So let me get this straight.

A guy from the MINI/BMW dealer is going to pull up to your house in a 7 series give you the keys and take your MINI back for service, leaving you the BMW as a loaner while your MINI is gone and you are worried about how he might treat your car? Or he comes with a flatbed to take it away you’ll not let it go?

I would have no trouble giving my keys to that person at all, but I’m not ****. I just put gas in my MCS with no routine.

Now if the guy showed up in a GEO… Dream on dealer.

 

That's it, soundwave - you just cost yourself your membership card in the **** MINI Owners Club (AMOC)!

 

I'm confused. I have the autolock enabled yet when I flip the driver door twice and get out to gas up the gas cap door has been unlocked also. At least I think so. I haven't had the car that long, but I remember wondering what I had to do to get the gas door opened and ended up not having to do anything. The gas cap door does lock via the key so I know that works.

 

Besides someone running up to your car and opening the door and dragging you out,why would you want the doors to autolock?Kids in the car maybe,but they are as likely to pull it twice,as much as they are once.

 

I don't know. In my case its the way the car came. I figured at the time I'd make programming changes at first service which is a long way off. The autolock feature really hasn't bothered me and pulling the handle twice isn't a problem.

But while on the subject I don't like the idea that if you lock the doors via the console switch you can't unlock with the door handle. Now I don't know if this is true either - one of those things I planned to verify but the thought was lost as soon as I started driving the car!

 

If I lock the doors with the dash toogle,I have to pull twice on the handle to open the door.
But why I would want to lock myself in the car is beyond me.

 

It's a safety thing, Lot.

1. A locked door is supposedly less likely to fly open in an accident (or be accidentally opened in transit.)
2. In a carjacking scenario, if someone tried to open your door, they couldn't. I realize they don't even have real cities in Canada , and minimal crime (everyone has what they need, right?) but elsewhere it's a concern for some people.

Ran, likely you have the 'auto unlock on engine off' set as well. You can unlock the door in any scenario. The first pull unlocks it, the second opens it.
Back on topic, Xman, glad to hear you're getting a home grown remedy!

 

I think you're probably right Eric - regarding auto unlock, and those are good reasons to have auto lock. A lot more crime down here - no mounties!

 

I always thought it was safer to have a door unlock in case of an accident, to avoid any jamming and therefor being trapped...


Thanks...I still can't wait to get that auto lock removed.

 

I love auto lock/unlock. I also have had a good friend carjacked in a 'safe' neighborhood by someone who pulled open the door and threw them to the ground.

 

Xman,
Great to hear you have found a solution (sort of).
Tell them to build a MINI dealership in your town/area.

Having a mishap would be the last thing you or the dealership wants.
I would be a very bad day if your MINI looked like this-


or this-


Why is she smiling?
Cause it's not her car!
I wonder what it might have sounded like in the boat?

 

That is just terrible !!!

I just don't like the car doing things I can do myself, that's the reason I don't like that automatic feature (or any other "Nanny" features)...and besides, I can do the same job myself with a really cool toggle switch

 

Yes, but the MINI automatically unlocks the doors when the airbags go off (IIRC), just for that reason. :smile:

Speaking of damages done at a dealership, check out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1
abstract:
"This was a customers car that was damaged on a road test by a technician. The car runs and drives.The car has serious body damage on the drivers side and a few scratches and dings on the passanger side. This car is being sold as is."

 

Did not know that...very cool !!! I won't have to unlock my doors everytime I get on the Freeway
(Still don't like the nanny auto lock though )


*gulp*....makes my decision REAL easy!

It's a nice way to get a brand new MINI though eventhough I would miss my 03' steering wheel...

 

Sounds like a “young person’s” perspective to me! When I was a kid many cars had two levers behind the steering wheel - where today’s cars have the turn signal and wiper stalks now - and they controlled the fuel mixture and spark advance. I heard many “old timers” complain that they could do it better. When I learned to drive all cars had manual chokes, and when automatic chokes started appearing many complained that they could do it better. Same thing for many other features.

Maybe you should go back to the days of having a hole in the radiator so that you could hand crank the engine and wouldn’t have to rely on a “Nanny” electric starter!

 

I'll turn in my membership card right away.

 

I knew somebody would give me a hard time about that one !!
That's not what I meant by Nanny items.
For example: I like an elcetric window over a manual window, but I still like to decide when the window goes up and down. Same thing for the wipers, I don't like rain sensor devices (but that's just me).
In a word, I don't mind devices that help me do something, I just mind when they decide when to do it for me...
And of course, it only applies to simple items, I don't intent on doing the ECU's job myself...

 

Why would you want to put that kind of mileage on your vehicle for such a minor problem? If they intend to flatbed it, OK, but this just doesn't seem worth it, you are running down the mileage on your warranty for this. I agree, take an IOU or change out that bulb yourself and see if they will spot you on the cost...