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.
MINI Cooper jerking problems
26 of the 2,237 owner complaints about the MINI Cooper describe jerking or lurching, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 26
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical mileage
- 75,558
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
CVT failure 6Transmission failure 5Power steering loss 3Stalling 2Misfire 2Loss of power 2Check engine light 2Won't start 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P0012 1
What owners say
My car started off with a rough idle and occasionally wouldn't start. The engine light came on and the car became jerky while driving. It has sudden spurts when it wants to take off. I ran the code and got p0012. From there I have replaced multiple parts but I think I landed on the timing chain. I know there was a settlement with these years but for some reason this particular model wasn't included in the settlement
After taking a off ramp from the interstate the car lost power and sputtered and jerked. Later the same day. After getting back on the interstate the car again sputtered, lost all power and I took the next exit I was afraid I was going to get ran over
While in motion, car began to become jerky while excelerating, than the transmission disingaged. No gear would work thereafter.
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.
Once the car warms up the automatic transmission lurches when the car shifts from 1st to 2nd and 3rd gear. The engine still accelerates, however, the transmission simply whines and no power is distributed to the wheels. Very unsafe when pulling out in traffic. Mini advertised these vehicles as never requiring transmission fluid changes. The vehicle has less than 100,000 miles. No recall exists, however, the issue is well documented on web forums.
My 2015 mini cooper 4 door hardtop was parked in my garage. I started it but had not put it into gear yet. I opened the door and got out (car didn't budge) and as I walked back towards the rear, the car lurched out of park and reversed which caused it to pin me in between the car and the garage beam as it continued to roll quickly backwards as if someone was accelerating. When contacting mini, they had one of their inspectors come (no documentation provided to me). I was called (again no documentation) and told that the engineer found no fault in the transmission or electrical system and that this was not a defect. They have since been unresponsive with providing documentation, haven't been ale to acquire parts to fix my damaged vehicle and refuse to acknowledge that there is something wrong with selling a car that can kill people and to not have parts for 4 months! I had my car for a total of 2 months total drive time. It's been in the shop for 4 months with no resolution in sight.
On 08/13/2014, I was driving my 2003 mini cooper, came to a stop light and when the light changed, I went to start out thru the intersection and lost all power-I managed to get it thru about the time the light had turned red, again! I coasted to the curb, put it in park, sat there for a few minutes and tried, again, to take off. It seemed to be fine, this time,( except for some take-off jerking, and RPM's spiking).drove 42 miles then came to a one way stop sign at the intersection of us hwy 40 & us hwy 56, when traffic cleared I went to cross the intersection and my car jerked and died!!! I had to be pushed out of the intersection while cross traffic had to stop & wait on me! No warning lights came on, in fact, I questioned whether or not they even worked. It's now at the dealership, where I purchased it, used, on 07/29/2014, getting diagnosed.
The automatic transmission seems very jerky and hesitant. It has died on me once while driving as it stalled out. I am afraid the transmission is close to failure.
I have a 2006 mini cooper conv s, aprox 53,000 miles, has a CVT automatic transmission, at this time shifting in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears has been erratic, with very jerky shifting and speed.
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 jerking
Which MINI Cooper years have jerking or lurching problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (8 complaints), 2003 (7 complaints) and 2006 (5 complaints).
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