[Panch]

Hello

I have just taken delivery of my Thunder Grey Cooper S however the gearchange feels very notchy and not smooth at all. 3rd and 5th are especially bad. I know it will loosen up but is this a common issue or something worth getting checked.

Thanks !

 

[uke]

Mine seemed notchy at first. I'm used to it now (3600 miles later). Otherwise, shifts beautifully.

 

[jeremybingham]

Cooper here notchy at first now nice when warm at 3000 miles.still a bit notchy in 3rd and4th if cold..

 

[Sunster]

have a f55 cooper SD - definitely notchy... but clean and precise which is the key thing.
I can remember driving a totally awful vauxhall corsa rental for a few weeks. This was also notchy, but in a bad way - you had to get the clutch and gear shift exactly spot on for the car otherwise if felt like you were crunching the gear lever into place. Yuk!

2K on the clock and everything is bedding in nicely!

 

[kevpem]

I've noticed mine is notchy feeling until the car has warmed up then it's lovely and smooth. I've not driven a manual for a few years so I'm not sure if that's to be expected these days?

 

[sride90]

I've only driven ~200 miles in my car and whilst 3rd and 4th felt very notchy at first, it would appear it's beginning to loosen off a little.

 

[radiocaf]

I haven't noticed any notchy-ness, although I wouldn't know what you guys mean by notchy. My only problem is reverse, anyone else find they have to hunt for it, like trial and error?

"Right... Reverse."
*tries to put car in reverse, it doesn't go*
*moves gear shifter slightly up and tries again, fails again*
*moves gear shifter down, tries again and fails*
*rinse and repeat until successful*

And if you have ever tried Green mode, you get that darn fish/dolphin/whatever screaming at you to put the car in neutral because it doesn't think you want reverse until you actually successfully place the car in reverse.

 

[donnaj1dlh]

Mine's definitely 'notchy' too but it doesn't bother me (you should try my vague wishy washy Landy gearbox ... but it has done 115K miles!)

Reverse gear was an issue to start with, getting used to it ....I lose track of the amount of times I almost hit something by engaging first by mistake. Now I'm just used to casting an eye on the gear selector to check it says R before I lift the clutch!

 

[02fanatic]

Would it have anything to do with break-in tranny fluid? The old school BMW solution would be to put Redline fluid in there...it's known to help shifting in just about any manual transmission (and it shouldn't hurt a thing)...but, of course this should be checked with your warranty.

Personally, I prefer "notchy"...nothing worse than a sloppy shifter.

 

[Mactab]

Picked the volcanic orange cooper this morning. Very notchy gearbox but will give it time to bed in. though I will let the dealer know in the meantime just to be on the safe side.
Hopefully by 1000 miles it will be fine.

 

[jabberwocky]

Definitely notchy and the amount and noise associated with it varies. I was going to complain about it until I drove a couple loaners and they were exactly the same way. If that's the way it's supposed to be and the shifts are accurate, I don't care. Not like I can hear the clacks over the radio anyway. Definitely not as silky smooth as either my Mazda GT or my Subaru WRX though.

 

[02fanatic]

The '15 MCS I drove last month during a test drive was smooth as silk shifting...I didn't notice anything whatsoever unusual/abnormal. I drive manual trans all the time and I think I would have noticed it if something weird was happening during my drive.