On my 2013 Cooper S (R56), the amber "Vehicle Inspection" maintenance reminder in the CBS system (Condition Based Service) is going on and off without any apparent logic. It started a while ago, went on even if the service interval was not reached yet, then went off by itself in a couple days, and it's now back on again. To be safe, I went in the CBS menu and reset the Vehicle Inspection interval (I believe now shows it's due in 2020, or so) but the light is still on.

Does anybody know if the Vehicle Inspection light could be triggered by some other condition than scheduled maintenance? To be clear, I am talking about this symbol, in the steering-mounted speedo:

 

Following because I have the same issue. Some days when I start the car, it's there, some days, it isn't. Been going on since the first week in December, 2017. Stopped in at the dealer, had them read my fob. Was told I wasn't due for anything and they didn't see it.

 

[MYSTERY SOLVED] In case someone is interested: it appears that MINIs use the same symbol as the "Vehicle Inspection" maintenance reminder, to indicate certain malfunctions. I guess some issues trigger the Check Engine Light, others instead trigger the vehicle inspection light. If it happens to you and you see the "car on a lift" symbol when your MINI is actually not due for a vehicle inspection, go into the menu on your dash, Check Status, and when the vehicle inspection symbol is displayed, hold the BC button (on the turn signal stalk) until you see a cryptic code. In my case, it was a "CC ID 415", which a quick search identified as "Increased Battery Discharge". Basically, the battery voltage drops too much when the car is parked.
Did a bit of research, it could be as simple as a weak battery, an aftermarket accessory directly connected to the battery and drawing too much current, or a malfunction of the Intelligent Battery Sensor, which is a tiny little device attached to the negative connector of the battery (note, not all MINIs have it).
I fully charged my battery with a trickle charger and registered as if it was new (more on this, below), and the light disappeared, but it's too early to say if that fixed the problem. Next step would be a new battery.
Now, what's battery registration? Well, I learned that MINIs with the IBS require a new battery to be registered with the ECU, as apparently the car monitors its state and adjusts the charge levels accordingly (or something along those lines). If you put in a battery of a different type (e.g. from 60AH to 70AH, AGM or non-AGM), you also need to inform the ECU about it. Both actions (registration and type change) require specialized tools, courtesy of MINI/BMW. Being the tinkerer that I am, I looked around and found an Android app called "Carly for BMW": I already had an ELM327 OBD bluetooth adapter (if you don't, get one, they sell for $5 on eBay) so I gave Carly a try and I was able to - for now - get the registration part done. I could also see the function to change the battery type, but I did not use it. If I end up replacing the battery, I'm going to get one with better specs (70AH vs 60AH, higher CCA) and I'll let everybody know if Carly was able to re-set the type.

Couple links I found around:
http://casestudies.atlanticmotorcar....replacement-2/
http://casestudies.atlanticmotorcar....at-does-it-do/

 

 

Quick follow up: in the Carly for BMW app, the function to reset the battery seems to be free, but if you want to change battery type, you need to buy the full version, which is about $60/year. Not an option, for a one-time thing.
Since my car has a 60Ah AGM battery, I need to replace it with one with the same specs. Anyone has a recommendation? I looked around, many 60Ah (H5/47 size) are around 600 CCA, whereas the OEM battery is at 680...

 

Last update: after much consideration, I decided to purchase a BMW/MINI tool (Nexas ND601, about $100) that was supposed to do battery registration, in addition to a bunch of diagnostic stuff. Turned out the tool can only register batteries of the same type, but cannot change the type, which is what I wanted as I was set to get a better battery. So at the end I returned the Nexas, got Carly for one year ($60) and installed a nice Interstate 70Ah AGM ($200). Overall, not a cheap proposition, but still much less than going the OEM/dealership route.
Added benefit, Carly can do coding, so you can use it to change some interesting settings on the car. For example, I enabled the feature that allows me to close windows and sunroof with the remote, which I find very convenient.