I agree with you about hthe TSB - All CVT owners should have a copy in their glove compartments for peace of mind.

 

All CVT owners that have had problems should send the complaints to NHTSA. CVT's stopping in traffic is a real safety hazard.

 

the TSB number is M240206; issued in May 2006.

just to clarify again, the bulletin is not about "CVT failure" per se (although i am certain that vehicles with the problem would eventually experience it!), but rather about a "howling" or "rattling" noise when moving forward at speeds exceeding 5mph; the cause of the noise/problem is excessive wear of the CVT's main ball bearing.

as glad as I am that I turned up the bulletin, because it matches my car's symptoms EXACTLY, it hasn't (yet!) assisted in the resolution of my problem.

unfortunately, dealers seem generally unaware of the issue, and i have yet to locate a technician who has performed the repair that is detailed in the attachment to the bulletin.

still trying to get back on the road for less than $7500 at this point. i'll keep you posted.

 

Any particular reason you don't want to go the Extended Warranty route? It would definitely cost less than $7,500.

 

is an extended warranty even an option for us at 80K? if so, i wonder why no one at MINIUSA or the dealer has offered it to us...

 

Well, if they didn't refer you to the original TSB on the bearing.... With 80K, you might qualify for some creative CPO coverage. As an alternative, you might be able to get a third party Extended Warranty plan. The important item is to make sure there is no exclusion for the CVT....

 

I think you already know thew answer to that question. It would cost them more than they'd make selling those warranties. I find it very telling that the new R56 Cooper isn't using a CVT. Hmmm wonder why that is?

 

Not sure if this is related in anyway to the CVT failures but here is an excerpt from a long term review on the 2002 MCS from edmunds.com.

"The day after the breakdown, we spotted a small item in the Wall Street Journal saying that the Mini Cooper had a faulty transmission cable on the automatic models in less than 10 percent of the new cars. It stated that the Cooper S models were unaffected."

 

I've been following this thread with mild concern for my own 06 MC. My car was built AFTER the TSB was issued; I wonder if that makes a difference (?).

How can I get to a copy of the TSB, just so I can have one?

 

I have 86k on my MC, so far no issues...having it serviced this week so she'll have fresh fluid for the rest of my journey

Pray for me as I want to make it to 110k before trade in

 

hm.. i've had not had a catastrophic failure nor do I have the noise. But have experienced, twice for that matter a loss of power while driving. I would push the accelerator and thing would happen and the car would just die. Electrics still on, but no movement. I would turn off the car and wait a little bit and it worked again. I have taken the car to the dealer, once they did a PUMA report, but ended up just adjusting a transmission cable and readapting the transmission, the second time attributed to a cracked airbox.

I'm not sure if the problems i've had are signs of failure, but this posts sure has got me worried. I still have 1 year left in my warranty and i'm only at 27,000 miles. I will definitely look into the extended warranty, but I am at the very bit covered by the standard warranty since I've reported these problems before? What would be the best thing to do in my position?

 

I have a 2002 Mini Cooper with a CVT engine and 57K miles on it. One morning when I was driving to go teach my 2nd grade class, my car stopped running in the middle of the road. This was not the first time this happened-the car had stopped on me three times previously, once in the middle of a busy freeway-but this was the first time the check engine light did not come on. I towed it to my mechanic, and he reported that my transmission is busted, and not pumping hydraulic fluid. My warranty just ran out June 2006, so I am looking at $7000 to replace the transmission plus labor. Since I purchased the car, they have had to also replace my DME (apparently, this was the reason why my car stopped the other 3 times). I have also had to replace my battery at around 23000 miles. The car is totally a piece of junk and should not have been sold! I am collecting names for those of you who are interested in a class action law suit. I have talked to some lawyers, and some say that we have a case. I am still looking for a GOOD one who would represent us. Anyone interested please email me at no2numba-tu.com, so I can get a list going. The first step after finding a lawyer is to get a demand letter over to BMW to compensate us for the money and time lost. We could commence litigation if BMW does not respond within a certain amount of time. Those of you who know other Mini drivers, please spread the word. I am tired of being taken advantage of by big companies. One immmediate option we have is for everyone to open a case with the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). I feel that if enough consumers open issues with NHTSA the MINI Corp. will be forced to respond to this issue in some way, hopefully a recall since the issue seems to be occuring after the car is out of warrenty. The contact information for NHTSA is as follows and it only takes about 15 minuites to open a case. (You will need your VIN number) NHTSA 1-888-327-4236 or http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ Please pass this information on to any other blogs to get the word out. I refuse to pay MINI another 7-8 thousand for a new transmission. No2

 

lpaquett@ebmud.com. I've blown two of them, so I'm putting a five speed in mine. If you are serious about this I have several friends in our club that have gone through up to four transmissions apiece. We would like to join in on any action. I have talked to ZF and they say Mini hasn't told them theres a problem and wont let them sell parts. I guess they havn't noticed Minis not using there tranny any more. Larry P Norcal Minis

 

So far I've collected a steering column, wiring harrness, pedal box, axles for $900 out of a low milage 03 Mini that was rear ended. You need to change the column due to the key release being different. Dealer cost over $3600. Dealer says $2500 for the five speed. Plus food and beer for my buddies when we do it. That makes it around $3500.

 

This is precisely the type of action we need to take against BMW. They
have known about this CVT failure for awhile now and have done nothing to
compensate mini owners. This is simply terrible on the part of a multi-billiondollar company. I thank you for taking the initiative to start this process. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Anyone have a copy of the TSB or where to get it. I looked at AllData and Mini (neither was BMW) listed for 2002 to 2006.

 

As an added thought - when I asked about a fluid change for my CVT recently I was told by the service rep that the fluid was lifetime and didn't need fluid changes - I can imagine what they would have told me if I had a tranny failure - Gee you didn't change the fluid at the recommended service intervals. I really don't think this dealer has a clue about the CVTs.

 

Matt

 

I would NOT use that service guy again. CVT Transmission fluid is supposed to be changed at Inspection I and Inspection II. That guy is a MINI moron!

 

Did anyone ever manage to locate a copy of this TSB? Just curious...

 

1) any TSB for any car can be gotten from the NHTSA, reading the titles is free, but getting the full text is a nominal charge for copying and mailing. While AllData has to pull stuff in Mini/BMW want it pulled. They have no sway over the gov! Every tSB ever filed since 1992 (I think) is available.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/

2) each and every Mini owner who has had this failure should lodge a complaint with the NTHSA. They can't help us if they don't have reason to, and there are not a lot of complaints on this issue on the NTHSA web-site.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

3) Work MINI. Call the dealer, the zone rep, and Mini USA. Squeeky wheel gets the grease!

4) I wrote about this in an article in MC Squared. I found about 50 cases in the US and Europe where this happened, but like posters above, that's from a subset of Mini owners. The problem is worse than that though.... 5%? May be high, but too many CVTs are at lower mileage.

5) Warratny Stats from Mini/BMW. They aren't hiding the ones for the CVT. They don't give out ANY warranty number info on any of thier cars! They are hiding this problem no more than they hide any other!

6) They symptom of belt breakage is the breakage. It has nothing to do with the bearing noise. Not that having that TSB wouldn't help a bit. IF dealers are quoting $8k over a noise that they barely hear, the TSB may scare them into action! Doesn't make sense, but neither does an $8k estimate (that cost $121 to get!) based on the diagnostics I'd expect from a scam artist.

7) Yeah, this suckes big time!

Matt

 

I found a TSB #240102, but it says it only applies to 2002-2003 Coopers, and gives very little information:

SUMMARY: SERVICE ACTION TO FLUSH AND REPLACE INCORRECT CVT TRANSMISSION OIL. PRODUCED FROM 2002. *TT

This is the only one I found with regards to the CVT. I did not find the one mentioned above regarding the bearing noise.

 

I'm on the phone now with NTHSA... Well see what they say.... Mini has no choice, the MUST file the TSBs..

Matt

 

the NHTSA doesn't have this one, is surprised at the fact (as it was a may 06 submission) and is escallating this to find out why they don't have it. I'll get a status update tomorrow sometime, and I'll post what I find.

Needless to say, if it was just a minor oversite, eventually it will show up. If Mini isn't updating the NHTSA, they may be in for some crap. Don't want to **** of the feds. Things like Tax audits mysteriously pop up!

Matt

also, other than a crappy phone connection, the help line was very helpfull. Listened to what I had to say, checked the internal databases for references, and when they found none, took my contant information and informed me of the escallation. Even after I said I didn't have a car affected by this, and that I was just curious as I wrote articles on the Mini, and more of these trannys are going bad. For those of you with issues, I'm finding the NHTSA a very good gov entity.

 

there will be no creative CPO coverage. CPO stands for certified pre-owned. Your car must be owned by the dealer at one point to have that coverage applied. You will however qualify for an extended warranty through an aftermarket company.

MINIUSA has no obligation to refer to a third party warranty company. Nor will they ever just refer you to one. That would mean that they have an affilation with one... which they don't and never will.

it is the responsibility of the consumer to shop for warranties...just like you are posting on NAM about the problem.