Hi Guys,

Stumbled upon this site while looking for help regarding my mini. It is a four year old automatic and the transmission has been playing up for a while. It is not changing up through the gears properly, although this is intermittent. At times it drives fine but other times it is absolutely terrible. I have been told that it needs the transmission oil changed and then reset. Can you let me know if this could be correct. I gather from what I have read from you guys that the oil change is needed but can you let me know if they are right in saying that I need the gearbox reprogrammed or are they just hanking my chain in the hope of charging me like a bull for something that doesn't need doing.

Hope you can help.

Ozy

 

Resetting the CVT Transmission's "memory" is a normal procedure, I had it done on my CVT today. It's not something that a "mechanic" does; no wrench needed for a software reset! They simply hook up a laptop computer to your MINI and re-program the CVT's computer module back to factory settings. CVT transmissions actually "learn" the way a person drives. They are in a sense, adapting to driving style. SO much of the MINI is computerized...

The fluid flush and refill sounds right, too...this should be done at 36,000 mile service and every 30K thereafter. The CVT tranny fluid is very important to keep the metal belt lubricated and all the pulleys running correctly in the transmission.

How much does the dealer want for the CVT fluid flush/fill service?

PS- If they find metal bits in the fluid, that's a bad sign... that's basically pieces of the CVT belt. If the belt snaps, I've heard it costs up to $7,000 for a new CVT transmission plus install (labor).


Best of luck,

-boognish

 

Also, how many miles on your CVT MINI? When was the CVT fluid changed last?

What symptoms does it have when you drive?

 

Hi Boognish,

Thanks so much for your help. As far as I know it has never been done. My car has done 72,000km. I took it back to the Trivett Dealership religiously until the warranty was up and I know they never did it because it has to be cold to be done therefore would need to be dropped off the afternoon before. I was incredibly unhappy with their service so now use a local mechanic. I was quoted by Trivett $420.00 australian dollars to do the job. I immediately asked my mechanic if he could do the job and he is quite convinced he can. I think Trivett would be robbing me blind. They certainly did with everything else they did. After three years of servicing my local mechanic told me that the oil filter had never been changed.....I sure paid Trivett for doing it. Eddie (mechanic) has been told that by disconnecting battery for thirty seconds it resets everything......if that doesn't work he has a chap with the computer thingy that can do the resetting. Forgive me but I am not a mechanic, just a woman who is trying to stay on top of keeping my car running well and not get ripped off in the process. My car was one of the first released in Sydney and the Trivett mechanics were not very cluey on doing things with it.

Thanks so much for your input, I really appreciate it.

Ozy

 

Sorry didn't tell you what happens when I drive. It is not changing up through the gears when it plays up. The tacho goes up above 3 and I am only doing 30 km. I need to push on the accelerator to get it to change gears. Once I hit 60km and am travelling on open road it is fine but when I slow down and hit the lower gears it begins to play up again. But as I said it can go for a few days without playing up and then might only do it once on one day. Alternatively it can have a day that it plays up each time I get in.

 

Sold the damn car. I have decided it was just a bloody lemon.

 

For anyone else having the problem Ozywombat experienced, I suggest selling the car, too. My CVT has 68,000 miles on it, and was sounding a little funny after Inspection 2 from the dealership. When I told the dealership about the noise they drove it and said it sounded fine. 300 miles into a road trip the thing died entirely, and it cost me $1,000 to tow it back home. The dealership wants around $7,000 to put in a refurbished, and a local mechanic wants about the same to put in a new one. If anyone knows where I can get a used CVT for a 2002 please let me know. Or if anyone wants to buy mine without the CVT (it has a nice custom paint job and a DVD/CD/MP3 player with 5.1 surround) I may be selling it.