Hello everyone. I have a 2006 MCSC with an automatic transmission. It's about 2.5 years old and has 20k miles on it. For the first year and a half or so I probably drove the car almost exclusively in "S" mode with the paddles; I never really let the car shift itself.

Lately I've gotten a little more of a relaxed attitude towards driving and have been driving in plain old "D" mode. For the most part it is fine and smooth, except sometimes when I am off the gas and coasting to a stop... it will sometimes "buck" and very roughly downshift as it slows.

Is this common? Is it a sign of a pending transmission problem? Would a dealer be able (or willing) to do anything about it right now? I'm wondering if some software upgrade would help. I still have about 1.5 years left on the warranty so hopefully if it goes it will do so before I'm out of warranty.

Thanks,
Ron

 

Normal - ours has done that from Day 1. It's just the different ratios applying as the downshifts occur while slowing to a stop. I think it adds to the "sporty" nature of the S.

 

I dunno, this is more than just a sporty responsiveness. In sport mode (with or without paddles) it doesn't do this. It's not that it is reving too high or shifting too fast, it really feels like a bucking horse - much like how the SMG sometimes responded in the BMW Z4 and E46 M3 for anyone who drove those. I put up with it in my Z4 since SMG wasn't meant to be as smooth as an auto. But it worries me on the MINI. And it doesn't do it all the time. That's why I really don't think it's normal.

 

I have a 2005 MCS auto and it does the same thing with downshifting in the "sports mode" (I rarely use the full auto "D" mode). It doesn't "bucks" at every downshift - and only from 3rd to 2nd when coasting to a stop. Has done this before and after a tune. Doesn't really bother me anymore.

 

Mine does the same. I took it to the Mini Dealership and the mechanic said it was normal.