If you have had this issue please let me know. My rear hatch started acting up a few weeks ago. It was after I washed it and then we had LOTS and LOTS of rain that weekend. It would begin unlocking it self. Then the rear gate just stopped opening all together. After a day of sun the problem went away.

I washed the car last night. Its doing the same thing again. I had an appointment yesterday morning to get it looked at / fixed but since it stopped doing it I cancelled because I did not want to take the car in and have them not find the issue.

I have narrowed down the problem and can recreate it realiably now. Simply wash the car and get water/moisture near the rear switch and it will do it.

Funny diagnosis though... If the hatch will not unlock and open, simply flick the lights and the switch will work. As far as the self unlock issue. I have narrowed it down to if you have the lights on and then shut them off it will unlock the hatch automatically (only if the car is unlocked, I think). Also if you flick the lights on and off the rear switch it self goes crazy for a second and clicks rapidly.

Anyways, how serious is this? I am headed on a road trip Friday and do not have time to get the car into the dealer until after (the reason why I cancelled my first appointment is because it was not convenient).


Thanks,
k

 

Hey - this is all normal for European car electrical systems .

My car had the same issue a couple of months ago. My dealer says this is a common occurance. They replace the switch in the boot release handle, put dielectric grease on the switch contacts, and seal-up the area with some sort of glop. They assured me this fix usually resolves the matter for the long term.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. How long did you go before you got it fixed? I read one story of someones hatch flying open at highway speeds which I do not want to happen. However this week I am really crammed for time before our road trip. I really think its only a problem after washing. But possilbly heavy rain also. The headlight interaction is really interesting. It must cause a spike throughout the electrical system or change in resistance of some kind. Possibly the contacts are corroding... At the dealer was it a simple hour job fix? I am still under warranty.

Thanks,
K

 

I didn't have the headlight issue. I had it taken care of after just a few days.

You could take the boot handle off - two Torx screws, clean up the contacts with contact cleaner or some alcohol and then run a business card thru the contacts to burnish them a bit. Put some dielectric or silicone grease on the contacts. This should get you by until you can have the dealer perform the repair. It took the dealer less than an hour to repair.

I've also noted a similar issue with the external passenger door handle switch, in extremely cold weather.

 

ugh i have the same issue. I will see how it is after a night in the warm garage

 

I have washed the car a number of times without opening the hatch to dry and its not been a problem. The problem only occurs when drying the car with the hatch up. I can reproduce it and I talked with the service department at the dealer. When I get time I will take the car in to get it fixed. I will plan on washing the car the night before to make sure it malfunctions while at the dealer. My warranty is up in Sept this year so I will definately get it taken care of before then.

 

I have the same problem. Just started this past Friday. It was snowing out, and it wouldn't open. The next day it worked, then it started to rapidly click, now nothing. Not even the release under the rear seats will open it. I don't feel like wasting another day at the dealer. I was just there last week getting my power steering pump fixed. Anyway to fix this myself, or does the whole thing need to be replaced? Thanks.

 

HA same issue here... this is nuts and THIS CAN'T BE NORMAL FOR ANY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CAR it doesn't matter if it's european or martian... it just can't be categorized as "normal".

dammit now I gotta go back to the dealer again... this sucks.. this car is giving me so many problems I'm gettin very dissapointed

 

It has happened to me twice and Mini has replaced the switch twice. I think it happens because people pull on the boot handle slightly before they squeeze the button. You should squeeze then lift. I think it breaks the seal over time and water gets in.

 

Now I have this problem. This morning my hatch would not open. I tried several times throughout the morning. Then this afternoon, it started unlatching repeatedly. Now I can't get it to stay locked.

I guess from what I read here, I will have to take it to the dealer.

 

I had this exact same problem this spring after a week of heavy rains. I would even act up over the following few weeks after washing the car. I was going to have it looked at, but then the problem miraculously disappeared and has not come back yet.

 

I had my Mini in to have the switch replaced. Does anybody know for sure that its actually the switch (the part that you push with your fingers) and not the unlocking mechanism down in the hatch?

The said they tracked the problem down to corroded wires in the switch and said the replacement part is the switch and the entire painted plastic piece that the switch is in. To me it seems like the problem would have been more in the actually mechanical mechanism. If you look at the drain outlet in the door it empties right into that mechanism. I just hope they were correct in replacing the part that they did....

My warranty is up in less than a month. If they did not fix the correct problem and it still acts up this winter (the most common time of year when I noticed the problem) do you think they will still finish the fix under the original warranty claim?

 

Try this... Your are going to love this... If it acts up and you can't get it to unlock go flick you lights on and off. That did the trick EVERY time when I had the issue. It must have sent an electrical surge through the system that would make it through the high resistance of the corroded connectors.

 

Just take it in and tell them in heavy rain it acts up. They will know what the problem is and when they take the switch out there will be evidence of corrosion which should not be there.

 

Gotcha covered! Mine did the same thing, Mini replaced it, it acted up again shortly after, and I've fixed it. It's a design issue with the wiring to the rear hatch switch, and the switch itself isn't properly sealed. Here's the thread, or search under "boonk" (as in "hatch goes 'boonk' all by itself"):

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=94833

Original thread with funny start of my problem:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=89297

Hope this helps! Now that I think of it, I should've just painted the whole microswitch with the liquid electrical tape, but that's another story (check the first referenced thread).

 

Hows it going ? had the same problem with the hatch unlocking itself.
the dealer traced it down to a bad wire from the control box to the
switch in the hatch. it took them awhile to hunt the problem down,
they replaced the latch assy first then the switch assy second, then
they put a brakeout box on the wires to find the bad wire so-far so-good
good luck you might have your dealership get hold of the service
dept at Bob Smith Mini and talk to their SA Marney Camron