Since day 1 my 04 MC had a slight lag when going in reverse, now it is really bad. WHat happens is I slowly move from park to reverse and the gears do not engage. I then rev it a bit (when in reverse) and it kicks in. Any idea what the problem is? The same now happens going foward as well when in park.

Once it gets in gear it is ok, it seems to happen after the car is off for a bit (1 hour) and I start it back up.

If it needs to go to the shop do ya think roadside will take it?

 

Nature of the beast....

The CVT transmission drives differently from your everyday 4-speed automatic slushbox. We have had our '02 Cooper CVT for over 2 years and 25K miles and haven't had any problems with it. Way back when we first got the car, MINI was having a plethora of issues with the software programming of not only the CVT but all other MINI models. The reverse "lag" in our car was very pronnounced when we first got it but it got progressively better and smoother with each software update and every passing mile.

The car right now is very quick and peppy off the line in "Normal" mode even with the A/C on. Going in reverse is so much smoother than before but at times I can induce some "jerkiness" at a sudden throttle input.

The Cooper CVT is a very different car from anything else on the road today so you need to re-adjust your driving habits to the way it operates.

If you feel the car is extremely sluggish, then pay a visit to your dealer and have them clear out the "adaptive" codes from the CVT's motronic module memory that way the car can "re-learn" your driving habits.

Believe it or not the CVT requires skill to get the best out of it. I highly recommend visiting the dedicated Cooper CVT forums at www.mini2.com. Very knowledgeable CVT owners and other folks there that really have studied the ZF VT-1 CVT transmission in our Coopers.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

Thanks for the info in Mini2! This cannot be normal, I had it in Drive on a VERY slight incline and rolled backwards, rev'd it in Neutral and then it went in gear when I switched to drive. It will not go in gear at all unless I rev it. Mini Roadside will be picking it up for 100 mile drive to the dealer.

Ill let you know what the problem was.

 

Good luck.

 

Can someone please explain the CVT to me?

 

MY CVT was very sluggish until I went in for a recall and they flashed my ECU to the newest software version. I think they said it was V39. The sluggishness is all but gone now. Although the car when cold doesn't roll very well without a little help from the gas pedal.

 

Well, they are replacing the transmission controller to see if it fix's the problem. They agree it is not normal.

I'll let you know if it is the true fix.

 

Well it did not fix the problem, they are now getting approval to replace the transmission.

 

Well it is fixed, yes it was the transmission. Now it virtually goes into gear immediatly (maybe 1/2 sec)! I also do not get the yo yo feeling when going from a stop.

I thought they put new parts if under warranty, the cvt was remanufactured!

I've read lots of comments on here that it can take a few seconds to go into gear. IT SHOULD NOT!!!!

Only complaint is they did not refill my coolant reseviour and left a screwdriver in the car.

 

what's wrong with getting a free screwdriver? hopefully it was of high quality