at all. I sat in my car with the engine off and the clutch depressed holding the shifter different ways and curling my hand around the **** does away with the grind. It might not work for everyone since we're all not the same size but sit in the car and just play with stick and see what happens...

 

I noticed you got yours serviced at Checkered Flag Mini VB. I had my `07 trans replaced a couple weeks ago at the same place. 1st-2nd grind when cold while shifting fast through N. It also had rough shifting in other gears but only heard the grind in 1-2. If I paused momentarily in N then it wouldn't do it. I was able to replicate it with the tech. I insisted to to drive it to show him. He also was able to get it to grind.

Since they changed it out it feels alot better, no more grind (after 300 mi.) Question about the repair... How did you know your engine mounts were loose? When I first got it back I noticed what sounded like a fan rub when backing up the first time... then it went away after that. Just wondering if that is an indication of loose motor mounts.

CF MINI in VB was very good to work with. The tech was very reasonable. The kind of service I would expect from BMW.

 

Dang missed this one 4 months ago...

Basically Checkered Flag solved my 1-2gear shift grinds by replacing the transmission. Just to cap, the tranny was cold grinding second gear after having the car for only 500 miles. The tranny was replaced at 1200 miles. The car now has 10,000 miles and is a perfect shifter; I've actually never had a tranny shift so quick in all my cars.

Now, the repair that Checkered Flag did was half way decent. They forgot to bolt down the fuse box assembly and also broke part of my airbox: the accordian intake hose that connects to the bottom of the airbox doesnt snap in as it used to.

Also I feel a bit more drivetrain vibration now than when the car had the 1st transmission, but it doesnt affect performance. Not too concerned.

I've also noticed that the airbox touches the firewall at the red sticker. I was told that its out of spec engine mounts but have not been able to convince the dealership. I really dont know what to think about it much except its my driving style.

Anywho, I am a very very happy motorer!

 

Thanks for all the information on others having grinding from 1st to 2nd gear when cold. I have an appointment at MINI of Nashville on Nov.13. They will check this problem and also a check engine light is on. It will be my first visit to this dealer. I bought the car less than a month ago.