Ok I have had my Mini for a little over a week. I was reading the manual about the convertible top and my understanding of the manual is that my key fob is supposed to remotely open the top. Well I have tried it every way imaginable but nothing. Unfortunately, I remember my sales guy telling me something along the lines of the book says you can do something but it is wrong. Because I was busy looking at my new shiny car I wasnt really listening and I dont know if that is what he was talking about or not. Can someone help me out? I have a 07 Cooper Convertible. Is it possible that it is an option I didnt not get with my car? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

On my 06 (starting from all locked up), first push (part nearest the metal) unlocks driver door, 2nd unlocks passenger side & rear, third push (holding it a while) opens sunroof & rolls down windows, 4th (holding again) puts top down. If you don't pause a couple of seconds in between, it doesn't work. this is in the manual somewhere.

 

It is possible that the feature has been turned off. But you can have the dealer code the MINI to turn the feature back on. They should have given you a sheet with various features that you can turn off and on, giving you a chance to indicate which features you wanted. Usually the dealers offer this initial coding free of charge when you get the MINI but may want to charge you for coding in the future. If you didn't get the chance to do this you should ask them about it.

 

Tried it all.. guess I'll run over to the dealership. Need a reason to drive my car

 

Yeah, what MINI_Bee said - it's a dealer-programmable option. My understanding is that this is OFF by default on most newly delivered cars (I know it was OFF by default when I got my car at the same dealership) - and in fact, even after telling them in advance I wanted it on, they still didn't have it enabled - I tested it before I left and had them fix it... Call your motoring advisor (salesperson) and tell them what you want -

 

Lucky for me I only live about 15 minutes away. I have seen where people drive hours and hundreds of miles to get to a dealer. YIKES.

 

Yep - I'm one of those people.. though not as bad as some... only 2 hours or a bit less each way for me...

 

Windy - here's a post with more details.

What you want to ask for is "Convenience Opening"

If the dealer did NOT go over a checklist on which of these programmable options you wanted before delivery, then they should fix it for no charge.

Note that some folks have expressed concern that this feature can either wear down your battery, or you could accidentally open your car from inside a building by accidentally pressing the button in a pocket or purse.

I'm unconcerned about either - I use it frequently with no battery issues...

And the range is SOOO short, and the timing of how you have to press the button is so specific, it's highly unlikely you'd ever do this by accident...

BTW, the trick of touching the key to your lips while pressing the button DOES increase the range of the transmitter 2-3x - allows you enough time to put it all the way down while walking across the parking lot - but just barely...

 

And as an aside, the fastest way to open the top from inside the car (not using the remote) is this:

1) Tap and release the "rear window down" button.
2) Immediately press and hold the "top down" button.
3) As soon as the convertible top gets to the "sunroof fully open" stage and stops, release the "top down" button and press/hold it again, until the top is fully down and the motor stops.

Using this method, you can go from "top/windows completely closed" to "top completely open / all windows fully down" in about 14 seconds. Using just the "top down" button takes over 17 seconds, and leaves the front windows 3/4-closed, requiring you to press each window toggle once to lower them the rest of the way.

Also, if you want to lower your top at an upcoming stoplight, and don't want it to take any more time than necessary, while you're still moving, tap the "rear window down" button to fully lower all four windows, and use the "top down" button to open the sunroof all the way. Then, when you stop at the light, press and hold the "top down" button until the top is fully retracted. With the windows already down and the sunroof already open, lowering the top only takes about 9 seconds.

EDIT - When lowering the top, you don't really have to keep holding the "top down" button until the motor noise stops. I just do it so that I'm certain the top is all the way down. If you stop as soon as the top stops moving, you can probably shave another second off of all the times I listed.

 

You see... THIS ^ is the kind of useful information you just can't find anywhere else. You might stumble across it on your own (by mistake, probably), but maybe not.

Gotta love this site. Thanks, Scott !

 

You're welcome - I've also noticed that if you're driving through town and decide to put the top down at the next stoplight, you're virtually guaranteed that the next dozen lights you come to will either be green, or they'll turn green right as you're coming to a stop...

 

Yep - Scott's method is the same one I've adopted - just took me several months of discovery to figure it out, versus having a friendly (and smart) Cabrio owner TELL me...

 

Has anyone figured out at what maximum speed it's safe to put the top down whilst motoring ??

2 mph ?

50 mph ?

 

It's not so much a matter of what's safe, it's what the on-board electronics will allow. You can open the sunroof portion of the top while you're moving, but you can't actually retract the top while the car's moving. If you press the button, it just doesn't do anything. I haven't tried creeping along at 1-2MPH while lowering the top, but I think the car has to be completely stopped.

 

In my experience if you are stopped or at a VERY slow roll (creeping just a little) it will start to go down. Once it's "committed" (about half open) it will continue to move at slow speeds - smart, since at that point it's better to let you get it down than to drive with it half closed...

 

I recently got caught in a rainstorm, pulled over and put the top up. The car was moving slightly when I started. Haven't tried putting the top down while moving yet, as you can tell.

Thanks for the replies !

 

Before you go to the dealer, go through the list of options and also have them change anything else you might want. See the section Vehicle Memory in your Owner's Manual (page 49 in the online 2007 convertible manual).

 

Thanks for all the info. I went by Flow Mini and they said it would be $100, but when my pouty lip came and horns started to appear, they changed their minds. Now all I have to do is make an appointment.

 

One last thing to try!

On the third and fourth press you have to hold the button for about 6-7 SECONDS before anything starts to happen. You may be giving up before it's had enough time to start. Continue holding once it does start moving.

 

The dealer tried it as well. He said it hasnt been programmed. The key wont even open the top when you turn it in the lock of the door. It will close it though. Going to take it in as soon as I can get an appointment and have it fixed. Thanks for the quick down method, I have used that several times since reading it

 

You can't open the convertible top using the key in the lock - that's only for closing the top.

The only two ways to open the top are by using the buttons on the windshield header or remotely, using the keyfob. Just tell your dealer you want "Convenience Opening" programmed on your car, and all should be well.