Hi, my girlfriend has an 09 cooper d. How stiff are the gearboxs normally? it changes gear fine but feels very heavy?

Hi,

Its difficult to say what someones opinion of hard gear change is, how long has she had the car? is this a new problem or is this her first mini? is there any grinding noise? how does the clutch feel? do you actually have to force it into gear?

I have a 2009 Clubman D. Shifting for me has been smooth and non-heavy.

Are there any transmission related noises coming from the car?

Has it always shifted heavy or is this something new?

Stiff compared to what? I know plenty of people who think the gears are too stiff, but it depends what you're used to...

Can you find another similar MINI to compare with? :)

We tried about 5 Minis of different ages before we bought ours, ranging from 2004 to 2011 (not that we could afford the latter!) 4 were petrol and 1 was diesel and I found all of them to have fairly heavy clutches and pretty stiff gearchanges.

It seemed to vary but I guess compared to other small cars the clutch and gearchange are quite 'beefy'!

no noises or clutch problems just seems very heavy. Always had that chunky mini feel but i think it seems heavier of late, makes the old transits at work feel light!