We are faced with the probability that our daughter's 05 Justa has a failing CVT.

Between the tears, we are talking about what to do now.

There are three possibilities:

1. Fix it
2. Trade for a new(er) one
3. Trade for a something else (eek!!)

We've pretty much eliminated #3, and aer wondering now about #1. We've been told that the Mini dealer repairs will cost between $7K and $9K if its done at a Mini store. We've also been told that no one can repair a CVT except ZF because ZF has chosen to make parts unavailable to the unwashed masses. We've also heard that there are no "new" CVTs available and that all that are in the pipeline are rebuilt ones. We have also been told that its unlikely that there is a usable one in a junkyard anywhere given that most junkyards are well aware that ZF will pay a pretty good price for the "core". SO -- the only remaining option is to try to buy a rebuilt one and have someone else install it. I've been very kindly advised that there is one of our own here on NAM who might be inclined to take that project on.

Questions:

Has anyone out there had a CVT replaced by anyone other than a Mini store, and if you have, have you been happy with the result?

How are the "rebuilt" CVTs holding up? Is it likely that a new one will be just like the old one, i.e., will it just have to be replaced again in annother 63K miles?

How has a dealer treated anyone who wanted to trade in a noisy but still functioning CVT and what did the CVT do to the trade-in price?

Has anyone actually gotten Mini to help in these kinds of situations?

Have those of you who converted the car to a manual transmission been happy with the result? Would you do it again? Are there any of our members who would take that project on?

and:

Is the absolute best thing to do to simply trade it for an R56 and forget the whole CVT experience?

Sorry to ramble on, but I have a very sad young lady who I want to make smile again and I will appreciate any help I can get on this one.

 

From my experience, there is definitely a reason the CVT is no longer manufactured - it's a flawed design. So you could go for the repair, but with the awareness that it could happen again at anytime.

I couldn't stomach that. As much as I loved my R50, CVT and all, I was not willing to fork over $7500 to the dealer for replacement. I wasn't even willing to fork over $5500, which is what I was quoted by a local transmission specialty shop.

My CVT was still functioning - occasionally it would "catch" when shifting out of park, causing a violent lurch. And it actually in the end may not have been the CVT, it's possible it was an electrical problem, which would have cost just as much to sort out and fix.

I was able to trade it in and they did not knock me on the trade-in value because it happened to "behave" that day when the tech took her out for the test drive. My MA told me if there are no warning lights on the dash, they won't knock you for anything not extremely obvious. I don't know how noisy your daughter's CVT has gotten...but if you are considering a trade it's better to do it sooner rather than later - once the CVT goes, it's gone, and the only way to get it anywhere will be by tow truck.

I literally went through all of this about 3 weeks ago. It was one of the hardest things I ever did. But in the end, I couldn't afford $5500-7500 for replacement. A slightly higher payment on a new car, that I could deal with.

The bottom line for me was that even if I could afford it, the CVT is a flawed piece of engineering, and I could end up in the same spot at any point in the future.

Now if you have someone who can fix it much more inexpensively, then awesome. There are stories of people who literally threw a fit at the dealership, and MINI brought down the price of the repair considerable, I believe to the $3500 range, or offered a sweet exchange on trade-in. You can try that tactic as well if you wish. I had less success, as the service department at my dealership is run by idiots (can't wait for the closer one to open!).

 

See above.

 

I took apart a CVT and Repaired it for a dealer that took in one for trade. They were quoted the 8k tag from the dealer. I repaired it for much less than that....less than half. Price depends on the repair and cost of parts. The CVT in question needed a valve body due to a failed ratio actuator. I can get parts for these as well.

Send me PM if your interested...

Thanks, Chad

 

Have you at least changed the fluid? It should be changed every 36K miles.
I have seen reports of improvement upon a fluid change.

 

There are some real differences of opinion regarding changing the transmission fluid. Some at BMW seem to feel that the fluid is sealed and should not be changed. On the other hand, the folks at ZF who made the box seem to feel that the changes should be done at 45K intervals (about 27500 miles). There is no doubt that a change of fluid would not help us at this point -- we have some real hardware issues. It appears to me that had we followed ZF's advice, we may have avoided or at least postponed the problems. We didn't, so who knows now? Hindsight is always ....

The big issue is finding someplace to get it changed. Since Mini takes the position that its lifetime fluid, changing it is not on the maintenance menu, and it also appears that its a more complex procedure than it would appear -- certainly not one where you pull the plug out of the bottom and put new oil in the top anyway, so its paobably beyond my capability to accomplish at home. Perhaps if we can get it fixed, we may ask Chad (see above) for a standing appointment to change it regularly at 25K intervals. Is that possible Chad? (we'd drive it to SC to do it of course)

But there is some light at the end of our tunnel. Our dealership has some very good folks who have gone to bat for us, and it appears that, with their help, Mini has not abandoned us after all.

Stay tuned.

 

I changed my CVT fluid myself, and it can be done with ordinary tools and a little patience. I used the fill hole which you can reach by removing the battery tray. I also changed the filter which requires the CVT pan to be removed, and that was not easy. I think that the filter change was unnecessary. My nearest dealer is 120 miles away.

You are right about the differences of opinion, but I side more with ZF recommendations -- that's why I said 36K miles. This transmission is used in several European cars, and the CVT type of transmission is becoming ever more common.

We really don't know what the failure rate is for CVT transmissions. How many were sold? How many failed? How many had fluid changes before failure? Do driving habits have anything to do with it? I have heard everything from praise to "wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole".

When the repair is $7K or more, we are likely to hear about it, and I would agree that this cost is unacceptable even if it were rare. The main disaster is when the steel belt breaks, and this could be influenced by the fluid quality. If the repair were $2K, we wouldn't be talking about this, I'll bet.

 

The better mini dealers will change it for you...knowing it will save a lot of trouble....many will sell you the fluid...if you bring a container....
Thee are a few software updates to fix some problems....it seems if you change the fluid and there are metal chunks/pars of belt...time for a new tranny...if not....refil...and trade or pray!!!
Sorry to hear of anothe CVT issue..I wish mini would buy them back!!

 

If they would just offer some sort of warranty...it's just not right to spend good money on an MC CVT and then have BMW back out of its obligations to customers who had thought they were getting a good thing.

 

I have an r50 with the CVT and its always lurched when you put it in drive when its not fully warmed up. Its never made any knind of noise like your talking about.

 

I also believe that the replacement price is absurd, but that said, how long do you all think it should last?

I know there are plenty of folks out there with 100K +++ on their MINI CVT, all the ones I know that have gone that long or longer change their fluid regularly around 30K miles intervals and have had no problems with it.

 

Mine did go over 100k. And I do agree that BMW is dead wrong about the fluid changes, and I think their stance on it has more to do with prolonging replacement than anything else. Think about it - if the fluid doesn't come out with pieces of belt floating in it, how else would you know it's on the way out until it completely fails? You wouldn't.

Dealers WILL do the fluid change if you force the issue. Many will just do it without an argument, although telling them if they don't do it, you'll just go elsewhere will usually get them to take your $180 and get it done. It HAS to be done, both to prolong the life of the CVT *and* so you have an early red flag when things are going wrong.

I don't think the cost would be nearly so high if ZF was still 1) manufacturing the unit itself and 2) would just make some freaking parts for it. MINI is not the only brand going through this. Nissan, among others, relied heavily upon the CVT across a wide range of their lineup and are now feeling the pain as well.

 

The difference, of course, being that Nissan has owned up to the burden placed on their customers by virtue of their record of CVT problems and has voluntarily extended the warranty covering the transmission:

http://www.nissanassist.com/

Oh BMW/MINI, where art thou? Your loyal customers seek a bit of return loyalty.

 

Oh of course. Rather than just owning up to the problem (a rather expensive one regardless of which end you are on), I really think the "sealed transmission" argument by them is an attempt to cover it up. Keep people happy longer (by virtue of ignorance), and maybe by the time it goes it won't be their car anymore. And if it does go, then, as my (former) dealer's service manager said, "$7500, it's a great day to buy a new car!"

I wanted to punch him. Instead, I got the last laugh - their dealership ended up with a CVT that behaved JUST well enough to get past trade-in inspection.

I guess the question would be, what is the general expectation for the life of any auto transmission? I had one fail in an old Cavalier years ago at probably 70k.

 

As per the Maintenance Plan that MINI has laid out....the service interval should be at every 30k or every inspection service(every other oil service). Any competent garage should be able to do that....but I could change it for you need be. I know the drive would be worth it if you needed the major repair on the unit itself.....I think it might be a little longer stay in my lounge than you like though

Good luck with MINI USA though, your dealer has the ability to have anything they want goodwilled though, so a good relationship with them is a plus. Hopefully they will come through for you.

Chad

 

As odd as this sounds, would a lawsuit to Mini be out of the question? It seems like there are enough people out there who have experienced the worst... I have a CVT that just hit 70k and I will soon be changing the fluid out. I can't afford a repair like that to my car and I dare not part with it! My dreaded fear is to see some metal bits bleeding forth from my precious Mini.

 

I'm one of the weirdos who swapped in a 6-speed manual. I love it. I've also wondered if a Aisin from a MCS would bolt up, as well. Anyone done this?

 

[QUOTE=justincummings;3255064]As odd as this sounds, would a lawsuit to Mini be out of the question? It seems like there are enough people out there who have experienced the worst... I have a CVT that just hit 70k and I will soon be changing the fluid out. I can't afford a repair like that to my car and I dare not part with it! My dreaded fear is to see some metal bits bleeding forth from my precious Mini.[/QUOTE

I'm actually surprised no one has gone after MINI for this yet. The MK5 DSG transmission had issues with the mechatronics unit that caused some lurching and VW had to extend the entire DSG's warranty up to 100k miles. I've never heard about ZF hoarding the cores but if it is indeed true, it should be enough to initiate some kind of investigation. If I had a CVT, I would seriously look into it. $7000 to replace a transmission on a car thats almost 10 years old is just absurd. Sounds like ZF is capitalizing on their bad design.