[DOT191]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sejanus (original)

Figured I'd bump this thread every time I passed a 10K mark. My '02 just past 70,000 miles today, which means I'm entering into the apparent danger zone for CVTs. We'll see.

At the moment we have 14 currently operating CVTs posted on here and no reported problems after 5 weeks. It's a start.

We own a 2003 MC. It has the CVT. We took Delivery on 03/01/03. It only has 19,100 original miles. We rarely us the Mini during the Winter Months for long trips. Round trip for me to work is only 7 Miles. No problems with the Car at all. According to the Mfgr. of the CVT the fluid should be Changed at appx 30,000 miles. So, i have a way to go before i do this. The Mfgr also states there is aa oil Drain Plug & a top Filler plug.

[DOT191]

2003 MC with CVT. Only 19,100 original Miles. No problems with CVT. Even though Both Mini & the Mfgr ( ZF Getrieb) state you change fluid at around 30,000 Miles i am considering having it done sooner that.

[RobFriedman]

2003 MC (picked up on May (memorial Day 03) with 59K
driven every day to work (wife) and a lot of Long Island Rallies on weekends. Not ultra fast but just driven.

no problems since software updates at the very beginning.

wondering how worried should I be??? I love the car.. my wife says I should trade it in. (I'ld like to get another one (R56 or the Traveller) later.. but would like to hold onto this.. no engine mods.. just minor interior mods..

I like to call this my 'touring" edition

oh yes.. have driven on the Mountain roads in the White Mtns several times.. again.. no problems ever (other then wondering where the heck we were.. and avoiding moose)

[jazmini]

Jazmini -- 2004 CVT, 20,000 miles, May 2007 -- no problems.

I don't drive that many miles, but do drive to work most days for a short commute of 22 miles round trip. I've got a cat-back exhaust and cold air intake (it doesn't really provide cold air, but that's the old term), but don't drive hard. Occassionally I'll shift spiritedly for a short time, but not really hard on the car, as the only thing that may be considered hard would be my downshifts, which can be in the 3k to 4k rpm range, but usually around 3k, with upshifts around 3k to 4k too. Most of my driving is in D for my mostly freeway commute, but use SD on weekends when not on the freeway.

I'm encouraged that Paul! talked to the MINI dealer, who said that CVTs don't have a high failure rate. I know there is a problem, but Sejanus is trying to find out to what extent it may be, so this thread can help.

[Vanwall]

Just a note on this thread - passed the 100,00 mile mark a coupla days ago, and heading for Arizona this weekend. Jazmini - I, too am running a cat-back and cold air intake - the cat back helped a little on overall HP, but the cold-air made a huge difference in the usable torque. There was a point on many hills where I had to pretty much floor it just to maintain any speed I had, but now if I'm going say, 3,000 RPM, to maintain the same speed, I only have to use another 300 RPM, and that means extra power for emergencies is on tap. The car is much more flexible, and acceleration is better by leaps and bounds. My guess is the HP increase might only be 6 HP or so, but it's enough. The CVT seems trouble-free, and handles the changes with aplomb. I'm also convinced the 'D' setting on the freeway, which is like an overdrive, has helped overall engine life - I bet I'm cruising at at least 1,000 RPM lower than the manual Coopers. Happy Motoring, all!

BCNU,
Rob in Dago

[Sejanus]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vanwall (original)

I bet I'm cruising at at least 1,000 RPM lower than the manual Coopers.

Interesting point. I wonder.

[jazmini]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vanwall (original)

....passed the 100,00 mile mark a coupla days ago, and heading for Arizona this weekend. Jazmini - I, too am running a cat-back and cold air intake - .....Happy Motoring, all!

Wow Vanwall! 100k, that's fantastic! Some CVT MINI's are putting out the mileage indeed. Hopefully, the problems with the CVT are in the minority and most CVTs will hold up well. Time will tell. After reading some recent threads, I'm optimistic. I've made the run from San Diego to Phoenix many times, on I8, so know about the many hills. I had a 1.5L Honda CRX, which struggled with my wife in the car unless you were going really fast to get up the hills, so got a
1.8L Ford Escort for the torque, which helped, but I could smell the transmission fluid get hot if I used a lower gear through the hills (50 miles or so near San Diego), then got a 1.6L Honda Civic, which actually did better as it had much more hp, i.e., 127 vs 90+ in the Escort. I can believe that the CVT will do pretty well I would think, as extra weight and hills don't affect it as much as with other cars. Hope your trip is good. Going this weekend will be much better for traffic than next weekend (Memorial Day weekend). Seeing that you have mods too and are holding up is encouraging! I've felt that adding a small increase in power shouldn't affect things that much. Enjoy!

[Aurel]

2003 with 44000 miles

have a bit of an extended warranty until October 07 or 55K miles as it was a demo when I bought it .. but I think will trade it in before then

been flawless really so far, but these horror stories of failed units and my general bad luck with trannies on previous cars are making me think that way

[joyfulboy]

Sigh...add us to the list of CVT owners being told they need a new transmission to the tune of $8000.

2003; original owner; 80K, regular maintenance, absolutely NO substantial problems prior to now.


I've posted the whole story in the "Attention CVT Owners" thread; any advice is greatly appreciated.

David

[ontheroadagain]

Very sorry to read this. Will go check out that other thread.

[velveteen_mini]

My car is a velvet red 2003 Cooper with CVT. I have been having idle issues since almost the beginning. The car will bog when I come to a stop. Sometimes when I start the car it almost dies when I put it into drive. When I do short, multi trips this happens a lot. After many software updates, I was offered a new CVT at about 70,000km. (about 43,000 miles) The problems are still there but not as severe, except for the short trip issue. MINI Richmond has NOT closed the tranny warranty work order.

Now, less than a year later and less than 20,000km, the EP warning is coming on. , Took the car in and was told my brake light switch needed replacing as, if it fails, it can trip the EP since it is connected to the tranny. $124. That was Monday. Today is Wednesday and the EP light is on again. I already had an appointment with MINI for a pre-trip as we are going to MMW in two weeks and I wanted an oil change and to find out what caused a bang two weeks ago. I thought maybe I hit a rock but never saw one in front of me or felt one hit a tire or saw one come out behind me. On Monday, MINI got me in for an emergency look-see. Today, they say it can wait until my Friday appointment. I'm glad my work order is still open. Will not be a happy camper if I break down on my trip because they haven't found my car's problem.

Anyway, mark me down as a CVT owner with tranny issues. The car is a rare colour so I want to hang onto it but, if I need another tranny, I see either an S manual or Rav4 in my future.

[Sejanus]

Quote: Originally Posted by velveteen_mini (original)

My car is a velvet red 2003 Cooper with CVT. I have been having idle issues since almost the beginning. The car will bog when I come to a stop. Sometimes when I start the car it almost dies when I put it into drive. When I do short, multi trips this happens a lot. After many software updates, I was offered a new CVT at about 70,000km. (about 43,000 miles) The problems are still there but not as severe, except for the short trip issue. MINI Richmond has NOT closed the tranny warranty work order.

So did you get a new transmission put in at 43K?

[velveteen_mini]

That I did, which is why I am worried right now.

[Sejanus]

I can see why, but isn't the new transmission still under warranty?

[AprilWhine]

Are you having the repairs done at Crown MINI in Richmond VA?

[DreamingTwig]

Funny... I just found this thread the other day and now my MINI's gone into limp mode. The day I call for my 70,000 mile tune up.

The CVT goes nuts and the flat tire light (even thought the tires are ok) is on too.

Dash looks like a christmas tree.

More on this one soon.

[ontheroadagain]

Can you describe "limp mode" and what year is your CVT - an '04? Resetting the flat tire monitor doesn't work? Please do follow-up and let everyone know the outcome of your service - and I'm hoping for good news and it being something simple.

I hate reading this thread, but it's important to be aware - while not fatalistic.

[Aurel]

Quote: Originally Posted by DreamingTwig (original)

Funny... I just found this thread the other day and now my MINI's gone into limp mode. The day I call for my 70,000 mile tune up.

The CVT goes nuts and the flat tire light (even thought the tires are ok) is on too.

Dash looks like a christmas tree.

More on this one soon.

hey Dreaming Twig ... fellow NEMINI member ... post your tales on NEMINI as well please. We have a thread going there with similar issues.

[Sejanus]

Quote: Originally Posted by ontheroadagain (original)

I hate reading this thread, but it's important to be aware - while not fatalistic.

Actually the point of this thread wasn't exactly to report CVT problems. It was to start a list of CVTs without problems and then track to see how many, if any, developed them. So far I do not believe any of the owners with CVTs without problems listed here have developed any.

[ontheroadagain]

Good point.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sejanus (original)

We've had a fair number of people lately who been experiencing CVT failure, or have we? It seems like there is a problem, but since reports of trouble are by definition self-selecting and often come from new members it's hard to know if these are just isolated cases or a signficant number of failures. I know of one or two CVT owners who were posting on here and then had trouble, but I also know of several, Willy first and foremost, whose cars have been fine. What I suggest is that all of us who have CVTs that are running fine post on this thread saying just that, CVT year, X thousand miles, date, no problem. And we keep doing this every month or so and see how many and how long we all go with or without problems. The more CVT owners who "sign on" the better sample size we'll have and maybe we can get some sense as to how big a problem or not CVT failure is. Many of us have posted this sort of thing before, but it's scattered in various threads, this way we'll get all our "data" in one place.

OK, me first.

Sejanus-'02 CVT, 68,000 miles, Nov. '06- no problems

Are you still driving your '02?