Not sure if this is common knowledge, but if you hold down the switch that controls the color of the ambient lighting for about 5-10 seconds then let go, the lights will continuously cycle through all of the colors over and over again. I thought that was pretty nifty: turns the car into a mobile nightclub.

cool finding thanks

Thats awesome! Cool trick to show the fam!!

I just tried to do in on my 08 MC. I couldn't get it to cycle. Am I doing something wrong or is my car just not able to do it?

I just leave it in "cycle" all the time: my MA showed me how to do it when I test drove a CM in January.

it's a totally cool feature at night!

Yeah. It's super fun. Like a mini rave. It is in the manual, though.

This came with the 2011s.

I believe this is a new feature for the 2011 MINIs.

kewl

Well that explains it. Thanks.

What if you're not in the mood for a nightclub on wheels or you just simply want an environment without the colorful ambient lighting? I just wish there was a way to turn them off when that's what your mood wants. I'm not sure why off isn't an option.

Who's going to post a video of the lights?

You can pick a neutral color and turn the brightness down far enough that you don't really notice they are there.

True...but why no "off" option?

Simply make them red. It goes well with the rest of the interior lighting and would not distract at all.

However, I am against for the feature of turning it off. I am a huge fan of ambient lighting and it just adds a bit of life to otherwise dark as abyss interior of cars at night. Also, by design, ambient lighting simply compliments, not a main source of light. Thus, off button would defeat the purpose of having it in the first place. I'd question it myself if I am the engineer. I can't imagine why you'd want them to be off..

I'm glad you're a fan and I'm not saying that I don't like it but I fail to see how having the option to go dark (i.e. turn it off) defeats the purpose as the purpose of the lighting is to enhance my driving experience but at the very moment when that lighting becomes an annoyance or an unwanted intrusion it is no longer fulfilling its purpose and is in fact acting against its purpose. I'm sorry but I don't see how having the option to switch it off if you so desire defeats the purpose or is a negative in any way.

The way it's designed now though, as was stated earlier, I can switch it to neutral color and dim it to its lowest setting so that it will be as unobtrusive as it can be if/when I want it that way. And that's fine...that's what I'll do if/when I want. But I should still have the option to turn it off if I desire, as what is less of obtrusive on my personal driving experience than off? Isn't that why it has so many different color options and brighteness steting in the first place, to accommodate for different tastes and moods? So why not accommodate the "I don't feel like having this on right now" mood?

It's not like I'm advocating the elimination of the feature, just suggesting that it have something as simple, basic and common sense as an off setting available so that if you'd prefer not to use it you can switch it off.

I think the very fact that we're discussing/debating this topic is evidence that there should be an off position. It costs nothing and takes nothing away from the driving experience, either for those who want the lights on or those who would prefer them off. In fact, it enhances the driving experience of those who would prefer not have ambient lighting in the cabin.

What I fail to see it how ambient lighting can be an obstruction to your driving experience. I am very interested in seeing how it bothers you so much that you'd want it to be off. Is it the color of the lighting? Position/area of the lighting? Is it too bright that it bothers you to see the road ahead? Please tell us in detail why it bothers you so much as it can help us understand the reason behind. (in no way, I am trying to be sarcastic)

There are many manufactures now days incorporating ambient lighting to their cars. Audi, BMW, MB, VW, Acura, Buick, Hyundai, etc. They all have so called ambient lighting (door ****, from map light area illuminating center console area, door trim, etc) By design, ambient lighting is only there to compliment and unobstructive. Been in BMW or VW at night? The small glow of orange or red light that illuminates the center console area so that it's not pitch dark and allows you to see things there without having to turn on the bright map lights. Those lights work with main light and do not turn off by themselves as there is no reason to turn off since it just does not obstruct your driving at nights. MINI obviously does the same.

Almost everyone that I know, thinks the ambient lighting in a vehicle is very neat and doesn't bothers them when they drive. If it is hinders or bothers the nighttime driving experience, desingers/enginners/product planners would not have put them in the first place.

How have you all liked the mood lighting in your car?

I have I believe the polar beige door cards and I think they make the lights really pop more than any of the other colors.

you?

I don't have the car yet so I don't know that it will bother me or that I'll want to switch it off. I'm simply saying that I should have the option to switch it off if I so desire. Nothing more, nothing less...just the option to switch it off if I want to.

I understand the arguements in favor of the lights and I think it's a good thing that Mini included them, but what I don't understand is why it's a bad thing or why it's so inconceivable that someone might simply want the option to turn them off. It's my car, why shouldn't I have the simple flexibility to have those lights on or off if I so desire?

In the end what this boils down to is an arguement about having the flexibility to customize your driving experience in the manner of your own choosing and I'm arguning in favor of having more choices. In this case, I'm arguing that Mini add a simple choice that has zero impact to those who would choose to leave the lights on and zero $ impact to Mini or their customers. Ask yourself if having less flexibility is really a better thing because that's all this is about.

Understood. Now I see the core difference here between you and I is over this matter: what "flexibility" & "customization" means to you and I.

I just fail to see turning on&off for ambient lighting as a flexibility matter, hence the difference. IMO, flexibility is being able to have different color options with ambient lighting so I can choose the color depending on my mood, and MINI has that already.

You'd never drive at night without proper illumination of gauges, buttons, switches in the cabin. Would you want to turn those lights off because you don't feel like it?

To me, ambient lighting is part of overall lighting in the car and I appreciate it as an essential illumination of the car interior, not as a flexibility option.

Perhaps, MINI should have offered the whole ambient lighting as an option, just like the rest of the world where you have to pay extra for the lighting (I think) Then, you can have the 'flexibility' since you can choose to have it or not.

So... yeah. I don't see it as a flexibility matter.

Ambient lighting and the proper illumination of gauges are two completely different things. Although I did own a car where I could turn the dashboard illumination to zero I thought then and still think now that it was unsafe and therein a stupid design flaw. At no point in this thread though have I suggested or even hinted at the notion that I think turning off critical dashboard illumination should be an option or would be in any way a good idea so I'm not sure not sure how you made the leap equating non-essential ambient lighting to essential dashboard illumination. But I do agree with you on this point, you shouldn't be able to turn off the illumination of critical gauges, buttons and switches as it would create an unsafe driving situation. Of course it has nothing to do with ambient lighting but at least we can agree that it would be a bad thing.

As for Mini making ambient lighting an optional features that buyers would have to pay extra for, I in no way have suggested that and again am not at all sure how you've made that leap. In fact, I've clearly noted quite the opposite as it would be a zero cost, zero impact change to an existing feature.

I think at this point we can simply agree to disagree. I think the dimmer should go all the way to zero so you can switch the ambient lighting off if you so choose and you think it shouldn't go to zero because you "can't imagine why you'd want them to be off" so it shouldn't be available as a choice.

Jeeze, you two need to get a room. It's ambient lighting, not world peace or an end to hunger.

yeah! I think we might have to! I am sure the room will have the ambient lighting!

@FamilyMan!

Yup. We just have difference in opinion, and it's completely fine! Let's just enjoy the CM!

+1

I don't know where the Ambient Lighting control is but if it bothered me so much I'd pull it apart and trace the wire back under the dashboard and put in a SPST toggle switch somewhere so I could turn them on/off. Shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Though the big decision would be; Should that toggle switch be illuminated or un-illuminated?


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