2005 MINI Cooper: jerking or lurching

8 of the 372 complaints about the 2005 MINI Cooper describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 8
of this car's complaints: 2%
typical mileage: 82,300
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 7 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

2015
1
2009
2
2006
5
2005
8
2004
1
2003
7
2002
2

What owners say

Filed Feb 21, 2021 · Acceleration, Transmission · 1 miles · MI

When driving vehicle transmission slips causing a jerk reaction in the vehicle and then it will renegade causing another jerk reaction in the vehicle and makes going and or stopping unpredictable. Turning left is dangerous as the car may not move forward at a speed that it should or may jerk in the middle causing the vehicle to stop in front of oncoming traffic. I have had a machanic change the transmission and it still does the same thing. I have contacted the manufacturers who informed me that there were no recalls and nothing they would do.

Filed Jul 11, 2016 · Airbags, Transmission · 69,791 miles · TX

Front driver seat occupant detection mat doesn't seem to be working correctly as it doesn't detect sometimes when there is an occupant. Second issue is the CVT transmission of this vehicle. I get a jerking motion every now and then and found a class action lawsuit linked with these transmissions. I purchased this car after this lawsuit but apparently this particular vehicle was not taken care of. My vehicle only has 70,000 miles on it and find this unacceptable.

Filed Mar 27, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 82,300 miles · CO

When accelerating from 30 to 40 miles an hour/shifting from 3rd to 4th gear, my transmission would rev up the rpms and my car no longer accelerates. It went from about 2 to 5.5 rpms, even after I took my foot off the gas pedal. Once it finally does shift, it lurches the car forward violently. It takes a while for the transmission to start acting up, but once the car is fully warmed up, it seems nearly impossible to have it not happen. It's even more frustrating and frightening because I do all city driving, where I slow down and speed up so I am constantly having to get within the 30mph range. My car stops accelerating so I am afraid of my transmission dying in the middle of traffic or slowing down so much that is causes an accident. Bottom line: my car does not function properly and potentially endangers me, so I am afraid to drive my car.

Filed May 31, 2012 · Steering · 85,000 miles · ND

Power steering suddenly does not seem to work. The steering is difficult and jerky.

Filed Apr 22, 2011 · Transmission · 87,000 miles · OK

I have noticed for the last 2 years that my car has been lurching. In just the last week I have noticed that when I get to about 55-65 MPH, my RPM's are around 4000. I take my foot off the gas and the RPM's increased. I had some minor work done on the auto-sequential transmission in 2010. I had broken the line and has been welded back in and had no major problems aside from the lurching until recently. All factory parts are still on the car. Transmission has not been replaced. I am outside my warranty.

Filed Apr 11, 2011 · Steering · 99,400 miles · NY

Although it did not seem noticeable on the highway, when the power steering pump started to fail I was using extra pressure to stay in my lane. The pump would then work again and the car would lurch off to the side I was favoring and I almost went into a guard rail. When coming off the highway and not knowing the pump was quitting again, I would have to jump into emergency mode to negotiate the turn.

Filed Feb 22, 2011 · Steering · 61,500 miles · MD

The first time I had a problem, I was driving and maintaining speed when suddenly the power-steering failed. I jerked the steering wheel and turned it with force, and then the power-steering returned. Another time, the power-steering failed while I was driving and remained off until I turned off the ignition and then turned the ignition back on.

Filed Mar 16, 2009 · Transmission · 62,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While driving 25 MPH, the vehicle jerked and made rattling and popping sounds. The vehicle shut off and the contact pushed it to the side of the road. The key could not be removed from the ignition and the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer. She was informed that the transmission failed and would cost $7,000 to repair. The contact will call the manufacturer for assistance. The failure mileage was 62,000.