i have 1300 miles on mine and sometimes from Neutral i end up in reverse instead of 1st and i have a BMW and it seems it is far 2 easy 2 go in2 reverse w/ the Mini

 

huh just weird. I drove around at lunch time and couldnt even intentional get the car to go into reverse while going into first or second. (no way its going into reverse when going into second gear).

so either you guys have a wacked shifter or you have developed a really bad habit of pulling laterally on the shifter when you should be pushing or pulling practially straight up and down.

I had a bmw for awhile as well and never had the problem either.

and with the mini its so damn easy to shift and takes so little effort
im baffled on how it would go into reverse uintentionally *shrug*

 

Yep the gear arrangement isn't intuitive. Reverse push lever forward?? My car is an R53, but the pattern & problems are the same. I've never hit the reverse detent when shifting up or down. Maybe you are horsing the lever a bit too hard. Easy does it. The only problem I've had is sitting at a light in neutral, go to shift into first & hit reverse. Haven't backed into anyone yet. My solution for this is when I put it in first while stopped I pull it back to second gear. If it won't go back into second...yikes I have reverse. The more I drive this car the easier its gotten. Getting used to it takes a bit of time.

 

In any car I have ever driven, the 3-2 downshift, or even the 2-3 upshift, is usually done without grabbing the ****, either with my hand or fingers. I just put my hand or fingers behind the ****, and pull or push in the direction of the desired gear. The shifter almost always finds it way there. BTW, this also gets easier and more precise the longer the car is driven due to the shifter breaking in, so to speak, and/or the driver becoming familiar with the idiosyncracies of the vehicle.

Now, I don't know where reverse is on the MINIs' six-speed. By the description of the problem, it sounds like it's down and to the left of 2nd. If that's where it is, then that's a stupid place to put it. The most logical places to put reverse in a double H six speed box are up and to the left of first, or down and to the right of 6th, where they would not be in the flow line of any across-the-pattern shifts (2-3, 4-5 upshifts, and 5-4, 3-2 downshifts).

One thing for sure, most shifters do better with a lighter touch, rather than a heavy handed one.

My .02.

Zip

 

You described me ~ for the first couple of months I had my MINI. Huzz and I would go for a drive, and he'd say, "You do still have another gear to go you know".

It gets alot better, Winnie. Hang in there! Took about 1500 miles for me to get the hang of it but it's smooooooth motoring now.

 

Actually I believe on MINI, the Reverse is to the left of 1st gear and upward, per your suggestion as to the most logical place to place it. Personally I'd prefer it on the right side, right of 6th gear and downward--but then I've been driving cars with that shift layout for a long time. It just seems a bit unnatural to have the Reverse gear going upward when you want to go backward (in the same direction as downward shift).

I do agree on the need to maintain a light touch--in fact I probably should concentrate on making my shifts lighter--this discussion got me to thinking about my shifting, and I think I've been a bit too heavy-handed with it.... Need to break that habit before I go near a MINI.

 

I was going from 3rd to 2nd and felt it pop into the reverse section....
Its funny because when i want to go into reverse from a stop, its quite tight to get it over there.
i feel that i was light on force when it happened.....

 

Maybe you should alter your movement so there is just a bit more 'down' and a bit less 'left.'

Zip

 

I don't have a problem. I use my palm and ring or pinkie finger. A light touch and no problem.