When I come back to the car and turn the car on the music doesn't resume where it left off but it starts from the beginning of the same song. I think it is very smart. None of my previous cars had that function.
I tested it by turning the engine off, getting the key out, opening the door, closing the car, locking the car, unlock the car, open the door, get in start the CD player... And it resumed where it left off because not enough time had passed by, I assume. Smart.

 

Both the CD player and Ipod do this in Skeeter, starting from where the song was stopped does time out, then starts from the beginning.

 

Actually, that's rather annoying to me when I'm listening to a podcast -- probably why I won't get the ipod adapter for my (still on order) mini!

 

Are podcasts just stored like songs, or is there some other encoding to let you pick up where you left off? I know that with audiobooks, they *always* pick back up where I left off - even if I quit playing the audiobook, play some other songs on the iPod, and then come back to the audiobook.

 

My podcasts are listed as "remember playback location", but when I tried my iphone on the demo ipod adapter, then plugged it back in on my car, it restarted the podcast at the beginning. I don't know if that's fixable or not -- I'm holding off on the ipod adapter install until I can figure out if my order will get the usb port or not, and if it'll be functional.

 

Well, it's entirely possible that the "restart from beginning" is a function of the R56 stereo system, and that it might override any preferences on the iPod. The MINI iPod adaptor on my R52 doesn't re-start songs from the beginning, so there's obviously some functional differences between the two generations of iPod adapters.

 

I too find this very irritating when listening to podcasts. It always goes back to the beginning, rather than picking up where it was when I turned the car off. Like ScottRiqui says, it must be a function of the Mini software, as the iPod doesn't behave like that when its not in the car.

 

The feature is pretty darn cool, but then I'm listening to music. I think it just needs a few hours to revert to this mode...not sure exactly. It's happened while I was at dinner, but it was a long dinner.

 

It resets after @ 15 mins. out of the car. It is a royal PITA for those of us who listen to books on tape. I really hate the "feature".

 

Wow... there are a lot of people who listen to books on iPod that are annoyed by the feature. I had no idea. I don't even have a iPod and I don't listen to books. I hope there is a fix for you guys.

 

I think that would be similar to ejecting a CD and putting it in a different player.
MINI doesn't power down the head unit for 15 minutes after you pull the key. That's the deciding factor in continue or restart.

This could be bypassed. Run a power wire to the head unit off a circuit that stays hot. Simple in theory, prolly a bear to install.

 

I know that with CDs filled with MP3s, it does NOT restart at the beginning of a track no matter how long you leave the car off. I haven't seen it reset to the beginning of a track on an audio CD yet either but I need to try that again to be sure.

I've got a CD of podcasts in MP3 format and those definitely don't restart at the beginning either. My car is early June production with Hi-Fi option.

 

it starts the same song from the beginning. it doesn't start at the first song every time. If I was listening to song #4 and parked the car at work, when I go home it will play #4 song again from the beginning.

 

I played an audio CD, parked my car, pressed the start/stop button and removed the key. 36 hours later I get in the car, insert the key, press the start/stop button and the song on the CD plays from the exact point it stopped. I get this same behavior with MP3 CDs. Am I the only one that is not having the tracks start over? I've yet to see that happen.

Could it be that with different options in the car, the OBC is programmed so that it acts slightly differently?

 

It kinda annoys the crap out of me. Especially when I take a lot of short trips. Sometimes I'll end up listening to the same damn song 4 or 5 times. I wish it was an option that you could turn off like the daytime running lamps.

 

No, this is exactly what will happen. If you want to listen to the same song in the CD player in it entirety, just turn the radio off in the middle of the song. Turn the car off, get out, come back, turn the radio back on and BAM!, it will start playing where it left off. Pretty easy.

 

I don't mind this feature at all. What I really like is that if you turn the car/stereo off with the volume CRANKED, when you turn it back on it comes on at a much MILDER volume so as not to blow you out of the car. You've all noticed this, yes??