Hello. I am very new to the MCS as just took delivery a week ago. I can't seem to find the dip stick for the auto transmission, nor does it mention in the owner manual. Is it maintenance free until scheduled maint? This is the first time I have seen an auto tranny without dip stick. Thanks for helping?

actually looking at it i don't think there is an auto dipstick.. only stick i see is for the engine oil... i'll check the haynes guide to see where the tranny fluid is located... btw welcome to the MCSa club.. are you going to add anything to it?

hmmm... the guide doesn't have autos in it ... cant find an auto tranny reserve either in the engine compartment... in the stick version the clutch and brake fluid are in the same container.. i'm pretty sure thats not the case in the auto.. guess it is maintenance free during the period..

There isn't one (transmission fluid level checking dip stick). The transmission is sealed, even to the point where there is no provision for fluid replacement (such as connections for a transmission cooler that can be used to hook up a transmission fluid replacement unit). The only way to do any kind of maintenance on the unit is to drop the pan - the problem with this approach is that changing the fluid in the pan only gets ~1/2 of the fluid out of the unit; there still remains the fluid that is in the torque converter....

Bentley Publishers MINI Cooper Service Manual page 240-2:

Automatic transmission fluid change is scheduled for every INSPECTION I service. See 020 Maintenance for more information.

Bentley Publishers MINI Cooper Service Manual page 240-3:

Transmission fluid level, checking (CVT)
To gain access to transmission fill/level check plug, remove splash shield under engine.
* Remove 3 bolts (arrows) at bottom of front bumper cover.
* Unlock 2 splash shield mounting screws (A).
* Remove splash shield.

Use 6 mm Allen key (B) to remove fill/level check plug (A). If transmission is full, some fluid will drip out.

So apparently there is no dipstick.

I learned a while back that if you have any intention of turning a wrench on your car, an investment in a good service manual, along with a set of wrenches, screw drivers, sockets, etc. is necessary. The service manual (~$65 from Bentley) will pay for itself many times over.

NOTE: The above information came from the service manual for 2002, 2003, 2004 MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S.

edit: The Bentley Publishers MINI Cooper Service Manual goes on to describe how to replace the CVT transmission fluid on page 240-3 thru 240-6, but is too much involved to go into here. It looks like the xmsn fluid IS a serviceable item and "CVT (automatic transmission) oil change is scheduled for every INSPECTION service". (Bentley Publishers MINI Cooper Service Manual page 020-25)

Your results may vary, close cover before striking, tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment extra. See dealer for details. Side effects may include diahrea and an uncontrolable desire to choke a lady bug. CAUTION: Contents under pressure. Do not store near heat, sparks or open flame and short term investments can add stability to your portfolio. War is hell.

The CVT automatic (MC) and the 6 speed automatic (MCSA) , are two completely different devices. I don't recall the service issues on either, but the owners manual should detail it.
John

The dealer told me that there is no dipstick and no scheduled maintenance regarding the Auto transmission fluid.

Thanks guys.

Slowride11, no plan on modding it yet. Still like it stock.

Mine is a 06 MCs with 6-speed Auto, not CVT. So the service manual instruction mentioned wouldn't help.

This is scary knowing there's no way to check tranny fluid level and condition.

Is there a factory service manual sold by MiniUSA? Thx.

haha, those people wont even give me the install instructions when i buy a part at the dealer, god forbid they every give out a manual on how to fix your car yourself!!!!

Wow, are you kidding me. Although they like to charge customer for service, they should at least have some sort of official service manual like many other mfr. It is not a family recipe secret, in fact many items mentioned in the manual can't be done by average Joe like me.

That means I have to get teh Haynes or Bently manuals?

I am not aware of the MCS being available with a CVT. Non-SC Cooper yes; but S/C MCS - don't think so.

Yes, it is scary. That is why I plan on every 15,000 miles having the transmission pan removed, the filter replaced and the fluid in the pan replaced. It is more expensive than holding my breath, but compared against the cost of a blown transmission after the factory warranty has lapsed, it is cheap insurance.

I'm not sure the dealer would even do this procedure - when I queried them about it they acted like they didn't even have access to the parts for the tranny, if there was a problem they just replace it.

There was another poster here on NAM that was starting to investigate some of the AT stuff (it might have been the CVT) but I haven't seen much from him lately...

It sounds like he is referring to the six speed MSC auto w/paddles, not the CVT tranny.

Anyway, BMW has apparently had "lifetime" fluids in their transmissions for awhile now - they do not support/advocate changing it. Many with manual and autos do though, but its entirely independant of the manufacturer reccomendations.

Of course the idea of lifetime fluids does not seem very sound, almost like they are trying to simplify things for their service people at the expense of the long term owners (but they never seem adverse to creating post warranty work/problems...)

You might want to investigate an alternative dealer. If their service techs are that uninformed about your car, I personally would look elsewhere.

Yes, BMW has a bit of a legacy with sealed A/T (and problems that mysteriously appear right after the warranty lapses - check the different BMW forums). The concept of a lifetime fluid (of any sort, not just transmission fluid) is pure marketing spin. It is not like they have a special fluid that they have cooked up in some secret laboratory in Bavaria (or for that matter, the North Pole). So, if anyone thinks they will be able to drive for 100,000 miles on the original fluid with no problems, they should strongly consider getting an extended warranty with explicit coverage of the transmission.

Alternatively, they can do what I plan to - drain and refill the fluid that is in the pan and replace the filter at 15,000 mile intervals. It may not be a complete fluid replacement, but it is better than doing nothing.

Are you saying that the dealer has individual parts for the transmission, like the pan gasket, filter, etc? I am led to believe (from many sources) that the transmission assembly is treated as a single part for service purposes.

Also, I'm not clear on which AT you have, is it the CVT, or the MCS 6-speed AT?

I answered my own question - I looked on realoem.com and was able to find many individual parts for the MCS auto transmission, including the pan gasket and filter.

I was going to refer you to realoem.com as well; good you found your answer. And I have a MCSa with the 6-speed Aisin-Warner traditional (non-CVT) automatic transmission.

Caminifan:

What are you planning to do about the fluid change? Did you purchase extended warranty? The dealer offered me the a package that covers everything (of course with all the listed exclusion), no deductible for upto 7yr/80k miles for $1800. Does it sound fair to you?

I plan on changing the fluid and the filter in the transmission pan at 15,000 mile intervals. I wish it were possible to completely change (replace) the fluid; but alas, that is not possible. One thing I had considered was to change the fluid in the pan, drive the car for 5 miles, change the fluid in the pan, drive the car for another 5 miles and change the fluid in the pan again. Basically using the theory of three flushes as a way to get to ~80% new fluid.... But, I think if I just change the fluid in the pan and the filter every 15,000 miles, I will be refreshing the frictional properties of the transmission fluid sufficiently.

No, I haven't purchased an extended warranty as yet. I probably will in the not too distant future, though. A few thoughts about extended warranty coverage:
1. Does it cover parts that are about to fail? An example is an alternator bearing. It is making noise, but hasn't failed. Ultimately, the bearing will fail; good preventive practice would argue for replacement of the alternator bearing/alternator before failure to avoid being stranded on the road.
2. Is the extended warranty contract honored by other MINI dealers? If you have to pay the MINI dealer and then get re-imbursed by the extended warranty company, you are taking on an additional amount of hassle. Call some nearby MINI dealers and enquire if the service dept. likes to work with the extended warranty company (e.g. will they direct bill the extended warranty company). If not, you should look for another extended warranty company.
3. What is the extended warranty company's reimbursement policy? Do they pay the dealer's invoiced charges? Or, do they pay from some schedule of repairs? Obviously, payment of dealer's invoiced charges is the preferable payment model.

Out of curiousity, why 7 years/80,000 miles? (As opposed to 7 years/70,000 mi., or 7 years/84,000 miles, or????)

Hope this helps.

I was looking at some of the diagrams on realoem - it looks like the AW transmission has a heat-exchanger cooling method similar to the oil cooler on the MCS? i.e. the coolant circulates through a small heat exchanger on the top of the tranny -- is there no traditional transmission cooler in the front by the radiator? I would think that you could do the transfusion through those connections if they existed.

If its a bmw warranty they work on it at any dealer.

No traditional transmission cooler anywhere - that is why you can not do a traditional fluid replacement service. IF the heat exchanger could be plumbed to hook up to a fluid replacement machine, that would be an option. However, I don't know of anyone who has produced such a beast.

What do you mean by "bmw warranty"? I was not aware that BMW sells extended warranties (in the same manner that GM sells the GM Protection Plan extended warranties). Rather, all that I have seen for sale at the various MINI dealers where I have enquired are extended warranties sold by third party insurance companies. Even the GM Protection Plan is sold by a third party captive company that is part of the GM structure.

Sooo..... been a while since I've seen a post on this. Anybody else actually DONE the MCS auto transmission fluid change / pan drop? Complications? Parts? Cost? Any other dealer / service tech comments?