The BMW software (ISTA) at the dealers does not allow for this function to be added however it is there in the ECU. I have been employed by a few UK mini dealers to switch this option on and also a few other options.

The easy way to do this is now through the carly app, next use BMW AI Coder and then the most complicated is e-sys

Done quite a lot of coding on my F54 and the only thing it hates is GPS time in the combi which made the whole lot go mad

 

US Spec cars don't have global close from the fob, though they do have global opening from the fob. US cars can global close from the comfort access door button, but it's windows and sunroof close only. Electric mirror folding/unfolding is only from the interior driver's door button near the window lift switches on the driver's arm rest, except the mirrors, if folded, will automatically unfold when the car attains a factory-set speed.

I tried mightily to determine from MINI USA their logic for withholding these features and, after the third, "MINI doesn't offer this feature on your vehicle," I 'folded', pun intended. Best I could get was that the guy from MINI USA was not aware of any mechanical or safety reason why fob folding/unfolding wasn't offered, but he wouldn't put anything in writing, telling me that everything MINI had to say had already been said in prior email I had received. He wouldn't even send me an email confirming our conversation. And I think I was polite. Oh, well.

Please confirm that European spec cars can do the fold/unfold from the comfort access. I'd love to bring that to the attention of my new best friends at MINI USA, so they can again tell me that the feature is not offered.

 

Yes all uk spec f series minis comfort open and close from the key and this is from the factory.

 

I reconfirm mirror folding with global close. I can post a video for you to send them but I am sure their answer will be the feature is not offered in the US

 

Thanks for confirming. I reconfirmed that my US spec October 2016 build Clubman doesn't activate mirrors on global open or close. Trying to decide how many more heartbeats to spend engaging MINI USA on this. Part of me says to keep tilting at windmills -- the older and wiser part tells me to buy the Carly OBDII link and the app and code it myself. I could then send a vid of my car folding and unfolding to my new friends at MINI.... or not.

Thanks again tmehanna for following up on this for us.

 

Just make sure that Carly supports F54 coding because as of last year when I last checked it had no coding support for my bmw f10 which has been around since 2010. Also if you are planning to use an android phone to code make sure you buy Carly's own bluetooth obd tool as I couldn't do any sort of coding with Generic interfaces. They kept failing halfway. Goodluck.

 

F54 is almost exactly the same (ECU-wise) as the rest of the 3rd gen MINIs. I'm not familiar with iCarly as much, but any coding for the F54 can be done as if it was a F56.

In fact, if you are using ESYS, when selecting the chassis, there is no F54 option, you would choose F56 which covers the F56, F55, F54, F57, F60 and a couple BMWs.

 

UPDATE

I had a long and candid conversation with a senior BMW service guy who said, off the record, that he believes the main reason mirror fold and sunroof close can't be added to the fob by dealers is warranty. He said, it is obvious, since the capability is baked into the car's hardware, that there is intent for the feature to be available in some markets. His theory is that the USA warranty is so strong as compared to warranties in some other markets, that BMW/MINI is concerned that if the mirrors and roofs are worked hard by activating every time a car is locked or unlocked, warranty claims for burned out motors, etc would go way up. Interesting theory.

I have also been told the main reason for no remote global closing of windows and roofs is safety regulations in the USA. Apparently people in the rest of the world know how to keep children and pets from getting trapped in closing windows and sunroofs but Americans need the extra protection from ourselves.

 

I partially agree with that statement above, main reason is really "lawyers" and sympathetic judges. Being a Mech Eng, I had a series of classes back in college that focused on 'Safety in Design'. They had a major portion of information surrounding the legal community and how it effects/shapes designs by us fellow Engineers. It is one thing to design a component/mechanism to be durable and last, it is another thing to design something that will withstand 'reasonable' abuse and show that abuse was considered to a judge. One great example is the design of crane hooks. Back in the day a factor of safety of 3 was a 'good' number (i.e.- a 1 ton hook could actually lift up to 3 tons w/o breaking). Add in lawyers and now we have factors of safety on crane hooks exceeding 10 because of lawsuits and judges finding in favor of the user and against the Mfg. Unfortunately factors of safety to this level actually start to create abuse, since a 1 ton hook that can actually lift 10 tons, looks way too big to only lift 1 ton, so lifting more than 1 ton becomes 'common place'. You see where I am going, the "lowest common denominator" ends up ruling the majority and wiping out the process of natural selection.

Enough soap-boxing, back to running with my sharp pointed scissors...

 

So let me understand, someone sued because a crane hook didn't do the job at 1 to 3 ratio and crushed somebody, therefore courts, lawyers and judges are bad.

 

Pretty much, yes! The mfg of the crane hook designed it to safely handle its rated load, in fact, handle 3x the rated load and put it out on the market. Someone out there determined that it looked like it could handle more than that 1T rating and pushed things a bit too far and likely injured/killed someone if not themselves. Well, that guy can be held accountable for his own actions, someone with deeper pockets has to pay...right?? Wrong, just plain wrong. Unfortunately there are lawyers that take these kinds of cases to trial and judges that hand out awards to folks that were clearly in the wrong.

Are lawyers/judges inherently bad, NO, but the 'bad' ones have created an entire industry of folks either trying to persecute or defend things that simply shouldn't have to be.

In the case of this thread, the Mfg (BMW/MINI) doesn't want the liability of enabling the software function for various reasons, whether it be warranty claims on mirror motors, window motors, etc or simply the liability of someone getting injured in some way when activated in an unexpected fashion. Seems kind of silly, but when you look at it from the design side of things, there are all kinds of 'dark' holes that have to be identified and considered.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...sorry for the distraction.

 

I received an unexpected follow-up telephone call from MINI USA today. They report that they are continuing to look into why MINI USA customers don't have the mirror fold/unfold via fob and door button option that is available in other markets. We also discussed the absence of a global closing via fob option in USA cars.

According to the gentleman from MINI USA who called me today, the "factory" is aware that there is a desire among some USA owners to have these features usable on our cars.

No promises were made. I have no reason to believe anything will change soon.

I was, however, pleased to hear that the factory has been made aware of my questions and request. According to the person with whom I spoke, such requests are taken very seriously.

We shall see...

 

They also deactivated global close and folding on '16 750ix which I special ordered. They really turned every single convenience feature off for US market.

 

Deed is done.

I got tired of waiting for MINI USA to step up and do the right thing so I ordered the Carly Generation II OBD bluetooth adapter for $70 and downloaded the iPhone app for another $44 and in about 15 minutes I now have side mirrors that unfold when I unlock my Clubby from either the car door button or the remote and I have global closing from my remote and I can fold my side mirrors using the global closing function on either the remote or the door button and when I go into reverse the little door handle LED's light the path so I can see the curb at night and I made a few more lights come on during the unlock welcoming sequence and my wallet is a hundred buck lighter but I'm friggin' happy every time the mirrors fold or unfold.

What can I say? The Carly app is easy and, while not nearly as sophisticated or capable as full-on coding options, it did it for me, for now.

 

Please share what you did in detail! Sounds like a feature we all would want.

 

Very straightforward. To take advantage of the coding options for your side mirrors and the global closing I believe you need to have a vehicle with 322 Comfort Access and the mirror module (ZCW - Cold Weather Package with heated seats/dimming with Option 313 Power Folding Mirrors, I think.) Check your build and, before purchasing from Carly, contact them to confirm your car has the functionality that can be activated.

Visit:

http://www.mycarly.com/product/bmw-app/

I purchased the adapter with blue tooth from Amazon. The above Carly web site has the link.

There is a free smartphone app for android and one for iPhone.

I tested connectivity using the free Carly app for iPhone and I ran the free diagnostics which is cool because the protocol prompts you to create an email which Carly processes and sends a diagnostic report to your email.

And the free Carly app, once connected to your car with the adapter, shows everything that can be coded on your MINI -- you can also research this on the Carly web site.

There are also a few youtube vids demonstrating people doing the steps.

Satisfied that connectivity was good and that I had an understanding of the steps involved, I purchased and downloaded into my phone the full-function Carly for BMW iPhone app.

Sitting in my MINI with the engine running, I opened the Carly app and, once the connection between my phone and my MINI was established, I simply followed the prompts and selected the features I wanted to code.

The app gives you all the prompts. It's very simple.

WARNING: If you want to code more than one feature, the app will only allow you to do one or two at a time -- it becomes overloaded easily, but the good news is it tells you and it doesn't require you to backtrack.

The sequence is a bit tedious. You need to shut off the engine AND the ignition (a second tap on the start toggle in your MINI) and then fire up the car again and proceed. Carly prompts you when you need to do this.

And connectivity can fail requiring one to start over. So plan to take some time and don't have any distractions -- just sit quietly with the car parked and plod through. Oh, and of course, if you're in your garage, be sure to have proper ventilation as you will be running the engine.

I went this route because it's easy but, as other posters have noted, for less money, if you're confident doing coding from available laptop software, you can do more and do it cheaper.

Carly is more of a plug 'n play solution.

Now, when my MINI goes through the welcome sequence the yellow side scuttle turn indicator lights remain illuminated throughout the welcome sequence -- woo hoo!

And if I'm rolling my window up or down and the ignition is turned off and I open the driver's door, I can continue the window operation without it stopping when the door opens. Woo woo hoo!

And I adjusted the amount the passenger side view mirror dips -- a little less dip. Woo woo hoo hoo!

Also, when I unlock my MINI using either the door button or the key fob, the side mirrors immediately unfold -- I don't have to hold the button beyond the unlock quick press.

When I lock using either the door button or the key fob and continue holding down the door button or the close button on the fob, the mirrors fold and global closing of windows and the sunroof is initiated. Once the mirrors start to fold I can release the button and the mirror fold sequence will self-complete. If I want any open windows or the open sunroof to completely close, I need to continue holding the button until closing is complete.

If for any reason the dealer does a reflash or an update I wouldn't be surprised if I'll lose my coding -- but the Carly adapter is in the glovebox and the app is in my phone.

Only thing is the adapter is pricey at $75 and the consensus is the cheaper adapters don't work well for this application. And $45 for an app ain't cheap either.

But, what price happiness. Even my wife smiles when she sees her silly husband grinning while the mirrors unfold. As we age, we get our thrills where we can.

 

I believe coding for global closing of windows and sunroof are two different options so you can set it to close windows and roof or just windows. May be true for opening as well.

Wheels within wheels.

 

Got my Carly Adapter and I-phone App today! Looking forward to doing some coding. 2017All4, have you coded for the speedometer error? Apparently, the factory setting makes the speedo read slower than the speed you are actually going. Before I was aware of this setting, using GPS, I had already noted a 3 mph difference! According to the documentation, we should be able to fix this in the KOMBI section. Will be fiddling this weekend to adjust for this.....

 

Didn't do anything about the speedo yet. Just did the global closing/mirror fold stuff and the door handle lights when reversing. I also adjusted (reduced) the amount of "dip" the passenger mirror does when in reverse. Now I get a good curb view without having to crane my neck to look in the sideview mirror.

I also think there's some wiper stuff that one can adjust -- I need to go back and visit that.

The coding with Carly is easy, if you have the time to go through the tedious steps. Good luck and let us know how the speedo adjustment works out.

 

It's the opposite actually. The speedo will overestimate displaying a faster speed than you are actually going. For example, the speedo will say 63 mph when, in fact, you are going 60. Overestimation of speed is usually required in European cars due to strict laws. By MINI's own guidelines, it is considered "normal" for the speedometer to show actual speed + 10% + 3mph.

I've turned off the overcorrection via coding and using GPS to verify, I can say that the speedo is now 99% accurate (I will sometimes notice a 1 mph discrepancy).

 

Yeah, I probably reversed what I meant to indicate . Siriuszero, what did you use to code to correct this?

 

From the Carly web site:

 

If you're using ESYS (or NCSExpert for older MINIs): In KOMBI, change BC_V_KORREKTUR
to "nicht_aktiv"

 

So for the US, Carly won't correct for the Speedo error? If true, that sucks

 

I haven't tried. So it might work.

Carly is pretty responsive so it is possible to reach out to them to see what the deal really is. What I printed out is from their web site under coding options for MINI F54. Doesn't mean it can't be done through Carly. Stranger things have happened.