accidental press or are my windows haunted

[MIN-M-E]

Hey y'all,

Hope everyone is enjoying or has enjoyed their holidays! Hope you did something fun ... with or without your MINI!

So, question for y'all...

This morning I went out to get in the MINI to come to work &, WHAT??, I find that both of my windows are down! I was a little spooked at first thinking somebody had come down my driveway there in the semi-boonies & put my windows down for some strange reason. But, nothing seemed out of place, including my seat. Then I thought, "Wait; how could that be? They'd had to have had a key. Hm. "

I came to work & called Flow. In a relayed message to the person I was talking to, somebody in their service dept said, "Yeah, that has happened. Could be a 'module' going bad. She'll have to bring it in & let us keep it. We have to see it happen." So, you mean I have to make two 3-hr round trips to W-S on the off-chance you'll catch my windows going down by themselves? And you won't replace the possibly faulty "module" unless you see it happen? What a PITA! So, how many round trips do you think this might take before you actually catch it happening? Unknown? Hm. But, I made a reservation anyway to drop it off next week since I wouldn't want the windows to just decide to go down during a rainy day at work or while I had something valuable locked in the car.

A little later I decided maybe a 2nd opinion was in order, so I called MINI of Charleston where we bought the car. The service guy who answered the phone said he'd never heard of such, but that he wasn't the primary MINI mechanic & he'd ask that fellow when he got back from lunch & give me a call back. But, in the meantime, "Where was your key?" I had taken it into the house with me. "Well, we *have* had folks call here who accidentally activated the remote window down feature." Huh? I don't remember having such a feature. "Well, I *think* the MINI remote has that feature. Press the unlock once to unlock the car & then press it again & hold it down." Well, I don't remember having that feature, but I can easily run out & check it & let you know when you call back.

Sure enough! Worked just like he said! I might have known that at one time &, never having used it, forgotten about it. ??

Anyway, now I'm thinking I probably just accidentally pressed & held down the unlock button while taking a handful of things into the house last night. But, before I call Flow & cancel my appointment, I wanted to survey "the group" here; have any of y'all ever heard of the windows going down on their own because of a "bad module"?

Thanks for your comments (& remember I'm thanking you for your comments, so be nice )

Emmie

[VRBeauty]

Here's the lowdown on that feature, gleaned from NAM posts (and personal experience )...

It's a convenience feature that the dealership can disable for you, though they might charge you to do it.

Apparently it's easier to accidently trigger the "windows down" with the new, flatter keys than it was with the older bulbous keys. Folks right here on NAM reported accidentally opening their windows by just putting keys in their pockets. Perhaps because of this...

This feature is not available on later build MINIs.

I haven't found the convenience opening to be real useful because it's hard to get it to open just enough to let the air flow in, but not so much that it keeps enquiring hands out.

I hope it wasn't raining when you discovered this convenience!

[TWISTER]

I think MOC is right on target. I've come out and my windows were down and it was because my key was pressed on another key in my pocket while I was in the kitchen. My daughter told me my car was opening up while she was outside playing. I'd say give it a week and see if it happens again.

[MIN-M-E]

Well, at this point, I'm mostly concerned to know if you've ever heard of this "faulty module" which can cause the windows to go down randomly by themselves. If *I* made that boo-boo, I'll just watch that in the future. But, if there's really some known issue with the problem, I definitely want to get it fixed *before* finding it out on a rainy day!

[DaCrema]

I have heard of this and even had it happen to me.

[MIN-M-E]

Originally Posted by DaCrema

I have heard of this and even had it happen to me.

Let me be clear about your response... So, you've heard of this "bad module"? & you're sure your windows went down because of this "bad module" & not because you might have accidentally held down the unlock button?

[Coopernicus]

I actually WANTED the 'Convenience Opening Feature' to be turned on when I took delivery of my 2006 MCS. I thought it would be cool to open the windows from the key fob... But my MA at Hendrick MINI (Steve Mezardjian) advised against it for this EXACT reason.

Apparently, this "phenomenon" has become enough of a common occurence that they do not suggest activating this feature anymore, even though it IS still possible to have it programmed if you insist.
.

[findude]

Having this feature turned ON was apparently the default when we picked up our MCS in November. I'd just as soon have it turned off.

So here's the question, what are dealer's charging to change the settings of the half-dozen or so dealer-programable automatic options?

[MIN-M-E]

Originally Posted by findude

So here's the question, what are dealer's charging to change the settings of the half-dozen or so dealer-programable automatic options?

WAIT!! WAIT!! That's *not* the question yet! Don't hijack my thread. I'm still trying to find out if there is possibly a verified "bad module" scenario that could have made my windows go down by themselves.

[Moorlockx]

I don't know if it was a bad module or just gremlins, but it's happened to mine twice. Both times it was at night while the keys were lying unmolested on the counter. Thankfully, the nights it happened it was clear.
I've read of others having the same problem. There have been a few other threads about this in the past both on here and Mini2. The general consensus seemed to be moisture getting into the system as most of the cases happened within a couple of days of a rain event.
The incidents on mine were about 6 months apart and it's been well over a year since the last occurrence. I wouldn't hold much faith in it doing it while it's sitting at the dealership. Personally, if they don't think they can fix it unless it repeats the problem, I don't think I'd bother taking it in.
You might try calling the dealers in Charlotte and Greenville to see if they can shed any light on the problem. Good luck with it.

[pcnorton]

WHen you have the "convience" try and get the windows down on purpose is almost impossible unless you are standing less than 2 feet away from the car in a "special position".

Its the little things that get me.

That and no auto up....in the US, you have to purchase a third party widget, when they could just change a little program.



Sorry for the rant.

[MIN-M-E]

Originally Posted by Moorlockx

I don't know if it was a bad module or just gremlins, but it's happened to mine twice. Both times it was at night while the keys were lying unmolested on the counter.

Hm. Twice, ay.

general consensus seemed to be moisture getting into the system as most of the cases happened within a couple of days of a rain event.

No rain here in the last couple of days.

I wouldn't hold much faith in it doing it while it's sitting at the dealership. Personally, if they don't think they can fix it unless it repeats the problem, I don't think I'd bother taking it in.

That's pretty much what I thought.

You might try calling the dealers in Charlotte and Greenville to see if they can shed any light on the problem.

More opinions/comments/experience can't hurt so, since you believe you may actually have had this "bad module" experience, I'll call Charlotte & G'ville tomorrow before cancelling my appointment with Flow.

[GrilleGuy]

It is correct that the default is now to have convenience opening OFF. I think it was more about the fact that the convertibles with this feature drop the top. It has been rumored that some were opening in shipment and doing some damage. I have mine turned on and have had no problems with going outside to find the top down. The rumor would back the bad module theory.

[GrilleGuy]

It is correct that the default is now to have convenience opening OFF. I think it was more about the fact that the convertibles with this feature drop the top. It has been rumored that some were opening in shipment and doing some damage. I have mine turned on and have had no problems with going outside to find the top down. The rumor would back the bad module theory.

[DaCrema]

Originally Posted by MIN-M-E

Let me be clear about your response... So, you've heard of this "bad module"? & you're sure your windows went down because of this "bad module" & not because you might have accidentally held down the unlock button?

Sorry, not the module.
My pocket knife and key got pressed together while I toiled away at the yard (don't know why but that is another thread). Came about the corner and the car was wide open!!! Didn't do 2+2 until I was unloading the car one day and the same thing happened as I carried a box in (roof opens, windows partially down).

I am sure the module could go bad, but would at first blame accidental key pressing. I have not had a repeat as I have learned to keep nothing but change in the same pocket with the key (no cell, knife, pager or the like). I also have added a small split ring between the key and keychain so everything is flatter in my pocket. Finally I now have only two keys on the keychain - house and car. Change cars, change keychains. No key required for work.
John

[basset]

I've had that happen to me several times...gone into the garage and windows down...I'm having it disabled...I don't want to take a chance and have a wet car one day....my dealer told me they don't enable that feature anymore unless asked for, just for that reason...no mention from them about a module problem...

[findude]

Originally Posted by MIN-M-E

Don't hijack my thread. I'm still trying to find out if there is possibly a verified "bad module" scenario that could have made my windows go down by themselves.

Sorry . Of course it is possible you have an electron bug messing things up. But I think it is much more likely to be accidental pressing of the buttons on the key. We had this problem the first couple weeks we had the MCS, and I told the SA when we brought it back in for the iPod install. They "could not duplicate". We've been more careful and had no problems since.

It's worse with our Honda Odyssey minivan, the keyfob buttons will actually open the sliding doors--we've found one or both of them that way in the morning a couple of times.

When you're at home, just leave your MINI key somewhere safe--you're not leaving without it anyway!

[blue_rocket2]

I have a 2003 MINI with the auto-open feature and have never had any issues with it. When it is activated both the windows and the sunroof open. The windows open at pretty much the same rate, so they would be at the same level if the auto-open feature was activated. I can activate mine from quite some distance (at least 15 - 20 feet).

[MIN-M-E]

Thanks to all who have responded so far. I haven't had time to call Charlotte or G'ville today, but I still plan to. At this point, unless I find the windows down mysteriously again before next Tue morning, I'm planning to cancel my appointment with Flow -- & tell them why. I might have thought *they'd* have offered up this possibility along with offering to take it in and watch it for a "bad module".

[Trainman]

I have visions of the Flow service dept sitting around your MINI on folding chairs watching and waiting for the windows to go down by themselves!!
In the meantime, I have a 2003 MC with the windows down activated, and have not had them go down by themselves in the 2 1/2 years I've owned it.