I keep having trouble putting the top down with the key unlock button. Walk up next to the car, push and hold the door unlock button. The windows go down, eventually, and the sun roof opens. I hold the button a little longer and then give up and push it again. Top doesn't go right away so I give up,get in and flip the ejection toggel, and push the top down button.

Do I need to hold the button from the first push with no second push or hold it longer after the second push. Please don't tell me I'm not smart enough to figure it out and therefore have to give up the cabrio and go to a coupe.

 

In my experience - it's press/release for the door locks (I have mine programmed to all unlock on one press - if you don't, you have to do a second press-release for the passenger lock I think). Then within a second or so another press/hold for the sunroof until it stops. Then within a second or so another press/hold for the top. Sometimes I have to hold it a few seconds before anything starts to happen. If I give up too soon and try again, it will usually fail...

 

That's probably what I'm doing, or is that not doing.

 

Useful Tip:

Don't try to do this when there are a bunch of other MINI owners around remotely unlocking their cars - the remote signals easily jam the top-down signal for some reason...

And yeah, it's hit or miss most of the time with mine; seems like the timing is critical.

It does work on occasion, but it's anticlimactic unless you're hanging around talking about stuff while surreptitiously operating the key fob... Then it gets some good reactions.

_Dave_

 

+1

I personally don't think it's a particularly useful feature, cause it's not foolproof and you have to be so close to the car to get it to work reliably, you might as well get in and push the button. But it is the KILLER demo feature (other than a test ride).

 

another thing you can try is put the key in and turn it to unlock the car and hold it to open the top or lock it to close the top.

 

it always works when i am alone
yet if you wanna show of the cool feature it never works like it should

 

I think I read in the manual somewhere that it takes a few seconds for the window/sunroof push to work. Same thing for the top down second push. Whether your key's battery is charged also has an impact on the success rate.

Takes me back to when I bought the car. I was trying to make this work as I was picking up the car. The SA asked me what I was trying to do, so I explained it to him. His response: "Wow, that is cool!"

 

Slight change up here, goaljnky, who did you get your MINI side stripes from?

 

MightyStripes. He is vendor here on NAM. Nice guy with great product. The stripes on my car are 2 1/2 years old now with no signs of fading.

 

I find that I can put the top down using the key fob unless I'm with a family member - they always end up opening a door mid-process which halts the operation. I'll have to retrain them all again now that temps are moving into the upper 40's/low 50's.

 

Must be a programmable function - I can open the top remotely with the keyfob, and I can close it by putting the key in the door and holding it in the "lock" position, but I can't open the top by putting the key in the door and holding it in the "unlock" position.

 

Really? Wow - that's about the only thing that I thought *wasn't* programmable. I thought they all just did that...

 

Well, I know that some of the programmable features have been changed/deleted. For instance, on my car (Sept 2006 build), the "follow-me-home" pathway lighting maxes out at 40 seconds and can't be programmed for any longer duration (I think the old maximum was two minutes).

Also, mine can't be programmed to unlock both doors and the boot with a single press on the keyfob. My SA didn't even find out that the feature had been deleted until he went to program mine in October. The central unlocking using the key is the same way - the first turn of the key unlocks the driver's door, and I have to return the key to the upright position and then turn it again to unlock the passenger door/boot.

 

That's REALLY odd... mine was born on Sept 10 2006 - it has at least some of the programming features yours seems to lack - I haven't tried pathway lighting. When I took delivery, they had programmed everything to my directions EXCEPT the top-open-using-key-remote - they had to hook it back up to the computer and fiddle with it for 20 minutes or so to get that one right - not sure if HOW it's implemented changed or something...

 

Well, I didn't ask for the ability to open the top by putting the key in the door, since I didn't know that was available. The only two options I asked for that they had trouble with were the pathway lighting (since I had originally asked for the two-minute duration) and the selective central unlocking (where one press on the keyfob would unlock both doors and the boot).

I probably won't bother with trying to have the convertible top feature activated, since I have pretty good luck opening the top with the keyfob remote.

 

I've never seen anywhere that the key to the unlock position will put the top down. I thought I read that holding the dashboard lock button down would lock the doors, put the windows down, and drop the top. But have never seen that work either.

 

Key to unlock should not work, according to my CA. However, I've tried the dashboard lock button and it worked.

 

Now I will have to double check mine. I could have sworn mine opened with the key in the door holding it at the unlock postition. mmmmm. makes me wonder now. to be continued......

 

My mistake... I was wrong. I can NOT open the top with the key in the door. I can only close it. Sorry for the mistake.

 

I've been able to drop the top from up to 50' away and had trouble standing next to the car. Stray radio frequencies can play havoc with that feature. My car will unlock the drivers door on the first push, passenger door and boot on the second, sunroof and windows on the third and the whole top on the fourth. I'm curious now about the dash lock switch to see if it will drop the top etc. Something to play with on the next clear day.

 

Nope, the key in the door unlock will not drop the top and I just grow old holding the inside door lock button down and waiting for anything but the doors to lock. Only two ways for me, the key fob, sometimes, and the button on the window frame.

 

No problems with ours. The Mrs. can't seem to get the hang of it...

 

Just a side note, for those of you who don't already know; you can start the process of unlocking/top down from 40 to 50 yards away as you're walking to your car by holding the key to touch your neck (or possibly other parts of your body) while you are pushing the button on the fob. Your body acts as an antenna to increase the distance of the signal. Keep trying as you're walking to see the maximum distance.

I didn't believe it either until I tried it myself.

 

I have the habit of touching the end of the key to my chin as I approach my MINI. I can usually get the top down before I reach it, while walking a fairly fast pace. Except (as mentioned in eralier posts) if I'm with someone. Then I just look like a dork (walking toward my car with a key stuck to my chin).

I have noticed, however, that on extrememly hot days, the top will not open remotely. The sunroof and windows will, but not the next step. Maybe the interior heat messes with the unit?