Unpredictable throttle response shifting between D/R

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by fizzit, Jan 5, 2021.

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  1. fizzit

    fizzit Active Member

    I've noticed some strange behavior in my SE and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. When quickly shifting from D/R and back, there seems to be some kind of delay where the throttle won't respond for a few seconds and the car acts like it's in neutral.

    I first noticed it a few months ago when I needed to quickly pull out of a driveway onto a narrow street, so I shifted D->R->D quickly. I then tried to go forward but the car wouldn't accelerate. I had the gas pedal all the way on the floor but the car was rolling backwards in the street and almost hit the car behind me. I had to press the brake pedal and then get back on the throttle before the car would accelerate.

    The second time was this weekend where I did the opposite, R->D->R, as I was pulling out of my driveway but realized there was an oncoming vehicle so I needed to reverse back into the driveway. I had the pedal all the way to the floor but my car wouldn't reverse. Luckily the oncoming vehicle had space to swerve around me. Eventually my car did start moving; I'm not sure if I had to press the brakes that time.

    Since this has put me in a dangerous situation a couple times now I figured I'd contact MINI but I also wanted to check here to see if anyone has noticed an issue. Maybe I'm just doing something weird, but I never had this issue with my Spark EV.
     
    insightman likes this.
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  3. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    It's happened to me enough times that I don't consider it unpredictable anymore.
     
  4. fizzit

    fizzit Active Member

    Glad to hear I'm not just imagining it. I should be able to predict it but it always happens when I'm flustered and expect it to respond like a normal car. There seems to be some kind of delay where it ramps up the throttle response after shifting but it seems to take especially long when quickly shifting back and forth.
     
  5. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    You're right the transmission's confusion is dangerous (or at the very least, embarrassing) if you don't anticipate that you're going to be left momentarily powerless after shifting. I wonder if it has something to do with the car's anti-wheelspin system/programming?
     
  6. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    That is not good.
     
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  8. alan2921

    alan2921 New Member

    I usually lurk on this forum but registered just to comment on this thread. This exact thing happened to me while parallel parking on a hill. Unfortunately for me, it resulted in me rolling backwards into the car I was parking in front of and now my rear bumper is scuffed.
     
    F14Scott likes this.
  9. fizzit

    fizzit Active Member

    Jeez, I'm sorry to hear. Definitely seems like something worth contacting MINI about, I'll post here if I get a response. I figure I'll try emailing the dealership where I bought the car.
     
  10. GDOG

    GDOG Member

    It's definitely a thing. I'd say it happens every time I shift out of Reverse. I'm accustomed to it so I pause before I make my getaway. I've assumed it has some design logic behind it...?
     
  11. polyphonic

    polyphonic Well-Known Member

    Had this happen today. I thought it was due to traction control. Like the OP there was another car coming.
     
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  13. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I never have problems when shifting to drive after backing down my driveway (as in the impressive first 10 seconds of Harry Metcalfe's YouTube review). However, I have experienced a dangerous delay when trying to perform a quick Y-turn: shifting quickly from drive, to reverse, then back to drive. I nail the accelerator but the car just sits there as if it was on an ice patch. It would be nice to have the option of turning off the anti-wheel-slip feature to see if that's causing the problem.
     
  14. fizzit

    fizzit Active Member

    I've noticed it after the second shift both going D->R->D as well as when going R->D->R. It might be over-active traction control, or it might just be dumb software that slowly ramps up the throttle response so you don't get jerked around after shifting. I just finally emailed the dealership about it, hopefully they'll be helpful.
     
    GDOG and polyphonic like this.
  15. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    This seems like something which could easily be addressed with a software update. I hope it gets addressed.
     
  16. Spoonman.

    Spoonman. Member

    This sounds serious enough that you should file complaints with the NHTSA.
     
  17. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I guess we should determine if we can replicate the problem on demand. Otherwise, you know what will happen: "It worked OK for me," the service rep will say.
     
    Spoonman. and polyphonic like this.
  18. polyphonic

    polyphonic Well-Known Member

    Is the wheel turned to a severe angle when this happens? My vote is the hyper aggressive traction control. That was the case for me, at least.
     
  19. Spoonman.

    Spoonman. Member

    Yes, somebody needs to do this on video in an empty mall parking lot.
     
  20. F14Scott

    F14Scott Well-Known Member

    While we're complaining, I don't like having to touch the brake pedal to disengage the parking brake. If I am stopped at a light nose-downhill in Drive (and, therefore able to roll forward), I want to apply the parking brake to hold me. Then, when the light turns green, I should be able to deselect the parking brake with my hand and apply throttle with my foot to begin rolling and then drive forward. But, the SE requires I touch the brake with my foot to release the parking brake with my hand. Ugh.
     
  21. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I tried this and I was able to disengage the parking brake by only pushing down on the parking brake switch.
     
  22. F14Scott

    F14Scott Well-Known Member

    Weird. Here's a pic of me, this morning. I'm in Drive, parking brake applied, and I just pushed down on the PB button to deselect it. I got the bong and "In addition: Press brake pedal" message on the cluster.
    20210115_070914.jpg
     
  23. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    The joy of cars run by software. Would be interesting to know if you are running a different version from Puppethead.
     

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