I was going to ask what things irk MINI owners about their cars, and I realized my own list was really long. Lack of gauges. Weird controls. No spare. Pulling twice to open the door. Display options. Having mood lighting, when they should have been paying attention to other features… The list goes on.

So my question is, what irks you the MOST about your MINI? For me it’s the ability to push a button on the key fob and have the windows go down, but not being able to push a button and have them go back up. It drives me nuts!

What's your MINI peeve?

 

Probably the pulling twice to exit. Actually explaining it to people riding with me is the problem.

 

Geez, man, with that many peevages, why did you even buy it ??

Those things are so small, I really don't find them annoying. But what I do find annoying is the way the doors won't stay open unless you open them about four and a half feet. My shins are permanently damaged from the doors swinging back and hitting me. :impatient

Okay, that's a small thing, too. I guess it's purely a matter of perspective. And as long as I have no MAJOR peevages, the small stuff is easily overcome by just how much fun it is to drive and mod these little babies.

Ps. yeah, I know you posted in 2nd Gen and mine are 1st Gen. But we all have peeves so I hope you don't mind my intrusion.

 

For me...(like CR&PW&JB) my shins and legs been clipped by the door as well. But overall I love my car.

 

My pure excitement and love for my MINI overrides anything I might find annoying.

*shrug* what can I say? MINIs rock!

 

I love this feature. You have to go with the humor. I love when people pull once, try to pull the lock up.. then stare at me asking for help getting out. I reply very cooly, just pull the handle. They do it, it works, and they get out muttering something about how they thought they pulled it already. I smile everytime

 

I've burned myself a few times on the exhaust tips getting stuff from the boot.

 

I love my car (1st gen also) and am willing to overlook the frikken rattle in my sunroof control area. I dont like the way the MINI draws giant boat cars into the far reaches of parking lots, so that their doors may grace the sides of my car. Thats what I dont like.

 

From some of the posts about countless "irks" ya start to wonder why they own a Mini.

 

New passengers to my car need to be briefed on the opening twice thing. I have found that they will pull even harder on the door handle when it doesnt release them right away!

 

+1

Also, It would be nice to have had a "standard" radio installation instead of integrating it with the speedo...

 

Yepper.

I do have one little irky. Not enough time to motor about more often and for longer periods of time!

 

I contacted MINI and asked to purchase a service manual. Here is the reply I received:

What a bunch of worthless, money-grubbing jack***es. I despise being held hostage for basic service and tech info and find it offensive MINI would take advantage of those who wish to service and maintain their own vehicles.

Of course I took Jase up on his offer of assistance, but received no reply. So much for customer service. Must be a new marketing strategy, similar to Apple's perhaps.

 

Third week of ownership, and a few things...

- Seatbelt often gets stuck between the door and the seat side bolster when trying to grab them. (Maybe not a problem for those with long legs and the seats set further back.)

- On acceleration, enough chassis/engine vibration to make the inside rear view mirror vibrate too.

- somewhat BMW-iDrive envy with the sound/OBC controls.

But overall I've been having a gas, and staying out of the throttle has been difficult. I haven't had a speeding ticket in 15+ years, but with this...it's only a matter of time.

 

10th week of ownership and here is my issue:

1. The MCS is way too quick! I'm certain to get a ticket this way :-)

Thats it. What a great car! And such a good deal too...

 

I'm pretty much irk-free.

 

Turning off auto-locking eliminates that.

My beefs are:
-Burning flesh on tailpipes...ouch, done that twice now (yes, I'm an idiot!)
-Turning the flashers off after lane changes. I often end up turn the opposite one on. All of my other cars had a "click" when you engaged them and the Mini doesn't.

Everything else is just a "feature" and I LOVE my car...now if I'd only sprung for the ragtop

 

I can't stand the annoying passenger seat-belt chime when my wife has to unbuckle momentarily to attend to our daughter in the back seat.

 

turn signal..... I often find myself with the blinkers engaged the oppsite way after trying to turn it off. Three blinks are not long enough for single or double lane changes. The clicks are not loud enough to know when three are done. If I try to activate three more blinks before it was done blinking I will only turn it off prematurely instead turning it on for the second time. If the blinking noise was loud enough for me to hear them with the windows down at freeway speed it will be too annoying. Conventional blinkers would work for me better to be honest.

Runflats.... I don't know what to do with them. I would rather have a small spare hidden somewhere.

Or how about hatch mounted spare like SUV's? MINI is a rally car after all.

 

My only irk is the seatbelts are really hard to get for me (I have to sit as far up as the seat will go) but i am going to look into some holders. Other than that my only irk is that I can not drive stick good enough yet!

 

I had a dream last night after watching videos of DSG vs 6MT on youtube. I was able to shift like DSG!!!!

 

Wow, if you have that many issues why did you buy the car?
Some of your "issues" can be solved as easily as consulting your manual.
I changed from double to single pull by having the car auto unlock when I remove the key (and my gf loves me for it).

No spare, well you have runflats or you go to dealer/wreckers/ebay/NAM buy a space saver then go to www.njbaglady.com and get a nice custom tote to cover it and stash it behind the front seats.

Display options/gauges, it seems to be a BMW design philosophy

Weird controls, no idea

Mood lighting, awesome thing to play with and again the gf loves it.

What irks me the most, the cigarette lighter is unpowered until you start the engine but I'm sure that's a changeable option also.

 

Boy, some of you folks seem overly sensitive to tiny features that have little to do with driving and the overall motoring experience. Some might annoy an occasional driver, but as I drive my car daily I am accustomed to its operation and am not bothered by the things being cited. As to the doors, either don't lock them when driving around, or use the dashboard switch to unlock them so passengers are not puzzled. Also, you could say, "Pull twice." That doesn't seem like too much of a burden.

I've learned to use the turn signals and have come to like them. You just need a soft touch.

cheers,

Joe

 

I agree with the turn signals but the wipers I can't get the hang of yet. It will come though.

 

I just tell them that the first pull unlocks the door and the second opens it.

Look in your manual. It has a nice diagram that explains it all.