Ok, so last night, I went to the grocery store and got a bunch of groceries and a 40 lb. bag of dogfood. Naturally, I pulled into my garage and took all the other bags into the house, and started putting the groceries away. TOTALLY forgot that I had left the boot open with the dog food still back there!

I came out into the garage this morning and said, OH NO My battery must be dead. I opened the driver door, and lights came on!!!! The car knew the boot had been open for so long last night and shut itself off automatically.

Have I mentioned I love this car? I love you, Dobby!!!!!

 

hehehe. These small courtesy things really makes me happy too. :smile:

It seems like nothing, but it really comes in handy sometimes.

 

Have you also noticed that when you unlock the car using the key fob and do not open the door after a few minutes the car will lock it self again?

 

Is it April 1,? I never noticed that

 

That is only on the newer MINIs ...

 

True! I was at a car show with my 2004 next to a 2002 and we noticed my light went out after a few mins, but the 2002's stayed on the whole time.

 

It was introduced as a feature starting with 9/03 production. Dealers can program this feature off.

Our CRV has this feature, and I really really really hate it. Just imagine this: she who shall be obeyed sent me out to get something from her car. Its cold outside and I was too lazy to put on my jacket. She hits the unlock button on her remote and gets back to her TV show. As I am about to pull the door handle, the car locks on me. This has happened a few times too many.

I made sure my dealer turned that feature off in my MCS.

 

I have a 2003 and only recently realized it has two abilities I thought would require reprogramming to get.

First, I finally realized holding the unlock button on the keys down allows me to open all windows and moonroof to get hot air our before I climb in.

Second, it seemed like such a hassle to have to hit the toggle to reopen the doors after they automatically locked at 10 mph. Only two weeks ago I discovered pulling the handle twice when want out works. Two' the charm.

It's fun learning more and more....what?...yes, I thought I'd studied the manual.

 

It only took me a year to figure this one out. On the MFSW audio control, if you press the left button once it will go to the next preset (I knew that much) but if you hold it, it will seek the next channel, up or down.

 

Mine has this feature and my production date was 8/15/03, so they must have started phasing it in before September.

 

I have an 04 with the auto windows up and duel garage door opener circuit (not that this would effect the operation of the door locks but wanted to give a free plug to Ian) and the first time it self locked I thought I might have done by accident. When it happened again I knew I found a new feature. I did it a third time just to make sure and actually like it. If I’m going to get in the car I do so immediately after pressing the open button so the fact that it self locks if I don’t get in a cool way to secure the car should I not get in and forget to re lock it.

 

My car is January 03 production and does not have this feature. That's OK with me. My wife's VW has it, and I don't really like it. Of course, hers relocks in only about a minute or so, so it would be better if it didn't lock so fast.

 

My (Jan '03 MCS) dome light goes out after a while... it was quite annoying when installing Ian's auto-up circuit in my garage after dark! But then I found that if I moved the switch on the dome light, it stayed on. :smile:

I've also noticed that if I leave my headlights switched 'on' they'll automatically turn off after a while. When I start her up again later, there's an audible chime to let me know that the lights are on. Good feature to keep the battery from draining! (BTW, I've got 'follow me home' lights programmed, but this works differently: you still have to turn the switch to 'off' with 'follow me home lights'.)

 

My headlights (HID) go off when the ignition goes off. Another feature I like is if you don't have follow-me-home headlights programmed-- you can flick the brights before you get out, and your headlights will stay lit for about a minute.. A better implementation of this is my Wifes Audi - You can turn on/off and set the time for the follow me home foglights via a **** on the dash..

 

You know, I think you're right benzamg, now that you mention it... but I do recall hearing the chime and the headlights coming on without my having to turn the stalk... I guess I just got it wrong about when they turn off.

 

I've got this weird fascination with that warning tone MINIs give when the temps outside approach freezing. I have been know to say out loud, "Thank you, MINI" whenever it dings. I have never admitted, and dare not admit, that to anyone, but I figure it'd be alright to confess to you folks.

 

I just want out and timed this auto lock feature. After 2 mins the car will relock itself. However if you open and close the door the car will not relock itself so if you have this feature turned on and want to defeat it just open and close the door. I love this car, it’s not just a car but an obsessive hobby.

 

I discovered another feature this last weekend when I had the driver's door open and tried to push the lock down manually... it wouldn't let me. I guess this is so you have to have the key controller in your hand to lock the door. Keeps you from locking your keys in the car. NICE:smile:

The day after I got my MINI I was at the window tint shop and had to wait an hour before they could get started, so I sat in the parking lot reading the manual and tested all the features.

 

Also did you know you can turn the radio on with out the keys? I use this feature all the time when I am working in the garage and want to listen to music. It cuts off automaticly after 15 mins.

 

I had a 1998 Subaru Outback and would you believe they don't have anti-lock out for the drivers door!! Most if not all of the previous cars I have had would not let you lock the drivers door unless you locked from the outside using key or remote. Just a smart feature..

 

Are you guys saying that if the MINI Cooper headlights are accidently left in the "on" position after the ignition is turned off, they will automatically turn themselves off to save the battery? How many minutes until they shut off? I didn't know MINI had this "feature"... it's a savior for us forgetful folk...

 

yep, they do. At least the xenons do... try it. Then go turn the car back on and they'll come on again.

 

You can also get your dealer to program auto-unlock. That way your car locks at 10mph, and unlocks when you turn the ignition off. It is a separate car memory option.

 

That is the one I want!