[flav]

i've posted a few times here about my reverse grind problem on my 1 week old cooper. the transmission is great..in fact the whole car is great, but my reverse is crap. if i wait three seconds berfore putting it into reverse 4 out of 5 it goes OK. but if i don't pause for three long seconds it grinds hard every time. i called 1 866 ask mini. they said they never heard of this problem. i told them i saw it all over the internet. they still denied it. they told me to take it into the dealer and it should not be grinding at all. then i went to the dealer. jumped in a test cooper. it grionded too but not nearly as bad or often as mine. then the sales guys told me their convertible does it too everytime. i can't get an appointment for two weeks. WHATS GOING ON HERE. please answer these important questions.

- is this a trait of the getrag 5 speed. if it is why is mini denying it when i called. if it is not a trait why do so many of us have it. even the cars at the dealer.

- IS THIS CAUSING DAMAGE TO MY NEW CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the grind does not sound good. is my transmission suffering years of damage from this crunch and grind.

- if it is causing damage what can i do about it. this is really ruining a perfect car.

- of all of you that do have it, how often does it grind and how bad. please we need to figure this out guys.


this is no small deal, i've driven alot of manuals and it never grinds. it sounds like i'm not even using the clutch in reverse,

 

[vagt6]

I have an '05 MINI with a 6 speed, so this may not help your car.

I'd suggest to put the gearshift lever into 1st gear before shifting to reverse. Shift into first gear, then slowly shift into reverse. If this does not work, just drive the hell out of it and forget the crunching. It's covered by warranty, it it explodes or fails, it will be covered.

If your warranty is about to expire, hound the dealer until they fix it. Make sure your complaint is properly documented.

But in any case, just drive the car and try to ignore the crunching!

Sorry about your prob, please let us know what you do.

 

[flav]

i appreciate your response. thanks. the first gear to reverse does not work...it still grinds hard. and i can't just ignore. the grinding is a kind of noise like fingernails on the chalkboard. its really not something you can ignore or want to igniore. plus mini will do everything (or any auto maker) to blame an engine or transmission failure on the driver. so if it goes at 50,000 i might not get a new one, or what if it goes at 65,000.


so..........65 thread reads an only one response from someone that does not even have a 2005 cooper...........are you guys telling me i'm the ONLY one on this site that owns a 2005 cooper. wow i feel blessed.

 

[lmassauk]

I have a '05 Cooper.

It does crunch on occasion!

This is due to the reverse gear not being sycromeshed like the forward gears. Meaning that the gears have to be aligned properly in order to mesh correctly.

Engaging the clutch and putting the gear box half way into the reverse position should help it find its mesh without grinding.

If it apears to not go into gear, just reverse slightly and in it pops.

Thats what I usually do and it only grinds now an again now.

A lot of cars do it when put into reverse using the same process. Its nothing to worry about.