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We've had a lot of fun whipping around our 2014 Mini Cooper S for the last several months. But in June, we were in for quite a surprise when the manual shift knob came off mid-gear-change! Not only that, the shifter boot and the ring toggle at the manual shifter's base came off with it.
This occurred during an enthusiastic first-to-second shift, and luckily our tester was able to operate the manual using the exposed metal shifter stock. If this happened to someone on the open road, it could be a harrowing experience.
See our 2014 Mini Cooper S road test.
But Mini has responded with a fix and then some. We recently received a notice from Mini, alerting customers that it is aware of the issue. It explained the exact problem that we encountered, including the assurance that the transmission will still operate using the remaining metal stock.
This notice tells owners that they may or may not have already heard from their dealers, but if they don't want to wait, owners can reach out to the service department of their Mini dealership and "refer them to the Service Information Bulleting regarding the Manual Gear Shift Knob."
To fix the issue, Mini is reattaching the shifter and boot, but with an instant-bonding adhesive. This should hopefully keep the shifter from flying free again.
We commend Mini on addressing this issue with a quick fix. And Mini even went a step further, offering $100 to owners for Mini's online store.
Instructions for how to redeem the $100 gift were found on the back of the notice. At Mini's online store, the apology wrapped in a Benjamin could get you notable Mini accessories such as Union Jack Mirror Caps or even racing stripes. According to the notice: "The redemption code only works once, and you lose any unused balance." Oh, and the gift code expires at the end of the year. So shop wisely.
—George Kennedy
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