Starting with a timeline

I last saw my Mini yesterday afternoon about 2pm. I went outside to water our plants and take out some trash, and that's when I saw it last in the daylight.

Last night I thought I heard fireworks while were were watching LOTR:TTT, and I stepped outside in the dark and didn't see anything... No clouds in the sky (thunder), no fireworks... Just someone playing an instrument down the street. I saw my Mini then too, but it was really dark... I don't know if I would have seen it then, but if it was out of the ordinary I probably would have, because I was looking for things outside of normal.

This morning I take a peek out my front window to check out much sun is landing on my Mini (for washing purposes) and I find the sunroof and windows are wide open!!! WTF?!?!

I know where both the keys are, and there's very little chance either one could have been depressed at all, let alone enough to open the roof and windows all the way.

Are there any other reports or encounters of finding a Mini you know you locked and closed up, unlocked and wide open?

 

you probably mistakenly pressed the button?

you can take it to the dealer to have that option turned off.

 

Weren't there some threads awhile back about people parked, generally around construction stuff, who had this issue? I think the speculation was that some kind of communication thingie actually managed to drop the windows... It just seems familiar to me.

Note that this is of absolutely no help to you, other than to suggest that you are not alone

 

Yes! There were! I dont know if the loud noise has anything to do with it, but people's windows were going down while it was raining!

 

Wagn, there are several threads in the OL under Misc tips, mostly on 03 cars ... three basic reasons

• hitting the key even in the house
• water in electricals
• handheld GPS set it off

 

Does construction equipment have anything to do with it, or did I just make that up?

 

About a year ago, came out of work and the sunroof was just lifted, and the windows were about 1/2 inch down. 04 S, never happend again. Did freak me out though.

I park across from a military flight line, no telling what someone transmitted.

 

My MA in Charlotte told me last year that they were no longer programming that option because of so many reports of mysterious openings. Seems that too many people were reporting to the dealer that the windows and sunroofs were found open!!! No indications of any consistant culprit, though...

 

That is exactly one of the symptoms noted in the OL. Sunroof open, windows down and inch. Don't know about construction but one person pointed out that operating a hand-held gps actually caused the windows to open

 

The Open and Close Sunroof and Windows via Remote is one programmable option that, while useful for pre-venting a hot car in the summer, I find a bit too risky given that one inadvertant opening could lead to an obviously wide open car in a less than secure place or, heaven forbid, the soaking consequences of a major thunderstorm. Errant RF signals can do strange things - I have an electonically controlled ceiling fan that seems to occasionally take commands from where I don't know. I've taken the better safe than sorry route on this particular programmable option. Will be interesting to see is you can figure out what caused this.

 

I once witnessed a guy in my office parking lot (a visitor) come out and go toward his car pushing the keyfob over and over looking perplexed and another car (a Lexus I think) behind him about 15 feet away kept flashing its lights!! Finally, when he got right up to his car it responded!

So I figure, there are millions of cars on the road, can there really be 1 single unique frequency for every single car??

I think they have shortened the receiver range now- my 06 MCSC won't open until I'm right next to it....

 

No there can't be, which is why most keyless remotes work on the SAME frequency or at least in the same frequency range... What prevents my key from opening your car isn't that my key transmits on a different frequency, but that it transmits a different CODE on that frequency than your key...

Depending on the alogorithms used, there could conceivably be more unique combinations of that code than cars built in the last 50 years...

In theory GPS's in use in the US shouldn't interfere with other devices and should be tested by the FCC to confirm that the interference they produce is not disruptive... Sometimes the FCC misses stuff though...

Or if the reciever in the car is a little wonky it could conceivably be overloaded by a powerful signal flooding it with data say from something being radiated by a high powered radio transmitter that the car is parked close to...

 

Yep, had the convenience opening deprogrammed when we found the car open after keys had just been on the counter all day. Rarely used the fob opening on the bimmer before anyway so I don't miss it, saves on the weak battery too.

 

I've never had a problem with accidental convenience openings, but I also wouldn't miss that feature if it went away. I've never been able to hit it just right, where the windows would open just a few inches. Every time I've used it I end up with the windows open at least 1/4 way... too much for comfort, if I'm leaving the car in a public place.

 

There have been numerous posts on MINI2 about mysterious openings, even convertibles found completely open in the rain! There has been mention that MINI changed the default setting of convenience opening from on to off, and of dealers saying that the feature was no longer available. When I updated my programmable settings a couple of months ago on my '06, my dealer did offer to turn it on (I declined).

 

Mike (of Donna and Mike) - had the same thing happen with his 05 MINI a few months after he bought it. It happened three times and hasn't happened since. Note - his doors will still locked but all the windows and roof were opened up.

 

I had the feature disabled after coming back from a week long trip to find my MCS wide open--my theory is that I placed the keys in my pocket then my carry on baggage pressed against the button long enough as I was loading my luggage into the shuttle. Fortunately it was secured covered parking, and other than a dusty interior (and one helluva cursing episode), no harm done. But yes there are horror stories on M2 of folks coming back to rain sogged interiors, esp. when the MINIs first came out. Not cool. JB

PS hey KC what happened to your 05 CR/B chromed MCS? I see U have an 06 now.

 

Even if you have the Comfort Opening feature turned off, you still run the risk of having your MINI become unlocked mysteriously. This is only slightly less concerning than having your roof and windows open as well. Shall we deactivate the remote keyless entry altogether? I think not.

I have comfort opening programmed on my MINI and my customers prefer this option to be programmed. It is a very "cool" factor that sets MINIs and other premium cars apart from the masses.

Personally, I have only noticed this problem once on my MINI, and it was because the key was jammed in my pocket with other stuff. Also, one of my customers complained about it happening to her MINI. After talking to her it may have been due to her leaving the keys in her purse while carrying it around at work.

I think that it is a nice feature, but MINI needs to make it more robust. The buttons needs to be difficult to press by anything other than a finger and the codes and frequencies used need to be made more secure. Stray radio signals from other devices should never be able to accidentally open a MINI. That is just wrong and needs to be fixed.

 

I think it's a cool feature too--esp. when entering a car that's been sitting in 100 degree heat for 8 hours--but you're right, it needs to be more "robust," maybe a different sequence to open. And if stray RF signals are a partial culprit, the the whole feature needs serious rethinking/retooling.

However, I always encourage NOOBS in first gear when they're discussing dealer-programmed options to shut it off, better safe than sorry. Jimbo

 

My MINI has dropped it's windows by itself 3 times in the past 14 months. Once while in the parking lot at work (locked), twice while sitting in my home garage (unlocked). There's no way I "accidentally" pressed the key myself to cause that to happen. I chalked it up to electrical gremlins. However, it's been long enough ago that I had forgotten about it until this thread, so I've got something extra to worry about again! Yes, next time I take it in for oil change or something, I'll have them "deprogram" as much of those "smarts" as possible.

GoodFinder

 

I dont know if anyone has said this...yet..

I think its the ECU, if you unplug it...after 5 minutes or something the windows and sunroof will open...might have been something else, but I think its the ecu..

 

it's those friggin' UFOs again, isn't it-?? :impatient what a nuisance

 

^^ do you have a full size pic of your sig? I would love to see it..

 

I was just looking diligently for that Midnight on the Dragon shot with the 'Close Encounters' mothership photoshopped in... but I just could NOT dig it up anywhere

so anyway, yes, I think this is the one I cut my sig from..



( I just came out of my cabin early one morning at MOTD4 and the car was just open, you know ?!? lol)

 

ETs, definitely.