'06 MCSa transmission woes
 

I've had my cooper for about a year and a half now and have gently put on about 8k (90% highway) miles. Just recently I've noticed that in traffic it would hesitate to downshit in 2 or 3 so I did some research and saw people were suggesting replacing the ATF. I did also see some posts about replacing the valve body fixing issues similar to mine though. I was going to wait for my next trip home (to my parent's garage) to do the fluid swap first, but alas, just last weekend I go to park after driving a bit and switching between Reverse and Drive causes for some noticeable heavy slipping. Again, only occurs after coop's been driven for ~15-30 minutes.

So I've just now dropped it off at MINI of Chicago for diagnosis today, but I got the same spiel from the counter guy about the fluid being lifetime fluid and that they're going to take a look.

Long story short, I'm really hopeful that this turns out to just be something cheaper than replacing the entire transmission.

Anyone have any thoughts on what it might be given my symptoms? Just want to check with the actual drivers vs the dealership :)

My 06 MCSa is in the shop as I type this. I need a new tranny. I have had mine for 5 months and 4200 miles. The car has 76600 miles on it. .. I hope you fare better.

Unless the dealer is awesome, don't expect anything but the "lifetime fluid" answer. You should drain and refill at least 2-3 times to see if it gets better. If not, change the valve body. If that doesnt fix it then maybe a used transmission but definitely don't buy a new one from the dealer. BMW isn't the only place to get an Aisin transmission. EDIT: or get it rebuilt at a transmission shop.

@fozzy Are you going to have them replace the transmission?

@yesti I'm not expecting a good answer from them. I don't have a place here in town (I park on the street) where I could even attempt to do the ATF change or valve body swap myself. Any thoughts on if a good transmission repair shop might do one or both of these things for me? Or (less likely) maybe I could twist the dealership's arm to do it for me? This is the first car I've owned so I'm new to all this.

You have to call around and see what shops in your area say. Both of those jobs should be well in their level of expertise.

It looks like I will be shelling out $$$$ to replace my tranny. This is in part due to my warranty. It will only cover 3000 on a 12 month warranted tranny.

@yesti Thanks for your thoughts.

@fozzy That sucks, but at least you have a warranty :\ I would be paying for it all out of pocket.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that their diagnosis is different than mine or that they're willing to try something outside their box. Hopes are higher than they prolly should be.

Wish you luck.

Shop called back. First time they called the estimate was $7600 for new transmission installed. $5000 part, $2600 in labor. Then later gave more precise estimate of $9200. Sales is slapping me in the face and only offering $500 for trade-in.

They said the found metal particulates in the transmission fluid and would not recommend just replacing the valve body as their "most senior mechanic" believed that would only last a year or less.

I am very disappointed to say the least. With the situation overall and the dealership.

Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I'm leaning towards a new car of a new brand.

Edit: Almost forgot the best part. They told me that "these are little race cars" and that therefore "80k miles is good for a transmission" in that case.

I am very sorry to hear this. If the fluid is never changed then 80k is all you will get from the transmission. It must be drain/filled at least a handful of times over that mileage.

Sorry to hear your news. But Damn $9200 must be the going rate. This is exactly what mine is costing before any of the extras.. I know your situation sucks, just know you are not alone. . You have my sympathy and support. I did decide to fix my MINI. All of my other options sucked as well. Keep us updated. ...

Please, for gods sake, don't buy a automatic mini. Especially if your not going to change the fluid, autos don't last because people don't maintain them.

The dealers don't help either. Some won't drain/fill the fluid citing 'lifetime' bullcrap and those that do often charge an obscene amount. And when the transmission fails, due to what amounts to neglect, they charge even more obscene amounts to fix it. Not sure why there are transmission shops that won't overhaul these either. Aisin makes transmissions for many vehicles and they don't use alien spaceship parts I'm sure.

TexasChiliS on the motoring alliance forum got his trans rebuilt with a new torque converter for $2500 not sure where he's based but maybe you should try contacting him and ask?

Just do a 6speed swap the auto will go again.

The old saying that hindsight being 20 20 is so true it hurts. The risk in buying a used automatic is just that. You never can be sure of the maintenence. ..

I've had series of Aisin boxes some of which have now done 150k+ and they have never given any trouble.....or had any fluid changes.
I'm not convinced any issues are directly related to lifetime fluid....is there another reason - do these boxes run hotter in a Mini???

Yes, the transmission runs as hot as 107C (224F) since it is cooled by engine coolant and does not have its own cooler like in most cars. To add insult to injury, the fluid that comes from the factory is not synthetic. This does not account for heat generated by the transmission itself, this is the engine coolant temperature entering the transmission to 'cool' it.

For this reason, I run the A/C on high fan, full cold for the last 5 minutes of my drives as this, I kid you not, immediately drops the coolant temp to 90-95C (194-203F). I then let it sit at 90-95C for a minute parked before turning it off. This also cools the turbo as well. The long term benefits of doing this, if any, remain to be seen but I don't see how it can hurt.

I also have done a drain/fill of ~2.5 quarts of fluid with royal purple at 10k and plan to do it every 10-15k as preventative maintenance to slowly switch to synthetic (4 drain/fills will change most of it out).

EDIT: found some info on the interwebs that states for every 20 degrees above 175F transmission oil life is cut in half and non-synthetic fluid has a max operating temp of 220F. based on this information, if the fluid is never changed 80k miles is right on par for when a transmission is predicted to fail (third link graphic matches this best).

http://www.txchange.com/heatchrt.htm
http://www.digi-panel.com/trannyoil.htm
http://www.transmasterstransmissions...nsmission.html

Apparently it's not as easy on the R53 as the R50. There are a bunch of things that are different on the motor that need to be changed to compensate for the placement towards the passenger side that the auto has.

Blimey Cabrio has just started to document this process on Motoring Alliance. He just picked up a totalled GP and is transplanting the 6 speed and other bits to his auto. If you're interested in a swap, I'd follow his thread for info.

well that's shame I didn't realize that.

Thanks for the thoughts and info peoples. I'm def going stick for my next car, only reason I didn't in the first place was because I never fully learned in the first place. Just knew enough to do a few autocross laps. Got a lesson scheduled for Tuesday and then we'll see what I end up in.

My current plan for this Cooper is just try and recoup what I've got left on the loan through incentives and trade-in value and wash my hands of the situation. For me, putting more money into the car than it's worth isn't making sense. If it was a paid-for, maybe. I am requesting the dealership drain/fill the ATF and reset/re-adapt the TCU so I can hopefully get a few more miles out of it to drive around and car shop at anywhere other than MINI of Chicago.

One fun side note, the service counter at the dealership told me at drop off that they don't replace the transmission fluids because it's "lifetime". Same old story I've read everywhere. But when they offered to look for a used replacement tranny he mentioned they would do a full inspection and change the fluid. Now, forgive my possible lack of knowledge, but if you're going to change the fluid on a used one before installing it, wouldn't you think it would be worthwhile to do that on a new transmission every once in a while? *Sigh*

Ya that seems to be a common problem everywhere. I did talk to a dealer yesterday that stated the tranny fluid should be replaced at 100,000 miles... Ya right.

This particular auto is just weak. It has a faulty valve body design and a rotating sleeve issue. If the VB goes that is not too bad of a fix, about $1200-$1500. Better to avoid the whole thing.
I had 2 VBs replaced so far and it still doesn't shift 100%. I really really wish my wife would have accepted a manual instead of this idiotic thing. To add insult the auto is 1 second slower to 60mph and gets worse gas mileage.
Gotdibs, if I were you I would do the VB swap and trade the car before it breaks again.

This auto is not weak, people don't maintain them.

My service advisor was very frank with me in saying they would never recommend a used auto, especially, mini to their friends. You just never know the maintenance. Even if they brought it in for the 15k oil changes, basically no maintenance has been done since the dealer will not change trans fluid and owners don't either.

You are delusional.:lol: This tranny is notorious for failing as early as 30k miles in every vehicle it is put in. That is well before a normal fluid change interval. It fails in VWs so much they extended the warranty so they wouldn't get sued.