I hate auto locking doors, so I was going to disable this in my new MINI. However, my MA talked me into it when he said a locked door is a stronger structure. Is this true?

 

A long time ago, an old CHP officer told me that a locked door was a lot less likely to pop open in a collision, therefore helping to prevent your being ejected from the vehicle.

 

Not necessarily stronger, but as Califzeph said, less like to open in an accident. This can help prevent being ejected from the vehicle, but also help prevent your arm (or other body parts) from going outside vehicle and getting penned under the car or between open door and body of car.

Have you considered having the double pull unlocking feature reprogrammed so that you only have to pull the handle once to unlock and exit the car? Just an idea.

 

The dealer wanted $110 to hook up the computer, to reprogram the door locks and I could not justify the money.Hate those stupid auto locks

 

If locked, are the doors really less likely to pop open in a crash? I thought that MINIs were designed to automatically unlock doors when in a crash to ease the ability of rescuer access.

 

After the crash they unlock, not during. Unfortunately, I just found that out the hard way.

As long as the door is locked it is a lot less likely to open in a crash

 

That doesn't exist. The first pull unlocks the door, the second one opens it.
The only way to open the door with one pull is if the door is unlocked.

I tend to loathe auto locking doors, but chose it for the SO. As a reasonable compromise, the car can also auto unlock on engine off. That takes care of 90+% of my issue.

JPMM, FYI I had the same issue - when I found out the cost (after telling them my preferences), I said "nevermind". My excellent SA ended up doing it gratis.

 

I was thinking I read somewhere that they could change the programming to allow it to open and unlock with one pull. Thanks for the info.

 

Bummer. I did wonder what kind of delay they have on the 'unlock on crash'. Some crashes take longer than others...

 

Miska - was it you that I saw at the Speedway last week?

 

I don't know exactly when it unlocked, I just remember when we stopped(and I got my wits back), the door was unlocked. However the impact was on the driver's door so it wouldn't open anyway.

From my time as an EMT and Police Officer, I remember several cars with a similar feature. In those instances, the unlock feature was tied to the airbag sensor. If the airbags did not deploy, the doors didn't automatically unlock. When they did unlock, it was after movement had stopped.

Yep, some crashes definitely take longer than others. Ours was 3-5 seconds but sure seemed to last FOREVER!

 

My MA told me I could have it reprogrammed for one pull if I wished, I personally prefer the double pull for the safety of my occasional passenger, say the lean forward and remove an item from the glove box if loose clothing hair or similar caught the handle I wouldn't want the door to open while driving. I've hated auto lock at 10 MPH on other cars but MINI did a good job of making these locks quieter than the engine, I rarely notice when it happens, and I came from acar with manual locks and windows.

Having a locked door as state increases the likelyhood of the door staying closed, which is a good thing. Also a good feature on the MINI is when the doors are unlocked after an accident, If the airbags deploy, the battery will be disconnected cutting power to the system protecting the occupants and rescuers from not needed airbags going off and a sligt fire risk.

 

Can someone that has diagnostic tools do this ? Could I go to someone local?

 

I thought that there was a thread on NAM discussing programable computer options. From what I remember, your dealer is to program it to your specs at time of delivery. JPMM, if they didn't offer that to you, you could always negotiate it since they denyed you the opportunity. Just a thought

 

Unfortunately, it can only be done at the MINI dealership.

 

BMW uses a deadbolt type lock. It is more than just disabling the handle. So I would tend to believe it would make the door structure a bit stronger.

 

I hate automatically locking doors too, but if they have to be there, the way my MC des it is best IMHO. They automatically lock once a certain speed is reached, and then they automatically unlock when I turn the ignition off. The only time you have to do the double pull on the door latch is if trying to exit the car with the engine running, and that is a rare occurence. I didn't ask for it to be programmed this way, that's the way it was set up when I bought it (new).

-Keith

 

Let them know that you were talked into this "feature" and that you are dis-satisfied with it. Maybe they'll relent. If not, deal with it until the car needs service or repair work, and see if they'll sneak in in then. (Sometimes they will)

If you're thinking about adding any dealer-installed accessories such as driving lights, floor mats, etc; make the deal contingent upon reprogramming the door locks.

I see both sides of this issue. Dealers don't want to reprogram MINIs for free all the time, but this is dirt simple and only takes 2-3 minutes. Charging an hour (or even half hour) at $120/hr is excessive greed.

If you can't get ANY concession from them, I'd look for another place to do business in the future.

I'll start up my favorite MINI rant now...

There are more than enough displays and buttons in MINIs (and BMWs for that matter) to make some menus and make the car memory/key memory functions USER PROGRAMMABLE. All that's needed is some tweaks to the software. No additional hardware is needed BMW/MINI should step up to the plate and JUST DO IT! [rant over]

Rawhyde

 

Thanks for all the thoughts! At least I still have a few weeks to decide...

 

Unfortunately, that was us.