About a week ago the hood release mechanism on my 6-speed manual '13 Countryman S broke when I tried to pop the hood. I looked through threads on how to pop the releases from beneath the car, and while I think I might be able to pop the right side latch, I can't even see the left side latch, so there is little chance of me opening the hood in my driveway.

I should have taken it to a shop right away, because this morning I jumped in the car, put the key-fob in the ignition, hit the button and got no crank at all. The door locks and all of the electronics work just fine, including windows, sunroof, and radio. The battery is about a 1-year old OEM battery, and the car has been starting perfectly--and did so when I drove it last night. No slow crank or other issue. just a normal peppy start-up.

I tried to push start it and didn't even get a sputter.

I'm kind of wondering if our only remaining key fob has died after 7-8 years, but it seems like maybe the rest of the car's electronics should also not work if that was the case.

So here are some questions that I'm hoping one of you better skilled folks might have an answer for:

• Should I assume it the battery/starter and get it towed to a shop to get the hood open and diagnose the problem; or,
• Should I assume it's the key fob and get a new one hoping that I can then drive the car to a shop in order to get the hood release fixed?
  • If it is the key fob, would the rest of the electronics, work, or would I get nothing when I inserted the fob?
  • Also if it 's the fob, can I get the dealer to program one without the car being there, and if not, can a locksmith make one for a car this age?

Thanks in advance!

 

Just saw the car off on its $125 tow truck ride to the shop a few blocks from my house. I'm a little nervous because this is the same shop that totally blew a brake job (which I should have done myself, but was lazy), although they did make it right. fingers crossed.

 

Shop called. They got the hood open, and the battery test keeps showing that it needs to be charged. I just checked the battery receipt from Mini and it's older than I said in my original post, but less than 2 years old. If it doesn't charge, I still have the old battery (I use it to power a 12 volt transfer pump that I use in my garden), so I might charge that one up, throw it in, and drive the new one back to mini, hoping for a warranty replacement.

As far as the hood latches go, they need to replace both of them. And the cables. ~$600 parts and labor. I wish I had time to do it myself, but this is our only car and I've got a ton of work deadlines this week.

Oh well. Still ahead of the cost game compared to a car payment this year.

 

Shop called again. They had a hard time getting the battery to fully charge yesterday and today the battery tested okay, but the car still won't start--now just clicking they say, which is more than it was doing in my driveway. So they're going to put a new battery in it. Nothing like paying labor on the easiest of job to do one's self. Windshield wipers might be easier, but still...

*IF* the battery is the problem, then I'm going to have to pull the new, new battery when I get the car the home, and put the 1.8 year new battery back in the car, jump start it, then take it to the dealer where I bought the battery (still under warranty) because they'll only replace it if I bring it to them installed in the car. Of course then I'll have 2 batteries, but there's no way I'm not going to collect on the OEM battery warranty (again *IF* the battery is actually the problem).

*IF* the car starts, they're going to give it back to us today, and we'll bring it back when the hood latch parts come in.

 

The new, new battery solved the starting problem. The car is back in the driveway. I'll take it back in to get the latches/cables replaced once the parts come in.

I guess I should search the forums for all of those little Mini specific maintenance quirks (like lubricating the hood latches). I wonder what else is about to bite me?

Since it's gone out of warranty, I've replaced:

• Tie rods
• Control Arms (with terrible aluminum aftermarket parts DON'T DO THAT!!!)
• Thermostat housing
• VANOS Solenoids (in an attempt to solve what turned out to be timing that skipped)
• *edit* I forgot about the CV boot replacement

And professional mechanics have:

• Replaced the timing set (skipped teeth)
• Replaced drive belt (normal maintenance-no complaints there)
• Replaced the brakes and rotors--but forgot to tighten one of the calipers so they then had to replace (at no cost to me, of course)
  • all of the brakes that they had just installed
  • All of the rotors that they had just installed
  • The caliper that they forgot to tighten
  • The rim that the loose caliper was slapping
• And now, the hood latches / cables

 

Today the shop replaced the latches and cables. My total bill was $962.00: $226.31 for the battery replacement (+$20 for the core b/c I'm returning it to the dealer), and $654.34 for the hood latches, cables. and labor.

Should be the end of this round of repairs...

 

Hi @datanerd ! My spouse’s Countryman is having trouble with its hood release, and I found this thread while researching here. Thanks for all the updates on it! So often people post with a problem but no follow up on what happened. It helps everyone when you make these updates. So, thanks again!