I have a Jeep and it has most of the same locking features but they work differently than the Mini. I really need to re-read the Owner's Manual. I suppose the whole idea of not using the key fob to start the engine is so you never have to take the key from your pocket or purse & leave it inside the car & then have to call Mini to unlock it. I like it, I'll get used to it sooner or later.

 

That's the idea of the black buttons on the door as well. I never take the fob out of my pocket.

When out running an errand, park, press the Start/Stop button to turn off the engine, get out, press the black button on the door and it turns off the HIFI, turns out the interior lights, and locks the doors.

 

That is not correct. I have both Conv pkge, and the factory alarm. Both the lock button on the key fob, and the little black button on the door handle turn on and off the alarm wen locking or unlocking the car.

 

shokk,
You would NOT have to walk back to the car to make sure it locked, you would hear the chip and/or see the lights flash while walking away. So you would shut the car off, get out, shut the door and start walking away, and a few seconds later (the # of seconds would preferrably a user selectable setting) the doors would lock, alarm set, and you would hear Chirp/lights flash. That's how most other cars work today. I don't understand why mini didn't implement this?????? Especially since we had to pay extra for this option. Most cars have this feature as standard.

 

Another thing I just thought of which is a real pain in the butt. If you want the "parking lights" to come on for a short period after you park so you can see in a dark area, you have to do the following:

1. Park car, press start/stop button to turn off motor.
2. Press start/stop button again to shut off radio mode.
3. Flash the high beam stalk to get the lights to come on for the amount of time you have set in the settings.
4. Get out, shut door and wait a few seconds.
5. Press the little black button on door for a second and wait to hear the chirp indication the doors locked.
6. Walk away.

That is ALOT of crap to do, to just lock your car with the lights left on for a few seconds. My 2001 peice of junk F150 does all this with me having to do nothing but shut the motor off, get out and shut the door.

So the question is, why did MINI make this so complicated?