R56 MCS gearboxes...

[Twit]

As has been seen on here and on Mini2 there seems to be the beginnings of an issue with the gearbox / clutch on the MCS. Mine, like a few others, makes a kind of screaching noise as you go from 3rd to 2nd under a bit of load. It was seen at the dealer this morning and it is going ot be inspected by a engineer from Mini, the request has been sent out. This follows the pattern of others. So if anyone on here has the same issue then get it to the dealer. I tried to find out how many other MCS they had had with this issue but they were a bit tight lipped. Apparently there is going to be a fix, but not for a bit of time but I reckon its worth getting the issue logged early to ensure there is no question if driver fault...

[twit]

I'm kind of lucky in that I only seem to have the gearbox as a major issue, few little grumbles but they are being sorted. In terms of the gearbox I don't know what has happened to yours but my car is being inspected by an engineer from the factory tomorrow. Once he's seen / heard it then I'll know more. I've already been told that the factory are working on a fix so there will be no fix immidiately. I'll decide then what to do... Rejection should be easy cos it has had an issue since delivery but I dont want to reject if I can avoid it. If I do go down that route I'll just get my cash back and buy something else.

My thoughts are that the new S is a cracking car, much better than the one its replacing. But, its been released a bit early, maybe to get a march on the Civic Type R, clio 197 etc etc. Therefore, the early customers are doing the beta testing... Which sounds a bit familiar...

[twit]

My mini has been back this morning and been inspected by a chap from the factory and a senior guy from BMW UK. They took the car out and replicated the noise which was good. They are working on a fix, so far they have discounted component issues as stuff has been replaced on other cars with no effect. The issue seem to sit with the clutch which was my first guess. They are looking at the actual components in the clutch manufacture. Anyway, I am waiting to see, BMW UK are no going to keep me informed. I have said I will monitor it over the next two weeks to see if it gets worse / better etc. At that point the car is going back in for some other stuff and will be checked again.

The noise is a pain, but can't really fault the dealer or BMW as they have both been Ok so far...