Okay, I absolutely LOVE my new Hzn Blue Clubman, Zazu. Wicked color, for sure! But there's something aggravating me every time I start it up.

Is there a way to silence the seatbelt dinging so that it never alerts me AS SOON AS THE CAR STARTS?!? It's annoying! My '06 MINI would wait 'til I got to about 25 mph, but this thing is on my butt from zero seconds flat. Why?!?

Can it be disabled or delayed at all?


Thanks!
Spike

 

preeeettttty. interior color/fabric?/leather?

 

Ummm, put on the seatbelt before starting the car?

 

No, there are long threads on here about how annoying it is, most of them inundated with the "Friends of Tipper Gore" crowd who ask why in the world you would drive 5 feet out of your driveway without a seatbelt, the kind of people who probably wear helmets in bed because its 3' off the ground.

Don't bother asking them, but you can drop Schatzy62 a PM. He seems to be working on a workaround.

 

Is this seriously an issue that needs to be addressed? If you're going to put your seatbelt on anyway, what difference does it make about the length of time between starting the car and the warning chime?

 

Vic, I'm with Spike on this, and my workaround up till now has been to put on my seatbelt before I start the car, but I gotta tell you that thing is annoying!

Spike, best thing I can tell you is that a few very smart people on NAM are working on it to try and see if they can come up with a solution - I truly hope they do!

 

I put my belt on before I start the care. Hence, no ding.

 

Is it different for the R55 than the R56? I guess I just never thought it was annoying.

 

blugh. i hate the seatbelt 'dinger'. to be honest, i am not a seatbelt wearer... well, i wasnt until i got my MINI. i did test it, and it will shut up after about a minute, but its most frustrating when im just going a couple of blocks away, or jumping out the car and getting back in and it wants me to put it on. I was thinking of some kind of plastic clip that could go in there to make pretend its the actual belt!?

 

Spike that is a great shot of your Horizon Blue - what a beauty!

 

The gong in my 09 Clubman S doesn't usually go on until i get into second gear. Once it activates, NOTHING will shut it up except a seat belt buckle or shutting the car off. Applying the parking brake and getting out of the car does not kill the gong! It keeps going off even though i am no longer in the car!
As a quick fix to the worlds most annoying gong, I find that in appropriate times (i.e. moving the car around on campus: speed limit 15mph) the passenger side seat belt does a great job of killing the seat belt gong. It is almost easier for me to reach and attach the passenger buckle then it is to do the same to the drivers side one.

 

Mission accomplished

 

I know that once you put the belt on you can take it off (drivethrough getting wallet out) and the dong won't go off until you go over 5-10mph.

 

Though I will say that the sound initially annoyed me a bit...as did the blinker's but now I barely notice it, plus I do wear my seatbelt.

 

To all looking for a solution to this. I am working on it but have yet to find all the right things that need to be done to make it stop.

Also there is not adjustment on the volume for all cars, BUT on some cars there is a way to adjust the tone. Now it all depends on the many numerous options that have been installed. I.E. bluetooth, NAV, USB etc all unfortunately play some roll in the volume and why i do not know. It also seems cars with the same options can also vary greatly in the volume of the gong.

Now from the manufacturer and proven thru hours here is how it is supposed to work and does on my 08 clubman.

Driver Seat -
1. when car is started
a. if seatbelt fastened only light in speedo comes on for a short 4-8 seconds
b. if seatbelt not fastend gong and light for 4-8 seconds this is mandated by the federal government by law. And this is the ONLY notification that is mandated by federal law.

2. just after start of car if seatbelt is not fastened
a. if car is not moved after mandatory noitfication then gong should not ding.
b. after 200 meters of travel the gong is to come on and remain on for aprox 5 minutes and then remain off for duration of trip or until car is shut off. (Yes i drove my self nuts three different times testing this. Mine shut off after 4minutes 50 seconds.)

3. if car has moved more than 200 meters and seatbelt is fastened from take off.
a. when seatbelt is removed there should be a 15 second delay before gong dings.
b. if seatbelt is not refastened gong will go off for approximately 5 minutes.

Passanger Seat-
1. same as above
2. same as above
3. no 15 second delay. otherwise same as above.

 

Ditto - Problem Solved

 

+1 for intensely annoying. I'm a resolute seatbelt wearer but there are plenty of times that I wish this horrific bonging would stop.

 

Okay, I'm a fanatic seatbelt wearer, but I start the car first thing when I drop my butt in the seat... that way, the oil gets a chance to start circulating for a couple seconds while I check mirrors, snap seatbelt, and generally arrange myself in the car... I really appreciate that my Subaru doesn't start 'dinging' at me until I've been in the car a few minutes with the seatbelt undone.

If I snap up the seatbelt first thing, then I'm more likely to start the car, drop it into gear immediately and drive off... which I'm sure is less good for my brand new Mini :-)

 

Exactly, jondon.........and that's what I've been finding myself doing - get in, belt up, hit the start button and sometimes before the engine's even really running, it's already in gear (mine's an auto) and I'm trying to drive off.

I guess I'm in for some more behavior modification lessons........I don't know why that thing annoys me so, but it really really does...........it takes a lot to get me annoyed with a car, and for some reason this thing immediately just sets my teeth on edge.........

 

It's supposed to be annoying!

 

Bingo!

 

Wow, I've touched a nerve!

For those who feel my pain in solidarity, I salute you. For those that think this is too benign to worry about, let me explain myself.

I'm all about the experience economy. If I get a good experience out of it, or expect to, that's where I put my money. It even influences my repeat business. Clearly, that's why I bought a MINI. Again. The user experience is really refined and really fun. I LOVE my car! For something I use every damn day, that's important to me.

But here's a situation where I'm just a few days into ownership of this great new experience, I'm walking to......no, I'm frolicking, to my new MINI. I squeeze the handle and pull, get the whoosh of "new car smell" wafting my nostrils as I step in. Everything's pretty much in place where I left off on my last MINI, but things are more refined and tweaked (for better or worse, not today's topic). I've got my favorite features as returning cast members (enormous speedo, iPod cable) and they've brought along some new buddies (multi-hue ambience, xtra cargo space, speedo enourmouser). It's aaaaaaall good!!!

It's exciting to close the door and push in the whacky round key thingy and bring the Maestro of Motoring to life with the touch of a very powerful button and you close your eyes to sound of the racing engi....

<BONG!> <BONG!> <BONG!>

What the?!?

<BONG!> <BONG!>

I'm jerked into panic mode. <BONG!> Euphoria interrupted. <BONG!> It's not my first time in this new car but <BONG!> it still takes me by surprise. <BONG!>



I really hate that thing.



The experience is not everything, but it IS really important to me and how much I like this car. I use it several times, every day. It's important to MINI also because it directly impacts how I answer everyone's question when they see me, "Hey I see you got that new MINI! How do you like it?".

It's much like poorly designed software. You start popping up unnecessary alerts for me to answer too many times and I start looking elsewhere for my computing needs. And no, I won't be pulling out my wallet next year when you want me to upgrade.

Am I taking this stupid <BONG!> too harshly? Probably. But so what? It's rubbing me the wrong way every time I motor up. That's worth scrutinizing.

If it's gov't mandated to show a symbol or flash a light on the IP cluster, fine. I've got no problem with that. But don't assault my ears at point blank range when there's no recourse but dropping the smiles for a panic buckle up. Breaks my groove.

Aaaaaaaaaand now I've said too much. To everyone trying to usurp this pimple of annoyance by some crafty circumvention, I thank you!!


Spike

P.S. Wear those seat belts. Safety first, people.

 

Sorry but I can't relate. Everyone that I bring new into the car likes it and even gets a chuckle out of it. Its another one of those MINI things.
But nowadays I don't even pay attention to it anymore ...

Give it some time.

 

Spike1201 I can HEAR and FEEL your pain. Although it does not bother me I do understand. I have my own annoyances.

The real people to thank for your annoyance is the people that don't wear there seat belt and then cause an crash by doing something stupid and then sue because they got hurt, when in fact they caused the problem in the first place.

Unfortunately i do not have a garage to work in and the weather here in Mass has not gotten to the point i can work out side (it rains every day the temps get above 40) so i have not had to many chances to work on the problem. But as the weather gets better I WILL be working on it. I am not sure that without a change to the computer programing i can get it solved.

But you are a very eloquent writer. "... and bring the Maestro of Motoring to life ...". I love that line.

 

But it is not just "One of Those MINI Things" anymore. My neighbor just got a new Nissian and they have the same situation. It gongs and can not be shut off.