My local garage replaced the auto transmission in my 2012 MCS hardtop Bayswater. Bought new, daily driver, 117k miles. The ultra-low-mileage replacement transmissions is acting a bit oddly.

- The shifting behavior is different. You can feel it shift but then the engine waits about a half second before it starts pulling in the new gear. And then boy does it.
- Happens in nearly all shift points except maybe one of the middle ones like 4th-5th?
- Downshifts hard sometimes, no bad sounds just abrupt and instant.
- It seems to shift at higher RPMs than before.
- The transmissions seems to have a whine that the old one did not have.
- It is a normal-sounding transmission whine that I've heard in other vehicles but not in my Mini.

This is not in sport mode, not using manual shift. Overall the transmission feels higher performance than the old one but it's not shifting exactly right.

Talked to the garage and they mentioned it was self-learning and to give it time. I wonder if they used a slightly different transmission model or if it needs different programming. I plan to ask when they open again Monday, but any experience with this?

 

Hi - I've replaced the tranny on my 07 MCS, and had the same issue. Below is what I needed to do for my '07 MCS to work well. On your 2012 MCS, there may be a different process, and I am not sure the '12's use the same auto transmission. The 07 trans is an Aisin Warner TF-60SN is also known as an 09G. Pretty common in many German cars of the era. If you can confirm that is the same transmission in your '12, then the process below is what you'll need to follow.

The procedure is to have the shift settings cleared, THEN perform the relearn process at the attached link. Some Mini specific code readers (and of course dealerships) can do this.
https://rostrapowertrain.com/2018/05...hift-controls/ Specifically, the section "Relearn And Calibration"

 

Hey, thanks so much for your response. From what I can tell our cars should have the same auto transmission. My old transmission was getting a bit sloppy (although not replaced because it was bad) so I wonder if the TCM remembers this. I'll contact the garage and see if they did at least the shift settings clear as part of the replacement. I drove it more than 50 miles already and it hasn't relearned anything. I appreciate you taking the time to answer!

 

Hmm I wonder if this is the reset procedure.

https://www.rpmmotorsport.net/pages/...aptation-reset

I also found it referenced here.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/a...cedure.261285/

 

Ah nevermind, that's throttle body not valve body lol. Was hoping too hard that there was a way to reset it myself.

 

@mike_miniman After the shift reset and recalibration, did it immediately feel better? The garage was cognizant of the procedure, but this was actually the 2nd transmission they put in it. The first one had issues and had to be sent back. So I'm waiting on a call back to verify the 2nd one also underwent reset, not just recalibration.

 

I didn't have the right tool to reset it properly at the time. But I DID do the relearn process. It was a mess before the relearn process. After, it was much better, but still not 'normal'. It took a week or so of driving for it really settle. In my case, I swapped in a used transmission from a junk yard with 62k miles on it, but I replaced the valve body with a re manufactured one. Changed oil and filter...then did the relearn. I will say, it;s not the same as having a brand new or remanufactured transmission, but, for what I spent, I am totally satisfied.

 

Awesome, thanks for sharing your experience. And I don't blame you there I would have done the same. My transmission was replaced because it was damaged when the garage tried to pull the axle. Nashville Mini dealership told my garage that they always just replace the transmission too when that axle needs replacing. The garage found an "ultra low mileage" used one which is what I got.

 

So apparently this is after they did a reset and relearn. They said before that it was pretty rough. So I guess I'll just have to let it adapt for a bit. Thanks again!

 

Even though the behavior of the transmission has generally improved, the shift gap has never changed. It is less noticeable in higher gears when there is minimal throttle during shift, but can be observed in nearly every upshift in the right conditions. It works well enough in its current state, but from previous experience I know it is different than it should be. I took it back to the shop to see if they can adjust the shift points externally (they don't do any transmission internals).

 

Got it back today. They recalibrated it again, and although it feels a little different it still has shift gaps. They said there were no codes so it must be a matter of programming. And Mini does not make those tools available to repair shops. So I'd have to take it to a dealership to have them update the transmission programming. I think I'll just live with it from here. Leaving this update for future readers.