just acquired a 06 R50.

and i noticed that when i press the unlock hatch button on the remote, it doesn't make any noise at all. this is normal for 1st gen minis?

normally in any hatchback/wagon it would make a noise of the latching un-clicking or something.

but with my mini nothing at all, then i go to lift the hatch at the above licensse plate button, it opens with a click.

its just weird, not used to this.

 

Try pressing the remote button twice or hold it for 3-5 seconds.

 

That's normal on an R52, not sure about an R50. Nothing is moving. It's just telling the computer (probably the BCM) to open the latch when it detects that you pulled the handle.