While to some this may be another waste of a thread, others will find it helpful.

I've had my ROCKING MINI for almost two weeks now and I'm really loving this car. It's the best one yet (in my opinion). However, I honestly feel overwhelmed with it. This is my first car that I plan on keeping for a while and not only do I wanna take great care of it and make sure it lasts. I also want to make sure that I'm truly getting the most out of what this magnificent little car has to offer. I want to make sure that I'm not missing out on anything features or tricks that would make my experience in the cockpit even more exhilarating. I've read the Owners Manual, but it doesn't do the car justice. I received a MINI USB drive in my glovebox with videos from the Gen 1 MINIs. I couldn't believe they sent me videos on a model that has been out of production that long!

Therefore, if you have ANY tips, whether they're related to car care, maintenance, secrets features or tricks, please SHARE!! Please share also even if you think it may not be a feature available on Cooper or MCS. Btw, I have a 2015 MCS! I've had an 07 MCS and '10 MCS and both didn't have as many features or technology that this car has. Can't wait to read you guys ideas and comments! Thanks!

 

 

Paint care: Hand wash only, look up the 2 bucket method. Wax every 6 months or whenever water stops beading off the car. Make sure you tape off all the textured plastic bits before waxing.

The car is a lot more enjoyable if you disable the auto start/stop feature.

 

If your dealer does the Second Date program, book an appointment. They can answer questions and go over things more in depth than when you took delivery.

Otherwise, if you want to know all the little ins and outs of the car, time and these forums are your allies. There's all sorts of great info on NAM and I learn much just by browsing and reading.

 

I'd love to understand more about why people on NAM seem to hate auto stop/start. Is it because I'm running a manual and they are on autos? For me, it makes a lot of sense. What's the downside?


Ont he Second Date, make sure to have an empty tank and a drrrrrty MINI when you go, ha...

 

Thanks everyone. I like the Start/Stop feature personally. Thanks for the heads up.

 

I've only had experience with the automatic, but I found it almost dangerous from a start.

 

Hey, have you already done your second date appointment yet? I did mine a few weeks after picking up my MCS in March and my dealer said MINI USA was no longer doing the free fill-ups anymore nationally. I got a second date, but no gas...

Just curious if they topped yours off when you went.

Hope you are still enjoying that Pepper White beast. I'm actually in a Pepper White Cooper loaner right now while mine is at the dealer getting serviced for a second drivetrain malfunction issue (Cylinder 4 misfire again). The first time was right after delivery and they thought it was a one time fault, but this time they might actually replace a coil and an injector I think. Hopefully I get it back tomorrow or Friday.

 

I'm taking my F55 in for the second date on Saturday. Was told to expect a $50 gas card! One advantage of the 3-cylinder: no 4th cylinder misfire issues.

 

Sweet, that's awesome that your dealer is doing the $50 gas card

I gotta say, the 3-cylinder in the base Cooper really surprised me. I didn't drive the 3-cylinder version prior to getting the S, but it has plenty of pep and drives really nice!

 

Call me a luddite. I just feel that there is some inherent wear. I am probably wrong, but I just like to go with my experience. My old fashioned logic is that the starter has so many starts, and the alternator has some many cycles. So, if I reduce the use of these , then they may last longer.
The fuel mileage on my 15F56S auto is very respectable.In today's era of saving the environment, it's pretty ungreen to replace cars less than every ten years.
So, why not try to extend the life of your cars components?

 

Mini is still doing the fill ups...its supposed to be a 50.00 gas card. If you did not get that your dealer is just keeping those funds :(

 

Mine is a manual. It would be great if it actually worked, but I got tired of the car stalling when I would try to take off.

 

I've had my '14 MCS for over a year now. My best advice is to......
1. Visit your Mini MA and ask questions. Especially is he/she has a Mini and/or is very familiar with the F56.
2. Browse the threads in this forum. They're loaded with tips and advice.
3. Join a local Mini club, if available, and connect with fellow F56 owners. This one is the least preferred since the F56 help available is lesser than with the first two suggestions.

Enjoy your MCS. I am absolutely loving mine.

 

Stalling from the Auto Start/Stop? Something's not right!

Mine is pretty mellow. I disable it in bad stop and go traffic, for obvious reasons.
I've never had a stall, but then again, I haven't dropped the clutch or anything...

 

A better question is what's the downside of turning it off? And if the answer is I won't save $10/month in gas expense I'll go ahead and turn it off twice! Seriously I experienced that feature in my friend's F56 and it was very distracting. She turned it off as soon as she found out she could (from me).

 

Great advice here from some very knowledgeable mini enthusiast. You rock ! Thank you !!!

 

The start/stop issue is somewhat simpler for those with a manual. Start/stop is activated (or not, depending on whether the engine is at operating temp or if the AC is on) when putting the gearbox into N and taking your foot off the clutch. Depending upon your driving style, you may never even activate the start/stop by simply keeping the clutch depressed. My normal driving mode is to keep my foot on the clutch when stopped at a light. If I know I'm going to be sitting still for a while, I will go into N and take my foot off the clutch, allowing the engine to stop.

I'm not so worried about the number of starts and stops that the engine cycles through. My thinking is that the engineers at BMW know a bit more about the parts and failure rates than I do and have determined that the start/stop feature is acceptable.

 

My wife has an automatic and I have a manual. While I never found the start/stop feature to be unsafe or not fast enough in either, the car idles so smooth that I would rather enjoy that the hearing the engine start up over and over.

Also, I found myself trying to trick it- stopping quickly and taking off again with the auto before it could turn off, which often resulted in a jerk. Or holding the clutch in to keep it from turning off when I anticipated a short light or traffic already starting to move. Learning to drive stick my dad told me that that was additional wear on your throwout bearing.

I don't notice any difference in my gas mileage with it turned off, so I'd rather enjoy the smooth idle and not think about trying to trick the system.

 

I bet they made you pay at least $300 for that feature in the purchase price. What a waste of resources. And people complain their cars stall upon takeoff, and one person's car just shut down driving down the street because of it almost causing an accident. Maybe if gas was $8/gallon like in England, but here it's a waste of time.

 

Stop and go traffic is exactly what I'm talking about. I would slow down and stop but then have to get going again but the car would decide right then was a great time to shut the engine off. I eventually got annoyed with it and turned it off.

 

My MINI dealership won't call me back for the Second date. :( Not very happy with MINI of Dallas, it's like they sold me the car and now they're done with me.

 

This is a known fact............

 

They make money selling replacement parts so that is not very comforting.

 

I'll take the bet ! What is your logic behind this assertion? Seems to me like "it's only software".