Need help with Cabrio Loaner
 

I have my MINI in for service and would like to go topless (when the rain stops) but the manual isn't in the loaner car and I want to make sure I know how to put the top down and back up properly. Can anybody help or tell me where to find the online manuals for a 06 Cooper Convertible? Thanks.

There are 2 buttons directly over the rear view mirror. One shows a closed top the other shows an open top. If you push the open top button & hold it down the roof will go back to a sunroof open position (you can do this while moving). Then push the open top button a second time (this must be done while sitting still) & hold it down til the top opens all the way.

To raise the top (again you must not be moving) push the closed top button & hold it down til the top closes all the way. If you keep holding it after the top closes the rear then front windows should raise all the way shut also :grin:

Thank you very much :thumbsup:

you are very welcome :nod:

The other secret is that the above procedure results in your windows being halfway down following the lowering process. To completely lower all the windows painlessly, look for the rear-window buttons above and to the right of the rear view mirror - and then just TAP ONCE the "window down" button. This will make ALL your windows lower in one fell swoop. Very efficient.

B

If you have the remote door lock controls on the key they gave you, you can also press the button once to unlock the driver door, a second time for the passenger door, then press and HOLD a third time, and after a few seconds the sunroof will open and the windows will roll down. HOLD it for a fourth click, and the top will roll all the way open (hold the button until the top opens all the way). Very nice if you have the car parked in the sun with the top up and want to vent it before entering. :thumbsup:

One additional thing to look at is the rear shelf. I got into a loaner and the shelf was not installed correct so the top would not go back past the sunroof mode.
There are switches on each side of the boot that the shelf sits on. The shelf has to be making contact to work properly.

Not all MINIs are programmed this way. My dealer didn't do it because they said lowering the top without the car running puts a major strain on the battery :grin:

I didn't know that... Seems strange- it's not like you'd be opening and closing the room multiple times without starting the car. But hey, maybe they know something about the battery that I don't...

Who knows :impatient :lol: My dealer told me to never operate the top w/out the motor running but as is with many things MINI there is no Dealer consensus :razz: :lol: :lol:

Nothing a Cabrio owner likes to talk about more than how to put the top down! But did I see someone give directions on how to put it up? Why would you want to do a thing like that?

I did get a brief window to have the wind in my hair today. I am hoping for a cloudless sunny day before I have to take this new plaything back:nod:. Thanks for all the info, all good to know. The only thing I kept thinking was that a window was down, definitely more road noise in the Cabrio than my hard top.

Hail Storm :lol: Buffalo Stampede :lol: Bee Swarm :lol:

Well duh :lol: :lol: :lol: but it's still quieter in a cabrio w/the top down than a hardtop w/the sunroof open :lol: :lol: :lol: & I hear great things about those wind deflectors. One day I will get rich enough to buy one :grin:

Just tested it and if you hold the button down a fifth time for exactly 17 seconds the bonnet pops open.

:razz:

My dealer also warned me NOT to do that ! He said you would get about four
openings untill you drain the battery. Seemed strange to me too, since you'd recharge the battery when you drive... :confused: ... But I follow to his advice anyway.

Cheers,

I know what you mean. I had a 70 mile drive to take my Mini in for maintenance. We have had thunderstorms all week, with more forecast
for that day. Here I am driving with my top down, while ominus thunderclouds loomed overhead. I pulled up to a toll, and the car next to me beeped his horn and rolled down the window. He shouted to me " It's going to rain again,
you'd better close that top." I looked at him with a strait face and said,
" the top closes ?? " Then I just pulled away. The look on his face was priceless....

Bull**it. Maybe 4 in a row until you drive and recharge the battery. I've opened mine remotely dozens of times, uusally on a twice-daily basis. Usually more. besides, if the Mini's under warranty, fry the battery- it's not like opening the roof with the key fob is a usage that would void the warranty. My dealer showed it to ME as a selling point.

Being a novice at going "topless", I got caught in the rain twice this week. Kinda of embarassing having to pull off to put the top up. I got more wet doing that than just driving, go figure?? All my friends want to ride with me, I am having a blast:razz:.

Ahhhh my ESPN sees an 04 hardtop being traded in for a cabrio :lol: :lol: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Actually, i was thinking if and when we become a two MINI family that's what we'd get.

Good choice! I'd buy a hard top, but only as a "second car". Cabrio life is the best... :)

You don't have to put the top up when it's raining! As long as you keep moving and are going over 35 you'll stay perfectly dry. I swear, I've done it. And there are tons of threads from others who have too.

That's exactly what I am going to do. When I get my cabrio paid off I was thinking of adding a hardtop & becoming a 2 Mini family (even though I live alone :lol: :lol: )

We just did!:)

I'm prepping the wife for the same thing. I want a tin top S, but the wife says we need a truck for hauling. The 15 year old might just have to get a pick'em-up truck (when he turns 16) so I can get an S. We were on MINIUSA last night (me and the 15 year old) and our car (dreaming) came to 41K+. The wife just gave us one of these...:sly::roll::lol: