I have an 03 MCS. When accelerating in 1st gear the shifter shakes/vibrates violently. The harder you accelerate the grater the frequency of the vibration. This only occurs in 1st and will stop when you put your hand on the shifter. the dealer replaced the shift lever and shift cables several months ago, only providing a temporary fix. Anyone have any ideas or experience with this? What was the fix?

 

Do you have an aftermarket exhaust on the car? If so, is it maybe rubbing on the heat sheilding right below the linkage box? Did you check inside and make sure that little white bushing is intact?

 

my 03 mcs shifter does NOT shake like yours. it is very solid.
(it is cut down 3 1/4", but that doesn't have anything to do with the shakes.)

some cars have shifters that shake because of the design. the miata's is in the rubber bushed gearbox/motor and it shakes all over the place.

i recall at least one other thread here or on mini2 about someone else with this problem.............

 

I'm with MINI USA. I'm sorry your service experience was not what you expected. We are here to work with you and your Dealer. If you need our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK.MINI and mention Reference # 200422200573 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

domenickd1 wrote:
My '05 MCS (125 miles) has the same condition. Anybody know the problem? My dealer is checking into it, but I'm hoping for some help from NAM.

 

domenickd1, Azuul ('03 EB/W MCS) has the same problem, but the buzz is most prominent in 3rd gear, although I do get some vibration/buzz in first gear. Azuul is, as we speak, in at the Mini Center in San Antonio getting this fixed (he said hopefully -- we'll see). I should have him back tomorrow and I will let you know.

 

Thanks Azuul! If you could let us know what you find out, that would be cool.

 

Why does this MINIdivision person even post on these forums?

NOTHING EVER GETS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My 03 MCS also has the buzzing shifter. It buzzes is 1st gear especially in stop & go bumper to bumper traffic. I usually just rest my hand on the shifter or kind of move it sideways to make it stop buzzing. With my milage approaching 33,000 miles, I better get to the dealer for a repair soon.



CasaMini

 

Mine isn't buzzing, really. So far it doesn't make a sound it just sort of quivers under acceleration. And, it's only in 1st gear. It's very strange. It could be something with the shifter linkage cables.

 

Update: The shifter vibration on our 03 S has been resolved. After replacing the shifter and shift cable assy's twice with no results the dealer replaced the complete transmission. It's a drastic fix for what seems to be a minor problem (for now at least) and appears to finally have completly resolved the problem. Good luck all!

 

domenickd1.

Thanks for the followup. How many miles were on your car when the shifter vibaration started?

I'm taking my car in to the dealer today, so I'll let you all know what they find.

 

So, here is what I know so far -- MINI San Antonio replaced the shifter and the shifter cable, and, according to the service rep, the vibration/buzz was worse than before. So, he said he was going to call the BMW tech support; however, they are not in until Monday. So, I am driving a Cooper loaner for the next few days. My wife thinks it will be Wednesday at the earliest before I know anything.

So, that is the state of affairs as it currently stands. I'll let you know as I find out more.

 

Azuul,

On Friday my dealer diagnosed the problem (vibration in 1st gear only w/ no sound) as a failing detent ball for 1st gear. This detent is intended to keep the transmission in gear. The detent in question is for 1st gear only.

Solution: Scheduled for a new transmission on Thursday! Can you believe it?

I'll let you know how things progress. Wishing you all the best with your MINI...

 

eMINI - thanks for your progress reports. I am sending my dealer your dealer's diagnosis; hopefully that will shortcut some time.

Thanks again. Steve

 

I just got a call this morning from the MINI center. Azuul is getting a new transmission! The vibration in the clutch in 1st and 3rd gears relates to a transmission issue just like domenickd1. Just FYI, I also have an '03 MCS.

They had already replaced the shifter and the shifter cable and that did not fix the problem, so they were calling the head honchos at BMW to ask what to do. The service rep was just going to call me to discuss my emailing him the info from this thread when he got a call from the BMW head honchos to replace the transmission.

So, thanks again to the NAM forum -- right on the money!!

 

My new tranny goes in tomorrow. I'm sort of nervous. Will this ever show up on the car's history (eg. Carfax, Insurance, etc)? And, if so will it have a detrimental effect on the value when I sell it or in an Insurance claim?

 

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

I dropped off "The Shadow" this evening at the dealership for "the buzzing shifter". While discussing the issue with my service writer I mentioned that the word in NAM is that transmissions are being replaced because of the "buzz". He gets that funny look in his face and says "No Way". I said "Way". He says, all it requires is a clamp type weight on the cables to fix the problem. He says "the new ones come with it". If I don't have one in stock, I'll pull one from one of the cars and get your car fixed up. I says, whatever, as long as it quits buzzing. So we'll find out tomorrow if they really do get it fixed.

Loaner Car: 04 Bordello Red MINI Cooper w/ Slap Stick. Cute but I'm already missing "The Shadow". TG it's only for one day.

 

He could be right. Your car probably has a different (similar sounding) issue. My car has a prominent, visible, dramatic shake in the shifter in first gear only. It makes no sound.

My first inclination, even before investigating, was that the shift linkage cables were coming into contact with something or somehow being subjected to some kind of vibration. I told the SA that and demonstrated the problem in a test drive.

The service tech who examined the car concluded instead that the ball/detent designed to keep the shifter engaged in first is faulty and that it would be best to replace the transmission. BMW agreed, and it will be finished tomorrow.

However, many more people seem to have experienced buzzing, noisy shifters. Is that what your car is doing? If so, your SA's response is probably correct.

Believe me, I wish I were getting a simple clamp-on wieght instead of a transmission replacement. But as you said, "whatever, as long as it quits" vibating.

 

Wow! I didn't know this was a widespread problem until I popped in here. My 05 MCS shifter also shakes vigorously in first gear only. No buzzing, just shaking.

EMini - I see you're in Charlotte too. Did you go through Hendrick Mini in Charlotte? I guess that's where I'll be taking mine. did they give you a Mini loaner?

 

It took the better part of 2 days, but the boy's got a new transmission now. And it would appear that the problem is resolved. Hendrick MINI in Charlotte did the work and took pretty good care of us. All's well that ends well. We're back on the road.

 

Did the clamp type weights on the cables do the trick? I hope so. I know replacing the transmission seems like killing a fly with a sledge hammer, but at least that fixed it. :smile:

 

stylin99,

I don't know if this could be considered a widespread problem, but it's apparantly not as rare as I first thought. Your problem sounds exactly like mine. If so I wouldn't ignore it even though it doesn't seem especailly serious. It seems this could potentially allow the car to jump out of gear if it got worse. That could be very bad if it happened at the wrong time/place.

Talk to Rob or Dominick @ Hendrick. They have seen it before. Ritchie diagnosed the problem and took care of the tranny swap. The problem magically disappeared. They also took care of some programming and cleaned the car up while they had it, which was nice.

I'm going back tomorrow AM for the usual Saturday M2C2 hang-out-and-chew-the-fat. Stop by and we'll compare notes.

 

I have this problem, too. My servicing dealer changed the shift **** (2x). After a new shifter assembly and dropping the exhaust to adjust the cables, the problem is worse than ever. I have a Jan '03 build MCS. Looks like I'll be printing this thread soon.

 

Update on Azuul. Got a call from the SA on Friday. They decided that since they have already done the shifter and the shifter cable, and the transmission, they ought to do the clutch too. So, of course, the MINI Center in San Antonio has NO inventory, so they have to order those parts too. Ordered on Friday, then it should be done on Monday. Unless, of course, they decide to do one more thing. Then it will be 2 more days.

Anatomy of a trip to the MINI Center:

1. Monday (3/21), diagnose
2. Tuesday (3/22), order parts
3. Wednesday (3/23), repair and re-diagnose
4. Thursday (3/24), put in new shifter; does not solve problem, order shifter cable
5. Friday (3/25), replace shifter cable, problem still not solved; call BMW tech service on for ideas on what to do (ends up being transmission)
6. Tuesday (3/29), get answer from BMW tech service - new transmisison
7. Wednesday (3/30), order transmission
8. Friday (4/1), get transmission and install; decide on new clutch, order clutch
9. Monday (4/4), install new clutch (hopefully nothing else to do).

Looks like they had Azuul for 14 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!