CONTENTS
2
© 2002 Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft
Munich, Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts, only with the
written consent of BMW AG, Munich.
Order No. 01 41 0 156 890
US English VIII/02
Printed in Germany
Printed on environmentally friendly paper –
bleached without chlorine, suitable for recycling.
Notes
About this Owner's Manual6
Symbols used6
Your individual vehicle6
Editorial notice7
For your own safety7
Symbol on vehicle parts8
Service and warranty8
Reporting safety defects8
At a glance
Cockpit12
Display elements13
Display elements with navigation
system14
Indicator and warning lamps15
Multifunction steering wheel19
Controls and features
Opening and closing:
Keys22
Central locking system23
Opening and closing – from outside23
Opening and closing – from inside26
Tailgate27
Electric power windows28
Sliding/tilt sunroof29
Roller sun blind30
Alarm system31
Adjustments:
Safe seating position33
Seat adjustment34
Entry to the rear35
Heated seats36
Head restraints37
Safety belts38
Steering wheel38
Mirrors39
Airbags40
Transporting children safely41
Vehicle Memory44
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NOTES
Installation and operation of non-MINI
approved accessories such as alarms,
radios, amplifiers, radar detectors, wheels,
suspension components, brake dust
shields, telephones – including operation of
any portable cellular phone from within
the vehicle without using an externally
mounted antenna – or transceiver equip-
ment – e.g. CB, walkie-talkie, ham radio or
similar – may cause extensive damage to
the vehicle, compromise its safety, inter-
fere with the vehicle's electrical system or
affect the validity of the MINI Limited
Warranty. See your MINI Dealer for addi-
tional information.
<
Maintenance, replacement, or repair
of the emission control devices and
systems may be performed by any auto-
motive repair establishment or individual
using any certified automotive part.
<
Symbol on vehicle parts
Indicates that you should consult the
relevant section of this Owner's Man-
ual for information on a particular part or
assembly.
Service and warranty
This manual is supplemented by a Service
and Warranty Information Booklet for US
models or a Warranty and Service Guide
Booklet for Canadian models.
We recommend that you read this publica-
tion thoroughly.
Your MINI is covered by the following
warranties:
>
New Vehicle Limited Warranty
>
Rust Perforation Limited Warranty
>
Federal Emissions System Defect
Warranty
>
Federal Emissions Performance
Warranty
>
California Emission Control System Lim-
ited Warranty
Detailed information about these warran-
ties is listed in the Service and Warranty
Information Booklet for US models or in the
Warranty and Service Guide Booklet for
Canadian models.
Reporting safety defects
The following only applies to vehicles
owned and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause
injury or death, you should immediately
inform the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration NHTSA in addition to
notifying the MINI Division of BMW of
North America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, West-
wood, New Jersey 07675-1227,
Telephone toll-free 1-866-275-6464.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it
may open an investigation, and if it finds
that a safety defect exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy
campaign. However, NHTSA cannot
become involved in individual problems
between you, your dealer, or BMW of North
America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may either
call the Auto Safety Hotline toll-free
at 1-800-424-9393 or 366-0123 in
Washington, D.C. area, or write to:
NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Washington, D.C. 20590. You can also
obtain other information about motor
vehicle safety from the Hotline.
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23
OVERVIEW REPAIRS OPERATIONCONTROLS DATA INDEX
CENTRAL LOCKING SYSTEM OPENING AND CLOSING – FROM OUTSIDEThe conceptThe central locking system is ready for
operation whenever the driver's door is
closed. The doors, the tailgate and the fuel
filler door are unlocked or locked.
The central locking system secures your
MINI:
>When operated from the outside via the
remote control as well as via the door
lock
>When operated from the inside via a
switch
>Automatically, as soon as you start driv-
ing.
If operated from outside, the anti-theft sys-
tem is activated at the same time. This pre-
vents the doors from being unlocked via
safety lock buttons or door handles.
The alarm system is also armed or dis-
armed; refer to page 31.
In the event of an accident, the central lock-
ing system unlocks automatically. The haz-
ard warning system and interior lamps are
also switched on.
Via remote controlThe remote control gives you an exception-
ally convenient method for unlocking and
locking your vehicle. It also offers another
function:
To open the tailgate, refer to page 24.
The tailgate will open slightly, the vehicle is
unlocked at the same time.
Whenever you unlock/lock the vehicle, you
simultaneously deactivate/activate the
anti-theft system and optional alarm sys-
tem and the interior lamps are switched
on/off.
If the vehicle has been properly locked
using the remote control, the hazard warn-
ing system lights up once.
When the vehicle is unlocked, the hazard
warning system does not react.
Children might be able to lock the
doors from the inside. Always take
the vehicle keys with you so that the vehi-
cle can be opened again from the outside at
any time.<
For US owners only The transmitter and receiver units comply
with part 15 of the FCC, Federal Communi-
cations Commission, regulations. Opera-
tion is governed by the following:
FCC ID: LX8765S
LX8765E
LX8CAS
Compliance statement:
This device complies with part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the fol-
lowing two conditions:
>This device may not cause harmful inter-
ference, and
>this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modifications or
changes to these devices could void
the user's authority to operate this equip-
ment.<
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OPENING AND CLOSING – FROM OUTSIDE1Unlocking and opening the tailgate
2Locking and securing
If the remote control does not react,
the battery is discharged. In the event
of a system malfunction, please contact
your MINI Dealer. You can also obtain
replacement keys and batteries there.
Battery changing, see page 22.<
To unlock1. Press button 1 once to unlock the dri-
ver's door only
2. Press button 1 a second time to unlock
the other door as well as the tailgate and
the fuel filler door.
You can have this function activated/
deactivated by your MINI Dealer.<
When the vehicle is unlocked, the hazard
warning system does not react.To open the tailgateHold button 1 pressed for approx. five sec-
onds. The tailgate opens slightly.
The vehicle is simultaneously
unlocked, and the anti-theft system
and optional alarm system are deactivated.
After closing the tailgate the vehicle must
be locked again and secured, see next col-
umn.<
You can have the opening of the tail-
gate with the remote control acti-
vated/deactivated.<
Before and after a trip, be sure that
the tailgate was not opened uninten-
tionally.<
To lock and securePress button 2.
The hazard warning system flashes once.
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OVERVIEW REPAIRS OPERATIONCONTROLS DATA INDEX
OPENING AND CLOSING – FROM OUTSIDETo turn off tilt alarm sensor* and
interior protection* Press button 2 again directly after locking.
For more on the tilt alarm sensor and inte-
rior protection, see page 32.Non-MINI systemsExternal systems or devices may cause local
interference in the functions of the remote
control.
In this case, use the master key to unlock
the door lock.
Via the door lock
Do not lock the vehicle if there are
passengers still inside, because they
cannot unlock the doors.<
1. One turn of the key in the driver's
door lock unlocks the driver's door only
2. Turning the key a second time unlocks
the other door, the tailgate and the fuel
filler door.
You can have this function activated/
deactivated by your MINI Dealer.<
If the vehicle has been properly locked, the
hazard warning system flashes once.
When the vehicle is unlocked, the hazard
warning system does not react.
Manual operation – in the event of electrical malfunction –
Turn the key to the extreme left or right to
unlock/lock the door.Convenience operationYou can also open the power windows and
the sliding/tilt sunroof via the door lock.
With the door closed, hold the key in the
unlock position.
You can have this function activated/
deactivated by your MINI Dealer.<
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OVERVIEW REPAIRS OPERATIONCONTROLS DATA INDEX
ALARM SYSTEM
*
The concept
The alarm system reacts if:
>A door, the bonnet or the tailgate is
opened
>There is any movement inside the vehicle
– interior motion sensor
>There is a change in the tilt angle of the
vehicle, e. g. during attempts to steal
wheels or tow away the vehicle
>There is interruption of the battery volt-
age.
Depending on the country-specific version,
the alarm system signals unauthorized
entry or tampering in different ways:
>Acoustic alarm for 30 seconds
>Turning on the hazard warning flashers
for approx. five minutes.
To arm and disarm the alarm systemWhen the vehicle is locked or unlocked via
the driver's door lock or with the remote
control, the alarm system is also simulta-
neously armed or disarmed.
The interior motion and tilt alarm sensors
are also activated with the closing action.
The alarm system cannot be armed if
the driver's door is not properly
closed.
In some country-specific versions the alarm
system can only be operated with the
remote control.
Unlocking these vehicles with the key trig-
gers the alarm.
To stop the alarm:
Press button 1 – unlock –
or
turn the ignition key to position 1.<
Indicator lampAlarm system:
>Indicator lamp in the wiper system lever
changes after 10 seconds from fast blink-
ing to constant flashing:
The system is activated
>Indicator lamp does not react:
Doors, bonnet or tailgate are not prop-
erly closed.
Even if these are not closed any more,
the alarm system is activated and
secures the remaining part of the vehi-
cle. If everything is closed, the indicator
lamp changes after 10 seconds from fast
blinking to constant flashing
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32
ALARM SYSTEM
*
>Indicator lamp goes out when the sys-
tem is disarmed:
No tampering with your vehicle has been
detected
>Indicator lamp continues to flash at a
slow rate after the system is disarmed:
Your vehicle has been tampered with.
The indicator lamp will not go out until
the ignition key is turned in the ignition
lock or the alarm system is re-armed.
Interior motion sensor:
>Indicator lamp does not react:
Doors or tailgate are not properly closed
>Indicator lamp flashes constantly:
Only driver/passenger window and slid-
ing/tilt sunroof is open.
Interior motion sensor is not activated.
Alarm system is armed
>Indicator lamp is lit somewhat longer
and then flashes constantly:
Window and/or sliding/tilt sunroof were
closed after the system was armed:
interior motion sensor is not activated.
Avoiding unwanted alarm The tilt alarm and interior motion sensors
may be turned off at the same time. This
will prevent unwanted alarms, e.g. in
duplex garages or when on car transport
trains:
Lock the vehicle twice – activating:
Press button 2 of the remote control twice
in succession, see page 25
or
lock with the key twice, see page 25.
The indicator lamp goes from fast blinking
to regular blinking. After approx. ten sec-
onds the indicator lamp changes to con-
stant flashing. The tilt alarm and interior
motion sensors are deactivated until the
system is disarmed.
Interior motion sensorTransmitter and receiver of the interior
motion sensor system are found under a
cover in the vehicle roof.
For the interior motion sensor to function
properly, the windows, sliding/tilt sunroof
and doors must be closed.
Turn off the interior motion sensor – see
previous column – if
>children or animals remain in the vehicle
>windows or the sliding/tilt sunroof
remain open.
The tilt alarm and interior motion
sensors are inadvertently turned off if
the convenience closing of windows and
sliding/tilt sunroof is interrupted in the
first 10 seconds and then restarted. The
alarm must then be disarmed and reacti-
vated.<
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VEHICLE MEMORY How the system functionsNo doubt you have often reflected on how
great it would be if you could configure
your vehicle's various adjustment settings
to meet your own personal requirements.
In developing this vehicle, the manufac-
turer of the MINI has incorporated a num-
ber of options that your MINI Dealer can
program to reflect your individual prefer-
ences.
What the system can doYour MINI Dealer can provide you with
details on the capabilities of the Vehicle
Memory system.
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Automatic locking after starting to drive,
see page 26
>Selective central locking system, see
pages 24, 25
>Automatically opening the sliding/tilt
sunroof, see page 29
>Convenience opening, see pages 24,
25, 26
>Delayed lighting shut off, "Follow-me-
home" lamps, see page 52
>Daytime driving lamps, see page 52
>Speed-dependent windshield wipers, see
page 55
>Acoustic ignition key warning,
see page 45
>Fuel consumption display, see page 61
>Temperature display, see page 61
>Volume control PDC, see page 66
>Acoustic alarm for starting PDC
activation, see page 66This symbol alerts you to Vehicle
Memory functions in the Owner's
Manual<
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