So, there are clearly a plethora of "my boot's broke!" threads in the Gen 2 discussion. Despite the odds, I have yet to come across someone else whose post describes my exact symptoms. (Perhaps my search skillz suck.)

Can you help me?

<rant>

After a year and a half of near flawless (read: predictable) service, my boot latch has recently taken on a life of its own. Most notably, it's ALWAYS LOCKED unless I use the remote to unlock it via the "hatch button." If I try to use the center console flip switch or just the "unlock" button on the remote, no juice. If I yell at it, no juice. Nothing, save the "open up my hatch button" on the remote will get it to budge. WTF?

Seriously, a year and a half of dutiful service. Same remote and no other changes to the car. I didn't install a toaster in the dash. I didn't "hack" a laptop into the fuse box. I didn't do anything. How's that hatch lock now? Busted.

Quit whining, you say? Well, unfortunately, I commute 5 days / week with two other people and we are forced to use the boot to store our computer bags and whatnot. With the lock being stupidly busted, I have to turn the car off, eject the remote, and hit the "please for the love of God unlock my hatch / boot / tailgate / trunk button," all while stranded in the middle of any number of drop-off lanes. PITA.

</rant>

Thanks in advance to those of you who are much more skilled than I for helping me to diagnose and fix this problem.

Oh, and as before, PLEASE don't tell me to take it to the dealer. It's about a gazillion miles from my house. Plus, if I step foot onto the dealership with this little niggling issue in hand, I'll certainly find reason to buy a JCW Clubman. I don't need that kind of pressure.

If you're still reading, bless you.

 

Sounds like the electric 'boot-open' switch hidden above your license plate has failed. Corrosion from moisture would be one possible cause.

As a 'work-around'; you can restart the car after ejecting your key/fob if you just push the clutch (or brake in P/N for auto) and press 'start'.

This way you would have key/fob available to open the boot without stopping engine again, for the rest of that trip.

(Or you could carry the second key/fob just for the boot button.)

 

Something that may help your nerves is the "emergency release". What is your build date? Your baby may have this feature.

The 1st gen's had an emergency boot release under the back seat. All you had to do was pull up on the back seat right above the hump, reach under there and you'd find a pull ring that popped open the boot. The reason the engineers put this there was that the battery was in the boot. So if the battery was dead, you could open the boot to service it.

But when the 2nd gens came out the battery was under the bonnet. In April or so of 2008 they realized that the reason for the emergency release had gone away. So they deleted it. I found out that they deleted it about then because my car (built in April of 2008) had the part laying under the seat. But it wasn't connected to anything!

When I complained about it, the dealer installed it but didn't put it under the back seat! They just put it where it pops out from under the plastic at a seam inside the boot! I said that's no good, but the dealer's response was that it's not even supposed to be there anymore. I'm thinking of buying the cable assembly for a 1st gen and installing it myself. Maybe even buy some bike cable and install a better one with a release by the driver's door.

 

If it were anyone else I would recommend that they bring it to the dealer for repair but I certainly wouldn't suggest that you do that. The best thing for you to do is to suffer through this minor equipment failure.

 

I have the same problem with the boot latch always staying lockled, and agree with minimalistic. I just use the fob to open the boot when I need to whether the car doors are locked or not. It is annoying but I think of it as yet another eccentric quirk to the MINI.

It being possessed is a cool theme for Halloween.

 

Ha! I almost snorted my coffee out of my nose when I read your response. Serious or not, thanks for the morning laugh.

 

Kudos to you for this bit of practical advice -- certainly my "hatch rage" kept me from seeing this obvious solution. Thanks, man!

 

I have this problem and my hatch lock isn't broken... the car just locks itself after we do 12 miles an hour on a road, and I do wish there were a way to pop the boot with the key in the ignition. This is one of the few things on my very short wishlist of stuff for MINI to fix in the Gen 3.

 

Random, I think you can "de-program" your locks so that they don't automatically lock, but I don't know that for sure

 

Yeah, I can, but I don't really want to. I'd really just like an interior boot latch release switch. There was one in my cheap Toyota, so it cannot be that expensive to put one in the MINI.

 

You can just hit the center toggle, which should unlock everything, still need to unlatch the hatch (with the rear button or key/fob) to open.

I have never programed for auto-lock at 12mph, but one key/fob was programed for driver's door and two clicks for rest of car.
This meant that the boot lid and gas cover were usually locked and I re-programed it for 'one-touch' unlock of everything.

 

Good point, but my kids have a hard time finding the latch button and pressing it for some reason. That's why I prefer an interior latch release, so that you can open the trunk for other people without leaving the driver's seat. It's also really handy for dropping off passengers that have lots of bags.

 

Am I getting this right? Even if he unlocks all the doors/hatch his hatch button dosn't work. The unlock hatch button on the fob doesn't actually open the hatch, it just unlocks it then you open it with the button on the boot right? Which means that the unlock mechanism (fob, toggle) only unlocks the doors. Could there be a setting that allows this to happen, like when I use the open button from the driver's side it only opens driver's door when set that way.

 

The hatch button on the fob will open the hatch even if it is locked (you will hear the unlatch and see it move slightly open) and when you again close it,
it will be locked.

Unlocking drivers door does not unlock hatch (or gas fill), must press twice if set for 'just driver door' or use central lock/unlock toggle, before the hatch button will open.

 

I have a 2009 MCSa. If I unlock the car by pushing the "unlock doors" button on the fob, the first push unlocks the driver's door, the second click unlocks all the locks (including the boot), but does not pop the boot open a half inch or so. If I use the "unlock boot" button on the fob, the boot unlocks and pops open about half an inch.

The only reason I can see for the difference is that using the two-push method leaves the boot unlocked but not open (which means you don't necessarily need to open it at that time). With the unlock-boot button, you MUST open the hatch at that time or you'll be driving around with it partially open.

As to kids finding the hatch button, seems to me if they are large enough and strong enough to lift the hatch, then they should be able to find the button.

 

For those that really want an interior button to open the hatch, I would think some wiring from the rear switch to a custom mounted button would work. Would take some car electrical skills but seems like it would be possible. ?

Just an FYI, you can program the fobs to unlock all doors/hatch with a single press if you wish.

 

reviving this thread from the dead for my own amusement... and to help anyone with a similar experience.

my MC was in for a scheduled oil change today and i asked the SA to have 'em look at the hatch. turns out that my "possessed hatch" isn't really all that possessed. it's just busted. needs a new actuator in the handle thingy. once replaced, it should be just fine again.

yea!

(oh, and boo to me for mostly refusing to go to the dealer in the first place.)

 

No more procrastinating!