My 04 MCS seems more like a beater all the time. I've loved every one of the 147K miles, but things have definitely broken over time, and some of em, like the passenger seat that no longer reclines, just don't seem worth fixing.

My key problem, however, is another story. My MINI came with two keys, plus a plastic valet key that I promptly lost. One key has a chrome logo, one does not. The remote in the key with the chrome logo stopped working a long time ago, so I started using the all-black key.

Don't ask how, but a car drove over that spare key. Everything still works fine, including the remote. The only problem is that the top part of the fob broke off, and there is no longer a way to hang it from a key ring.

What I want to know is this: Is there a way I can take the guts out of the broken key and put them into the chrome key? I want to continue to have two keys that will start the car, but I'd like to have an unbroken fob and a functional remote all in one place.

Suggestions?

 

If you open up the fob the circuit board inside comes out, so I dont see anyreason why you couldn't switch it over. Unless your other key is the one without the remote, then you couldn't.

 

Ever change the battery in the chrome key?

 

Yes, no reason you can't move the guts to another key.


As for the seat issue:

Here's the BMW service instructions for recalibrating a MINI seat that gets out of wack (found in SI M52 03 02):

"If the customer has gotten the backrest operating mechanism out of synchronization, the backrest may not set in position. This can be corrected by utilizing the following procedure:

Ensure that the inboard and outboard levers are parallel with each other. If they are not parallel, the operating mechanism has probably been twisted out of shape, and the backrest frame (part number 52 10 7 111 527 left/528 right) will have to be replaced.

From outside the car, move the seat into the full easy entry position by pressing down the outboard lever and sliding the seat into the full forward position. The easy entry position is the home position for the inboard and outboard backrest latch mechanisms.

Sit in the other front seat, pull up on the inboard operating lever of the seat being worked on, and move the backrest to the fully reclined position before releasing the lever.

The backrest should now move to the desired position and latch in place when the inboard lever is operated.

 

If your key looks like the one on the left(before 7/2004) in this illustration...



...then you can swap the guts to another key.
You obviously will also have to swap the metal(cut) part of the key to the new fob. It is only held in with a roll pin, just take a small self tapping screw and thread it into the pin and pull it out with pliers.
You will also have to swap the transponder(the little black rectangular thing under the circuit board) from the old key to the new one.

If your key looks like the one on the right(after 7/2004) in the above illustration, then everything I just posted above does not apply...and you will have to buy another key.

 

i second checking the battery in the other key too. a lot of people think they charge while in the ignition, but only the new ones do that. I've had my key apart before...I dont recall the circuit being permanently attached. it was all pretty easy.

 

Well, the dealership told me the key would have to be replaced, but that does not mean I should not check the battery, now does it? It would not be the first thing that a dealership ever got wrong, I suspect.

Partsman got my key right. It is the one on the left in response #5.

Most important question: How do I take the thing apart? I've seen diagrams of some other MINI keys that have a set screw, but I see nothing so obvious on mine.

Next question: How do I test the battery? Note that mine just stopped working one day; it did not fade away like one might expect with a dieing battery. Does it take a standard CR2032 battery by any chance?

I will try the seat thing again, but I am pretty sure I have tried variations on this before. Both replacing the seat, or paying for the labor to replace the bad parts, are amazingly expensive.

 

Good, then you are able mess around with it a little.
Right underneath the loop of the key(for the keyring) you will see a little notch....with the backside of the key facing up, use a small flat blade screwdriver in the notch and pop the back cover off.
I wouldn't even bother testing the battery, they are cheap enough to replace. If you do replace it...swap the battery fairly quickly, so you don't have to mess around with reprogramming the key.
And yes, it takes a CR2032 battery.

 

Thanks for all of the advice so far. The key with the chrome is the one with the intact case but the non-functional remote. I decided to try the easy fix first. I pried off the back as suggested, and quickly substituted a new CR2032 for the old one. My hope was that if the battery fix worked, I would not have to try any of the rest. No luck. That key is still dead.

Getting the back off of the other key was a lot more fun. Prying against the the little plastic loop that goes on the keyring is not an option when the little plastic loop is gone. I wound up getting the LARGEST flathead screwdriver that would fit in the space and turning it like a screw.

OK, so now I have the backs off of both keys, and I am a little bit nervous. The circuit board looks like it should come out fairly easily if I press back a black tab on one side or the other and pry underneath it in the same area. Is that right?

It is the other step that makes me nervous. You state:
"You obviously will also have to swap the metal(cut) part of the key to the new fob." This looks like an easy place for me to screw up, and to wind up with two keys that do not want to go back together again, so I am asking the dumb question now before taking the committal next step.

Why do I need to swap the metal parts between the two keys? Both metal parts are completely intact, and both keys work in the ignition (and doors) just as they are, with or without the functioning remote. It seems to me that if I just swap the two circuit boards, I should wind up with a fully functioning chrome case key and a key with a partially broken black case that works in the igntition and doors.

Is there some connection between individual circuit boards and the metal parts that I do not understand? I'd really like to try simply swapping the two circuit boards, but if that is going to screw things up still further, perhaps I should not try this experiment.

I hope these are simply dumb questions, but I'd really like to know the answers before I try anything committal.

Thanks again,

Phil

 

I'm sorry...I must have misread your post.
If both keys are for the same car, then you don't have to swap the cut part...just the circuit boards.

 

Perfect! I've swapped the circuit boards, and even put a new battery into the still functioning remote. The chrome key and its remote now work perfectly and fit on my keyring, while the 'broken' key fob still works as a key.

Now if you could help me find either my garage door remote or my breaker bar, this will be a just about perfect day!

 

Cool, glad it works now.

Sorry, can't help much with the garage door opener or the breaker bar. Did you look under the couch?

 

Cool, thnks for the post... my one is the left side of the illustration. My remote button is broken, thinking to buy a used one from ebay and swap the cover (everything). Any tips to unscrew the roll pin? It seem very hard.

 

Use a small self-tapping screw, and screw it into the roll pin a little bit, then get a pair of pliers or Vice-Grips and grab the head of the screw, the pin will pull out. There are no threads on the roll pin.

 

Ya, I managed to take out the roll pin now i need to get a used/new key with remote so i can swap the cover... bside ebay, any other place can buy online?

p/s: this is what happened to my key (attached photo)

Thanks alot

 

New first generation key cases, if you will, are for sale on eBay. I'd get one now as you never know when this sellers supply will run out. Here's a quick link to my post about this on our local club forums:

http://www.psmini.org/forum/first-ge...topic6638.html

I'm not this seller and don't get any commission. But his new case worked out perfectly for me. I plan on posting to NAM proper with this How-To.

Val