So I have a 2003 R50 base model MINI. Ever since I got it in March, I noticed that second gear really isn't that easy to cruise in (like when I'm in my neighborhood or work parking lot). I drove my husband's 2004 R50 base yesterday, and his is smooth as butter.
When I'm in second gear in my car, it's VERY rough, as if it's telling me to just put it into 3rd already. It almost feels like I'm in first. Is there really that big of a difference between shifting on a 2003 and a 2004? My husband's was more better taken care of, and we knew the previous owner, and it had 132k miles when he bought it in February. Mine, however, had only 98k miles when I bought it, and was owned by an older couple. So you would think it was well taken care of

Anyway, what's the matter with my 2nd gear? I guess I need to mention, also, that this only happens when it's under 2k RPMs...

 

Has the maintenance on the transmission been performed regularly (fluid/filter)?

 

Yes, my husband and I are very aware of any maintenance, since we work on our cars ourselves.

 

No filter on a Midlands. Also, the factory recommended service interval for the gearbox oil is none / lifetime fluid. Although many wise people suggest regular changes every 40k or so.

Since you are taking care of your own vehicles (), you may already be aware of the reputation surrounding the Midlands gearbox. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but you could be on borrowed time. Most complaints start with noise, then total failure. If it's drivable, and not spilling oil, it's probably rebuildable. When mine went, something (broken gear material, most likely) got sucked between the main and counter gears, taking out the bearing support on the inside of the bellhousing. Another bit rode along the differential ring gear and punched a hole through the rear of the case. I don't know what gear it was in at the time of failure, I bought the car that way for $1,500. I didn't care to pull it apart and find out, once I saw the case was trashed. In went a 6 speed at a total cost of about $3k in parts. I probably should have put in another Midlands, but at the time all I thought was "a $1,100 junkyard box, and a few odds and ends to make it work. The odds and ends added up quickly. The moral of the story is that you should find out what the issue is soon, or you might wind up with a $1,500 car like the previous owner of mine did. Again, I'm not trying to put the fear of God in you, just want to give a heads-up on a very possible worst case scenario.

 

You really need to describe the problem a little better. What do you mean by the car being "rough". Bucking? Straining? Gritty vibration? Throbbing? Hard to change gears?

Your problems may be most noticeable in 2nd gear, but it sounds to me like the problem perhaps isn't 2nd gear - it is that the engine isn't smooth at some RPMs and you're noticing it in 2nd gear. The way to tell is if the engine smooths out at higher speeds in 2nd gear, then it probably isn't the gearbox. If it stays rough at any speed in 2nd it probably is and you're looking at an expensive gearbox fix. Try and isolate whether the problem is the tranny or the engine.

FYI, 2K is getting close to the point of lugging the engine if you're putting any significant load on it below this RPM. But putting around in the parking lot it should run smoothly at 2K.

- Mark

 

It's moreso jerky, whereas my husband's is fine and smooth.

 

Still not very descriptive.

Does the jerkiness seem to come from the engine not running smoothly or from the transmission grinding and making awful noises?

What is the parking lot behavior at the same RPM in 1st and 3rd? (I'm trying to get to whether the problem is specifically isolated in 2nd gear or whether it manifests itself, perhaps not as noticeably, in other gears. This will isolate the issue to the transmission or something else.)

Still hard to characterize this, but anything wrong with 2nd gear in the transmission that would cause noticeable jerkiness is probaby major and probably is going to be accompanied by some pretty nasty metal-on-metal noises that are going to be quite noticeable. If the car simply won't hold a nice steady speed with constant throttle in a few of the lower gears, this sounds more like an engine issue. From your description earlier, I wonder if there is simply something wrong where it won't run smoothly under light load under about 2K RPM. As a test, take it on a deserted road at 45 mph or so, put it in 3rd and/or 4th, let off the gas until the RPMs drop under 2K or so, and then smoothly give it light throttle to hold a constant speed. Does it jerk then too?

A test ride with a mechanic might ID your problem in a couple minutes.

- Mark

 

There are no noises to accompany this. I really don't know how else to describe it, other than at RPM's under 2k, it just gets jerky and doesn't want to accelerate very quickly, like it can in other gears. At the same RPM in 1st and 3rd, it seems the same, jerky. I will try to remember to test it tomorrow and see how it is. But first seems fine. Thanks for the help though. Hopefully it's not something bad, and it's just a 2003 thing (like my husband likes to say "it's a 2003, shoulda gotten a 2004 like mine" ).