Hey guys. Since I am getting my Cooper prepped for selling, I really need to take care of the transmission fluid.

My question is...is this something that I can do myself? If so what kind of fluid does the CVT require? And if it's NOT something I can do myself, does anyone have any idea how much the dealership will charge? I know it will probably be an arm and a leg and I'd like to avoid that however possible.

Thanks in advance for the info!!!

 

Not to sound like a jerk, but check the back of the manual and see what it suggests for tranny fluid and how much you need. You can do it yourself, but in most cases you will not get most of the fluid out. Most people suggest you get it flushed to get all the fluid out and put fresh fluid in. If you are daring enough and do not want to have the dealership do the work for you if you decide to go that route, take it to a transmission shop and I bet they will charge you less then what the dealer would charge for changing the fluid. I have always done my work on changing the fluids in my cars. Its not that hard at all. But now being a new owner of a mini, I need to start from scratch again and learn where everything is on the car, so i can do everything myself. Best of luck.

Garrett

 

Thanks...and you don't sound like a jerk...
I just forgot I could check the manual.

 

If you do decide to have a shop do it for you. I beleive it will cost around 100 to have them flush out the fluid and put new fluid in. But expect around that price range.

Garrett

 

OK thanks again, Garrett. That's not TOO bad. I'll just have to stay home a weekend to save up the money. :smile:

 

The CVT does not have a torque converter, which is the reason why with conventional automatics, there is the need for a fluid replacement. In a fluid replacement, an external unit pumps new fluid to replace the old. A drain and fill procedure with a conventional automatic will leave approximately 1/3 of the total fluid (all contained in the torque converter) not replaced and thus will contaminate the new fluid. With the CVT, a traditional drain and fill procedure will get most of the old fluid out (analogous to how much old oil is removed by a drain and fill procedure for engine oil - you don't get 100% of the old oil out, but pretty close to it). Regarding which transmission fluid to use, you should buy the replacement fluid from your MINI dealer. The fluid has specific engineering specifications. Using a fluid that does not conform to those specifications will likely result in performance problems for the CVT.

 

Hey thanks!
Man...I knew when I posted this question up on NAM I'd get great results.

 

does anyone know if there is a specific mileage point the dealer changes the CVT fluid?

anyone have this done under warranty?

 

The CVT change is recommended every (45000km) ~30K miles. I have done the fill proceedure myself to a reman CVT from Mini. It requires a pump to fill into the the input that is angled down toward the ground (I used a handpump from Harbor Freight). According to the Bently manual, after adding the recommended amount (4.5 L), you are supposed to run the car through all the gearshift positions and get it hot then allow any excess to drain back out of the fill hole until it stops.

If this sounds like something you want to take on, let me know and I will itemize the Bentley steps. Since I purchased my Mini with a bad CVT, I've looked for ways to extend the life of the 3500$ part I installed. Some were recommending changing the fluid every 15K miles. The fluid costs $12/L from the dealer and mine asked me to bring a container. You will also want to get 2 copper washers for the drain and fill plugs.

Any mistakes in this process will cost big money.

 

thanks for this, was very helpful.

taking the car in for service tomorrow for some odds and ends issues ... I have about 32K miles ... will ask them to change this too.

just was wondering if they do it at a specific mileage under warranty

 

From what I've read, it's supposed to happen at 30k Inspection. The dealer should cover it under warranty unless you are out of time.

 

Jiffy Lube!!!

 

I'd love to hear the Jiffy Lube service guy with his 'recommendation' to change the trans fluid, along with the spot of fluid on the inspection sheet, obviously from some other car since they'd be hard pressed to find a dipstick.

 

They might even be hard pressed to find the filler plug....

 

i would never trust jiffy lube with my MCS...

 

Hi Guys,

Stumbled upon this site while looking for help regarding my mini. It is a four year old automatic and the transmission has been playing up for a while. It is not changing up through the gears properly, although this is intermittent. At times it drives fine but other times it is absolutely terrible. I have been told that it needs the transmission oil changed and then reset. Can you let me know if this could be correct. I gather from what I have read from you guys that the oil change is needed but can you let me know if they are right in saying that I need the gearbox reprogrammed or are they just hanking my chain in the hope of charging me like a bull for something that doesn't need doing.

Hope you can help.

Ozy