Hi everyone!!

It's been a so long since I have posted here probably going on three years now.
I wanted to post that my (Jan. prod.) 03 MC's CVT failed 6/4/06 Sunday in the desert. I my husband and friend decided to have a road trip to Vegas driving from Los Angeles. Since, I owned the newer car we decided to take my MC for the trip thinking it would be perfectly capable. In the morning before the trip I noticed at lower speeds around 5-10mph that she was a tad bit more jerky than usual. After driving around to test the car it seemed fine, so I tried not to worry. Also, none of the warning lights came on so I thought I was in the clear.

To make a long story short we had passed Primm approx. 40 miles outside of Vegas. Then bam!!! Car started to slip and rev like crazy and watching the tach it almost redlined followed by a grinding noise and a clear snapping sound. I knew right then and there the CVT's belt must have broken. Luckily, my husband was able to coast the car to the side of the freeway out of traffic. After we got parked we started the car up again and the engine would rev, but the transmission would not go into gear. We sat in the desert for over an hour waiting for a tow truck in 100 degree weather Luckily we thought ahead to bring water..

My MC has approx. 41,500 miles on it so blowing the tranny so soon has gotten me worried. I would also like to point out that this is my first real mechanical failure with the car. The car has not been modified in any way and has been taken in for all of the scheduled maintenance. My driving style is far from abusive to the car to warrant such a premature failure. I was told that there were metal shavings/pieces in the tranny fluid, and that the speed sensor failed. Thankfully, the cars transmission was replaced under warranty on 6/5/06 at the Las Vegas dealer. Surprisingly, they had one CVT in stock and were able to do all the work in one day...After, we got back home on the 7th the car was parked in the garage till the 8th when I tried to go to the store my battery was dead…So back to the dealers, and hopefully she will be fixed by Monday.

At this point I am just really worried about the reliability of my car especially on long trips. There would have been no way that I could have afforded to replace the transmission if it was not under warranty. After reading some of the post of other CVT’s failing it makes me wonder what to expect in the long run. If any of you CVT owners have experienced this or any insight regarding this please post your experience.

-Brooke

 

I just want to say I'm sorry to hear that that happened.

I have a 32k mile CVT and i hope no problems arise.

 

I'm sorry to hear that as well. I've got a 5 speed Cooper and the tranny failed at 43,000 miles. It was replaced along with the clutch under warranty, but now that I just rolled over to 60,000 (out of warranty) it's got me worried that maybe in 20,000 miles I'll be looking at a new tranny again.

 

You might want to consider an extended warranty? I doubt an extended warranty will cost anywhere near what replacement CVT would cost. And some extended warranty plans can be paid for over time.

 

Hey Brooke! So sorry to read about your problems in the desert. I hope that the repairs will be the only problems you have with your MINI. Best wishes.

 

sorry to hear of your mishap.

The mini's arent know for reliability. In situations like yours, the cuteness and charisma of the mini is really overshadowed by the durability and reliability of a japanese car. This has been their matra for decades.

I am purchasing a new MCS now but this is not our sole vehicle... infact its our third. We drive our japanese car pretty much everywhere. Took a trip from Texas to NY this past year with no problems or concerns what so ever (other than getting a speeding ticket).

These cars, are just like BMW's. after the warranty period is up, you'll wonder why so many used models are on the market...

Enjoy it while you have it... as the saying goes. nothign lasts forever... well maybe a japanese car :D

 

You bring up a good point.

My car is at 49,900, and I took it in for the 50K end of warranty service and they fixed 15 broken items. Most of the stuff was minor: rusted light sockets, broken door cable, squeaky sunroof, ECU reflash, dead window motors, broken glove box, brake pads and rotors, rusted muffler housing, etc.

I have literally camped out at my MINI dealer to ensure that they fix everything. What amazes me is that I am more on top of stuff than average person, and I bet most people just suck up the cost of repairs when the car goes off warranty because they're too disorganized to keep track of all of the broken stuff. If I had to pay out of pocket to fix those 15 things, the cost would be in the thousands! It kinda scares me about the cost of maintaining the car in the future.

 

Where exactly do you get that from??? Dealer stats, actual survey figures or is this a determination you have made from reading here?

In 8 months I haven't been to the dealer for anything except an SES light i set off because a gas cap wasn't tighten properly and I freaked out because I had the car 2 months and I was being paranoid.

On the internet the old saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" is definitely relevant

 

I am also one of the owners with a very reliable MINI. Other than the wiring harness and DME reprogram service bulletins, my car has been boringly reliable. Even with the service bulletin repairs, the car was not exhibiting the conditions that the bulletins were created for. It was more a matter of an ounce of prevention now to avoid a possible pound of cure in the future.

 

I'm at 49967 miles and am having all sorts of problems....they keep blaming it on my aftermarket parts...which now I have gotten down to just a pulley, HAI, obx header, borla race. I am trying to sell the car but can't with the CEL on. I am looking into maybe buying an extended warranty and spending the money to put stock pulley back on, then just replace the intake and header by myself...

I'm starting to wonder how reliable the car is all together...