Hello,

I finally got my MCS yesterday! (photos coming soon).

couple quick questions:

1) The manual states that I can change the ambient lighting color of the interior lights. How do I do this? I've followed the manual, but no luck. Does the car have to be started to adjust these lights?

2) Under the front of my Mini (and most mini's i've seen) are two small fenders that hang down about 3 inches or so on each side of the car, in the very front. They scrape on everything!! What's their purpose? Can they be removed? ...or shortened using a Dremel? I've scraped on two driveways already.

3) On the initial drive home it was 104degrees outside, I had the A/C on the entire 20 mile drive home. My Mini only has 30 miles on it now, ...yet I noticed when stopping that it appeared that smoke was coming out of the rear exhaust area. I turned off the A/C and the smoke stopped. I say smoke, but could it have been steam? or condensation? or just new parts burning grease off? I haven't seen this again since turning the A/C on again. Just curious if others have noticed this?

 

1) toggle switch overhead at dome area, pull/push to change. Most noticeable at night, turn car on

2) welcome to the club

3) cosmoline burnoff (I thought my MCS was on fire too)

 

+

Toggle switch should be the 2nd one in on the right above the rear-view mirror. Your car needs to be on. Tapping the switch changes the color in increments from purple to orange. Holding the switch either away from you or towards you gives more variation between those colors.

 

Congrats on purchase.

 

To see the ambient lighting you need the headlights on and it has to be really dark inside the car.
The thing that scrapes in the front has been whittled down by lots of people around here. We think it's aerodynamic but nobody has verified it. I've always thought that people who lower the car could remove it completely.

 

Thanks for all the responses,

...yeah, I was afraid my car was on fire (in reference to the cosmoline burning off).

They look like they unbolt fairly easily. I am debating taking them off completely, or cutting them about an inch then re-installing. If I leave them, I am sure one will tear or crack at some point leaving the front non-symetrical. Plus I hate seeing bits of plastic hanging from cars.

 

Congrats eR1c.

 

congrats and NAM is always there to help newbie

 

get used to cosmoline drip, it will ooze out of the chrome trim and washer jets, to name a couple places, for awhile.

welcome to NAM

 

I've had no cosmoline problems with my 2007 MCS. Perhaps the VDC at Port Hueneme, California does a better clean up job than some.

 

I never even knew about it except for posts on this forum. Wierd.

 

thanks for all the congrat's on my new Mini.

I've noticed that the cosmoline burnoff has diminished as I drive it more. It was just that initial drive home that was the worst. It wasn't bad, yet the smoke/burnoff was very noticable.

 

Thank you ....I was not aware of that

 

Congrats my friend, welcome to where us MINI maniacs hangout!

 

I just noticed that the ambient lighting is not only on the overhead (near the toggle switches) but also behind the door handles and door latches ...very very cool!!

 

And check the seatbelt mount points on your b-pillar.

 

Congrats on your MINI!

The two plastic flaps underneath the front bumper are aerodynamic "flippers" that improve aerodynamic efficiency. If you're scraping them at stock ride height I do suggest pulling into driveways on more of an angle. With a lowered R56 I only scrape the flippers if I'm being careless with aggressively angled driveways. You can choose to modify the flippers if you want, but know that your fuel economy might drop fractionally if you do lots of highway driving.

Regarding the smoking exhaust; it has nothing to do with your A/C, the timing must've been coincidence. When the exhaust is built it has leftover residues and oils on it that will burn and smoke off in the first day or two of use. This is totally normal for new exhaust pieces. Don't be surprised if you detect some odd smells in the first few days either; they'll fade away very soon.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Thanks Ryan,

-plastic flaps, i've only scrapped 2x. Once out of the dealer parking lot and once at my in-laws (they have speed bumps near the complex they live). ...I've since been more careful and taken' driveways and bumps at a slight angle (problem solved).

-Smoking exhaust has stopped. It was very apparent in the first 50 miles of driving. (I am now at about 80 miles and smoke is gone). The smell, yup' I noticed that as well.

Eric (Plug Guy),
-yes, just noticed the seat belt illumination (thanks for pointing that out)!


I am really loving this car, it is everything everyone says and more.

 

okay, it's now been about 2 weeks w/ the Mini and 200 miles.

...here are my next set of questions that don't seem to be covered in the manual (from what I can tell).

1) What's the red light on top of the tachometer for? Does it light up when you hit redline?? (i am still in the break-in phase so have been keeping it under 5,000 rpm's).

2) I notice that my stereo bass/treble/fade, etc settings reset everytime I turn the car on/off. My stereo stations stay set, but the equalizer settings do not. Am I missing something? How do I keep them to stay??

thanks,

 

Have noticed that you can pre-set volumes for Tuner, CD and Aux, no doubt that you could also pre-set Bass, Treble, Balance and Fade as well for each mode.

Try Menu, while in each mode and you should see those settings, or RTFM.

 

red light is for the alarm.

not sure about 2). I have comfort access and i did notice when i dock my key my stereo settings are different then when I don't dock my key. simple solution for me was to not dock my key at all times.

 

alarm, -thanks!

#2, gotcha, i'll take a look at that. It may be that I've just been playing w/ the radio a lot in the garage w/o the car started.. I'll start it up and see if my settings come back. -that would make sense.

thanks,