This is the only other issue that's a mystery. Our MA swears you can program the car or the fob so that you don't have the pull the door release twice to open the door from the inside. Like the new BMWs it can be programmed for a normal car one pull release.

Has anyone been able to program their car to do this? If so, would you be kind enough to explain the procedure?

 

You have to turn off auto door locks in your settings. The way yours is set now is the first time you pull on the handle it unlocks the door, the second time it opens it.

 

Unless they’ve changed the programming for the MINI, if you have the doors lock automatically at 11 MPH option engaged you will have to pull the handle twice. If you have this option turned off you need only pull the handle once. You can't have it both way.

 

We do have the doors programmed to auto lock. The MA thought that didn't matter. I guess it does. Why would the auto lock act differently than just locking the car normally?

 

That's an interesting question. The mechanism for pull-once=unlock is purely mechanical. The same is true on my 2004 BMW330Xi. No electrical/logical connection at all. I think this is done by design to preclude a catastrophic loss of electric power and still exit the vehicle.

 

My R56 opens with one pull, but it came this way. I never programmed it it just came that way.

 

Locking the door normally (either by switch or pushing the pin down) still makes the two-pull a requirement (as noted above).

The thing we really want is "auto unlock" when the car is shut off or put in park (for those with automatics).

--edit--

Now that I'm thinking about it... Fords (mainly pickups) had one-pull, unlock and open door latches.

 

it would be nice if the doors would automatically unlock when the car shuts off, but it must have been too hard to implement... same with auto up windows/moonroof. it's just silly

 

Those are safetly features, had nothing to do with wether or not they could do it.

 

I thought that too, but my '05 Volvo had auto up windows and auto close sunroof.

BMW for Life

 

So BMW cars are unsafe then? My folks' 328xi has auto up/down windows/moonroof. Hell, their 2003 350z has auto up/down windows.

 

It's actually part of the R56 cost cutting conspiracy. Auto down and auto up windows?!? Those are too expensive. Just give 'em auto down.

Now before anyone starts pointing out that R50/53 didn't have 'em either... that's no proof against the conspiracy. We R56'ers would have got them if BMW weren't such tightwads.

 

How expensive can it really be? The motors are there, all we need is software implementation. Very dissapointing.

 

It was a joke...

 

there is a module you can buy for auto-up windows for the 02-06 mini, but I have not yet confirmed that it will work for the 07. I would think the window wiring has not changed that much so I think it should still work.

 

It's not about cost; it's about what MINI believes about it's buyers demographics. We, as a lot, are either too stupid or too risk-oriented not to get our heads and fingers out of the way of a closing window.

 

ROTF LOL!!!

 

ooops.

 

I for one, see your meaning but I think it's more likely a result of our demographic being more lawsuit-oriented than risk-oriented.

 

So BMW owners, many of whom are lawyers, are less likely to sue?

 

MINIs in the US don't have auto-up windows or sunroof because the mechanism that is required here for safety, is expensive and BMW chose to leave it out. In reality our cars can do auto-up windows and auto closing roof, but the onboard computer is programmed to prevent it. I want to hack the computer and see what fun stuff I can get the MINI to do, but I have no idea how to go about that. You can tell it works because of the design of the roof switch... it actually has four positions, open, close, auto open and auto close. However, the auto close position does nothing...