I am a new Mini owner. What is it with the rear hatch? I will open it to get something out, close it, and need to open it again in a couple of minutes. It is locked and will not respond to remote or interior lock release.
The manual release under the seat does not seem to completely release the latch. I just have to wait a while, go for a cruise, and next time it will work?

 

What kind of MINI is this? Is it a hardtop (R56), Clubman (R55) or Countryman (R60)?

Sounds like something is wrong. The hatch should correspond to the door locks. Meaning, if you press unlock on the remote, the doors AND hatch will be unlocked.

Unless someone else has any ideas, I'd take it to the dealer and get it looked at.

 

Agree with cgusto. Mine is unlocked if the other doors are unlocked. I think it does lock if all other doors are locked. Maybe you only have driver door unlocked. Try it with all doors unlocked.

 

When you say it will not respond to the remote, do you mean the middle button of the remote, normally used to unlock the side doors - or the right-side button which is specifically for the hatch?

The way mine works, if I click the middle button once, only the driver's door is unlocked. If I click the middle button a second time, the passenger's door AND the hatch are unlocked.

If I click the *right* button, *and hold* it for a second or two, then the hatch pops open without unlocking either door, and when I close the hatch it is automatically locked again.

I believe the way mine works is the default (as of 2010, R56, justa), but what happens when you click the middle key is programmable, and I believe one click of the middle key can be set to unlock all doors, though I've never tried to do that.

 

Sorry for the late response. We are getting ready to move and just got back from a trip from where we live in western Nebraska to western Montana for a family wedding. Took the Mini. It was a nice trip but long... It is a 2005 Cooper S. Now, the cheap dipstick broke off in the tube. About 6 inches down in the tube. It had to be coming apart when I had it serviced but no one said anything. The hatch still has gremlins. Just washed it after the trip. Now latch is in an unlatched position and will not latch. tried all suggestions and manually unlocking doors. It seems to find its own brain after a while and it will return to normal and lock.