My sisters got a 2005 Mini Cooper automatic with paddle shift gearbox. Last year in Winter she noticed that the car had a problem which have reappeared again this year in Winter again.
So when reversing out of the garage it starts up fine but the second you put it into reverse it becomes extremely aggressive wanting to burst out. Then when you engage drive same situation. The error code EP comes up.
Please note this only occurred occasionally (but she doesn't drive a lot any way, does less then 3000 miles a year) other times no error and worked fine.
And now its started again I think it only happens in very cold weather when its less then 5 degrees. So she took it to the local garage guy who does the MOT and service for her. He thinks there might be a problem with the gearbox and was initially planning to just change the oil and filter but then decided he's not a expert on automatic transmissions and we should take it to a specialist automatic gearbox garage.
Has any one else had similar problem? Car is based in Colchester any recommended garages around who would know how to identify and fix the problem.
Get your mechanic to change the tranny fluid with synthetic automatic tranny fluid it is common on autos to slip or be aggressive when the fluid breaks down.
the down low on cvts.. autos are my thing.
Conventional automatic transmissions use a set of gears that provides a given number of ratios (or speeds). The transmission shifts gears to provide the most appropriate ratio for a given situation: Lowest gears for starting out, middle gears for acceleration and passing, and higher gears for fuel-efficient cruising.
The CVT replaces the gears with two variable-diameter pulleys, each shaped like a pair of opposing cones, with a metal belt or chain running between them. One pulley is connected to the engine (input shaft) and the other to the drive wheels (output shaft). The halves of each pulley are movable; as the pulley halves come closer together the belt is forced to ride higher on the pulley, effectively making the pulley's diameter larger.
Changing the diameter of the pulleys varies the transmission's ratio (the number of times the output shaft spins for each revolution of the engine), in the same way that a 10-speed bike routes the chain over larger or smaller gears to change the ratio.
Making the input pulley smaller and the output pulley larger gives a low ratio (a large number of engine revolutions producing a small number of output revolutions) for better low-speed acceleration. As the car accelerates, the pulleys vary their diameter to lower the engine speed as car speed rises. This is the same thing a conventional transmission does, but instead of changing the ratio in stages by shifting gears, the CVT continuously varies the ratio -- hence its name.
I'm no expert on autos and I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole but my first line of elimination would be an oil and filter change as this usually works wonders as the oil degrades over time and the filters clog up.
Yup agree with you Sean I think had he done it would have been good as a process of elimination. But just like you he's decided not to touch a automatic with a barge pole unfortunately.
Sadly Hammy there's only a handful of people who either know about these boxes or are willing to work on them. I can see the garages point in not wanting the hassle of an unhappy customer if they can't put a definite diagnosis on the fault. I always advise people that my first fix may not necessarily be the fix it requires and could be the start of the process of elimination. The fluid change is obviously the cheapest fix and may cure it but you won't know for sure until it's changed and tested unfortunately
Again your spot on Sean the mechanic don't want anything to do with the automatic.
I don't really fancy dropping it off at Mini colchester because they will make a mountain out of a mole hill. They did this once make up a bill of £800 according to them was something leaking in the engine bay but luckily this current mechanic I took it to for second opinion recommended by my neighbour he spotted a lose jubilee clip ever since then never took it back to BMW mini.
Any recommended garages who deal with automatic transmission and familiar with Mini's. Don't mind travelling some distance to drop it off. My mechanic suggested a local firm called automatic transmission services based on Mersea island.
I though before heading there get some opinions on mini auto specialists around Essex area. I just want someone who knows minis quite well so it gets sorted out immediately. Rather then guessing method.
Again Hammy I can't recommend any specialists in your area as I'm on the other side of the wall but I sincerely hope you get it sorted without too much expense. Keep us posted on your progress as it may help others in the future
just had the same thing on my Wifes 2007 mini cooper convertible. we thought initially there was a gearbox fault due to over reving, not selecting and then jumping from 6th to 4th. Hardy engineering in Dorking think it is an old battery 8 years old now, causing the faults so changing this then reloading the management system after registering the new battery. Best google auto gearbox replacement then find one locally
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