Just as you thought you had enough things to worry about, I'm here to tell you about a new problem. I have an early 02 MINI and the only real problem is the stumble, which I now read may be fixable in the near future. My son has an 03 MINI and it started popping out of second gear the other day. Thought it might be an adjustment or linkage problem, but no such luck. Needs a new tranny. The service manager says he has seen this before. I am quickly learning that a lease on these cars is not such a good idea when you are a few hundred miles from the dealer. You end up using up your lease miles just driving to and from, or just from (after towing in to) the dealer.