My fiance and I just bought our own MINIs and after 2 months she had to bring the car into the dealer today! She has an automatic 2010 Cooper S and the transmission feels like it is slipping.

I've been scouring the forum posts here and all I am reading is heartache after heartache ... problems and quirkiness. I have a manual 2011 Cooper and I am not 100% on how it feels.

Don't get me wrong, the love is there and I have a great time driving, but I was expecting a car manufactured by BMW to be a solid piece of machinery, and it seems like every single MINI off the production line has to be fixed. What's the deal??

Anyway, I am hoping to get into my dealer to have someone take a ride in my car to see if there is something amiss.

Only time shall tell.

 

You're always going to hear about the problems but never the people that don't have problems, you'll see that in any car forums. I'll be one to step up and say nothing's wrong with my 2010 Clubman S. I've had to drive it on farm roads and I've taken it on a road trip that's 2000miles one way. No rattles or anything yet.

As for the transmission slipping, um it's an automatic, it slips by design, a torque converter is literally a liquid connection between the engine and transmission gearing.

 

I'll offer some encouragement as well: so far, so good with mine.

As "mastawyrm" correctly pointed out, you have to take what you read on these forums in the context it was intended (information exchange between owners -- which, unfortunately, mostly means repair information) rather than an indication of the overall reliability of the vehicle. Otherwise, you'd never want to buy any vehicle (MINI or otherwise) if you based your decision solely on what you read on discussion forums...!

As far as your fiancee's car is concerned, one possibility is it may be low on transmission fluid -- or even actively leaking it; check the level (there should be a dipstick for the transmission fluid) and for strange, oily drips/puddles underneath. The obvious stuff failing, you may ultimately need to schedule it in with the dealer and have them check it; it should still be under warranty. I had a 1990 Grand Am that I owned many years ago that -- without warning or prior indication of trouble -- ruptured the return line from the radiator to the transmission, and a lot of the transmission fluid sprayed out under pressure (I was driving the vehicle on the highway at the time -- naturally at night, ~120 miles from home; eh, at least it wasn't raining... ). Anyway, the whole driver's side of my car was covered in transmission fluid, but fortunately, I discovered what was happening before running out of fluid entirely. The primary symptom of trouble was when the transmission began slipping -- badly -- as I pulled into Breezewood, PA.

This kind of thing can happen to any car, including BMW's. Things break, and that's just a fact with mechanical devices, no matter how well-built or reputable the manufacturer.

 

A CVT transmission always feels like it is slipping to me. I have a 6 speed manual and its notchy for sure. After 51,000 miles....no problems. All cars have issues. Cars are now so reliable that any problem seems to be a nuisance and significant. We expect absolute perfection but in reality they are made of mechanical parts. Thank god for the Mini free 36,000 schedule maintenance, free towing and 50,000 warranty. Keep it maintained and they will last a very long time. Some owners on NAM are now claiming 400,000+ miles with no rattles or issues. Stay the course....

 

Thank you to everyone who has replied thus far!

Coop, you had mentioned that the manual is "notchy" ... can you confirm if the below is what you meant? This is what I am feeling:

My concern is with my gearbox. I am new to driving stick, and new to MINI, so this might be normal for this particular car. When I am shifting, it feels like I really have to push into gear. There is almost a double or triple clicking feeling ... it just doesn't feel like I think it should feel. I don't really know though, because I have no point of reference, but shouldn't shifting be smooth? It almost feels like I am not going to be able to get it into gear when I am driving. It feels as though the gears aren't lined up correctly, and when I push into that gear, the teeth of the gears are not locking together right away, but hitting each other and then moving into position (causing the double or triple click/resistance).

It seemed smoother when I first drove the car home, and is gradually getting worse.

Just a quick mention, I am in The Poconos, where it is consistently between 10-35 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a separate note, my other concerns are small, such as my windows not coming down the 1/4 inch when I open my doors (probably due to the cold) ... there is a buzzing sound coming from the passenger door at high speeds ... and I have been smelling a sweet burning smell like that of antifreeze coming through my heater vents (I have the heater set to vent not circulate).

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

I think you should go back to the dealer and have them check out your car and tell you if the shifting feels normal and check the smell and the window dip. It's a new car, so they shouldn't mind going over those few things for you.

 

I have had similar shifting issues, although only with 1st gear and only some of the time. The tech agreed that while it is only "slight" he agrees that it isn't quite right, so no, it should not be a chore to shift gears. My car is in the shop as we speak, trans fluid being drained, analyzed and changed. Hope that fixes it. I'd call your dealer if i were you.

 

From my perspective, the 6-speed manual is pretty smooth. But the JCW vehicles have a different version of the Getrag transmission, so I don't know if that affects the perception or not. I don't think it would, as I have driven a Cooper S with the 6-speed manual, and the feel (to me) was identical...

You might also make a mental note to yourself to be certain that you're depressing the clutch pedal all the way when shifting. If you are, the clutch may need adjustment, and I'd get it to the dealer ASAP, so you don't burn out the clutch and have to argue with MINI about whether they should replace it under warranty (they won't cover the repair if they find "evidence" that the clutch was operated improperly or abused)...

Outside temperatures shouldn't really have an effect on transmission smoothness; certainly not after the vehicle has reached operating temperature.

The window "dippers" seem to be a common issue with the MINI's; read through this thread and try the window reset procedure outlined therein. Again, outside temperatures should not be affecting this vehicle operation.

Perhaps there's a small coolant leak somewhere...? In any case, it's not right, so get the dealer to correct it.

Oh, and as an aside: you'll want to do yourself a huge favor and keep a close eye on the oil level. These turbocharged MINI's just seem to naturally consume oil (at rates that vary from vehicle to vehicle). You don't want to run out!

 

Ditto everything timfitz63 said.

I've been driving stick cars for about 20 years, and my JCW mini has one of the sweetest gear boxes ever (much easier than any of my previous cars including M3, Z4M, and 330i). so easy to shift.

However, build quality is not quite on the level of BMW. I have one of the 500 World Championship 50 Edition MINIs so one would think that it would be a fair gauge for MINI's quality level (the car was handpainted in a unique color). Within two months I discovered the audio control panel on the left steering wheel spoke had detached itself. There's also a rattle in the rear left corner that I can't identify. These are not big deals, but I've never had anything like that on the three bimmers I had before the MINI. It's not confidence inspiring.

Nevertheless, I still loves my MINI!

 

I was really angry shortly after I bought my 2011 Clubman S, as it had a bunch of problems/issues. But I've learned to accept that the car simply isn't made as well as some others and that it may require (and already has required) more trips to the dealer than I'm used to. The dealer should take care of all the problems you're having -- make sure they do!

Remember: they're BMWs, but they're made in England and France (yikes), which explains a lot! MINIs are not rated highly anywhere for reliability, and it's something that individual owners either get lucky with or not...it's worth it for me so far because I love driving the damn thing so much, but I can relate to your frustration. Sorry to hear you're going through this stuff with your new car -- I feel your pain!