Hey NAM! It's time for me to post another question for my girl's MINI!

A few days ago my girlfriend had to run to the store. She jumps into her car and takes off, and I swear I heard the car tach out. It didn't help she was really angry at me, and you know how some drivers get when they're mad.
Anyhow, she came back and told me that the car was acting funny (she wasn't just accelerating away in a huff), in that it wasn't shifting right and the RPMs were high.
I took it out the next day, and it wouldn't shift out of fourth (as far as I can tell, it's 4th it's stuck in). I don't know what particular model it is (the R56 or 53 or whatever they are), nor do I know where to find the info. I've looked in the book and on the doorsill and VIN, but to no avail. Anyhow, it's the 2005 naturally aspirated coupe. I can't even tell if it has the CVT (the manual works better as a coaster or wiping material than it does an owner's manual), but I'm assuming it doesn't since there are actual shift points. I know some manufacturers program in artificial shift points, but I only know of Nissan to do that so far.
Anyhow, what's happening is when I accelerate, it likes to hold on a little before it shifts now. It'll see about 4,000-4,500 before it hits second, all the way through what I figure is fourth. Even using the b-tchstick and shifting manually, it won't shift properly. I'll get up to about 50 MPH, and the tach reads well north of 4k. When I pop it over into manual, the display says 'SD' (as it did normally in the past), then I click it back and it'll change to '5', then to '6' as I click it again- but it won't actually shift out of fourth.
I'm very mechanically inclined, but I'm not a professional mechanic. Even if I were, doing a transmission at home would be well out of my abilities. I've conferred with some of my gearhead friends, and the consensus is that there's an issue with the speed sensor(s). I did a search here and on Google, but I'm not finding anything that's of much use out of the hundreds of thousands of results from Google (and I'm just not THAT dedicated to read over 200,000 results...). I was wondering if anyone might have a suggestion? I've disconnected the battery and I'm about to re-connect it and take it for a spin to see if that did anything (doubtful). I know the '05 run has had tons of issues with the tranny, but her car made it to 192,000 before it started having issues (but then again, it IS 192,000 miles old...part of me is thinking it's just old age).
Additional info- '05, coupe, automatic (no paddles), naturally aspirated, won't go past fourth, and I almost forgot to mention there's a whining noise from the driver's side (where the tranny is) that sounds almost like a supercharger spooling up (think the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst; similar sound but definitely not as loud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkiZdcAR6WU
skip to 2:00 for the shriek).
Taking it to a shop or *shudder* the dealer is not financially possible right now...I'm a devout atheist, but I'm PRAYING the tranny isn't dying. She needs to drive all over North and South Carolina, and my truck (albeit MUCH more reliable and over 4 times older) is much too big for her to drive, and the gas mileage is...abysmal. I'm lucky to see 12 MPG with a strong tailwind.
Anyhow, any help would be appreciated. I've definitely learned my lesson with this car...I've been lusting after a MINI since '02 (this one was part of the reason I wanted to meet my girlfriend in the first place...), but I will NEVER, EVER buy one. They're way too effing unreliable. It's like a god---- German take on the Yugo.
Any iota of help would be very, very much appreciated!

 

You have an 05, R50.
Don't know anything about the automatics.
Maybe someone else can help you.

 

You have the very unreliable CVT automatic in the non-S model. The Aisin 6 speed auto in the S model has proven to be very reliable. Has the fluid been changed regularly? Lots of CVT's fail due to improper fluid maintenance.

 

Most CVTs don't make it to 70k miles. I say drive it into a lake. The CVT costs $7k to replace, no fixing involved usually. I do know though if you don't use the steptronic/manual shifting feature the transmission has to be "relearned" I overheard this at the dealership and it helps with the high RPM issue. If it is just a programming thing, pay for it and trade that car. If it has a CVT then it is a ticking time bomb.

 

[quote=? Lots of CVT's fail due to improper fluid maintenance.[/quote]
That's simply not true.....it seems to be a design flaw in the CVT
Philip

 

I'm sorry but it's not a design flaw if people don't change the fluid and the thing fails. The factory recommends a fluid change every 30K, and it requires a special machine and special fluid to do it properly. They bought this car used, there's a very good chance the CVT was never serviced.

CVT's that have been serviced properly and regularly seem to last just fine. We have a club member with over 160K on his, and he tracks it 3-5 times a season too!

There was a person on this forum who advertised that they could rebuild the CVT for reasonable money, do a search and see if you can find the thread and call them at least. Otherwise you're faced with a substantial bill like the $7K mentioned earlier.

No, I don't know why any transmission would cost $7K to replace either!

 

Thanks for the replies so far!
I had no idea it had the CVT...that's a shame. I think I saw it mentioned somewhere that we got the car used...not the case. My girlfriend drove it off the showroom floor (literally), brand spankin' new back in '05. To the best of my knowledge, the 'regular' maintenance was only somewhat regularly taken care of, until I came into the picture. The second time I met her, she had me replacing the air filter (which needed it...BADLY), and it's just gone from there. It's likely that before we met, her car hadn't been serviced regularly...I'm an absolute stickler for vehicle maintenance, too. Regular oil changes, replacing things before they need to be replaced (like my alternator...started squeaking slightly one day, so I swapped it the next. I'm not about to get stranded because of laziness...), complete tune-up every April...that's the kind of guy I am when it comes to my vehicles. It may look like crap, but it runs very well.
I've searched in vain for a dipstick to check the level of the fluid, but there is none (yet another +1 for the old Chevy 700R4 tranny...). You'd think that something so critical to the car would have some way of checking the fluid level. It's almost as stupid as not having an oil dipstick on the engine!
I didn't see anything in the manual about transmission maintenance, although, it's possible I missed it. It just seems silly that there would be no mention in the book about something so important.

Thinking about it, I don't know if I can call the tranny the 'very unreliable CVT', seeing as how it did make it to 192,000+ miles before it started being an issue. But then again, I know they're notorious for failing early. Maybe she got 'lucky'?
Your replies gave me some fresh ideas to work with, though! I appreciate the help so far!

 

my CVT went out in my 04 with 106k miles on it..dealership wanted $6200 to fix it so yea 7k is right.

 

you need to bring it in to the dealer. It sounds like it just needs transmission adaptations relearned. easy fix, but should still be properly diagnosed by a technician.

 

Usually when you pull the transmission pan and it is filled with metal bit of the belt.....it is too far gone....
mini has refused to admit much of an issue here....the dealers that have done regular fluid changes rather than the very long mini recommended ones have done better....but the mini cvt is still a ticking timebomb....with a $7000 bill....totals the car....