hi. I recently bought a 2010 MC automatic and I have a small problem with the automatic shift when I accelerate from 0 km/h esp when on a hill. it seems that initial acceleration is rather slow (just for the initial range from 0 to say 24 km/h) and rpm increases rather quickly to 2800 maybe 3200. otherwise, i am very excited about the car's behavior and really enjoy driving it. is this kind of shifting normal?

 

yes. it's a torque-convertor auto so it will feel a little on the slow side when starting out, esp on a hill. next time try manual mode (stick all the way to the left) and start in M1 (1st gear). that should help.

 

Does the MC have a Sport mode? If so, use it -- the manual tranny does the same thing in my S if the Sport mode is not engaged.

 

Sport mode is your friend -- especially where you want immediate throttle response.

 

thanks for the replies. yes it is much better in sport mode. but i was wondering if this slow response is normal for automatic MC's. i have driven other automatics and got a much faster response. that is why i was wondering..

 

For some reason, the Mini folks seem to have included a very conservative software map with their automatic -- in addition to the sport mode which to some may go a bit too far the other direction. Many have concluded that it may have something to do with meeting the various emission/economy requirements it faces in various markets.

There is also an issue of the powertrain "learning" how it is being driven and I found that if I drove it conservatively, it responded by demanding to be driven conservatively and it seemed to object to being driven any other way. Use of the sport mode and non-conservative habits seem to correct its misunderstanding of its driver's needs -- and mine seems to return much the same gas mileage when driven "actively" as it did when it was being driven conservatively.

I have noticed with mine, however, that the car definitely improves with age. Mini motors and gearboxes seem to be a throwback to the old days when we had to "break in" our new cars. For most manufactures that seems to be gone, but for Mini, while there is little need to baby the unit, there is still a tightness that goes away as the unit accumulates miles. At 7K miles, mine feels much looser and much more willing to rev freely than it did when new, and many of the litle mechanical noises seem to have faded to the background, either going away completely or diminishing to the point of unobtrusiveness. You'll find you like your car more each day. It may have a couple of burps and hiccups along the way, most do, but it returns so much pleasure that the minior inconveniences seem to be taken in stride.

Good luck with your new car.

 

OP make sure and join our tight-knit little club:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...s-club-11.html

love to have ya!

 

thank you Herleman. that is very insightful. i have already began to notice the driving pattern response. thanks

 

Good to know, I was wondering the same thing about my MCSa.

I've heard of the "learning" part, and almost feel like sometimes it shifts from that first gear at a more appropriate time than it usually does.

When I tried using the sport mode to see if it would rectify the issue, it didn't seem like it did, so I turned sport mode off. Maybe I will just keep it on and see how things go like that. Is there any downfall to having sport mode on all the time?

Thanks for the info!

 

slight decrease in mpg. 100% worth it

 

Strained muscles in face from smiling.

 

Occasionally there is a pretty big delay from when I press the throttle to when the car decides to actually start moving. And yes, the auto is a bit slow at the very low RPM range.

 

I have noticed, with driving it more, that it is starting to shift quicker for the most part, much closer to the 2k rpms. This makes me happy.