Car Wash for Mini SE

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patash

patash

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This may sound really dumb, but here goes. If I pull up at a parking place and put my car in park, leaving the keys in the car, as soon as I get out and close the door, it completely stops. Can a car wash attendant put the car on the "belt" and leave it in neutral, close the door and it won't shut off? Am I missing something here, or will it stay running and be in neutral without automatically going to park when you get out of the car? Incidentally this is an issue when a passenger stays in the car when the driver gets out to pick up something. As soon as the driver closes his door behind him, the car turns off leaving the passenger without AC or radio or even window controls.
 
I don't remember the answer, but I know there's an entry about it in the manual. There's some system of clicks that is supposed to keep the wheels unlocked.

Getting a seatbelt chime defeat might be easier though.
 
patash said:
This may sound really dumb, but here goes. If I pull up at a parking place and put my car in park, leaving the keys in the car, as soon as I get out and close the door, it completely stops. Can a car wash attendant put the car on the "belt" and leave it in neutral, close the door and it won't shut off? Am I missing something here, or will it stay running and be in neutral without automatically going to park when you get out of the car? Incidentally this is an issue when a passenger stays in the car when the driver gets out to pick up something. As soon as the driver closes his door behind him, the car turns off leaving the passenger without AC or radio or even window controls.
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check 2022 Mini Cooper SE - In Focus: Nits to Pick! - YouTube around the 3 minute mark. If you're new, check the whole range of videos!
 
patash said:
This may sound really dumb, but here goes. If I pull up at a parking place and put my car in park, leaving the keys in the car, as soon as I get out and close the door, it completely stops. Can a car wash attendant put the car on the "belt" and leave it in neutral, close the door and it won't shut off? Am I missing something here, or will it stay running and be in neutral without automatically going to park when you get out of the car? Incidentally this is an issue when a passenger stays in the car when the driver gets out to pick up something. As soon as the driver closes his door behind him, the car turns off leaving the passenger without AC or radio or even window controls.
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insightman said:
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Ah, thanks to Insightman for the list of how to put in neutral. Very clear directions. Haven't tried it yet, but will do.

As to the radio continuing to play -- yes that is true when driver gets out of the vehicle, but I'm in Florida -- it's the AC that I really need to continue to run, without getting out of the passenger seat, going around to the driver's seat and restarting the car so the AC will work and wait there till the driver comes back. I can't restart the car without putting my foot on the brake.
 
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You can tell the AC to continue to run for 30 minutes before getting out. It's not full blast, but it's something.
 
patash said:
Ah, thanks to Insightman for the list of how to put in neutral. Very clear directions. Haven't tried it yet, but will do.

As to the radio continuing to play -- yes that is true when driver gets out of the vehicle, but I'm in Florida -- it's the AC that I really need to continue to run, without getting out of the passenger seat, going around to the driver's seat and restarting the car so the AC will work and wait there till the driver comes back. I can't restart the car without putting my foot on the brake.
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My car asks me if I want to enable comfort climate when I turn it off. This keeps the A/C (or heat) running for 30 minutes after you turn off the car. Meant for a passenger while you make a quick stop. I also use it on very hot days just to keep the car cool for me.

I forget if I had to enable a setting to have this appear automatically. Check your owner’s manual.


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GetOffYourGas said:
My car asks me if I want to enable comfort climate when I turn it off. This keeps the A/C (or heat) running for 30 minutes after you turn off the car. Meant for a passenger while you make a quick stop. I also use it on very hot days just to keep the car cool for me.

I forget if I had to enable a setting to have this appear automatically. Check your owner’s manual.
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Good luck finding info in the manual on using the Climate Control system after turning off the SE. The Owners Manual hints in the Climate Control section that you can "Activate now," even though "Activate comfort climate now" is the actual menu item. The Owners Manual doesn't explain that this menu item appears when you shut off the SE ( hence the "GOODBYE" below).

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insightman said:
Good luck finding info in the manual on using the Climate Control system after turning off the SE. The Owners Manual hints in the Climate Control section that you can "Activate now," even though "Activate comfort climate now" is the actual menu item. The Owners Manual doesn't explain that this menu item appears when you shut off the SE ( hence the "GOODBYE" below).

View attachment 21163
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That’s the screen. Just check that box after you power the car off and the A/C or heat will keep on keepin’ on.


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I quietly wept for your MINI's clearcoat.

Hand washing the SE with 1 bucket rinseless takes about 20 minutes but not everyone has a garage. I'm just glad I don't need a stepladder to clean the roof.
 
To keep the SE "running" (no need to run per se, but to keep it powered on) see @F14Scott's post on seat belt dummies. I got them and they work great to keep my dog from triggering the seat belt warning. If you put one in the driver side then the SE stays "on" when you exit the vehicle.
 
teslarati97 said:
Hand washing the SE with 1 bucket rinseless takes about 20 minutes but not everyone has a garage. I'm just glad I don't need a stepladder to clean the roof.
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How dirty is your car when it only takes you 20 minutes to do a wash? I got some Optimum No Rinse a while back to see if I could cut down on wash time, but I was scared of scratching the paint so I made sure it got really wet, but then I had to spend much longer than 20 minutes (can't remember how long) doing that and drying it. Maybe if the car had just a light dusting after driving for a few days in no rain? My problem is I always wait too long or after it's rained, and by then the car is too dirty and it scares me to only wash with the No Rinse.
 
Newkirk said:
How dirty is your car when it only takes you 20 minutes to do a wash? I got some Optimum No Rinse a while back to see if I could cut down on wash time, but I was scared of scratching the paint so I made sure it got really wet, but then I had to spend much longer than 20 minutes (can't remember how long) doing that and drying it. Maybe if the car had just a light dusting after driving for a few days in no rain? My problem is I always wait too long or after it's rained, and by then the car is too dirty and it scares me to only wash with the No Rinse.
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It's MUCH easier after you get a ceramic coating (mostly for surface marring prevention) for the paint and wheels.

For me the most efficient way is to use a laser cut sponge + microfiber towel and dry off with The Rag Company gauntlet v2 towel. Dunk the sponge and towel in the rinseless bucket 256:1 (1oz. rinseless per 2 gal for ONR) use both sides of the sponge (weight of sponge only..no downward pressure), then follow up with the microfiber towel for extra coverage and all the tricky areas (mirrors, door handles, door jambs). Toss the sponge & microfiber towel in the bucket and then dry the section off. The more times you have to go back to the rinseless bucket, the longer the wash will take. The SE is such a breeze because it's so small!

Alternatively you can do the traditional soap method and dry off with an electric leaf blower but that's too loud for my liking (in a garage).
 
teslarati97 said:
It's MUCH easier after you get a ceramic coating (mostly for surface marring prevention) for the paint and wheels.

For me the most efficient way is to use a laser cut sponge + microfiber towel and dry off with The Rag Company gauntlet v2 towel. Dunk the sponge and towel in the rinseless bucket 256:1 (1oz. rinseless per 2 gal for ONR) use both sides of the sponge (weight of sponge only..no downward pressure), then follow up with the microfiber towel for extra coverage and all the tricky areas (mirrors, door handles, door jambs). Toss the sponge & microfiber towel in the bucket and then dry the section off. The more times you have to go back to the rinseless bucket, the longer the wash will take. The SE is such a breeze because it's so small!

Alternatively you can do the traditional soap method and dry off with an electric leaf blower but that's too loud for my liking (in a garage).
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I keep meaning to visit our local Stihl dealer to see how quiet the supposedly "quietest" leaf-blower, their $200 BGA 57, really is.
 
Newkirk said:
How dirty is your car when it only takes you 20 minutes to do a wash? I got some Optimum No Rinse a while back to see if I could cut down on wash time, but I was scared of scratching the paint so I made sure it got really wet, but then I had to spend much longer than 20 minutes (can't remember how long) doing that and drying it.
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I timed my maintenance wash on the SE today at 17min 53 seconds. Of that time 3 minutes was mostly setup for the rinseless solution (waiting for the bucket to fill up and mixing) so I guess you can do a basic rinseless wash in 15 minutes or so.

If you want to be a little quicker I suppose you could do the Garry Dean 10+ towel (panel) method and then you can just put a lid on the clean rinseless solution for next time.
 
teslarati97 said:
I timed my maintenance wash on the SE today at 17min 53 seconds. Of that time 3 minutes was mostly setup for the rinseless solution (waiting for the bucket to fill up and mixing) so I guess you can do a basic rinseless wash in 15 minutes or so.

If you want to be a little quicker I suppose you could do the Garry Dean 10+ towel (panel) method and then you can just put a lid on the clean rinseless solution for next time.
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Wow, that's fast. I'll have to try it soon! Do you also do a rinseless wash when the car is very dirty, like after a lot of rain?
 
Newkirk said:
Wow, that's fast. I'll have to try it soon! Do you also do a rinseless wash when the car is very dirty, like after a lot of rain?
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Yes you can but you have to pre-treat with a rinseless spray first. Most people recommend making a larger batch in the bucket and dunking the spray bottle to fill it up like the IK MULTI Pro 2 sprayer. Generally it should be fine if you are in a shaded area (or garage).

I don't use ONR, but I believe that the cap should be 1/2 oz so it's easy to get the 1:256 dilution ratio (1 oz per 2 gal water).
 
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