2009 Mini Cooper S...

Parked my car at my friends house and shut it off like usual. Went to push in the fib to pop it out and it won't come out. Tried in different gears and driving a bit more. It just won't pop out. No warning lights or anything.

 

There was a thread on this recently and it turned out to be a bad battery connection. Or I guess a weak battery might do the same thing.

Is your battery getting weak since it is over 3 years old?

Here is a link to the thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nail-help.html

 

I don't think my battery would be going after 3 years. But I don't know much about car battery life. I bought the car brand new and never had a battery problem. Weird that the first indication of a battery problem would be a locked key fob.

 

If it is your DD very unlikely it is your Battery, but it is always a possibility. Have you checked to make sure that you put your MINI in "Park", I know it's sounds silly but since I've had the Shift Selector Interlock problem I'm always making sure that Molly is in "Park", if she is not the Key Fob will not release from the docking station. Just a thought.

 

Buckminster is a manual and no matter what gear its in when I shut it off, the fob usually comes out after I turn the car off and push the fob for release. I do have the other (spare) fob in the car today since I was transporting it from my parents to my apartment. I wonder (but doubt) if that has anything to do with it. Will check that shortly. But unless I report back that the problem is resolved, assume that its not.

 

Here is an update:

I tried taking out the actual key from the keyfob and that works fine, but it doesn't do any good, because you can't even lock the drivers door with the key, while the fob is stuck in the ignition. You can also still start the car with the fob, even without the key piece in it.

Anyway, I called my nearest (2 hours away) MINI dealer (where I bought the car from) and they were going to have Mini Roadside Assistance tow it in (for free obviously) and were going to pay for a rental for me while it was getting fixed. All sounded fine to me, but I (for some reason) decided to give the keyfob a tug again. I had tried yanking it out before but didn't want to pull too hard in fear that I would break/snap something. This time I pulled just a LITTLE bit harder than I had been, and it popped right out.

After putting it back in and pulling it out a few times, it seems to be fine. Also, after inspecting the key fob holder/ignition, I am no longer afraid to try yanking it out, as there aren't really any pieces that could break (and I now see how it was grabbing it).

I'm still not sure why it wasn't releasing entirely form the holder. Can anyone with an R56 model look at your empty key fob holder/ignition and tell me if it has the 2 plastic prongs sticking up? Or are they flat until the key goes in to it? Because my holder has the 2 prongs already sticking out.

 

Mine are up with the key removed.

 

I was having that problem too. Figured out that I wasn't punching the key to remove, was babying it.

If yours is a mechanical problem, interested to know!

 

At least you've made the dealer aware of it, if it happens again, you'll have a record of it!!

 

This happened to me today. 2012 R56 Justa Cooper. I've owned the car new for exactly 1 week and it had 847 miles on it when the problem showed up. Eventually (with some physical effort) the key became un-stuck. Problem seems to be completely mechanical with the slot loading system. My car was not able to start until about the 5th or 6th attempt to start it (all electrical functions would activate, just no engine). I was very afraid at the time that the car was going to leave me stranded.

---edit---

Also - the key fob was not inverted or anything like that. Mini label up... my first thought was that I had flipped it or something. I had not been excessive in any way in insertion or removal ever this week with the fob... After it started working again, the problem did not show up for the rest of the day and about 5-6 start-ups....

 

Removal of the Key Fob is not just a simple "tug", in order to free the Key Fob from the docking station it has to be pushed in and then pulled out. At least this is how I get the key out when I've forgotten to put the Molly in "P", but have set the Emergency Brake. I noticed this last night when I was cleaning the interior, if I just let the Key Fob rest in the docking station and try to start the eninge it does nothing, making sure that it is fully inserted and pushing the start button turns the engine over, I also hear a "click" when I've pushed in the Key Fob.

 

Unfortunately, this was not a simple case of user error. I know I said that I've owned the car for 1 week now, but I drive _a lot_ -- I just turned 1,000 miles pulling into the parking lot at work today, actually, 8 days after driving it off the lot, new. I am aware that you must push on the key first to unhook it like you do every time you stop the car from running, but that was not functional. It wasn't even functional when I tried to start the car (yes, foot on break, in park, ect).

For the sake of completeness:

Pushing on the key normally did not release it.
Pulling on the key normally did not release it.
Pushing and then pulling on the key normally did not release it.
Pulsing back and forth abnormally on the key gently and also with some encouragement did not release it.
Pulling on the key with "some applied effort" and wiggling with "some applied effort" very, VERY abnormally finally released it from its vice-like grip.

After that, I stuck my finger into the starting mechanism and the plastic tray was able to be pushed back manually without depressing the tabs It locked into the "pushed-back" into place (without the fob inserted). I then inserted my fob and the mechanism seemed to work again.

Just for added description:

The car was in "Park". No e-brake. Electrical functions could activate with the push button, just no turn over (or sounds as if it were trying to turn over as in a traditional starting mechanism) I can't remember if I heard a click or not. I will remember to post a video of this when/if this happens again.

Someone on another thread about this problem said that a tech advised that this might have to do with liquid being spilled in the cup holder and then causing an electrical problem with something that is under neither it???? I had a bottled soda (no spills) in the driver's side cup holder that probably had a fair share of condensation coming off of it... As absolutely stupid-crazy as this sounds, should I not drink a cold soda in this car? Should I seal off the cup-holder with silicon sealant or something to prevent condensation from causing electrical problems?

I also read that a loose battery connection could cause this problem, but the terminals seem well-connected to me. The battery is very new. I had finished a 30-mile drive before switching the car off to stop in for 5 mins to say hello to a friend. I do not think that the battery would have been in a weakened state when I attempted to start the car.

I read that double-tapping the "unlock" switch might be a work around for releasing the key fob... not sure if true (I didn't read confirmation on that), but it will be the first thing I try when this happens again! (and let's hope this doesn't happen again - I was about 2 mins away from calling a tow truck!)

 

I had the same problem. Sometimes it would get stuck and only a Hell of allot of forceful pushing, pulling, and wiggling would release it. The problem was it only happened occasionally so you couldn't repeat it when you wanted to show the dealer. Unfortunately the only real solution I found was to sell my "Clown Car". LOL!

 

Told you before the Mini is not a clown car. That title belongs to the Fiat and Smart car. LOL

I think most people understand you had a bad experience. But don't make an xss of yourself. Just quietly fade into darkness. At the very least be civilized and don't insult the individuals on this board.

Regards,

Pat

 

@Ivan The Terrible: Yeah - that's exactly what I had to do to get it unstuck... My plan is to replace the entire starting mechanism if it get's stuck at any other time in the future.

 

Does the plastic housing that the fob inserts into seem really loose (the housing that accepts the fob and encircles the start button)? Mine seemed like you could just pop it off with your finger. It wasn't like that when I first bought it as with so many other things on the car.

 

Got the same issue today and thanks to your help, I have been have to solve it very quickly: just pull the FOB a bit hardly and it works. As it's getting dark, I did not if there is a specific issue in the housing. I will see it tomorrow.

 

I've been running into this problem on my 09 JCW sporadically over the past few months. Sometimes it will just not release the key (and usually where I have somewhere to be quickly).

Is there some part that will eventually need to be replaced to fix this?

 

there is a metal ring that replaces the plastic trim ring on the fob. my indy mechanic mentioned my original plastic trim ring was looking hammered and to get the updated stainless steel part number. my key now glides in smooth as butter. the plastic one disintegrated when i was swapping it out, apparently its a fairly common problem according to him. when it breaks it lodges in the mechanism and its not a cheap repair since the whole unit needs to be replaced.

 

Hmm, the chrome on both my keys is starting to flake off a bit, but I think the plastic is in okay shape. I guess for ~$20 it's worth a try. Thanks for the input.

 

trust me, when you take the plastic off you'll see how brittle it actually is.

 

I got the new key fob trim and it doesn't seem to have changed the issue unfortunately.

Does anyone have other ideas of how to fix this, or what part might need to be replaced?

 

FWIW I spritzed a bit of silicon spray lube in the key slot and spread it around with a finger to get some in the sliding part. Now my key releases easily. Good idea? Don't know but it worked for me.