NHTSA Complaint #10730511 — 2006 MINI COOPER S

I OWN A 2006 MINI COOPER S, WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN OCTOBER 2006. ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I NOTICED THAT AFTER SLOWING BY STEPPING OFF / RELEASING THE GAS PEDAL, THE CAR WOULD JERK FORWARD - AT THE TIME, I DID NOT THINK IT WAS SERIOUS BECAUSE IT HAPPENED A FEW TIME AND IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. AFTER LAST MINI SERVICE IN MARCH 2015 - LATELY, I NOTICED THAT IN STOP & GO TRAFFIC, SOMETIMES AFTER BRAKING OR SLOWING, THE CAR HAS A HARD TIME GETTING UP TO SPEED - SOMETIMES GRADUALLY STEPPING ON GAS PEDAL AS USUAL TO START OFF AGAIN, I HEAR THE ENGINE REV UP PRETTY LOUD SO I LET UP ON THE GAS PEDAL, AND THEN TRY TO STEP ON GRADUALLY AGAIN - SOMETIMES, IT WOULD TAKE A WHILE FOR THE CAR TO GET UP TO SPEED. ALSO, LATELY, AFTER I BRAKE AND SWITCH FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE TO BACK INTO THE DRIVEWAY, THE CAR JERKS BACK WHEN I AM NOT STEPPING ON THE GAS PEDAL AT ALL. I TOLD THE MINI DEALER ABOUT THIS LAST WEEK WHEN THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT START - THE DEALER FOUND THAT THE CAR DID NOT START DUE TO FAULTY CIRCUITRY IN A FUSE BOX, WHICH WAS REPLACED WITH A NEW FUSE BOX. THE DEALER SAID THAT WHAT I DESCRIBED SOUNDED LIKE A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, AND AFTER THE NEW FUSE BOX WAS PUT IN, THE DEALER TOOK THE CAR ON A TEST DRIVE TO SEE IF ANYTHING ELSE WAS WRONG. THE DEALERS DIAGNOSIS WAS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF $9,000. MY CAR HAS AROUND 55,000 MILES AND HAS BEEN MAINTAINED WELL. IT IS UNREASONABLE FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO REQUIRE REPLACEMENT AT SUCH LOW MILEAGE AND IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME - THE CAR WAS BARELY USED IN THE FIRST YEAR - IT WAS DRIVEN MOSTLY WITHIN THE LAST 7-8 YEARS. AS A RESULT OF THIS INCIDENT, I HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE THAT MANY MINI COOPER OWNERS HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS TRANSMISSION ISSUE, WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN COLLISIONS SINCE THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE AS EXPECTED.