I've looked through the manual (owner's and service). I've spoken with dealer personnel (sales, service advisors, service techs, etc). I've emailed MINI NA cust service. No one knows what this is: the little circle (perhaps some kind of LED?) above the trip reset button and below the "8" on the tach. I've circled it in the attached pic.

So, what is it?

This is on an R57. However, it's on most - if not all - MINI's regardless of generation or model.

 

Light sensor for the displays? What happens if you hold your finger over it?

 

Interesting, light sensor? I'll try when I get it back from dealer - it's water pump is being replaced.

My gut tells me probably not as the dash illumination is manually controlled by the button on the left side of the tach. But, I'll give it a try!

 

I think it's to dim the display in sunlight.

 

After some thought, try shining a light on it and see if it dims. Amazing what a little drive can do.

 

I think its sole purpose is to provoke discussions on MINI forums.

 

Well, its not on the pre-facelift R53's I'm sure.. I don't have that mystery circle :( 2004 R53

 

 

 

Funny, I never thought about it before. Good for you for noticing.

 

Its a camera for the in car mini camera system. It records the drivers face as they smile with the fun of driving the car or the grimace on the face of the driver as they take their car in for yet another squeak or rattle or engine problem that can't be resolved.

Then they periodically download the video via the key at the dealership and then review them at corporate meetings where they gloat over all the profit the company makes.

Or it's just some kind of sensor. Most likely for lighting I would guess. Not really sure. LOL

 

Sorry been busy...

Lighting sensor? Not on my model. The addition or removal of light has no bearing on dash illumination - or any other illumination. I do like the idea of the "Camera / video review at corporate" idea. Anyhoo - still wondering...

 

When it lights up, you have 3 minutes to exit before the explosion that self-destructs your MINI

 

Big Brother's view port..............

 

the button under the spot in question has 3 functions,

ignition on:
1)a quick press displays the trip mileage no matter what display page you are on (ie a short cut)

2)a press and hold will reset the trip mileage to zero (another short cut)

ignition off
3)a press will display the total miles and current trip miles for a short period of time

maybe the unknown symbol is a common german symbol for the other functionality?

scott

 

I think it looks like a light sensor.

 

Probably a phototransistor, but don't know about its actual purpose.



http://www.digikey.com/product-detai...83-6-ND/741587

 

Owners manual says the alarm has a motion sensor for the interior of the convertible. That way the alarm is useful even with the top down.

 

Confirmed ?

 

Taken from pg 25 & 26 of the 2010 owners manual.

Alarm system*
The concept
The alarm system, when activated, reacts if:
> A door, the engine compartment lid or the
liftgate is opened
> There is movement inside the car
> The car's inclination changes, for instance if
an attempt is made to jack it up and steal the
wheels or to raise it prior to towing away
> There is an interruption in the power supply
from the battery
The alarm system briefly indicates unauthorized
entry or tampering by means of:
> An acoustic alarm
> Switching on the hazard warning flashers


MINI Convertible
The passenger compartment is monitored up to
the height of the seat's surface. This way, the
anti-theft alarm system including the interior
motion sensor are armed, even if the convertible
top is open. Falling objects, e.g. tree leaves, may
trigger a false alarm, refer to Avoiding false
alarms.

 

Kudos to RKW and Just Krusen! And yes, Grinch, it appears to be a light sensor! Well done indeed!

1) Shame on MINI (the 1-800 customer service folks), and shame on my dealer, service manager and service advisors for not knowing this.

2) Shame on MINI for not identifying its function in the owners manual. Yes, when the R57 has the roof down and the car is locked, the alarm system is supposed to detect "movement" at the height of the seat back. However, they don't identify the now-not-so-mysterious-dark circle.

Our experience with our R57 is that when the roof is down and the car is locked, it seems not to detect anything for "several" seconds. Accidentally my wife reached into the driver's footwell to retrieve something after we had locked the car and walked away (top-down, locked). She retrieved it without any alarm going off. We thought that was odd. So we conducted a test when we got home.... Roof down, locked, verified red flashing indicator on top of tach. Reach into car. Wait, Wait, Wait. We didn't time it, but more that 10 seconds, less than 30 seconds. Then the alarm finally activated. So it seems that the configuration of the R57 alarm is significantly "tweeked" to minimize false-positives. Bottom line, we don't leave the roof down when we lock it.

 

When it says "up to the seat surface" I think they mean it. My neighbour's cat used to love curling up on my driver's seat if I left the top down and that would generally set the alarm off.

 

Milly's alarm sensor sets the thing off immediately...the first day I had her we took a top down, long road trip to a lake side restraunt and parked the car with the top down and started into the restraunt. The Mrs. left something in the car and went back, reached in over the door and the alarm immediately went off. It's funny now but she was rattled then. You can't move a muscle when sitting in the car in the parking lot after someone has indavertantly locked it either, the alarm is awfully loud inside the car! Has the original question about what the the thing is been definitively answered? I see a speculative answer but nothing definate.

 

Maybe cover it with electrical tape and then try to set off the alarm...

 

If you don't have an alarm, drill out the hole and install a shift light.