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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ericwc
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chrunck said:
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.
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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.
 
CruiseEV22 said:
Speaking of shifter, we just received this error message in our 2 week old Mini SE. Using the unlock button to shift into gear is not working. However, the mini has bypassed this process and I can shift into gear without the unlock button now. Anyone else experience this issue and have a fix? Trying to avoid a visit to the dealer.View attachment 17845
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
insightman said:
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.
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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.
 
BigDawgMike said:
I'm also not a fan of the design of the shifter, specifically the button on the side. It just seems strange to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
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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.
 
Ericwc said:
Had our mini se a month now and the one thing I cannot get used to and honestly just hate is the shifter. It make no sense. You have to hold a side button and push forward to go in reverse. Why is the button on the side, how the heck do you grab the shifter and the button at the same time? I have to think about it every time. I feel like I have to pinch it. Then you pull back to go forward. I understand drive in an ICE car is back but with reverse forward it's all out confusing. Did I mention I hate the ergonomics of that dumb safety side button you have to press at the same time? Then to put it in park you have to push a button WTH?
If Mini wants to have a shifter fine use the same basic design used in cars for decades why go and mess with it just because it is electric. If you do want to mess with it make it simple 3 buttons forward, reverse, park, done. Instead they asked how complicated and un ergonomic can we make this thing!
I've owned a lot of vehicles over the years and I adjust pretty quickly to their quirks but this one drives me crazy.
So what's everyone else's thoughts love it? hate it? (why did you not warn me?) don't care?
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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.
 
Ericwc said:
Had our mini se a month now and the one thing I cannot get used to and honestly just hate is the shifter. It make no sense. You have to hold a side button and push forward to go in reverse. Why is the button on the side, how the heck do you grab the shifter and the button at the same time? I have to think about it every time. I feel like I have to pinch it. Then you pull back to go forward. I understand drive in an ICE car is back but with reverse forward it's all out confusing. Did I mention I hate the ergonomics of that dumb safety side button you have to press at the same time? Then to put it in park you have to push a button WTH?
If Mini wants to have a shifter fine use the same basic design used in cars for decades why go and mess with it just because it is electric. If you do want to mess with it make it simple 3 buttons forward, reverse, park, done. Instead they asked how complicated and un ergonomic can we make this thing!
I've owned a lot of vehicles over the years and I adjust pretty quickly to their quirks but this one drives me crazy.
So what's everyone else's thoughts love it? hate it? (why did you not warn me?) don't care?
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You never own BMW for past 10 years at least.That s why you frustrated about SE .
 
Rexsio said:
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.
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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.
 
Rexsio said:
You never own BMW for past 10 years at least.That s why you frustrated about SE .
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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.
 
Puppethead said:
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.
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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.
 
Puppethead said:
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.
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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.
 
Rexsio said:
Did you drive a cars with manual transmission?
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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.
 
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.webp
 
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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
 
Ericwc said:
Had our mini se a month now and the one thing I cannot get used to and honestly just hate is the shifter. It make no sense. You have to hold a side button and push forward to go in reverse. Why is the button on the side, how the heck do you grab the shifter and the button at the same time? I have to think about it every time. I feel like I have to pinch it. Then you pull back to go forward. I understand drive in an ICE car is back but with reverse forward it's all out confusing. Did I mention I hate the ergonomics of that dumb safety side button you have to press at the same time? Then to put it in park you have to push a button WTH?
If Mini wants to have a shifter fine use the same basic design used in cars for decades why go and mess with it just because it is electric. If you do want to mess with it make it simple 3 buttons forward, reverse, park, done. Instead they asked how complicated and un ergonomic can we make this thing!
I've owned a lot of vehicles over the years and I adjust pretty quickly to their quirks but this one drives me crazy.
So what's everyone else's thoughts love it? hate it? (why did you not warn me?) don't care?
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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.
 
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 :)
 
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