First of all, congratulations to all of you new R58 owners!

I'm considering making the jump from my '08 Clubman S to a Roadster. I've been "building" pretty much non-stop since the configurator went live a couple of days ago. One thing I'm very disapointed in is the lack of a garage door opener option. Research here tells me that the sloping roof of the R58/R59 precludes it.

I use my current homelink controls to open garage, neighborhood gate and the gate at my office. Dang, I don't want to have to start carrying three remotes around, especially in a vehicle such as the R59 where space will be at such a premium!

So, I've taken a short break from the non-stop building to do research into aftermarket openers. I'm not finding many good options. I found here at NAM where someone outfitted their Countryman with a toggle switch, but it was installed in the headliner which of course a R59 won't have. I found a product called Flash2Pass but wonder if anyone has any experience with it? It appears that the system requires a receiver to be installed at all locations, which wouldn't be an obstacle for my garage (obviously) -- might be a bit more difficult, but probably doable, for the office and neighborhood gates.

Anyway, I thought I would post here to see if the brain trust that is NAM can figure something out! I'm sure there are others here who are disappointed with the lack of a garage door opener option.

Edit: I just found a thread from 2006 on Flash2Pass. Would still be interested in any recent reports or other options.

 

I was pretty disappointed about that as well, especially for the Roadster.

I love being able to leave the top down when running into a store etc. (assumes a reasonably safe area and clear skies!)
Having a garage door opener waving in the breeze for someone to grab is a pain.

Most cars build the opener into the rear-view mirror, so I'm wondering if it's possible to retrofit one of those. On my build I'm getting the auto-dim rearview mirror option, so power will be available. (that's usually the biggest pain when trying to add a "smart" mirror after the fact)

Don

 

Seriously, WUWT? My door opener is 3 buttons on the underside of the rearview mirror. I use mine daily. Why can't they do that in the Coupe? This and the fact that the boot won't hold a golf bag with a driver in it are starting to steer me away from this car.

 

Good idea to include the auto-dim mirror, just in case there's an option later to retrofit.

And, I agree that it seems that a roadster in particular should have the option to build it in -- much more secure that way.

 

Sorry, but for $200 plus tax, MINI can keep their silly rearview mirror garage door opener. I'll grab a key chain style garage door opener unit from Home Depot for $19 and just put it on my key fob.

Talk about being bent over and... WOW!

 

No garage door opener and no compass in the mirror. I guess those are both built into a unit in the headliner. Since the Roadster has no headliner then there is no compass or home-link system.

 

When I looked at adding the garage-door opening mirror to my 370Z (never did it due to hassle of wiring), all the electronics were contained in the mirror itself.
Based on that, it really puzzles me why it's not included in the MINI.

As to the keychain solution, the last thing I want is more junk on my keychain. I also don't want to have to fish it out of my pocket! I splurged on the "comfort access" system as I had it on my previous JCW hatch. Once you have it, it's hard to go back to actually *touching* one's keys!

 

I agree. I'm amazed at how much I rely on the "comfort access" feature.

I did a search for Fast2Pass before posting here, but for some reason didn't find many results. I've since done a more thorough (or maybe just more accurate ) search and found quite a few threads where people successfully installed it. I think I will give it a try once my R59 arrives.

 

In all other MINI (both 1st and 2nd gen), the garage door opener is in the mirror. It's a self contained module and all it needs is a power connection. Even if the coupe and roadster use a different mirror from the other models, it should have been easy to make available.

 

My fallback scheme is one that I'd been contemplating for a while. Being an electronics and software type, I have a home automation system that's already set up to open the garage door. Thinking about building a short-range wireless module that would run in the car whenever it's on and try to talk to the house. When it gets in range, the house could open the door. Might add a display or audio to the car side of this contraption that would update me on alarm status etc. before I even get in the house.

That or I'll just tuck a remote in the door pocket...

Don

 

Just velcro it in the door handle area, or in the console somewhere.. It doesn't have to be aiming at the door to work... Wife's BMW 128 doesn't have it either so she just leaves it laying in the ash try and works fine..

 

Just watched a video of the Roadster and it clearly shows the overhead console. At 20 seconds it shows the driver closing the rear spoiler using one of the overheard switches. So there is clearly 12V available for the mirror. Why MINI doesn't offer such a basic option (that is easily added) is strange.

Since power is available how would something like this work?

 

If you are comfortable in mod'in a homelink and drilling some holes... Give this a try!

http://1848491407091552691-a-1802744...attredirects=1