Hey Folks - I'm running into an issue where my alarm on my 2016 convertible goes off at random times when it's been parked/locked for a period of time. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what sets it off, other than it hasn't moved in a while (i.e. sometimes a day or three). I took it into Service, and they said that they couldn't track the issue, though their best guess is that there's some interference with the LoJack. The problem started as best as I can guess with the most recent software update (over the summer).
Any ideas, or anyone else running into the same problem?

 

Welcome to the forum

I'm still new to the Mini, but I'd like to hear what people recommend to correct.

 

The sensors on the movement of the car can be dialed back by the dealer. Does not make sense on the lowjack other than maybe a voltage drop? Which happens when you open the doors and unlock the car and then the car see this and triggers the alarm. I have a convertible so i am familiar with the systems.

 

The running theory is an interaction with loJack, as that's the only third-party addition (and because it's plugged into the OBD port). As far as we can tell, it has nothing to do with any movement of the car itself. It'll be sitting for a day or two, and then randomly the alarm will set off. Service has the theory that it's because the car is "waking up and then attempting to go back to sleep", and it's the "going to sleep" part interacting with LoJack that for some reason triggers the alarm. But since they blame it on the third-party, it's not something they can or will fix. My guess is that it's a software issue/conflict between the Mini and LoJack, possibly with the motion sensor in the convertible (though the issue happens when the top is up or down), as it only started happening after the last/recent update from Mini.

 

You need to disconnect the LoJack and see if it continues to happen.

• If it continues to happen without LoJack, then it is MINI's problem and they must fix it.
• If it stops happening, then MINI has no responsibility and it is up to LoJack to fix their incompatibility.

 

Moving this to the Gen3 area