is it just me or is the remote for the MINI very weak. I don't know why, but a lot of times it seems like I push the button, but it doesn't get through. Also out of the 4 times I tired using the comfort opening feature by remote, it only worked once. Other times, it stopped halfway, i'm guessing cause it loses the signal for a second.

Are there any ways to improve this or is this how it is? Also it doesn't seem like I can get very far with the remote, my sisters Accord could get the signal from much farther.

 

I am stilll trying to figure it out....somedays it werks from miles aways...and some not 3 feet....I don't get it other than buildings wiith lots of sats and alarms and stuff..and things

 

I always have to be within about 5 feet from my car for it to work. I also have had issues with it not registering a button push. I thought that maybe the battery in my key was weak, but both of my keys are about as equally weak. I was going to mention it to the dealer next time I was in - good to know others have this same issue.

 

hold the key up to your chin, this worked with my miata keyless entry and it seems to work with the MINI key.

 

I am not facing any of these problems......I live in apartment, 3 floor, approx. 11-12meters from the ground...even my remote don't see directly 2004 mcs it locks and unlocks, no problems also with comfort opening...

 

Do we all have 05's with the new key? My 03 key worked just fine but the new one seems to be weaker. Even the chin thing doesn't help all the time. The boot lock signal is pretty strong but for some reason the door lock is weak.

Lois

 

my 04 is obnoxiously stubborn about registering any buttons on the key. the comfort opening rarely opens all the way on the first try and i find my self having to press both lock and unlock at least twice before it registers. it's been this way since i got the car so i doubt it's a battery problem. something that needs to be addressed at next service i think.

 

I've noticed the same thing with mine, an 05 key. Typlically need to be within 6 ft for it to actually work. A bummer for using the key to put the top down. Thought I'd be able to do it as I walked towards the car in a parking lot...

 

Holding it higher has actually worked pretty well for me so far.

 

So where is the reciever in the carAnyone know.

 

Yea mine works for ka-ka. I have to push the button several times to get the doors to lock or unliock. Sometimes I have to unlock and relock just so I know its done. The window rolling down by the key never works. Well ounce in a while it will do it...if the moon is just right.

 

With my '05 key I'm able to get a response at 10 to 25 meters. I haven't been very systematic in my testing. I periodically press the button as I walk across the parking lot after work. I know, it is a relatively poor amusement. Sometimes the button seems to give the tactile click feedback without sending a signal.

 

Ditto to all of the problems above, on my 04. Sometimes it works as far as hundred feet, sometimes not even two feet away.

 

A few weeks after I noticed the remote not working so well the car battery went dead. I only had my MINI a year. The dealer replaced the car battery but the remote hasn't worked as well since.

 

hm... seems like a common problem for everyone. Surely, someone has figured out a way to make it better.

 

I had a similar problem when I first got my '05 in August...remote entrey wouldn't work from more than 5-10ft. away from the car, and the convenience feature would barely work at all.

It is now February and the key works from quite far away (60-90ft). I have a feeling that the key comes with a fairly weak battery from the factory, and the more you drive it the more it charges the key. Thats the only explanation that I can come up with.

Wait a few months and see what happens.

Peter

 

hm... sounds like a plan, but I switch keys every month or so, so that the battery doesn't die in the other key. Does everybody with an 05' do the same?

 

The battery isn't being charged with the key in the ignition.

 

The Manual for the 05 says the battery does charge when in the ignition. They specifically tell you to rotate keys for this purpose.

Although I've had mine for 3 months now, and haven't seen any increase in transmitter distance.

 

Mine works from about 50 feet away,all the time.If you don't hold the button firmly when rolling down the windows they won't go down,or will stop.
Found this out the other day,I put the key in the ignition car not running and locked the doors with the remote,they locked,then unlocked.I don't have the auto lock turned on,so I guess that is why they unlock.The romote does nothing when the car is running.

 

Well the manual is wrong then. The '05 manual specifies that the battery inside the key *does* charge with the key in the ignition.

Peter

 

The key is the same kind as the BMW 3 series. I experienced various levels of transmission distance. Sometimes it worked well, other times you practically had to be hugging the car. My guess is that it is a weak signal that fluctuates or often has interference from other sources-maybe cell phones? Who knows? But it is disappointing.

 

The battery and circuit board on the pre 05 keys don't contact the metal part of the key at all, so I don't see how it could charge it unless it uses inductive charging. The 05 key may be different.

 

Pre 05 range rover keys still use the button battery. the newer 05 keys use the BMW charge in ignition rechargable battery