
 3
AT A GLANCE REFERENCE MOBILITYCONTROLS DRIVING TIPS COMMUNICATIONS
CONTENTS
The fastest way to find information on a particu-
lar topic or item is by using the index, refer to 
page172.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
6Reporting safety defects
AT A GLANCE
10Cockpit
CONTROLS
18Opening and closing
35Adjustments
41Transporting children safely
44Driving
53Controls overview
62Technology for driving comfort and safety
73Lamps
78Climate
83Practical interior accessories
DRIVING TIPS
92Things to remember when driving
COMMUNICATIONS
102Telephone
MOBILITY
116Refueling
118Wheels and tires
127Under the hood
131Maintenance
133Care
137Replacing components
148Giving and receiving assistance
152Indicator and warning lamps
REFERENCE
166Technical data
172Everything from A to Z 

 5
AT A GLANCE REFERENCE MOBILITYCONTROLS DRIVING TIPS COMMUNICATIONS
For your safety
Maintenance and repair
Advanced technology, e.g. the use of 
modern materials and powerful electron-
ics, requires specially adapted maintenance and 
repair methods. Therefore, have the necessary 
work on your MINI only carried out by a MINI 
dealer or a workshop that has specially trained 
personnel working in accordance with the 
specifications of the MINI manufacturer. If this 
work is not carried out properly, there is a dan-
ger of subsequent damage and related safety 
hazards.<
Parts and accessories
For your own safety, use genuine parts 
and accessories approved by the manu-
facturer of the MINI.
When you purchase accessories tested 
and approved by the manufacturer of the MINI 
and Original MINI Parts, you simultaneously 
acquire the assurance that they have been thor-
oughly tested by the manufacturer of the MINI 
to ensure optimum performance when installed 
on your vehicle.
The manufacturer of the MINI warrants these 
parts to be free from defects in material and 
workmanship.
The manufacturer of the MINI will not accept any 
liability for damage resulting from installation of 
parts and accessories not approved by the man-
ufacturer of the MINI.
The manufacturer of the MINI cannot test every 
product made by other manufacturers to verify 
i f  i t  c a n  b e  u s e d  o n  a  M I N I  s a f e l y  a n d  w i t h o u t  r i s k  
to either the vehicle, its operation, or its occu-
pants.
Original MINI Parts, MINI Accessories and other 
products approved by the manufacturer of the 
MINI, together with professional advice on using 
these items, are available from all MINI dealers.Installation and operation of accessories that 
have not been approved by the manufacturer of 
your MINI, such as alarms, radios, amplifiers, 
radar detectors, wheels, suspension compo-
nents, brake dust shields, telephones, including 
operation of any mobile phone from within the 
vehicle without using an externally mounted 
antenna, or transceiver equipment, for instance, 
CBs, walkie-talkies, ham radios or similar acces-
sories, may cause extensive damage to the vehi-
cle, compromise its safety, interfere with the 
vehicle's electrical system or affect the validity of 
the MINI Limited Warranty. See your MINI dealer 
for additional information.<
Maintenance, replacement, or repair of 
the emission control devices and systems 
may be performed by any automotive repair 
establishment or individual using any certified 
automotive part.<
California Proposition 65 warning
California law requires us to issue the following 
warning:
Engine exhaust and a wide variety of 
automobile components and parts, 
including components found in the interior fur-
nishings in a vehicle, contain or emit chemicals 
known to the State of California to cause cancer 
and birth defects and reproductive harm. In 
addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and 
certain products of component wear contain or 
emit chemicals known to the State of California 
to cause cancer and birth defects or other repro-
ductive harm.
Battery posts, terminals and related accessories 
contain lead and lead compounds. Wash your 
hands after handling.
Used engine oil contains chemicals that have 
caused cancer in laboratory animals. Always 
protect your skin by washing thoroughly with 
soap and water.< 

Notes
6
Service and warranty
We recommend that you read this publication 
thoroughly.
Your MINI is covered by the following warran-
ties:
>New Vehicle Limited Warranty
>Rust Perforation Limited Warranty
>Federal Emissions System Defect Warranty
>Federal Emissions Performance Warranty
>California Emission Control System Limited 
Warranty
Detailed information about these warranties is 
listed in the Service and Warranty Information 
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 registration requirements. You should 
also be aware of any applicable warranty limita-
tions or exclusions for such country or region. In 
such a 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 that 
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 tele-
phone the toll-free hotline 1-800-333-0510. 
You can also obtain other information about 
motor vehicle safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca/
roadsafety 

 11
AT A GLANCE REFERENCE MOBILITYCONTROLS DRIVING TIPS COMMUNICATIONS
3Always Open Timer55
7Ignition lock44
8Buttons
* on steering wheel
9Horn: the entire surface
10Adjusting the steering wheel40
11Releasing the hood127 4Tachometer12
Instrument lighting76
Resetting the trip odometer53
5
Wiper system49
6Switching the ignition on/off and 
starting/stopping the engine44
Continuing cruise control
*51
Right:
Storing speed and accelerating or 
decelerating
Left:
Increase or reduce volume
Activating/deactivating cruise 
control
*52
Telephone
*:
Accepting and ending a call, start-
ing dialing
* of selected phone 
number and redialing if no phone 
number is selected
Activating/deactivating voice acti-
vation system
*
Changing the radio station
Selecting a music track
Scrolling through the redial list 

 15
AT A GLANCE REFERENCE MOBILITYCONTROLS DRIVING TIPS COMMUNICATIONS
1MINI: microphone for voice processing sys-
tem
* and for hands-free telephone*
MINI Convertible: microphone in the steer-
ing column
2Indicator/warning lamp
* for front passen-
ger airbags71
4Hazard warning flashers
5Speedometer12
6Radio/CD, refer to separate owner's manual
7Air conditioner or automatic climate 
control
*788Switches in the center console
9AUX-IN port, USB audio interface*85
10Driving stability control systems
>Dynamic Stability Control DSC63
>Dynamic Traction Control
 DTC* 63
11Sport button
*64 3
Reading lamps
*77
Color of ambient lighting
*77
Glass sunroof, electric
*28
MINI Convertible: opening and clos-
ing the sliding/tilting roof30
Interior lamps77
Temperature
Recirculated-air mode
Air distribution for air conditioner
Air distribution to the windshield
*
Air distribution to the upper body 
area
*
Air distribution to the footwell*
Automatic air distribution and flow 
rate
*
Maximum cooling*
Cooling function
Defrosting windows
*
Rear window defroster 
Windshield heating
*
Air flow rate
Seat heating
*38
Power windows29
MINI Convertible: central power 
window unit29
Rear fog lamp
*76
Fog lamps
*76
Central locking system, inside23 

Technology for driving comfort and safety
70
tute for proper tire maintenance, and it is the 
driver's responsibility to maintain correct tire 
pressure, even if underinflation has not reached 
the level at which the TPMS low tire pressure tell-
tale illuminates.
The TPMS malfunction indicator is combined 
with the low tire pressure telltale. When the sys-
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will flash 
for approximately one minute and then remain 
continuously lit. This sequence will continue 
upon subsequent vehicle startups as long as the 
malfunction exists. When the malfunction indi-cator is illuminated, the system may not be able 
to detect or signal low tire pressure as intended. 
TPMS malfunctions may occur for a variety of 
reasons, including the installation of replace-
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the vehicle 
that prevent the TPMS from functioning prop-
erly. Always check the TPMS malfunction telltale 
after replacing one or more tires or wheels on 
your vehicle to ensure that the replacement or 
alternate tires and wheels allow the TPMS to 
continue to function properly.
Airbags
The following airbags are located under the 
marked covers:
MINI:
1Front airbags
2Side airbags in backrests
3Head airbags at the front and rearMINI Convertible:
1Front airbags
2Side/head airbags in the backrests
Protective effect
Observe the instructions on page35 to 
ensure the best possible personal protec-
tion.<
The front airbags help protect the driver and 
front passenger by responding to frontal 
impacts in which safety belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When needed, the head 
and side airbags help provide protection in the 
event of side impact. The relevant side airbag 
supports the side upper body area. The head air 
bag supports the head.
The side/head airbag in the MINI Convertible 
protects the head during impact.The airbags are designed to not be triggered in 
every type of collision, e.g. not in minor acci-
dents, certain rollover situations or rear impacts.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the 
cover panels of the airbags, cover them or 
modify them in any other way.
Keep the dashboard and window on the passen-
ger side free from obstruction, i.e. do not cover it 
with adhesive film or coverings, and do not affix 
any holders such as for a navigation device or a 
mobile phone.
Do not attach seat covers, cushions or other 
objects not specifically approved for seats with  

 85
AT A GLANCE REFERENCE MOBILITYCONTROLS DRIVING TIPS COMMUNICATIONS
Glove compartment
Opening
Press the button to open the cover. 
The light in the glove compartment comes on.
Closing
Fold cover up.
To prevent injury in the event of an acci-
dent, close the glove compartment after 
use while the vehicle is being driven.<
MINI Convertible: locking
Use the integrated key to lock the remote con-
trol system, refer to page18.
Ventilation*
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, the 
glove compartment can be ventilated and, if the 
cooling function
* is switched on, can also be 
cooled.
Opening
Rotate the switch in the direction of the arrow.
Closing
Rotate the switch in the opposite direction of the 
arrow until it is in the vertical position.
Depending on the temperature setting of the air 
conditioning or the automatic climate control, 
high temperatures may result in the glove com-
partment.
Center armrest*
Storage compartment
The center armrest between the front seats con-
tains either a compartment or the cover for the 
mobile phone base plate
* or the snap-in 
adapter
*.
Opening
The cover slides along guide rails and can be 
opened fully by pushing it back and lifting it.
Closing
Push the cover forward.
Connection for external 
audio device
>iPods/iPhones or USB devices such as MP3 
players and USB memory sticks: connect via 
the USB audio interface.
>iPhone/mobile phone music players: con-
nect via the snap-in adapter
*, refer to the 
separate Owner's Manual. Playback is only 
possible if there is no device connected to 
the USB audio interface. 

Practical interior accessories
86
>When connecting two Apple devices such as 
an iPod via the USB audio interface and an 
iPhone via the snap-in adapter
*, one of the 
respective devices will be supported for 
audio playback.
Connecting via the USB audio interface
1Connection for audio playback:
TRS connector 1/8"/3.5 mm
2USB interface
*
Apple iPod/iPhone
Use the special cable adapter for Apple iPods/
iPhones to produce the connection. The cable 
adapter is required for a proper connection.
For additional information, contact your MINI 
dealer or visit the Internet at www.mini.com/
connectivity.
To play audio tracks over the car's speaker sys-
tem, connect the iPod to ports 1 and 2.
The iPod/iPhone's menu structure is supported 
by the USB audio interface.
USB device
To play audio tracks over the car's speaker sys-
tem, connect the USB device to port2.
To control an external audio device via the radio, 
refer to the owner's manual for the radio.
Notes
Do not expose the audio device to 
extreme environmental conditions, e. g. 
very high temperatures, refer to the Owner's 
Manual of the audio device. Otherwise, the 
audio device may become damaged, which 
could compromise safety while driving.<>The USB audio interface supplies the con-
nected audio devices with power, provided 
that this is supported by the audio device. 
Therefore, do not connect the USB audio 
device to the power socket in the vehicle 
during operation.
>Do not forcibly connect the plug to the USB 
interface.
>Do not connect devices such as fans or 
lamps to the USB audio interface.
>Do not connect USB hard discs.
>Do not use the USB audio interface to charge 
external devices.
Storage compartments
In the vehicle interior
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, you 
will find storage compartments in the doors, 
next to the rear seats and in the center console
*.
The map compartments in the MINI Convertible 
are located next to the rear seats.
Nets
* are located in the passenger footwell and 
on the backs of the front seat backrests.
Storage compartment on the front 
passenger side*
Opening
Briefly press the bottom edge of the cover.
Closing
Push the cover back into its original position.
To prevent injury in the event of an acci-
dent, close the storage compartment after 
use while the vehicle is being driven.<