I've done some searching in the forum but haven't found one that reads like my problem. Several have been sluggish, but not the same.

Completely stock '05 MCS Convertible Automatic w/ 30k miles.

Whether I stomp on the throttle or accelerate slow and steady the RPMs increase significantly when it is about to shift into third gear. Every other gear acts fine. Any other aspect of the car acts normal.
Has anyone experienced this discrep? Or have a solid idea what it may be?
I'm a little bit hesitant taking it to Checkered Flag in Virginia Beach. I live over an hour away and have never had good dealing with ANY dealership. My thought is that I'll take it there, be bent over for hundreds of dollars and still have the issue. Has anyone dealt with VB MINI?

Thanks in advance.

 

find a reputable transmission shop that knows the mini autos

have the fluid changed, the sooner the better

 

Finding a good repair shop didn't seem to work out for me. I brought it in to the MINI dealer in VB and they did a point to point inspection and found over $5,000 worth of damage but had nothing to do with the transmission. If you saw my S convertible you'd think I babied the car all the time. 45k miles little to no scratches and hardly any dirt under or within the car. Here is what VB MINI thought about my car:
$1600 Tires need replacement (ok, I'll admit that)
$143 Front end alignment
$464 Coolant leak, thermostat and tank replacement
$796 Oil leak, lower pan gasket
$1004 Front shock mounts worn
$864 Control arm bushings worn
$292 Horn inop (yep this is true)

"so are you going to fix the tranny?" I asked them.
"we don't see anything wrong with it."
They can't find anything wrong with it, but yet when I drive it, it loses all effort to move when I was on my way to the dealer. Seemed like the car was in neutral on the on ramp. I was wondering if I was going to make it there at all. But either way with crap tires they refuse to drive it and do any further checking.
I asked them to replace the fluid at least. They won't do it, the tranny has a lifetime oil service. But hey they reset the codes at least.

My plan is to buy the Bentley shop manual and to complete a portion of this. Any experiences on the listed maintenance is welcomed. Ordering Hankook Evos for tire replacement. Obviously I can't do an alignment or repair the tranny but the rest doesn't scare me. Just need to know if there are special tools needed for anything. Just a quick look on the shopping list, will cost me less than a grand in parts.(tires included)

 

Well almost done with maintenance and cut the cost drastically. BMW/MINI are ridiculous in their quotes.
$500 for Hankook tires (walmart.com)
$50 mount/balance
$30 aftermarket horns (autozone)
$64 radiator fan (Rockauto)
$40 thermostat (WMW)
$78 coolant tank (WMW)
$147 Strut plates (WMW)

All the cooling problems were easy. I'll be tackling the struts today. I won't mess with the control arms or oil gasket until they get a little worse. Neither are all that bad for now. Most of the maintenance was easier from using this forum and everyone's experiences. I haven't seen anyone post about repairing the mushrooms, lots of info but no photos. (that I can find)
I know I'm writing with nobody really replying but I figured I'd give hope to the future R52 owners and wondering if the maintenance is difficult. To sum up, this was all easy as long as you have a little time and research using NAM. Thanks.

 

As far saving a few $$, great job....
but get the tranny serviced ASAP. mini quit using the lifetime fluid line on gen1 autos a long time ago...most every dealer i have heard if will do drain and refils...many aftermarket mini shops have been for years.....it seems that while provisions are not made to "flush" the tranny, you can still change the fluid...and it may rectify you issue before you need to spend serious $$ to fix it.

 

So there was a service bulletin? Or you mean MINI owners stopped using lifetime fluid? If there is a bulletin then keeping VA BMW with this would be easier. Not saying that I don't want to change the fluid, but it's hard to argue with a Dealer. Dealers know everything more than the owners, didn't you know this...

 

transmission issue,
get the fluid changed and see if it improves. If not take it to a reputable trans shop. IF the fluid does not help it could something like a worn valve body or there is a bushing on the K2 clutch that comes loose and blocks fluid that causes the trans to rev in neutral before slamming into gear. These two problems are popping up on this transmission lately.
I had to have a valve body put into mine at 55k no fun.
Hope yours is something simple, Good Luck!

 

Now this is what I've been looking for, some sort of experience that I can chew on. Not just a grasp at an oil change. Thank you for your write up.

1. How badly did the valve body set you back? Did you do any of the work or have MINI complete all of it?

2. Anyone attempt the transmission oil change on their own? Just a thought in case my BMW dealer says no, since they didn't think it was necessary last visit.

 

The fluid never actually changed...but just like with the cvt's (orgional stated to be sealed, lifetime fluid too), most mini deals have seen high enough failure rates to realize that by doing simple fluid change, they end up with improved relilibilty, a happier owner and netter performing car....
the asin 6 speed trany in the gen1 auto is a VERY close derivative of a few toyota tranny...so close that i know of several folk that have used toyotda atf with great results in drain and fills.....i would steer away from universal (even with the specfic manfacure friction modifer addin )or multi atf blends....the Toyoda stuff is good, and used in many asin branded trannys (with changes on their pm plan) and typically go several hundred thousand miles when cared for....mini/bmw has reached bit too far in most folks opinions on fluid life and interval changes for a combination of ecnomic and enviormental reasons ....only to back track a few times, most recently with the reduction of the oil change interval for many gen2 cars...supposed after excessive warrenty claims......
While the trany is not made for flushing due to the pan desgin, it can be drained and refiled.

 

I live in Norfolk, bout 15 mins from that dealer...frank is a great guy to deal with, u will never have a problem with that dealership.

On the other hand, wife had an r52, bout 3000 in repairs...sold it to the dealer and bought another countryman for the wife...

 

I did my fluid changes myself, it was hard at first but after six times it's pretty easy to do there is a write up here on the site. Mine had hard shifting issues and delays. After the change of fluid it got better but i still had issues with shifting. Be sure to use a good synthetic that is compatible with JWS 3309. Mine would bump twice once when it disengaged the gear and one when it engaged the next one. My valve body was worn and allowing fluid to leak from where it was supposed to be.
I did my valve body with some help from a friend.The only problem i had was you have to drop the subframe to get to the trans. pan. I bought a remanufactured valve body with all the sonnax updates to prevent further problems. The price of mine was about 1200 dollars. I got a quote from mini for the work it came out to almost 3000 dollars.
When there is a issue with that bushing coming loose that blocks fluid to the clutch packs you have to have the trans removed and tore down. If anyone has this issue it will throw a ep code for the trans. I heard of cars reving in neutral for 20 seconds than banging into gear.
Also, remember that this transmission is also used in various volkswagen cars. It's called a 09G aisin transmission. With some time and searching you can find alot of information about the issues with this automatic from that.

 

I truly do appreciate your reply. But I didn't have too good of luck with Checkered Flag. They're the one that couldn't find anything wrong with my transmission, but instead wrote up a $5k repair plan on every other part on the car. Frank was a nice guy as he did put my diagnosis on hold, but still I walked out with more questions than answers. For now, I'll stay neutral on VB.

Thanks again for the experienced information. I'm going to look for the write up on the fluid change and complete it myself. Hopefully I won't have to dive into the tranny as you had to.