I took the wifes 06 MCS to work today and noticed it was downshifting harder than normal at low speeds. It always kind of jerked around, but it seems harder than it did before. I thought it was maybe my imagination since I don't drive this car very often, so I asked her. She confirmed it has been shifting harder under downshifts.

What do you guys think? Change the ATF oil? I've done this once before by accident when I thought the trans drain plug was the engine oil plug. I fed the fluid back in with a syringe, took forever.

Is there an easier way than filling it from the top of the transmission? I heard some recommended pumping it back in through the bottom on newer minis?

 

My 06 MCS has a pretty hard downshift too, especially when it goes from 3->2. Bought the car preowned so no clue whether or not this is normal.

 

Going to move you to the Stock Problems/Issues area.

They make pumps that screw onto the the bottle (or tape it on) with hoses that will pump the fluid up into the transimission.

 

I started with the cheapest solution, changed out the fluid and noticed a big difference. So far I've drain/refilled 2x because only 2.5 quarts of the total 6 quarts of tranny fluid comes out at a time.

After the 1st drain, it stopped slamming the gears but was still a little rough. 2nd drain and it's almost completely smooth. Might not even do the 3rd drain.

For fluid if anyone is wondering, I used the cheapo Supertech synthetic ATF fluid from Walmart. It was the only synthetic there that meets JWS3309 specs. Go figure.

 

Fluid change may buy you some time. The more likely issue is a worn valve body, there is a huge thread on this issue.

 

Be sure to check out our transmission fluid DIY if you need help with a few more replacements: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...uid_Change.htm. Good luck!