I have a 2004 R50 hatchback, non-S with CVT. I have had this car 15 years with no major problems -- most expensive "repair" being 4 tires periodically. I keep it well maintained.

However, a few weeks ago, I turned the radio off as well as the AC (on medium fan speed) and I noticed a sound from the engine compartment that I don't remember hearing before. I took it to my mechanic (he does great with routine maintenance, for for anything else I have to take it 50 miles to a MINI repair specialist.

The noise sounds like -- I can't really describe it. It does change with engine RPMs -- the higher the rpm, the higher the noise/pitch.

I have had no driving issues during these couple of weeks. Gas mileage rock steady/same as when it was new.

Aside from total failure and inability to move or change gears, what are symptoms of a CVT impending failure? My mechanic says the noise appears to be coming from inside the CVT tranny area, but doesn't know what it is and cited the obvious $8,000 total replacement, but he won't do it. He "thinks" it is "main bearing", but not sure that is correct as the diagrams I've seen and parts list suggest there are 4-5 different bearings.

Maybe it is a bearing inside the CVT. Or maybe the belt is failing -- I've read where some have had it split in two. My gut tells me that if I had a belt issue, the symptoms would be worse.

Is there any definitive way to figure out if the CVT needs rebuild or total replacement?

This car has 106,000 miles on it -- all of them I drove myself. I love this car. It has been more reliable up to this point that any car I've owned and have been driving it 14-15 years. I am/was hoping to keep it going another 5 years if possible, but if it's going to cost $8,000 I'm not sure it is a good idea and the MINI dealer says they'd give me maybe $2,500 trade in if indeed the CVT needs work, and that it would end up at auction where someone with a used CVT might pop that in.

Any ideas? Suggestions? I think at the very least I want to look at the tranny fluid -- but without a manual, I have no idea where I'd do that easily, i.e., not having to remove the drain plug (if there is one) and completely changing the fluid. I guess I was in an alternate reality and missed the "new" recommendation that these CVTs should have the fluid changed every 30,000-45,000 miles. I've never had it done.

 

I have a 2006 R 50
LOVE IT !!!!!

First thing I would do immediately is check the tranny fluid and change it.

At the MINI dealer. I hope its a good one....My Mini dealer is the BEST in HISTORY.

Where do you live ?

To me.....it does not sound like a major issue. My wife had an 06 R 50 and every once in a while it would " buck" at a red light or stop sign for about ONE second...

Then no issue rest of the drive.

We sold it :( to a friend in June 2017 and it still going fine.

She bought a 2016 Mini convertible only reason sold.

The CVT is certainly a " quirky" transmission.

When going from park or reverse ....It needs to " engage" before pushing the gas pedal.

I wait about 5 seconds before putting my foot on the pedal.

Mini says....as I knew....this will help maintain the CVT transmission...

Now I have asked myself.....IF.........I ever have any issues and need a NEW or rebuilt transmission....for ME..... I will have it done.

It would be in the range of $6000.00

$8000.00 seems VERY HIGH !


My car is in EXCELLENT condition and JUST had the rust warranty work done to paint the whole car.

Good Luck and keep us posted !!!!!

 

First thing I did was find a mechanic who has only worked on MINIs, but is not a dealer (the dealer said a new CVT is $6,500 just for the part. Everyone I called gave the same price, so I think that is the going price here in San Diego County/SoCal (including Orange Co. and LA). Add in $1,000-$2000 in labor and it is a very expensive repair.

No one I spoke to, including dealers and the MINI-only mechanic said they don't repair CVTs, just replace with new, or the mechanic said they will swap out with a low mileage used CVT and give a 1-yr. warranty.

I have had NO, NONE, ZIP, Nada symptoms anywhere close to transmission problems (I'm old enough to have actually worked on my own 1960s ear Chrysler 318 w/ auto transmission and often just tightened the bands in the transmission every 5 years or so and that always fixed my issues.

The MINI-only mechanic in my county (I found others an hour north or so in Orange Co.) and turned out to be only 4.6 miles away. So instead of flatbedding it to them, I drove it. We spoke about possible causes of the noise -- they'd never heard it before working on MINIs only since 2002... included idler pulley and bad bushings in the alternator. I left it with them.

The next day, they said when they "scoped" the engine, they found two possible sources of the noise and one involved the serpentine pulley and idler -- neither of which had ever been changed in 106,000 miles -- but that most of the noise did indeed seem to be coming from the transmission "area", but they were hesitant to say failure was imminent. In fact, the mechanic told me he thought I could easily get another 3-5 years or a total of 300K miles on this MINI and CVT.

He recommended replacing the serpentine belt and idler pulley and that's all. I told him that I'd never changed the transmission fluid and asked if that would do any good at this point. Obviously this CVT is a sealed system with no way to even check fluid level, let alone get at the fluid filter inside without a huge labor bill. So I decided to spend extra money to in effect just do a fluid exchange on the CVT -- drain and refill, but not flush or go inside to change the filter.

They did the work. I paid. I drove home, and all around for several days now. At first the noise was as bad as ever (the mechanic said it might get louder, but still felt like the CVT was not ready to just fail)... by today, after having driven it daily in all sorts of traffic and topography, the noise is actually much less loud -- it's as if the more I drive it now, the quieter the noise is.

Still no symptoms of rough shifting, etc., still getting the exact same gas mileage I've always had. My "opinion" is that part of the noise was indeed the idler pulley and/or serpentine belt and part from something inside the CVT, but not a critical component(?), if such a thing exists, and the more I drive and "mix" up the new fluid with whatever was left behind in the draining process, the better lubrication the CVT is getting.

I am hoping the mechanic is correct that I can get more years/miles out of the current CVT (most bad ones failed much much earlier in terms of miles from what I've read about them), but I think I'll change the transmission fluid in 30,000 miles (if it's still running) and then every 45,000 miles thereafter... Actually, thinking maybe when I take it for the next oil/oil filter change, I'll change the transmission fluid, too regardless of mileage with the thought that more old, gunky, possibly containing metal fragments will drain out in a simple fluid exchange and perhaps buy even more time and miles on this CVT.

It is now to the point I have to have the radio off, the vent/ac fan on 2 or less, be going less than 20 mph and have a window open to really hear the noise -- used to be loud enough to hear at any speed under 45 mph and the windows closed, but the radio and/or high vent fan setting still masked it in the cabin... and to recap, the noise changed pitch with engine RPMs, but not necessarily with vehicle "speed".