Nope, it's a function of how well your dealer prepped the car before delivery. Mine's never done it. All of 'em have it because it protects against the salt while cruising across whatever pond(s) your particular car had to cross.

 

• MINIs are the easiest cars I've ever had for changing headlight globes. Obviously designed by someone who's changed a globe occasionally. (I owned one car where you had to remove the battery to reach the globe! )
• Australian-spec R56s use R53 aerials.

 

Whats a headlight globe?

What's an aerial?

 

Globe = Bulb

Aerial = Antenna

Silly American.

 

An antenna is the thing sticking out the top of a Martian's head.

In Australia we use any of the US or English terms (so we have twice as many words we can use ). I just happened to pick the wrong ones for my post - oops!

 

Not sure if this has been mentioned, 88 pages is an epic read to find out.

I have found that if you push and hold the switch for the mood lighting until it blinks, the colours will continue to cycle through once you let it go. That way you never get bored and it is just like having your own Mini disco.

 

Yes it has been mentioned, this is on the 2011+ only though.

 

And there I was thinking I was so clever.

Not that I am, considering I have had my MCS for over 4 years and it was not until I read this thread this week, that I found out you can lower the windows whilst unlocking the car.

 

Good to know. I assumed the globe = bulb but wasn't sure. The aerial makes sense now that I know what it means but I hadn't a clue before.

 

If you ever get bored take a walk through some of the postings at http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/

The comments often have insights from Scotland, Australia, and US & England of course.

 

Did you know you can scroll through the mood lighting settings instead of just toggle? go and hold down your mood light selector and you can anything from orange to blue! learned this from SooperCuperErik

 

again I'm not sure if it's been mentioned..I came across it while cleaning my mini. In my 2011, the interior rear quarter panels (on either side of the rear seats where the speakers are, but not the actual speaker covers) actually have a faint diamond checkered design pattern! It's only noticeable in direct light, but you can definitely see the imprints, cool little touch.

 

Yeah, but the gotcha is getting the color to stop where you want it. My car's switch is very sensitive, and weighted toward either end. Hard to stop at the royal purple I like! I did drive a newer loaner car, though, and that may have been changed, as it seemed to be less hairtrigger.

 

Yup--you can pop up the sunroof, too (although not open), but in Texas it's usually stuck closed until the car's cooled off anyway...

 

is there a way to get more colors? im sure that bulb will go through a full spectrum but i think they left green and red out for safety purposes

 

One thing you guys might not know is that the Union Jack mirror caps will yellow after about a year in intense Southern sunshine, BUT the replacements (which will do it, too), will be covered for 2 years. I'm on my 3rd set, but haven't paid for any. First set was covered under the vehicle warranty, second set was covered under the parts warranty. I assume the other designs that have white will do the same.

Of course, if you're lucky enough to have garage space, you won't have the problem!

 

Guess they had to figure out SOME reason to buy a newer one!

 

Bill Bryson's books "Mother Tongue" and "Made in America" have some good comparison - an American who worked in UK for many years so is more impartial than most commentators.

As I said, in Australia we often use both countries' terms, although sometimes with different shades of meaning that would be surprising in USA or UK.

And that's just words - before we get to phrases. I remember confusing people on a conference call when I said I was "flat out" - which in Australia means working hard (maybe from having the accelerator flat to the floor or something?)

 

If you hold the switch and give the back of the sunroof a helpful shove, it opens. I'm glad to say they seem to have fixed it on the 2011 cars. They've also cured the sunroof rattle on rough roads. And the front wipers don't drag so noisily across the screen either.

There you are - a few more reasons to buy a 2011.

 

The R56 just has orange and blue, with the colors you get from mixing them - mainly girly colors like pink and purple . (Maybe just 2 LEDS???) The R56 LCI (ie 2011 model) has a full range of colors, including red and green. (The yellow is a bit sickly though). The LCI also has its own brightness adjuster, whereas the older cars' brightness is linked to the dashboard brightness.

 

no they haven't..trust me, drive me nuts.

 

is that only on certain models? my car doesn't have that problem.... at least not yet =X

 

Thats because when the Canadian dollar became par with the American buck Canadians started going to the States to buy their cars because they where a better deal in the States. When you import a car into Canada the speedometer is required to show kilometers per hour if not it will not pass the safety. So to pass the safety you have to go to your local BMW/Mini dealer to get your speedometer changed for a fee of course.

 

Thats because when the Canadian dollar became par with the American buck Canadians started going to the States to buy their cars because they where a better deal in the States. When you import a car into Canada the speedometer is required to show kilometers per hour if not it will not pass the safety. So to pass the safety you have to go to your local BMW/Mini dealer to get your speedometer changed for a fee of course.

 

The 2011s have silly little black nubbins on the rear headrest posts that prevent them from going all the way down. The salesmen have assured me that it is much safer for my non-existent passengers this way, even though it severely limits rearward visibility.