Hi all,
I've searched the forums to see if anyone else has had this problem:

My software seems to be resetting itself involuntarily. Several times I have gotten into the car and noticed the trip odometer reading "0" without my having manually resetting it. Just now after a short drive I shut the engine off and the speedometer made that tell-tale reset sound (kind of an electrical noise, accompanied by a slight jump in the speedo needle for a second or two). Sure enough, when I turned the key back on the trip odometer was set to "0".

Any idea why it would do this? Should I worry?

Side note: I recently had my bumper off and disconnected/reconnected the external temp sensor. Not sure if this has anything to do with it...

Dave

 

I am having the same problem, but I don't have the reset 'sound' and 'needle jump'.

 

C'mon, there is no way this is only affecting 2 owners on NAM. To further explain:

• I get in the MINI which should have ~75 miles on the trip odometer
• I start the MINI and my trip odometer is showing '0'
  • My avg. MPG is showing '0'
  • My avg. speed is showing '0'
  • My clock is showing the correct time
  • The temperature is reading correctly
• I did not, nor did anyone else hit the Odometer reset button or reset any of the OBC settings using the button on the turn signal stalk.

 

I'll go for the obvious. Check your battery and battery connections. If the battery is borderline, or the connections are loose, it might cause the computer to reset.

 

If the battery isn't properly connected, I would imagine the clock would be reset, too, but the OP noted that the clock shows the correct time...

Nonetheless, I have to concur that this would be the first place to check. The second place would be dropping in at the dealership.

 

My dealership replaced the speedometer head unit, explaining that this is the communication port to the computer. It did work briefly, but I have the same problem again. I am scheduled for more in-depth diagnostics, and will post again following that service appt. for those (few!) interested.

 

Problem still not solved...if anyone experiences this issue (especially if you can determine what the source of the problem is) please PM me! Thanks!

 

I've had a similar thing happen twice now... not nearly as bad. The trip computer (avg. mileage etc...) reset but not the trip mileage.

The fact that our cars have such an über-cool network system makes things like this a bit hard to diagnose. On the other hand, networks tend to make things less prone to outright failure.

I'm not concerned about it. It's better than my 2000 Audi (RIP) that would randomly shut down the engine computer under agressive driving on a hot day. 80 without a speedo, abs and wonky throttle response is a little disconcerting.

 

Yep, my '04 has this problem, too. I am in for service tomorrow, and it's one of the many things on the list.

 

something is cutting the power to the GM most likely. MINIs don't have a central power monitoring module that will cut out the power if it detects a high closed circuit current like BMWs. It's probably a rogue module acting up.

 

This just happened to me. I also noticed that the instrument lights were at full bright, so this was also reset. My clock and radio presets were not affected. I had the original battery replaced about a year ago. When I was stopped in traffic earlier, I thought I saw the headlights dim slightly for just an instant. Was that just a coincidence?

 

I have this problem too on my 04 Cooper. Heard the click and saw a couple lights go on around the speedo. The the avg. speed and avg. consumption reset to zero on the onboard computer. The trip meter (but not the whole odometer) also reset to zero.

6 months after the re-set happened the first time, the battery had to be replaced because it "would not accept a charge." This was not covered under warranty because the car was 2 yrs old and I had only driven 15k miles and they told me I should be driving at least 1k miles per month.

Since my new battery I have made a point to drive 1k per month but the re-set just happened again (after having the new battery 3 mos. and driving 3k miles.) I'm starting to think this is an electrical issue and not a battery issue. Don't know what to do. Take it in? :impatient

 

you could take it in, but there isn't much they can do unless they have diagnostics hooked up when it happens. This still occurs for me, but very infrequently. I'm out of warranty now, so unless I get stranded I'm ignoring it!

 

I could happily live with that, as long as I knew it was not a subtle signal that my battery was about to go up and leave me stranded. That's the part that bothers me.

 

here's a really stupid question, I changed Keys and they reset to '0' too, did any of you change to another key?

 

Nope, I did not switch keys.

 

Professor, its an 03 when was the last time you got a new battery? The MINI has quite a draw when its not running if your batt is getting old I can easily see hpw the computer memory would be erased/reset

 

I'm not the professor, but I have this issue, too. My MINI dealer just put in a new battery in August and I have driven 3,000 miles since then. Yesterday, poof, it reset. That was the second time it's done this.

 

I go a new Die Hard 1 year ago (prior to the battery recall, so I had to shell out big bucks for it...but that's another story!). I did have a new DME put in the car, although the problem did not start immediately after that, so I have no idea if it was a factor. This has definitely been a head-scratcher.

 

I took my car in to the dealer and they replaced the speedometer assembly, stating it had a defective module.

 

I had the same thing done, and it did not fix the problem (although it does seem to happen less frequently).