My wife's R56 (Auto) has 10K on the ticker and has started having an issue with shifting...it doesn't want to. If you lay on the gas heavy while it's in 2nd or 3rd gear the RPM will climb but it will never shift. It's actually quite strange because it's like it gets stuck in an "in-between" because although the car is floored it's not acting like it is, acts like in a manual car what happens if the clutch is slipping.

Anyone had this problem? I plan to call the dealer to get the car in tomorrow but wanted to see if anyone else had the problem and what it turned out to be.

Thanks!

 

My automatic has never done that, let us know what your dealer says...

 

Sounds like an issue with the torque converter.

 

sounds to me like a Steptronic software interface issue. mechanical problems with the Aisin are near-nil; most shifting issues end up being software/interface related.

as a fellow auto-head, let us know what the diagnosis is!

 

So it seems the issue got worse this morning, to where it didn't want to downshift either and almost died anytime she slowed down. Car is being loaded up on a rollback as I type to travel up to the dealer (100 miles away). As soon as I have info, I'll be sure and update this thread :-)

 

betcha one used timing chain tensioner it's software-related.

 

HAHA, yeah, it really seems like it... Just got the call from the dealer that they should start working on it soon.

 

If it isn't software, and mechanical, y'd be pretty unique, at least here on NAM. Aisin mechanical issues just don't happen that often, in MINIs, light and h/d trucks, etc. My SA said that they've never had an Aisin automatic in for problems with it, just occasionally the steptronic interface doesnt communicate with the car's ECU very well.

I'm getting the latest cold start fix next week, that's why I offered up the tensioner

 

LOL, ok, an update, seems it had bigger issues than we though and evidently my wife said it was sputtering this morning on the way to work. They got it at the shop and found misfires on all 4 cylinders in the logs (thouse no SES light had come on) ...and it's making almost no boost. Egads!!!

So that's the reason for it feeling like it's not shifting, it doesn't have enough power to go anywhere if it did I suppose. :-(

They are tearing her down tomorrow to find a cause. Just hope they don't try to pin it on her one and only mod, the Alta intake/inlet pipe, haha.

 

Wonderful! Seems they are saying it's my Alta Intake....they said they saw nothing wrong with the turbo...put a stock intake on it and it runs fine now...put my intake back on and now it's still running fine and might just have been oil on the MAF. UGGGG....anyone think this is BS or true? I've never had a problem with my Alta, and I got rid of the excess oil on the filter like I did on mine when I installed hers. :-( Looks like I'm going to be stuck with a bill

They want to keep it a few days to make sure it doesn't happen again....so should I or just put the stock intake back on and drive her home, or leave the Alta on and see if ti happens again....decisions decisions.

 

lesson to be learned: make sure your mods are easily removed. Dealers are becoming very militant about pointing to mods as the cause of a problem. I know, it's BS--I mean a CAI?--but that seems to be the way it's leaning.

Well, since it wasnt the tranny I guess I owe you one faulty t/c tensioner. prob is: dealer won't give it to me, they have to return all older parts that were part of warranty repairs.

 

Pretty sure I'm going to be the odd man out on this one. I'm gonna end up with an Aisin rebuild or replace before long... sometimes hesitating on the 3-4 upshift. Pretty confident it's worn clutch rings from the severe thrashing I've given the tranny over the past 67,000 miles - tons of manual mode 3-4 upshifts under full load on the track and the twisties.

Another NAM poster recently had a rebuild at about 100K for the same issue, that eventually became so frequent and pronounced that it was dangerous or undriveable. I don't know what their driving habits were.

Oh well. Gotta pay to play. But if you just drive like a normal sane person, most folks won't have an issue.

 

Paul, have U changed Blimey's tranny fluid? MINI says like every 80-100K or so, but since i track my car like U I think much sooner might be in order, like every 20-30k. I wonder if changing the fluid more often would prevent $$$$ work down the road.

 

I'm gonna change it shortly - hopefully in the next couple of weeks before the spring hard-driving season kicks in for real. I have a filter/strainer finally and a pump. Just need to go by Toyota and get some T-IV fluid. I plan to do 2-3 pan-drop changes with some drive time in between to try to get a more complete fluid replacement.

I'm hoping that fresh fluid will eliminate my occasional 3-4 shift delay... but I'm not counting on it. I suspect the damage has already been done with worn clutch rings. Knowing what I know now, I suspect that anyone who drives the snot out of the auto (shifting under power, etc) should do much more frequent fluid changes. Looking forward to seeing the state of the original fluid when I drain it.