2004 mini cooper purchased new aprox 62 miles on it and the CVT transmission is gone & there was a class action lawsuit for the replacement of this, I was never notified and want this fixed at no cost to me. At aprox. 50 to 60 MPH the car engines goes way beyond the proper RPM.
MINI Cooper cvt failure problems
76 of the 2,237 owner complaints about the MINI Cooper describe cVT failure, most of them for the 2003 model year.
- owner complaints
- 76
- worst model year
- 2003
- typical repair cost reported
- $8,000
- typical mileage
- 69,791
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Transmission failure 29Jerking 6Stalling 5Won't shift 4Check engine light 3Slipping 2Power steering loss 2Loss of power 2
What owners say
Cvt transmission belt broke while driving and the car came to a. Stop . I could have been crushed by a big truck that was behind luckily he was able to swerve around me
Cvt transmission stuck in first gear while driving on a highway and would not go more than 30mph and cars had to swerve from behind me in order to prevent an accident. The dealer wants to replace the transmission for $8,000.00 which is ridiculous. I could have been killed on highway along with my daughter..
Cvt transmission sticking in 2nd gear.
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.
I was driving around 40 miles per hour and the car abruptly slowed down then sped up without any warning, if another car was behind me, it would have caused some serious damage. Now my car wouldn't shift shift out of first gear. I was told by my mechanic that the CVT transmission is gone. After reaching out to mini USA, they told me they haven't had any problem with this transmission and it's pass the warranty date. If the folks at mini USA had been honest with me I could have made the deadline for a settlement pertaining to the same problem they claimed they had no idea about. This product need to be recalled! After doing extensive research the CVT transmission have had problems all along and the company have been settling claims for quite some time. Why are they allowed to run hard working folks into death because they know most of us can't and wouldn't pursue this matter. It will cost me 6500.00 for the part and another $2200 for labor, the car is now valued at $5500.00. It there something wrong with this?
To make you aware of a potential safety problem. The 2006 mini cooper CVT transmission has had numerous failures. A california judge recently ruled in favor of a class action suit against bmw(mini cooper). We just became aware of the transmission going out in our car. It still runs and shifts but our concern is that it could quit at an inopportune time and cause an accident. Mini has shown no moral or ethical interest in replacing the transmission at no cost or reduced cost to the consumer.
Driving home from work as usual, I was exiting the highway when I felt a jolt from the engine compartment, the engine seemed to sputter and as soon as I slowed down to 30 MPH or so the car would not shift back up to the higher gears. Luckily I was only a quarter mile from home so I put the hazard lights on and drove very carefully into my driveway. I put the car in park and got out to look under the hood to see if anything was drastically wrong ( any leaks, smoke, etc.). Nothing appeared to be malfunctioning so I put the car back into drive and instantly stalled the engine . I then called a tow truck to have it towed to my local mini cooper dealership to diagnose the issue. I was told it would need an entirely new CVT transmission.
On my 2004 mini cooper, base, with CVT, it the rpms jump to ~3800 between 50-65 MPH. When I accelerate to above 65, the rpms return to the normal range. Upon slowing down, the rpms then jump again between 50-65.
While driving my mini cooper on a major road in heavy traffic my mini cooper experienced a complete loss of power to the wheels (sudden transmission failure). My only option to avoid being rear-ended was to steer the car off the road ( with the remaining forward momentum into a fast food parking lot in order to avoid being involved in an accident. Description of failed component/affected part: mini cooper's CVT transmission have a known history of sudden failure at 80k-120k. Bmw the manufacturer of the mini has known about the defective transmission in their vehicle for years, and has never informed owners of their vehicles of the transmission problem or the potential risk for accidents, injury, or death that could result from the sudden failure of the mini's transmission and resulting total loss of power. Bmw has never issued a recall or offer to replace the defective transmission under the vehicle warranty. Additionally, bmw has issued service advisories to their service managers about the problems associated with their mini cooper's CVT transmission, but as mentioned has not communicated this problem to mini owners.
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission: control module (TCM/PCM/tecm)
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
- Risk
- If the driver exits the vehicle without the transmission being in Park, the vehicle could roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
- Remedy
- MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control module with the correct software, free of charge. The recall February 4, 2015. Owners can contact MINI customer service at 1‑866‑825‑1525.
Recall number 14V789000 · Recall details
Power train: manual transmission: floor shift assembly
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles equipped with manual transmissions, the transmission shift cable connects the gearshift lever in the vehicle interior to the shift linkage on the transmission. It is possible for the shift cable to detach from the transmission shift linkage while the driver is attempting to change gears. If the cable detaches from the shift linkage, gear changes will no longer be possible and the transmission will remain in the last gear selected.
- Risk
- If shift cable detachment occurs and the transmission remains in any forward gear, the vehicle can still be driven in that gear only. However, if the transmission moves into neutral and remains there, the ability to accelerate or maintain speed will be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the shift cable and, if necessary, install a retaining clip over the end of the shift cable to prevent it from detaching from the transmission. Owner notification began august 6, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bmw at 1-866-ask-mini (1‑866‑275‑6464).
Recall number 02V201000 · Recall details
Questions about the MINI Cooper cvt failure
Which MINI Cooper years have cVT failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2003 (42 complaints), 2002 (11 complaints) and 2004 (11 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix CVT failure on the MINI Cooper?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $8,000 (median of 37 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used MINI Cooper?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history