It works on my '03. Once for driver's door, two for passenger, then if i hold it down again, the windows roll down. It was great yesterday when it was hot outside and i was leaving work.

 

Another option is to leave the auto-lock on as a safety feature BUT have it auto-unlock when the ignition is turned off -- this solves the double-pull on the door handle I hated.

 

That's how I have mine set up. As a result, the only time I ever have to touch the interior door-lock toggle or double-pull a door is when I'm letting a passenger out of the car while the engine's running.

 

Probably very usefull in Alaska

 

I don't have a photo, but I'll attempt to explain:
Remove rear parcel shelf, rotate it 180 degrees and place it forward up behind the seats with the parcel shelf's round cut-out straddling the hump that separates the rear foot wells. The round contour of the parcel shelf, (which, ordinarily fits the contour of the hatchback's wiper motor) also fits the contour of the exhaust hump that goes down the length of the car. You have to turn the parcel shelf around so that its topside is facing the seatbacks, and the bottom side is facing back toward the rear.

Hope that helps.

 

Go back on this tread to post #816 - now that we have recycled the item, let's recycle the answer!

Enjoy!

 

Post 816 here.

 

wow...came across a new one, I think

yesterday, in my '04 MC, I drove home, shut off the car but left the key in the ignition ....I had the windows open ..... I was outside the car and went to open the boot but as I have the auto-locking feature, the boot was locked....so, I reached into the car and with the key still in the ignition, I pressed the key's remote unlock button and it does not work with the key in the ignition..tried it twice, but then as soon as I removed the key, the key worked to unlock the door..never knew that

 

I haven't been able to read this whole thread to see if anyone contributed these gems:

1.) the BMW dealerships (at least in Europe -- haven't been to one in the US yet) have a little electronic device kinda like a standup thick loop attached to their computers. They put the key fobs (for BMW and Mini) in the loop (like stargate!) and they can see everything about your car: what the computer readouts are in the vehicle, the dealership history, work done on it at the dealerships, etc. Pretty cool!

2.) There's a valet key in the '07+ fobs - little silver button on the back of the fob, push button and pull apart --although I really don't know why...you can only unlock the car, usually setting off the alarm anyway!

3.) With the run-flat tires - at least on the '04 models -- every time you get the tires changed or rotated, you have to press and hold the run-flat button (on the '04s, it's near the emergency brake) for at least 10 seconds to reset the computer. For some reason that's not in the manual that I could find. If you don't, the runflat button & chime will go off every few hours. VERY annoying.

 

that's on like 1st page of this thread

 

Doesn't make it any less cool. I'll have to see if all the info transfers from Europe to the US dealers properly...

 

yup, this is the case in most cars with some sort of onboard computer since about 99. my mercury cougar did the same thing, except i didnt know it an locked myself out at an auto zone =) fun times...

 

Here's one the dealer didn't warn me about.
If your installing an IPod interface yourself (cheapskate) and you own a Cabrio this may apply to you.

One of the first things they tell you to do is disconnect the battery before working on the radio.
Now being as smart as I am I decided that since it was a nice day I would drop the top before disconnecting the battery.
So after I dropped the top I disconnected the battery which is located in the boot for those that may not be aware of this.
I then closed the boot and moved up to the front to disconnect the radio and install my new IPod interface.
An hour later and several phone calls and internet browsing and the install was complete.
So now its time to test it by going for a drive so I'll have to reconnect the battery.
Oops! I closed the boot and the battery is inside... Now what?

Now I could finish this story here and now, but since I know I'm not the only KNOW-It-ALL on these boards
I'm going to wait for some suggestions on how to resolve this little problem...

 

Can you not access it from the backseat in any way? I know it the hardtops you can fold the seats down from inside the car

 

The latches are behind the seats with a key lock at the top of each seat.
So here lies the first problem.. How do I get to the latches?
Remember the boot is locked and the top is down.

 

On a cabrio, there is a bent metal hook under the rear seat. It's made to help you reach behind the seat from up above and pull the lever to fold the seat forward.

On more recent hardtops (05 and forward, I think), there is a pull cable under the rear seat to pop the boot latch open.

 

See part #11, here, for the hook that is under the rear seat on the Cabrios:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...66&hg=52&fg=30

 

I knew there would be someone wiser than me around here somewhere.
I looked under the seat but I never thought to look under the foam of the rear seat.
I never did find that tool on that fateful day but I did fashion one out of a metal hanger
and applied the same principles to get myself into the boot in order to reconnect the battery.
Does the owners manual have any mention of this tool?
I'll have to look at it again, I guess.

So the moral to my story is that if you are the proud owner of a cabrio then be forewarned that it is possible to lock yourself out of a convertible with the top down.
Whatever you do, don't call MINI roadside service and tell them that you are locked out of an open convertible, you'll never hear the end of it...

 

You didn't have to look very far, didja?

I've never actually found that tool... I've just heard about it. Next time I have a cabrio handy, I'll go digging to see if it's under there and where they hid it. If you didn't know exactly what it was for, you might have thought it was just another spring piece for the seat cushion.

 

This is in case you drain the battery on your key fob while away from home (and your other set of keys). You can unlock the door with the metal key and then put the fob in the socket to charge it and start the car.

 

You're exactly right, it does look like it's part of the cushion framework.
You know, kind of like the styrofoam next to the battery looks like its there as a filler and not as an actual tool box.

 

Ha! I've mentioned that kit to several MCS owners and none of 'em even knew that there were tools in there.

 

Thanks for the tip folks, I had the auto door locks turned off and am super happy I did so.

Thanks for alerting me that it was a dealer only job.

Peter

 

I have been told you can use the key to put down the windows before you get in the car. However when I try this it doesnt seem to work. I have unlocked both doors and then held down unlock and I have tried numerous other ideas. None seem to work. Does this have to be set from the factory or is there a trick to getting it to work?

 

Does this mean I can set the windows to open but not the sunroof when I hold the unlock button? Can I deprogram the daytime running lights myself or does the dealer need to do it?