My son left on his lights and drained the battery. Now he can't get in his mini. 2005/Mini S. Is there an emergency entrance to these vehicles?? I know when its working the window slightly lowers then the door opens. Anyone know how get in with a dead battery??

 

In 2012 there is a real key inside the remote door opener. Push the button on the back and slide out the 'mini key'.

 

my key (with key fob) actually opens the door. do you have a different key?

 

put the key into the handle slot and you can open the door (mechanical)

pop the hood and you can locate the jump points provided up front ....

since the bat' is actually in the back

 

Im not with my son at the moment. He is saying when he puts the key in the door and turns it, the door does not unlock. I was under the impression that the key would unlock the drivers side door only. So him telling me this leads me to believe he has his mothers intelligence!!

 

Does the window lower slightly when you open your doors??

 

I've never had to do it with a dead battery but sometimes the fob shorts out and I have to get in that way. maybe it's different with a dead battery? maybe borrow a friends AAA card? haha. unless his has the super expensive factory alarm it shouldn't be too hard to get into.

 

Key in, turn to the left. Nothing complicated about it.

The window won't drop with a dead battery, but that's irrelevant. The window won't break or anything.

 

Actually, I looked through some other forums, and turns out, it is that complicated. I guess a lot of people have had this problem and you have to contact the dealer. I would think that's the first thing he tried.

 

Well since it is a 1st gen the battery is in the back and if the key is not work than call a locksmith and unlock the door. It should be covered under insurance like towing if you have full coverage.

 

Ok....this is what I ended up doing. Sure enough using the key in the door with a dead battery will NOT unlock the door. Being that the window needs to lower approx. 1/2 inch inorder to clear the lip of the roof, this means that a dead battery will not allow the window to lower. What I ended up doing (pictures to follow) is this:

Problem: I needed access to the positive battery post inoder to charge the battery just enough to get the door to unlock and the window to lower.
Solution: I utilyzed the positive wire going to my after market fog lights I installed. The positive wire is wired directly to positive battery w/ an inline fuse protecting it.
Problem: I needed to regulate the amount of current going to the battery as the wire used is only a 10 guage wire and the fuse is a 10 AMP. Too much current would blow the fuse and then I would really be in a pickle as I would no longer have access to the positive battery post.
Solution: I used an adjustable battery charger used for charging lawn mower, motorcycle & marine batteries. I set the charger to the lowest setting (4amps) and connected the positive charging clamp to the positive wire going to my battery post. The negative was clamped to the negative wire of my fog lamps. Using an inverter, I plugged the inverter into my GTO and the charger into the inverter.

As the battery charged for approx. 5 min it had enough charge to use my key pog to unlock the door and open the door. I then could access my hood latch and jump the vehicle. Talk about **** poor German engineering!!! UGH!!! This could very well be a safety hazard if anyone was to have accidentally locked a pet or God forbid a child in it and the battery happen to be bad.

 

Interesting. My battery died before, I was still able to open the door. The window flexed a smidge as I forced it past the gutter, but it was still able to be opened.

 

I've heard several people say they are able to use their key to gain access to their cooper with a dead battery, but I guess there are certain year and model cooper's that have this problem.

 

Nice! I never would have thought to do that. good thinking. that's definitely something to be careful about.

 

I had no problem getting into my R53 when the battery died last year. That's weird.

 

It's statements like this that are misleading to me. From what you're saying, the door unlocks but does not open due to the window. Those are two totally different things! Diagnosing problems requires precise language, even if the result is the same (i.e. you can't get into the car).

 

ok....for the cheap seats. The battery was dead (i.e. NOT CHARGED). When I inserted the key into the door and turned the key to attempt to unlock the door, the door would not open. If it was unlocked, the door still would not open. I know that after I was able to put a charge on the battery in the manner I described, the door unlocked usig the key pog. From what I'm reading this is a problem with a select model and year of mini cooper. If it were two differen issues, fixing the dead battery fixed both problems. For those individuals who were legitimately trying to help, thank you. For others just trying to attempt to be difficult, best of luck if you ever end up with a dead battery (i.e. NOT CHARGED) and you cannot get into your mini cooper. God Bless!!

 

page 25 of the 2005 MINI Owner's Manual (all models)



end positions

http://www.minimania.com/pdfile/2005...IAllModels.pdf

both times I suffered from the 'fan runs forever' problem, the key worked just fine on my 02 - no the window does not drop, but you can open the door w/out damage. I had the window drop fail another time and drove that way for several days b4 getting it fixed (needed new motor)

{note - I believe you must rock the key - full to one side then full to the other side}

 

My key opens the driver's door with a dead battery all the time in my 2005 Mini Cooper S. In fact, I have a problem with my Mini such that the battery drains if sits for 3-4 days (which is why I was searching this post), so I actually disconnect the battery if I know I will be unable to use the car for longer than that (eg parking at the airport for a week). This is a pain because I have to crawl through the backseat to re-connect the battery. But I have never had a problem opening the driver's door even when the battery is completely disconnected.

 

When you insert the key and turn it most people stop at the point of resistance and then say that the door won't open. What you have to do is turn the key to that point of resistance and then KEEP turning. You won't break it. The key is actually manually moving the actuator and that is what causes the high resistance. Most a scared to keep turning harder but that is what gets the lock open.

Anybody can try it. No need to have a dead battery to experience the resistance.

Go ahead. Everybody go into your garage and try it so that you are never stranded for no reason.

Sent from my iPad using NAMotoring

 

If no one has shown you yet the Key Fob comes apart...

Motor on!

 

resurrection from2012 folks!


and JAB the OP was talking about a GEN1 ... you show a GEN2 key 'fob'


they are different ... GEN 1 looks like a traditional key albeit fat to accommodate the buttons et al.

 

opps, sorry! Then using the Gen1 key is just that...



Unless it is like the switch blade style...



then you push the button to open the key, and then just open the drivers door the old timey way...

Motor on!

 

The original post was about a 2005 MCS. Its key is identical to the first image you showed and it works just described by Drivehard even with a dead battery (or no battery at all).

 

what to do if the key will not turn?