A couple weeks ago we were driving out of a shopping center and I shifted into 1st gear and heard a loud "pop" and the shift leaver went limp. We were 100 miles from home but within 50 miles of a dealer. Called for road service and since it was on a Sun. that turned into a 3 hour affair. The car was towed to the dealer and on Mon. I found out that a cable on the linkage had broken. It had to be ordered and wasn't ready until the following Sat.
Just wondering if any one out there has had a simalir problem. The service mgr. couldn't give me a reason why it broke. It's on a 06MCS





06MCS/DS/B

 

I just had the very same issue.

Was driving home when the shifter just went all loose between shifting from 3rd to 4 th gear.

Luckily, I broke down about 20 min away from my MINI dealership. Just glad it didn't happen when I was in New Hampshire three weeks ago.

So, I'm stuck home for the weekend without wheels. Turtle poop.

Oh yeah... I seem remember reading that some of the early first gens had a shifter cable issue. Mine is an 02 and I believe the shifter cable is original. Just wondering if MINI had ever issued a tech bulletin to have the original (defective) shifter cables replaced. Thanks.

 

I have found out that there was a shifter cable recall for 2001 and some 2002 models.

http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/r...serviceType=#5

Going to have to check with the dealership if this vehicle was ever part of that recall or even if the previous owner took care to have the car serviced for the recall.

 

I'm pretty sure this just happened to me this morning in my 05 .

Fortunately I "forgot" to take the route I was planning to take (onto the freeway) and missed my turn and was on a surface street when it popped. Even more fortunate, although I had to have it flat towed anyway, it was within walking distance to my mechanic, and the Mini dealership (which I did not take it to).

My mechanic is going to try to diagnose it today and have not heard back from them but I'm pretty sure it was the cables.

I'm hoping it won't be too expensive. Anyone else had to have this repair done on a 05/06 lately? I'm just over 71K miles

 

Hate to revive an old thread, but it seems to fit my question.

Just got my car back from the PS pump warranty (after 2 months, plus 1 alternator paid out of pocket). All seemed happy over the weekend. Today, the shifter became very heavy going into any gear, and is squeaking with each shift. Not the clutch, goes into and out of gear fine, it's the shifter thats stiff and squeaking.

Is this a probable cable issue? can they be lubricated? How much are people paying when they break? Anyone with ideas?

Love the car immensely, no major issues in 85,000 miles, but this summer of woe is making me look elsewhere...

 

When I rebuilt my 05 MCS last year I had to replace both shift cables (because the boots had disintegrated). The weren't cheap and they're a PIA to connect. Pelican has them on for just over $100.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...86&hg=25&fg=05

 

Thanks for posting that Jamez. I have to replace mine now too since the boots are non-existant.

Too bad there's no easy way to just keep them lubricated - like on a motorcycle, a little oil every few months, and no need to worry about them.

How long did it take you to replace them? Is it all accessible from under the car if you use a lift?

 

Regarding the Real OEM image, make sure to use your VIN number and find the correct parts for your ride. Use the URL above for basic reference only.

It's hard to say how long it would take someone else, because my engine was out at the time. We did not use a hoist, the car was just on stands.

I can say that even with the engine out, it was a huge PIA. The Bentley manual helped and I think the TIS did a bit as well. You have to remove the exhaust and shielding (they're sandwiched between them and the chassis). The next pain is the box that contains the shifter as well (part 2 & 3 in the diagram). You have to access the shifter from both inside the cabin and below the car to do the job (which requires removing interior trim to get to the shifter).

We probably thought it would be a quick 1/2 hour job (since it was all apart) and it ended up being a 2 hour thing. If I remember correctly, you have to be very careful when popping the ends on and off. I think the documentation specifies a BMW tool, but we made due without (but I can't remember what we used - sorry).

I will say this, for the time involved, change both shift cables at the same time. It was an amazing difference with new cables, and still way better than the feeling of a gen 2 car.

 

It was a broken shifter cable in my case. The shop that did my replacement (they replaced both cables) charged me approximately $800 with about $600 of that being labor . Hopefully it wont happen to me again.

 

Had a fairly similar issue.

Car was hard to "pass the gate" when shifting. felt touchy. car was driven 50k km

Service department said it's the cable sieged and replaced it under warranty.

Since the car been driven 100-110k km, I felt it again. From 110-130k km, I occasionally got stuck trying to get out of 1st gear @ 4000rpm+
Which I had to release and pump clutch again. Since then I have been driving with great care but problem to be identified.




(p.s. car is under psp repair for the summer)

 

Thats dumb, looking at the parts break down and the pelican tutorial it should take maybe 3 hours.

I have shift cables on my list of things to eventually replace.

 

On my to-do list also. Had the airbox off this weekend and noticed the ends were pretty gunked up with dirt so I cleaned them off. I could tell that the ball joint seems pretty loose.

 

New bump because this happened to my 06 MCS today. Got stuck in 3rd and was able to get the car back home. I did not even know this could be an issue in our cars, could be pretty scary if it happened in a variety of driving conditions. Looks like I'll be ordering some cables and using that pelican tutorial.

 

Dependent on model / year and sometimes Condition "A" or Condition "B" is determined by the shifter base you have. See the diagram below. If you need the correct parts you can PM me with your last 7 digits of your Vin and I can help you.



Thanks

 

I took the whole thing apart and it looks like a Condition "A" type failure. Strangely enough the cable ends appear to be securely in place so the cable must have broken internally. I haven't removed the cable yet but I'm pretty sure this is the problem, however since I'm no expert I can only hope the transmission and shifter are ok. The part number looks to be 25-11-7-548-431 for my 2006 MCS hard top. So far the best deal I can find is $102.61 from Mini of South Atlanta. As a California resident I prefer to buy items such as this from out of state whenever possible. Fortunately I have a more reliable car that I can use while I wait for whomever I end up buying it from to ship it.

 

For your 2006 R53 MINI Cooper S, looks like the condition A and B don't apply. Its only for certain years/ models. Double check to see if the top of the shifter base looks like below as well as the cables.





# 5 in the diagram:
Selector Rod Shifting Cable Mass Absorber Part # 25117548431

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117548431/



&

Diagram # 6
Shifting Cable Selector Shaft Part # 25117547371


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117547371/



Thanks

 

Yes, those are the parts I need. I wish I'd seen this sooner because your prices are lower than what I paid. I want to get this car running again though. Thanks for your help.

 

You are welcome. If you need the other side you have the part number. Recommend replacement in sets as one side sticks then the other, the boots can separate after a while then gunk gets into the cable housing. Then can break and then you feel like you have no gears.

If you need anything else shoot me a PM.

 

There was a design change early in the R53 production, adding a bellows to the cable ends near the trans. The early parts were susceptible to failure because water would get into the cable housings and in cold conditions would freeze, causing the cable to break. We charge $212.50 for the labor to replace both cables.

 

Hello. I'm in the process of changing the clutch in my R53, since it seemed like the throwout bearing failed (wouldn't go into gear when letting the clutch back in) and I ended up breaking one of the clutch cables where it connects to the transmission when removing it. So I added the task of changing that also. I saw your earlier post where you said that you could identify the cable I would need to purchase by the last 7 digits of the VIN. Would you help me out with that? TD73476

 

Hello Fhtagn,


For TD73476 : You will have condition A or condition B. Pull up the trim ring and shift boot of the shiftier and look at the top of the lug , see if you can detect the slope type with the three ridges ( nylon yellowish ) or the wedge type ( black ).

Condition B shiftier Lug : Part # 25117542693

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117542693/



OR

Condition A shiftier Lug Part # 25117518850

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117518850/






Thanks

 

Thank you. I have the "shifter A" set up, and judging from the diagram it looks like I need the cable designated as "7". It has white plastic near the transmission bracket; The other one has black plastic.

 

You are welcome.

Shiftier A and that VIN:

#6 Shifting Cable Shifting Shaft

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117531708/



&

#7 Shifting Cable Selector Shaft

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/25117531707/




Thanks

 

Thank you again. The number 7 you posted shows a white ring, which corresponds to the one that I broke. Your price seems more than competitive with what I've seen, so count on me buying one. I'm going to go ahead and pull the cable, to make absolutely sure which it is, while I wait for the flywheel and pressure plate to arrive. I should be dropping the transmission today unless it gets to hot. Texas summers stink.

 

You are welcome. Let me know if you need anything else.