Driver's Side Door won't lock
 

The electronic gremlins have appeared at 27K and nearly 2 years of MINI ownership... so it seems:

Started car up fine this morning, ran some errands. I always use the "lock" all doors button on the key after exiting the car in the parking lot. Worked fine at stop #1. At stop #2, I noticed when I got back to my car, that the driver's side door lock "button" was raised/in the unlock position. Hmmm, strange, I thought I hit the lock button on the key...

Well, it won't (the driver's side door lock) won't go down into lock position whether I use the key or the toggle switch. The passenger side door works. There is a clickity/clack motorized noise eminating from the left rear of the car, as always happened when I locked the doors. Still makes that sound, only now the driver's side won't lock. What's worse is I can't press it down to lock it when I get out of the car. It won't budge, it has resistance. However, once I drive off, it lets me press it down. But what use is a locked door when I'm already in the car... I need to lock it when I leave it in parking lots... but it won't budge when the car is off and in Park.

Ugggghhh... Any suggestions? I read last year of a way to reprogram the door locks... any one know the steps to make them lock automatically at 10 MPH and unlock/lock properly?

Thanks,

-boognish

If you can't get it to work soon then call your service dept for an appointment ASAP(takes awhile to get seen sometimes). Tell them you car cannot be locked so it is a security issue.

I had a failed rear hatch lock and I could not close the rear hatch. I told them that wasn't safe.

You can even call the service dept and describe your problem and see if they "know" of any easy fix.

Re: Driver's Side Door won't lock
 

I’m with MINI USA. I’m sorry to read about your problem with your door locks. If you or your dealer would like our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK.MINI or email us at MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM and mention Reference # 200509100021 so that we can help you more efficiently.

actually, I have the same issue, been dealing with it for about 2 weeks, dealer too far. Key in lock works fine though

Question is, 2003 S, how much warranty do I have, 45k or 36K??

Hi kumquat,

Mine is a 2003 (May 16, 2003 build date) MINI Cooper CVT. I believe the warranty is 3 years, 36K miles which includes the free maintenance items. But I believe the "full" warranty (powertrain, etc) is 4 years, 50K miles... can anyone verify?

In any case, I called my dealer (60 miles away) and the service advisor seemed think the locking mechanism in the driver's side door was binding. He said it's made of plastic (the mechanism parts)?? The key in the door does work fine to lock/unlock the door, so the mechanism is definitely "intact" or it wouldn't work at all, even with the key.

My appointment to have this fixed is April 11th (the first day they had a loaner MINI available) so I'll post the outcome when I know.

Rock on,

-Boognish

Very cool, thanks for the heads up, I don't think this falls under powertrain, so I would be stuck paying for this one (43k miles), if the warranty is in fact for 45, I would make it over to the dealer double time to get it fixed.

I may wind up taking my driver's side door apart one of these days, anyone have any clues on making that process a bit easier on me?

same here - exact ssaem symptoms. dealer replaced the drivers door solenoid under warranty

How much was that after labor?