Shifter, love it? hate it? don't care?

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by Ericwc, Aug 11, 2022.

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  1. chrunck

    chrunck Well-Known Member

    That reminds me, I never use the park button since the car puts itself into park automatically when you turn it off. I just set the parking brake, then turn the car off.
     
    F14Scott, Newkirk, Rexsio and 2 others like this.
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  3. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    When parking on even a mild hill, my SE sets the parking brake and switches to Park when I power down. Because my SE doesn't bother to set the parking brake on level ground, I don't bother, either.
     
    carrrl likes this.
  4. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    If is nothing in message in red close a message my this crab fix itself and I will appreciate if you post later if you going to see dealer and what they fix to eliminate a problem .As you can shift D /R /N and put car in park and use a brake button just drive.You my not see that message anymore. Before you see dealer contact BMW road assistance some of those guys a good mechanics they could help over a phone.I have good experience about my I 3 before.
     
  5. yoomini

    yoomini Active Member

    No problems with the shifter at all. It's great to never have to look down at it to know how to control it. It's just intuitive now.
     
    Rexsio likes this.
  6. Personally, I really like the shifter. It almost feels like a joystick with how it snaps back into place.
     
    Rexsio likes this.
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  8. GreenDragon

    GreenDragon New Member

    I don't mind the button, and it seems like a good idea to protect against accidentally moving the stick. On the other hand, pushing the stick forward to go back, and pulling it back to go forward is awkward, not intuitive, and I still have to think about it each time. Okay, I've had it just under a month now, but still.
     
  9. I like the shifter as well, reverse used to feel weird at first but a quick tap to drive negates it.

    Also never pressed park button, always just turns the car off. This new habit gets me in trouble when I drive our ICE car occasionally. When I turn it off without putting it in park it complains - “shift to park” - ugh!
     
  10. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    You not use it you ruin it once a while hit a brake button . Some people never use a brake when they put in P in ACE cars and after a few years whole system have to be rebuilt.SE with electric brakes components can do the same eventually specifically a regen is on front and rear hardly works .In BMW I 3 a rotors looks like a car was siting for years they were rusty / brown as one pedal driving at least BMW /SE improve that issue bc so many complains from I 3 drivers and SE have rotors nice and shiny.
     
  11. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    Are you ever use a variable drill in order to reverse you have to hit a button and drill is on reverse your SE is the same way a gear box is like simple drill one gear just Drive and Reverse that’s all .That is a simplest design to drive forward and reverse and your motor can crank to 12000 RPM.that’s why an EV is so fast from start.
     
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  13. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    You must never drive a car with stick shift that explains to me your frustration in order to change a gear you press a clutch change a gear in SE in order go forward you press a button and you shift /reverse you press a button and you shift is this so complicated? SE is not drive by wire like F16 combat plaine.
     
  14. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    You never own BMW for past 10 years at least.That s why you frustrated about SE .
     
  15. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Yeah, but the SE automatically sets to parking brake on hills, so even if I'm too lazy to set it on level ground, the parking brake does get some exercise.
     
  16. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    This is true, the SE was the first MINI to get the standard BMW shifter. I personally didn't like it compared to the previous MINI shifter, but it's so simple in the SE you can get used to it pretty easily.
     
  17. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    Why so many people complain about it as BMW so big car manufacturers they could design something better but they did what they did as a best alternative. Complainers about a shift design should go to BMW with better idea’s and they became a millionaires .You can’t develop a wheel again! Is always Bentley there for 1 Million $$$$ there for drivers who can afford better wheels.
     
  18. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    Did you drive a cars with manual transmission? Bc I3 and SE are only a cars I ever drive with automatic transmission. For 53 years all my cars were manual 4/5/6 speed transmission.Only my wife cars I drive them occasionally we’re automatics .Design in a center console remain to me of SE as a stick shifters manually.
     
  19. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I drove only manual transmissions for most of my life, but my wife prefers the ease of automatic so I changed. I have paddle shifters in my Clubman so I can switch gears if need be, which seems like a good compromise. Since electric vehicles don't need gears, I guess that was all preparing me for the day I got my SE.
     
  20. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    BMW for the longest time has had reverse in the forward position. You always had to put pressure towards the left to unlock the reverse gear.
    bmwshiftpattern.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2022
    Jbrando and Rexsio like this.
  21. Jim In Tucson

    Jim In Tucson Well-Known Member

    This is my first BMW product, so the shifter was a new sensation to me. I’ve always been used to being able to glance at the shifter and observe what gear I’m in. Not so with the BMW electronic shifter.

    Now that I’ve had the MINI for over a year, I can say that I’m well adjusted to the shift by wire system.


    Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
     
  22. Cindy B

    Cindy B Member

    We don't "Hate it", but it certainly is illogical and it will take you quite a while before the motions become automatic to you.
     
  23. tesrivmini

    tesrivmini Active Member

    I'm fine with the shifter. No issues with the side button at all, or the park button - sometimes I use it, sometimes I just turn the car off and have it automatically go into park.

    As for the direction you move the shifter for D, and for R, to me it's correct. Sequential shifters in race cars are pull down for upshifting and push up for downshifting. In my mind, going from D to R is downshifting - because if there were multiple forward gears, you'd go 4-3-2-1-R to get into R. So I'm good with it.

    The only car I've ever had with a column shifter was the Tesla, I prefer the SE shifter to that - plus it reinforces the SE is a car with an EV powertrain, not a ground up EV, which is one of my favorite things about the SE, it's a Mini, it just happens to have an EV powertrain :)
     
    azausa, revorg and insightman like this.

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