2009 MINI Convertible tow

Notes
6
Booklet for US models or in the Warranty and
Service Guide Booklet for Canadian models.
Your vehicle has been specifically adapted and
designed to meet the particular operating con-
ditions and homologation requirements in your
country and continental region in order to
deliver the full driving pleasure while the vehicle
is operated under those conditions. If you wish
to operate your vehicle in another country or
region, you may be required to adapt your vehi-
cle to meet different prevailing operating condi-
tions and homologation requirements. You
should also be aware of any applicable warranty
limitations or exclusions for such country or
region. In such case, please contact Customer
Relations for further information.
Reporting safety defects
For US customers
The following applies only 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 MINI of North
America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, Westwood,
New Jersey 07675-1227,
Telephone 1-800-831-1117.
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 MINI of North
America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153);
go to http://www.safercar.gov; or write to:
Administrator, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20590. You can also obtain
other information about motor vehicle safety
from http://www.safercar.gov
For Canadian customers
Canadian customers who wish to report a
safety-related defect to Transport Canada,
Defect Investigations and Recalls, may call
1-800-333-0510 toll-free from anywhere in
Canada or 1-613-993-9851 from the Ottawa
region and from other countries, or contact
Transport Canada by mail at: Transport Canada,
ASFAD, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks
Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N5.
You can also obtain other information about
motor vehicle safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca

Opening and closing
24
MINI Convertible
The maximum load that may be placed on
the open trunk lid is 175 lbs/80 kg.<
Manual release in the MINI Convertible
In the event of an electrical malfunction, you can
also unlock the tailgate manually.
1.Use the integrated key and open the back-
rest 1 lock.
2.Press button2 and fold down backrest
together with the belt strap.
3.Pull the handle, see arrow. The tailgate is
released.
Closing
Make sure that the closing path of the
tailgate is clear, otherwise injuries may
occur. the tailgate make it easier to pull it down.
Alarm system*
The principle
The alarm system, when activated, reacts if:
>A door, the engine compartment lid or the
tailgate is opened
>There is movement inside the car
>The car's inclination changes, for instance if
an attempt is made to jack it up and steal the
wheels or to raise it prior to towing away
>There is an interruption in the power supply
from the battery
The alarm system briefly indicates unauthorized
entry or tampering by means of:
>An acoustic alarm
>Switching on the hazard warning flashers
Arming and disarming
Whenever the car is locked or unlocked, the
alarm system is armed or disarmed.
Even when the alarm system is armed, you can
open the tailgate by means of the button
on the remote control.
When you subsequently close the tailgate it is
again locked and monitored.
On certain national-market versions,
unlocking via the door lock triggers off the
alarm.<

REFERENCEAT A GLANCE CONTROLS DRIVING TIPS MOBILITY
25
Panic mode*
You can activate the alarm system if you find
yourself in a dangerous situation.
Press the button for at least two seconds.
Switching off the alarm:
Press any button.
Switching off an alarm
>Unlock the car with the remote control.
>Insert the key fully into the ignition lock.
>In cars with convenient access
*, press the
button on the door lock.
Display on the revolution counter
When the system is armed, all LEDs pulse. After
approx. 16 minutes one LED flashes.
>LEDs pulse or LED flashes: system is armed.
>One LED flashes at short intervals:
A door, the bonnet or the tailgate is not
properly closed. Even if these are not closed
fully, the remaining items are deadlocked
and the LEDs pulse after approx. 10 seconds
for approx. 16 minutes. Afterwards, one LED
flashes.
The interior movement detector is not acti-
vated.
>LEDs go out after the vehicle is unlocked:
No attempt was made to tamper with
the car.
>LEDs flash after unlocking until the key is
inserted in the ignition, but for no longer
than approx. 5 minutes: an attempt was
made to tamper with the car.
Tilt alarm sensor
The vehicle's inclination is monitored. The alarm
is triggered, for instance, if an attempt is made
to steal the car's wheels or tow it away.
Interior movement detector
Before the interior movement detector can
operate correctly, the windows and glass roof
must be closed.
MINI Convertible
The passenger compartment is monitored up to
the height of the seat's surface. This way, the
anti-theft alarm system including the interior
motion sensor are armed, even if the convertible
top is open. Falling objects, e.g. tree leaves, may
trigger a false alarm, refer to Avoiding false
alarms.
Avoiding false alarms
The tilt alarm sensor and the interior movement
detector can be switched off together.
This prevents false alarms, e.g. in the following
situations:
>In duplex garages
>When being transported on car-carrying
trains, ferries or trailers
>If pets are to remain inside the car
Switching off the tilt alarm sensor and
interior movement detector
>Press the button on the remote con-
trol twice in succession.
>Lock the vehicle twice with the integrat-
ed key.
LEDs flash in short succession for approx.
2 seconds.
The tilt alarm sensor and the interior movement
detector are switched off until the car is next
unlocked and locked.

REFERENCEAT A GLANCE CONTROLS DRIVING TIPS MOBILITY
33
4.Insert the pins into the respective recess in
the cowl, see arrow.
To lock the convertible top
Turn hexagon wrench in the opposite direction
of arrow 2 until the convertible top is securely
locked.
Please contact your MINI Dealer to have
the electrical malfunction repaired.<
Wind deflector*
With the convertible top open, the wind deflec-
tor keeps air movement in the passenger com-
partment to a minimum, thus providing you with
a more pleasant drive, even at higher speeds.
Do not let the wind deflector come into
contact with pointy objects as these may
damage the net. Do not place objects on the
installed wind deflector. When stowing the wind
deflector, ensure that it is not damaged by
objects.<
Before installing
1.Take the wind deflector out of the pouch.
2.Unfold the wind deflector, see arrows 1.3.Press the locking device together until it
engages, see arrow 2.
Installing and folding up
1.Push out retaining pin 2 on one side until it
engages.
2.Insert wind deflector with retaining pins into
the openings 1 and 2 on that side of the
vehicle.
3.On the opposite side of the vehicle, insert
the retaining pin 1 into the opening, pushing
against the spring load.
4.Push out retaining pin 2 on one side until it
engages.
5.Fold up the upper part of the wind deflector.
If a seat is in its rearmost position, do not
recline the backrest too far, otherwise the
wind deflector could be damaged.<

Opening and closing
34
Removing and folding
Remove the deflector following the reverse
sequence.
Push the release lever towards the center of the
wind deflector and fold both halves together.

Driving
48
If you do not shift gears with the shift paddles or
accelerate for a certain amount of time, the
transmission automatically returns to D, auto-
matic drive.
>Pull one of the shift paddles.
Transmission shifts up.
>Push one of the shift paddles.
Transmission shifts down.
M1 to M6 is displayed in the gear indicator.
Manually unlock the selector lever lock
Should the selector lever refuse to move out of
position P even though the ignition is switched
on, the brake is depressed and the button on the
selector lever is pressed, the selector lever lock
can be overridden:
1.Unclip the sleeve of the selector lever.
2.Pull the sleeve up over the selector lever
until the sleeve is inside out. Disconnect the
cable connector if necessary.
3.Take the hub cover remover1 out of the
onboard tool kit and insert it in the loop on
the front passenger side.
4.Pull the loop up.
5.Move the selector lever into the desired
position by pressing the button on the front
of the selector lever.Only unlock the selector lever lock manu-
ally when the vehicle is to be towed. Do
not forget to firmly apply the parking brake prior
to the tow, otherwise the vehicle may roll
away.<
Turn signals/
headlamp flasher
1Turn signal indicator
2Headlamp flasher
Using turn signals
Press the lever beyond the resistance point.
To turn off manually, press the lever to the resis-
tance point.
Unusually rapid flashing of the indicator
lamp indicates that an indicator bulb has
failed.<
Indicating a turn briefly
Press the lever as far as the resistance point for
as long as you wish to indicate a turn.
Triple turn signal activation
Press the lever as far as the resistance point.
You can set whether the turn signal is to flash
once or three times.

REFERENCEAT A GLANCE CONTROLS DRIVING TIPS MOBILITY
63
Technology for driving comfort
and safety
Park Distance
Control PDC*
The concept
PDC assists you with parking backwards. Acous-
tic signals warn you of the presence of an object
behind the vehicle. To measure the distance,
there are four ultrasonic sensors in either
bumper.
However, an acoustic warning does not sound
until an object is approx. 24 in/60 cm from the
corner sensors, or approx. 5 ft/1.50 m from the
center sensors.
PDC is a parking aid that can indicate
objects when they are approached slowly,
as is usually the case when parking. Avoid
approaching an object at high speed, otherwise
physical circumstances may lead to the system
warning being issued too late.<
Automatic mode
With the engine running or the ignition switched
on, the system is activated automatically after
approx. 1 second when you engage reverse gear
or move the automatic transmission selector
lever to position R. Wait this short period before
driving.
Acoustic signals
As the distance between vehicle and object
decreases, the intervals between the tones
become shorter. If the distance to the nearest
object falls to below roughly 1 ft/30 cm, then a
continuous tone sounds.
If the distance remains constant, e.g. when driv-
ing parallel to a wall, the acoustic signal stops
after approx. 3 seconds.
Adjustments
The volume of the acoustic signals can be
adjusted, refer to the Owner's Manual for Radio.
Malfunction
Indicator lamp comes on: PDC is mal-
functioning. Have the system checked.
To avoid this problem, keep the sensors
clean and free of ice or snow in order to ensure
that they will continue to operate effectively.
When using a high-pressure cleaner, do not
direct the jet toward the sensors for lengthy
periods and only spray from a distance of at least
4in/10cm.
System limitations
Even with PDC, final responsibility for esti-
mating the distance between the vehicle
and any obstructions always remains with the
driver. Sensors, too, have blind spots in which
objects cannot be detected. Moreover, ultra-
sonic detection can reach its physical limits with
objects such as trailer tow bars and couplings,
thin and wedge-shaped objects, etc. Low
objects already indicated, such as curbs, may
enter the sensors' blind spots before or after a
continuous audible signal is given. Higher, pro-
truding objects, such as wall ledges, may not be
detectable. Therefore, always drive cautiously,
otherwise there is a risk of personal injury or
property damage. Loud sound sources outside
or inside the car can drown out the PDC signal.<
Driving stability
control systems
Your MINI has a number of systems that help to
maintain the vehicle's stability even in adverse
driving conditions.
The laws of physics cannot be repealed,
even with driving stability control systems.
An appropriate driving style always remains the
responsibility of the driver. Therefore do not
reduce the additional safety margin by engaging

Lamps
78
Switching interior lamps on/off manually
To switch the interior lamps on/off.
Press the switch.
To switch off the interior lamps permanently,
press the button for about 3 seconds.
Reading lamps*
To switch the reading lamps on and off.
Press the switch.
Ambient lighting*
The color of the ambient lighting can be
changed.
>Press the switch forward.
The color changes in stages, ultimately to
orange.>Press the switch toward the rear.
The color changes in stages, ultimately
to blue.
Intermediate settings and colors are possible.