I have a 2012 R56 S that I bought just a month ago with 28K miles. The good news is that it has extremely low mileage and is a rare color of Laguna Green. It also has the Mini Yours appearance package with Soda Lounge interior. I only had a chance to drive it and it went dead in my carport yesterday. I checked the battery and noted that it's apparently the original battery with a BMW logo on it. My experience with BMWs is that their batteries last a long time, and in this case for 10 years. I hooked it up to my battery charger and it appears to have taken the charge. Even before I charged it, the lights and so forth functioned, so the battery hadn't totally died. After having charged the battery, it was the same situation, in that I had dashboard lights and so forth, but nothing happens when I push the start button.

The problem is that it's blocking my other car sitting in front of it. If I could get it into neutral, I could push the car out onto the street, but I apparently can't put the trans in neutral unless the engine is turned on. Furthermore, if I have it towed, the car would need to come out of my narrow carport back end first, but that would drag the front wheels over the pavement for a few feet, which is probably not a good idea. Is there some manual way of overriding the locked gear linkage to get the lever to move?

I'm also having another intermittent issue with the hatch not opening. The touch-sensitive rubber handle underneath doesn't do anything when this happens. I have the sinking feeling that this car may be one of those that spent more time in the shop than on the road; hence the low mileage. I'm hoping that's not the case.

Thanks in advance,

Mike Z.

 

You should be able to hit the start button without your foot on the brake (might take 2 presses, I don't remember), and it should let you shift into neutral without starting it.

 

As far as getting it out of park, I just went out and tried on my wife's 2013 Justa R57. I put the keyfob into the slot, pushed it in, then hit the "start" button without touching the brake. I was then able to move the shifter out of park. I am thinking a 2012 R56S should be the same. but maybe someone else with the same year and model as yours will chime in. On the rear hatch release, those touch-sensitive buttons are known to go bad. My 2011 R56S hasn't had that particular problem, though, and now close to 130k miles. Good luck!

 

And if that doesn't work, I believe there's a way to get into neutral by inserting something into a tiny hole by the gearshift. You'll probably need to look up the manual or check YouTube. I've never had to do that thankfully.

 

Tenfold thanks to chrunck for mentioning to check the owner's manual for a bypass workaround next to the gearshift. I've attached the page for your reference. I did as instructed, and voila, I was able move the lever into neutral. I'll be calling for a tow tomorrow to my shop.

Thanks again,

Mike Z.

 

Have you tried to jump start it to see if the battery is the issue?