FWIW, it was not my CVT. It was a seal around the windshield flapping. That was enough to scare me though, I sold it Friday. Got out while I could. Still have an '02 manual.

 

According to Automotive News, GM will cover repairs to CVT transmissions for Saturn S's and Ions - can BMW be far behind?

I have no problems with my 2006 37k mi. CVT but it would be nice to have a safety net!

 

My CVT is still fine, but is a pretty low mileage car. When the extended warranty runs out in 5 years I might bail out too. Does anybody know if Nissan still puts one in the Murano, or did they get out of the CVT business as well? A friend of mine had one fail- $4500.

 

I'll be picking my MINI up tomorrow. The dealer, MINI, and I had come to an agreement so now I have a new CVT installed and it only cost me $1656.00 Free would have been the best thing, but I'll take what their giving. MINI stood up and my dealer came through as always. I know that when it's time to get another car it will be a MINI...............unless BMW decides to make use of the Triumph name and put it on a decent 2 seater.

 

Lucas63, So it sounds like you were without your MINI for about 6 weeks? I have heard of a lot worse. The price sounds decent too. It's odd how they will work with some owners, like yourself, and just "write off" other poor souls. No consistency at all, plus you have to haggle with them for weeks on end. Unbelievable!

 

The transmission problem was diagnosed on 9/2, but I could still drive it. There was no real noticeable problem, just a noise. I worked out the deal that week and dropped the car off on 9/6. They had it finished on 9/9 but I couldn't pick it up till tomorrow. Super Service. Guess I got lucky.

 

but keep in mind it's not all CVTs that are suspect. I think Audi used some for a while, and Honda Civic Hybrid had one too. I just think that a few models had a little less duribility than needed, and the ones that were not produced in really high volume don't have a remanufactured market, so it's new or nothing, and the price is then very high....

Matt

 

Why so nice to them? Name and address please!

 

Hi there-

I just joined to get some advice on what to do with my 2004 mini cooper as I recently sank around $700 on repairs and now, at 98K miles, it seems that the transmission is failing. Replaced the sensor in hopes that would do the trick but to no avail. It won't go above 30 mph and the SES light pops on everytime I drive it.

Other than parting it out- any suggestions on how to get the most out of it? I just don't think doing a $5K rebuild is going to be worth it at this point...

All advice welcome! Thank you!

-Kristen

 

Do the engine RPMs go up as if it is stuck in first gear, so at 30 mph, you're at 6k RPM?

If so, it sounds like what happened to mine. The good news is, you're getting the SES light, so there is a code to pinpoint the issue. Stop by an auto parts store and get the code if you can. Just about all of them have a basic reader and will do it for free.

My guess is the stepper motor failed as it did on my CVT as well. That part is replaceable without pulling the entire transmission.

But first things first...get the code.

 

For anyone interested, a Florida group is suing MINI over the CVT: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/flor...ls-156533.html.

 

Hi Everyone!
I see this is an old thread so I may be out of luck since it seems the topic is somewhat dead. But here it goes anyway! I'm interested in participating in a class action lawsuit against Mini for selling me a 2004 Mini Cooper with an automatic CVT transmission that failed at 14,061 miles and replacing it with 2nd transmission that failed after 41,779 miles. My Mini is sitting in the driveway with 55,840 miles on it. The first transmission was covered under warranty but the second one failed after the warranty period. I priced a used transmission at $3,200 and installation at $1,000-&1,500. I have it listed for sale as is on cars.com. I would like to get compensated for my losses. Does anyone have any information?
Thanks,
Martina

 

Good luck getting Mini/BMW to pay for anything. I couldn't even get them to come down in price for those two rubber trim pieces that are always rotting on the convertibles. And I had numerous conversations with corporate about it.

I think your best option is to find a used transmission out of a low mileage car and pay someone to install it and then sell the car before anything else goes wrong.