Just under your chin works better and this is absolutely not a MINI specific thing or urban legend. Your dome acts somewhat as an antenna and you can get the signal from the FOB to work farther away that way. It's a fact.

 

The umbrella theory sits best with me for two reasons, the ridges making up the groove hold an umbrella in place, so it doesn't bang side to side, and also keeping a gap surrounding it to allow proper drying.

Just thoughts.

 

Yes, at least on my 2012 it remembers the position in the track when playing music from the USB port.

 

Oops!

 

I can attest that the MINI umbrella doesn't use the groove - in fact, it's not easy to even fit in the door pocket. Then again, most MINI accessories seem not to fit in MINIs - I've never worked that out!

I seem to recall WAY back on this thread the groove question was raised and noone came up with a convincing answer. My (weak) suggestion is that it might be to add a bit of extra strength to the plastic in that area.

 

Makes more sense than an umbrella retainer.

 

I think it was added just to give mystery and endless speculation about the purpose of the groove...


Seems to be working!

 

It's a safety crumple-zone thing and that's about it, no other function per my SA

 

Safety crumple zone on the non-structural plastic panel? Unlikely. Sounds like an SA trying to have SOMETHING on mind to tell curious customers. I don't buy that one.

 

I read ahead and looked at some of the responses to your issue, namely daffodildeb and pilotart. I too have the armrest and the parcel shelf does not fit as well as without the armrest. Another post pictured their shelf on the hump, without armrest, and this looked much better than the fit I achieved, with the shelf not quite riding on the hump. Having the armrest, turning the shelf around with the topside facing the rear fit better. Either positioning takes up what I consider valuable floor space, but if you're leaving the seats up , it's the best solution.

To store your parcel shelf when the rear seats are folded down, pilotart has the best suggestion, that being stored in the space on the base of the seat and the lowered back, with the cut out forward straddling the small hump between seats. I thought at first the shelf would be smashed, but that is not the case, there is a large enough gap with the seats folded down to accommodate the shelf without stressing it.

Either stow position looks like it was by design, so kudos to MINI if this was on purpose. To provide two options that look custom designed to stow a parcel shelf is amazing and one of many reasons I see why there are so many MINI enthusiasts here and on the road.

Wanting a MINI for years, and I test drove one at least 15 years ago, I had no clue all the features this car could have. I liked it's looks and knew it was quick! Everything else is like someone else stated, Easter eggs!

 

Maybe just a drainage solution. One puddle is better than two!

 

Made me think of a 12 Hours of Sebring T-Shirt " Sebring is my life, everything else is just waiting!"

Can be applied to MINIs "Driving my MINI is my life....!"

 

Having my MINI for 2 weeks now, I am sooo not getting anything else done! And that's just on one thread. Between reading this thread and driving, there's little time for anything else. Great for killing time waiting on doctor's appointments, before bed reading, just about any lull in your daily routine.

And you all say it doesn't fade away? Think I'll find me a transporter job, delivering parcels all day in my MINI.

Sorry, I'm not exactly sticking to the thread topic, am I? I promise to to better moving forward.

 

Maybe just a drainage solution. One puddle is better than two!

 

That's an adaptation of a famous line from the old Steve McQueen movie "Le Mans".

"Racing is life. Everything else ... is just waiting."

 

Wow!!

This has been a great thread. I have had my 2008 FJCW (Yes I know you didn't get them until 2009) MINI for a little over a month now, and am still learning about it every time I drive it.

1. Amazing amount of knowledge here on this site.
2. Friendly posting and people. I have been involved with several forums and along with the AULRO (Australian Land Rover Owners) forum which has been invaluable for all of my Land Rovers, this has been non threatening to new owners like myself!
3. Having purchased a second hand car, it is not personalised to my specifications.
4. Some personalisation is possible without purchasing aftermarket equipment
6. Some are not, or over the top expensive!! Some are reasonably priced. I have to pick and choose. Do I really need bluetooth?? Do I need a second key??
7. Why didn't they correct the melting bonnet scoop with a simple aftermarket heat shield? Didn't notice the warping on mine during my test drive, and initial inspection.
9. More power and thus more torque steer than any other front wheel drive car I have owned. 1998 SAAB Aero Turbo was close behind. But this is still the most fun in "sheer thrills" kind of car I have owned.
10. The front windscreen is shaped very much like the aforementioned SAAB's
11. To change the turn signal 1 to 3 flashes eluded me until I read about the video's a few pages back. On watching it, was able to accomplish the task. The manual, and even in the video does not explain that the car has to be running NOT with ignition on as it states in the manual, to access all the sub menues. To me "ignition on" is with the key fob in place only.
12. The secret key hiding place is not on the JCW Aero specked vehicles. This place is taken up by the brake ducts from the lower panels.
13. Finally I will have to watch my licence points. I drive like a teenager in this car!! My other main drive is a Land Rover Defender, with a 2.5l turbo diesel engine moving a 3 MT vehicle. Not geared for speed, but for crawling over other 4x4's

Anyways, great forum, and thread

Cheers,

Ken

 

Sounds like poor planning, unless you were fond of 8 tracks. Knowing "Thick as a Brick" is 50 minutes long, I would never cue it up on a 15 minute trip. That's just wrong, especially for JT!

 

That was the same on my 06 MCS. It is the "resume" feature, great for sunroof.

 

you know I was thinking to myself it might be a place to hold letters? or mail envelopes not that anybody takes the time to write a letter snail mail these days but maybe thats what its for?

 

During my 40 years of vehicle ownership, I have never seen a linear fuel gauge. Makes no sense to me why they are not. I'll have to find and read the threads mentioned.

 

I've seen just one, which was in my wfie's 1979 Ford Fiesta. It had a 10-gallon tank, and always took the amount of gas that you would expect from the gauge reading, e. g., if it read 1/4 full, it would take about 7.5 gallons.

I also found out the hard way that the moment the gauge read "Empty", it was empty! My wife let it get down below 1/8, and when I drove it to the gas station, the edge of the needle was just touching the edge of the "Empty" mark. About 1/2 mile from the gas station, the needle reached the center of the mark and the engine died. Fortunately, someone in a nearby house let me use their phone to call a friend (this was pre-cellphones).

 

I understand in the "older" days it would be tough to make them linear. Tanks were odd shaped and not uniform in shape. Actual floats with variable resisters etc. But today with everything running off the computers? It can't be that hard to program it to be linear. The car knows how much gas you use as you use it.

 

The main thing for the MINI windmill is:
2 bars = 10 litres left
1 bar = 50km left (or 30 miles)

So 2 bars is a measurement and 1 bar is a calculation.
1 bar also keeps interrupting the digital speedo, so it really gets your attention (and makes you annoyed).

 

The previous post that I like best is the one where somebody said they used the groove to hold their hunting knife in place.

 

I'm not sure about 10 liters (litres) for 2 carrots, but when I hit 1 carrot I generally still have about 50 miles of range left. Since I get a bit over 40 MPG in my typical driving, that means about 5 liters left at one carrot.