R56 Mini Cooper S Automatic Transmission fluid change

[Ghost Chip 188]

Hey all,

So did a dumb and embarrassing thing and accidentally drained transmission fluid instead of the oil. Eating that humble pie now. Thankfully it’s not all of it, we drained about 1L - in some ways was a blessing as it looked pretty nasty anyway. Problem is now we have to fill it up before getting it to a shop on Tuesday to have the bushings replaced to pass WOF as I’m assuming it’ll run the transmission if we run it with not enough transmission fluid. Referring to an article online for it and have some questions to avoid doing any more dumb things

1) Should we just do a proper change, replace the filter, fill up with new fluid or can we just fill it up with new fluid to get it to the shop by Tuesday?

2) If we’re just filling it up with new fluid, should we get the leftover fluid up to temp (35-45deg C) and heat the new fluid as well at the same temp (35-45C) before filling it up

3) Any tips if we should just do a proper change? Do we really need a scan tool to measure ATF temp or could we just let it idle for a while? @KwS thoughts?

4) Mechanic said to just drive it to the shop and he can do it there - is this safe or should we just tow it there?

Below is the article we were looking through

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/MINI/28-TRANS-Automatic_Transmission_Fluid_Change/28-TRANS-Automatic_Transmission_Fluid_Change.htm

Cheers!

[KwS 2425]

That seems to be a real common thing to do, but since i try to avoid autos I dont have direct experience with the job. It looks like its the common overflow in the drain plug setup, which yes, will require the transmission temp to be within a certain range to be correct, which can only be done with a scan tool.

I wouldnt drive it low on fluid. If you have to, i'd put 1L (or as close to what you drained as possible) in and carefully nurse it to the mechanic and then have them do a full service on the trans there.

[Ghost Chip 188]

4 hours ago, KwS said:

That seems to be a real common thing to do, but since i try to avoid autos I dont have direct experience with the job. It looks like its the common overflow in the drain plug setup, which yes, will require the transmission temp to be within a certain range to be correct, which can only be done with a scan tool.

I wouldnt drive it low on fluid. If you have to, i'd put 1L (or as close to what you drained as possible) in and carefully nurse it to the mechanic and then have them do a full service on the trans there.

Mate said he’ll just tow it to the shop tomorrow - which will be interesting as neither I nor him have tow bars in our cars 😂. Cheers for that!