My Revmaxx valve body goes in tonight Ill keep ya updated with the progress.

**UPDATE**
30JUL2012 1158
Installation went fairly smooth that torx head screw was a PITA. The car is currently at the dealer getting adaptation reset and a reflash more updates to come

 

How was it driving while taking it to the dealership? any noticable difference before and after?

 

I didn't have the pleasure of driving it to the dealership. I work at a VW dealership so myself and a tech put it in and refilled it. He drove it down to the dealership said it felt great.

Its still at the dealer getting the update finished apparently it didn't not accept the update so I will be waiting to get it back.

Side note this is 09G valve body the same one that Volkswagen has extended warranty coverage for.

 

Got the car back today and all I can say is the car feels great drving it from dealership to dealership but Ive got a 45 minute commute home tonight from work so we'll see how it does.

 

Smooth as butter..... This is the fix!!!!

 

It's ashame the fix isn't through BMW/MINI, but rather a third party rebuilding company. Good to hear it's running straight again!

 

My automatic transmission was giving me some problems since OXSPEED a Mini shop in Maryland replaced the shifter. The problem was when the Mini once warmed up would go into neutral in stop and go traffic it was ok on the highway and you didn't know when it would do it making it very dangerous to drive.

So, I took the mini back to OXSPEED back in May to get it repaired since thy had quoted me a decent price to replace the automatic transmission during my first visit. However, it's was now late July (2-months they had the Mini) and the Mini had not been repaired. Since nobody was keeping me informed no one answered the phone and messages were not returned I went up to the shop to find out what was going on. The owner was there and my Mini he told me that his mechanics had quit and no one was available to work on the car. So, very upset with all that had gone on I towing my Mini from OXSPEED.

I did some research and found a shop in Fredericksburg VA that work on high end European cars . I called them and they quoted my a descent price at least better than the dealership and close to what OXSPEED had quoted me to do the work. So, I towed the Mini to the shop in Fredericksburg VA. Well it took 10-days but the Mini is home now with a new automatic transmission (2 Aug 12). It was expensive $5796.00 but the new automatic transmission comes with a 3-year 100,000 mile warranty. If anybody needs a shop to work on their Mini's give me a PM and I will give you the information on the shop.

P.S. If you are having problems with your automatic transmission it is most likely needs to be replaced. MINI USA does not sell any of the internal parts so that leaves only to one thing purchasing a new automatic transmission. The tech at the shop said if he could get the parts he could overhaul it MINI dealerships don't sell them and his automatic transmission distributor said ASIN won't sell parts due to an agreement they have with MINI USA. Anyway you need a new auto trans if it was electronics it would throw a code. At least that's what my tech said.

Good luck

 

Um no if your having hard shift miss shift issues you most likely need to replace the valve body as this is a known problem in vehicles using an Aisin transmission with an 09G valve body (i.e. VW Audi ) hence they have extended warranty coverage for their vehicles.

 

Glad your car is fixed, but MOST issues with this tranny are valvebody related. There are some other issues with a spinning sleeve which I believe was what was wrong with yours. Both are repairable if caught in time. The sleeve repair would likely be very expensive, so a replacement tranny may well be a better way to go. There are places to buy parts and get the work done, but MINI won't be any help in finding them.
There are a growing number of us with replaced valvebodies who are doing fine now.

 

It looks like there are two 09G valve bodies available: one with pressure switches and one without.

http://www.revmaxconverters.com/inde...ments.html?p=1

 

Just call them and tell them what you have they will be able to help you out and get you the right part for your application. Very friendly people with fast shipping. If you have this problem and are in or near Indianapolis I can install it for you.

 

Cool; thanks.... Just doing some preliminary research for now; so far my tranny seems to be holding on ok. (69k -- fingers crossed....)

Many thanks for the install offer, too; sadly, Indy's a bit of a hike.

 

Can the valve body be replaced with the car on a lift and dropping the oil pan? Or does the transmission have to be split? This would make my decision on my own repair vs. a transmission shop.

BTW I wish I was like you all and getting (average complaints) 80k miles. I'm only at 45k. After all the troubles with this car, it may take a flying leap off a bridge!!!

 

No there is no reason to open up the transmission other than dropping the pan. The tricky part is the one torx bolt on the drivers side you will have to disconnect the motor mount on the drivers side and jack the motor up to get in out in order to drop the pan. Then its just carefully unpluging the connectors and removing the bolts.

 

2 months and everything has been smooth.

 

Hi,

I read a document about self study program for Aisin transmissin that is in the jettas, same as mini's etc, Course Number 851503. Found a section that describes harsh shifting issues which points to a specific solenoid.

I'm experiencing exactly what is described here. My issue is specifically shifting into 3rd and reverse, don't know what they mean by harder shifting but what happens for me is hard slamming of the transmission instead of 2 second delay with no hard slamming, going from any gear into Reverse after the car has warmed up and been driven for at least 25 min or so. When cold no problems what so ever, I also discovered after turning off the car for a few minutes after driving around and being at normal operating temperature (reverse is harsh at this point) then turning on again sometimes reverse is smooth, I suspect the solenoid valve is resetting itself perhaps?



Solenoid Valve 5 N92

activated, the shifting of gears 3, 5, and R

can be harder

Does anyone know of a local Toronto reputable transmission repair shop? I called this place transmissinodepot and the guy on the phone said they can actually order specific solenoid valves to repair where as the dealer can't get these individual parts.

My car is 2005 Cooper S automatic 6 speed Aisin with 100K, I'm original owner, no mods no tracking done to the car. I'm thinking of changing the ATF fluid to see if it improves, Did the inspection II about 2 months ago and dealer (downtown MINI, Toronto) said no issues were found other than harsh shifting betwen 2n and 3rd gears. They said fluid was ok so not burned but not new either.

Thanks

Anthony

 

Will it ever throw a code to tell you the tranny is bad? Had a shop tell me they cant submit for a warranty work until it throws a code thats says the tranny is bad. I have an aftermarket warranty when i bought the car used so want to get this fixed. It is getting worse everyday. This tranny issue is bumming me out :(

 

Buy a valve body. Not a tranny.

 

I had no code, but all the techs that drove it could feel the bad shifting. I don't think you will ever get a code. You need to escalate with the warrantee company to get them to send an agent out to drive it.
Tell them that the fix now is $1500 but will jump to about $6k or more if you let it go until the car stops driving.

 

I ended up having engine and transmission removed, and the transmission rebuilt. This was prompted by some soft material present in the fluid we drained out. The valve body had heated up caused the transmission to heat up, burning the fluid and warping some gears clutch plates. So I have all new gears clutch plates, new seals and a rebuilt valve body. I'm told the problem stems from the solenoids in the valve body being positioned near the bottom, so they attract any metal shards that are floating around. The unofficial fix for this? Cow magnets.

I've driven the car with the rebuilt transmission, and it shifts smoother than when I bought it (at 74K miles.) I'm just waiting for a few screws to finish putting the front bumper back together.

 

I had the transmission go into EP mode twice, both times when the battery was low, but it never threw a code. I'm told there isn't much feedback from the transmission to the main computer, so you probably wouldn't pick anything up on the diagnostic port.

 

Explain two things to me how a valve body burns fluid when all it is a manifold that distributes fluid through a series of valves?

And since when do automatics have gears?

The valve body fails because the valve seats and solenoids wear out.

Replace the valve body www.revmaxconverters.com

There is information fed back to the computer however most info doesn't trip a CEL.

 

So some have changed the valve body and some have changed the tranny. Which is it? :(
How much would a valvle body cost w/ installation?

Greenr53 wish you could change s for me lol. I am starting to hate driving the MINI when it warms up :(

 

Except for Constant Velocity Transmissions, automatics all have gears, planetary gears, it's how they work.

Dave

 

Here's a link to some pictures of my transmission while it was apart. There are a lot of moving parts in there, and I don't claim to understand how it works.
Google Plus Album: MINI Transmission

I'm going to visit my mechanic today, I'll check with him on the exact nature of the heat source. I would guess it's either the solenoid heating up because the valve won't move, or friction between moving parts.