I'm not sure if my post title is exactly correct (Excessive? Might've been some other word), but it is close. Today, I got a message when starting the car. We just moved about 4 miles up the road from where we used to live, so I've been going back and forth a few times jamming as many items as I could into the MINI. I noticed that my Comfort Access had stopped working, and then after driving off this last time I got that message. Before the move, the car had sat for about 2 weeks (I was driving the 2005 MCS that I am trying to sell), and the whole trip odometer/clock reset thing took place (about 4 times in a row, which seemed odd) which had happened before, but not that many times in a row. I searched to see if other there was a thread about this but didn't see one. Ideas?

 

I've had that problem for awhile now. I just had it in to different dealer( original deal looked at it 3 times, couldn't figure it out and blamed it on the ipod adapter in the secret compartment) and it seemed like they had fixed it, but it has started up again once and awhile.

They said that the programming was all messed up, so they just reinstalled the latest software, apparently the computer was telling different modules to come on when the car was off, so it was draining the battery.

You should make sure to reset the flat tire monitor as well, because I had an incident when it first started happening, that I didn't reset the FTM, and I ended up with a flat, but the FTM didn't go off. I'm not 100% it's related, but better safe than sorry.

Just out of curiosity, is one of your rear license plate lights out? I noticed when it started happening on my car for the second time, that like the first time, one of the rear license plate lights had gone out, and when the 2nd one burned out, the reseting wasn't happening as much.

Hope that helps a bit, at least you know you aren't alone.

 

Hmmm. I have the iPod adaptor, but my iPod is rarely plugged into it (maybe 4x since I bought the car). I wonder if it is the programming; it seems to be sensing the Comfort Access and is working again now, even though I've done nothing different. Even the triangle with the exclamation point to let me know there was a message is now gone.

Good point on the TPMS. I hadn't considered that before.

I'm not sure about the license plate lights. I'll have to check that.

I did read something I found when I "googled" this and apparently people are being told (by the dealers) that the car needs to be driven at highway speed for a while if it mostly used for short trips. Maybe I just need to motor more frequently.

 

I've read this many times

I toss my BS flag

My commute ... which I only do 4 times a week is 3 miles each way. The other days I drive less.

My 07 S is fine . . . .

 

Umm its actually listed in my owners manual that if you expect to have the car undriven for long periods OR drive very short frequent trips you should get a trickle charger since the car cant charge the battery properly on short trips... So it very well could be he discharged the battery with all the short trips he made.

 

If you can still start the car, the battery is being recharged enough during your short trips...

 

I was thinking maybe it was the combo of not being driven for a week or so and the short trips, although the short trips did contain a stretch of about 2 miles or so at highway speeds. Maybe its another one of those "quirks" we're supposed to find "charming."

 

I dont have too much to add other than I had trouble with my battery earlier in the year and the problem has went away since I recharged the battery and now make sure I drive her at highway speeds for at least a little while every week.

I think the *proper* term is "parasitic battery drain" btw.

I hope your problem goes away as simply as mine did!

 

I am pretty sure it wasnt just the short trips too... Most likely it was the combination of both the long time since the last drive and the short trips. Its possible considering that BOTH are factors in battery discharge on this car according to the maker...... If you want to call BS or wave your BS flag you better do it at MINI USA and not the posters here cause you are making yourself look dumb otherwise......

 

Also have MINI check the battery. There have been a lot of complaints about bad batteries that do not hold a charge well. I had one of those batteries. I removed it from the car and charged it for 6 hours. Battery read 12.6 vdc. After letting the battery sit for 24 hours not connected to anything the battery had dropped to about 10.8 vdc. Yes it would still start teh car but it should not have dropped voltage in that period of time when not connected to anything. MINI replaced battery and all is well now.

 

The troubles I had with it would sometimes happen with small trips around town, but when I would drive for an hour on the highway, stop the car, and maybe make a small trip and then come back to the car and the thing would reset, I think there is a problem.
The first dealer told me that it's just the electronics are just very sensitive and that if it senses that the charge has dropped a bit, it will warn you...bla bla bla.. and that it's just how the car is. Well, if I have to reset the clock and my comfort access doesn't work every time I get in the car, that isn't much of a selling point. Hence I say BS, there is a problem.

Things seemed better after I took it into the 2nd dealer and could tell there was a problem, and were fine for awhile, but it still happens sometimes when I haven't driven the car for a bit. But I think it might be that the battery is messed up a bit.. I'll try the trickle charge and let it sit for a day and see what it drops to.

 

It could be a bad battery but it could also be a bad battery connection which would result in an excessive voltage drop during cranking.

Have you or the dealer cleaned the battery and cable terminals? As you may know there is a specialized wire brush tool for this purpose which you can pick up at any Walmart for a couple of bucks.

Also, if you suspect the battery, you can get it checked at some of the national auto repair chains for free.

 

So does everyone having this problem have the comfort access system?? I am also having this problem and have been since November of '09. I only bought my MC in Jan of '09 and it was brand new. I also have the Ipod cord that hooks up under the climate controls and pretty much never unplug my ipod nano. In early January of 2010 (the car wasn't even a year old yet) the Mini dealer replaced my battery and my alternator. Then the car was fine for about 2 months. Then last Saturday I went to get something out of the car and the comfort system didn't work again so I started the car (it started fine I might mention) and the trip and clock were reset and the warning about battery discharge was there. Now my car did sit for about a week undriven due to my having major surgery and I couldn't drive. It has now been at my dealer for over a week and even though they managed to get it to recreate the comfort system not working they got no fault messages when doing a diagnostic. They are having me pick the car up tomorrow with nothing fixed!

 

My car sat for two weeks, afterwhich I couldn't start it. Dealer said it was a bad battery and replaced it.

 

This problem is listed in the owners manual. The Mini isn't engineered for short trips, but rather long distances. I trickle charge mine in cold weather to prevent this from happening (under 10 kilometers is too short, and more than one day is a long time). It's a pain, but shutting down options and features to prevent the battery from dieing is smart. I just wish they sized the battery a wee big bigger.

In fairness I have every power draining option installed on my car, nav system, keyless entry/start, etc... so my experience is likely worse than others who passed on the factory options.

The odd thing with the clock and system reset is that on my nav screen the clock resets but the car still knows what time it is in another subsystem, there are two clocks for some reason. Equally odd is that GPS broadcasts the time yet Mini makes you put it into the nav manually. Well engineered cars with GPS use the GPS signal to display the correct time in the GPS system.

 

This is what I did, they even trickle charged it for free. Thanks Advance Auto Parts!

 

No comfort access for me. The dealership mechanic said that there is a problem with ipod cords (I just have the AUX input cord and that doesnt have any service advisories on it). I dont have the bulletin number on the ipod problem but if you searched some on here, I am betting someone has posted it (it seems like there is a post for anything and everything on NAM ). I would hope that any dealership would be aware of this issue and would have checked it for you but since they cant provide you with any answers, it might be worth it to do a little research and present your information to them.

 

Excuse me ... I DO call it at MINIUSA and/or the dealer. The owner does experience the issue, I do no dispute that.

The cause is being written off to a 'get out of jail clause' written into the owner's manual.

many years ago I bought a car and the owner's manual said that after driving 'on the highway' you should drive slower 'for a time' to cool the engine down to cool it... huh???? What's the time on either side?

Today: short trips may>> . . . unless you drive your MINI under 1000 yards a day I can not expect a good battery to have this problem. MINE DOESN'T.

OR .. MINIUSA define the issue in a specific time/rpm range. Else ... I throw the BS flag to MINI USA...loss of down and play goes back to line of scrimmage.

Penalty - toss of flag . . . . MINI USA ... I call B.S.

the battery is weak (and curiously, altho I've sent MANY to AutoZone for a battery check . . . the OEM battery can check good at AZ and still be VERY damaged goods.)

That's my experience . . . I recommend, invest in a new battery (not from the dealer .... I'm a fan of Optima but many others are just as good)

NO car ... not even my classic driven infrequently .. should need to be hooked to a charger all the time.