I am so disappointed to be sharing this story...

Have an 09 Clubman, 8100 miles. Yesterday I got in the car to leave a meeting and it was really hard to shift out of Park - when it did and I put it in reverse it jerked really hard, same thing again when I shifted into drive. The brake light was on, the engine light came on and the transmission warning light came on. Tried turning it off, then back on, same thing. Called MINI for an appointment and went back to the office. Now the engine light is still on, other warning lights off and it isn't doing it anymore.

Add to that, the other day, when I was driving slowly to accelerate it did a big four-part stutter thing that was really weird.

I love this car and I am going to be so ticked off if it is a lemon. Anyone hear of anything like this? No word yet from the MINI Hospital on what is wrong with her...

 

Sounds like you have a bad Aisin tranny and/or tranny control unit. A replacement will be covered under warranty. It could have been defective from the factory but waited 8100 miles to finally give up. Given the reputation of the Aisin transmissions for being bulletproof and used in many different brands of cars my guess would be it was defective from the factory. The dealer won't attempt to repair it so once you get a new replacement you should be good to go.

 

OK - they tell me nothing is wrong with the car. The computer tells them "something happened" and that all indicators show I went through a puddle or something and a part got wet. Really? Not getting your car out of park and it lurching into gear is caused by going through a puddle?

Not sure what to do at this point except go get it and drive it around some more and wait to get stranded. Anyone else have ideas?

 

There have been issues with the Steptronic interface communicating with the car's ECU. A defective Aisin transmission, however, is a rarity. 9 times out of ten (metaphorically speaking) problems like this are traced to bugs within the Steptronic interface software. good luck and keep us posted.

 

We had the exact same thing happen to our Clubman a few weeks ago. Our had 52,500 miles on it at the time it failed. Exactly the same thing. Right down to where the tow truck driver backed it on the flatbed with no problems and asked if we really wanted it taken to the dealer.

We went ahead and had it towed to the dealership 80 miles away. The MINI dealership said the transmission fluid was burned up and only had reverse and third gear. We had to replace the transmission. MINI helped but I was very disappointed with the car. I love the MINI community, but I might not be able to afford to stay a part of it.

What was the outcome on your transmission? Did it fail completely? Did MINI replace it? Thanks.

 

Same thing happened to me today. I bought a 09 Clubman S yesterday, and had it towed today.

 

Oh... you have an automatic

 

FWIW changing out the fluid every 35,000 miles or so is money well spent. Lifetime fluid it is not.

 

This thread hasn't been active for a long time. Thanks for sharing.

After we had a new transmission installed by MINI (MINI paid half) we found a TSB that address the problem or a similar problem. It reported that the cause as a wiring harness rubbing through to the bare wire behind the AC compressor. To correct the problem the harness is repaired by putting tape or some shielding around the harness.

We will be changing the fluid on a regular schedule. It fact it's getting to be about that time. The replacement transmission is coming up on 30K soon.

Please reply to this thread to let me know how your issue is resoled. Thanks.

 

Thanks for that tip of the frayed wire woody. I'm bookmarking this thread.