New SE Observations

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by drdunkyn, Jun 20, 2022.

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  1. drdunkyn

    drdunkyn Well-Known Member

    WRT the roll. It is incline-dependent, indeed. The amount of "idle" power forward isn't sufficient to keep it from creeping backwards on moderate inclines, such as my short driveway (<10deg). It's not a full unimpeded roll, but definitely such that if you don't maintain the electrons it will continue moving backward. On less steep grades it will roll back just a couple inches. If you apply the friction brake, it WILL hold that when you come off to prevent rollback. I guess I don't mind it as it keeps me practiced using the brake when driving ICE. And yes, I ONLY drive in the strong regen mode.
     
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  3. Rexsio

    Rexsio Well-Known Member

    My act the same and I’m assuming this is correct way
     
  4. CrazyLegs17

    CrazyLegs17 New Member

    First time, long time here... I've been lurking for a couple months since I bought a like-new used 2022 MINI SE in SoCal. I love to crowdsource information and troubleshoot. I'm also the kind of nerd who reads instruction manuals cover-to-cover in hopes of finding every hidden setting and option.

    I found it interesting to see that folks have experienced roll with the vehicle on inclines. There are two sections I recalled from the owner's manual:

    Drive-off assistant
    Concept
    This system supports driving off on uphill grades. The parking brake is not required.
    Driving off with the drive-off assistant
    1. Hold the vehicle in place with the foot brake.
    2. Release the foot brake and drive off without delay.
    After the foot brake is released, the vehicle is held in place for approx. 2 seconds.


    I confirmed this worked for me when driving home from the airport. There is a steep incline near a railroad crossing. I used to two-foot the pedals in the old car to prevent the car from rolling backwards. With the SE I was able to just let off the brake pedal and accelerate away.

    The other section is more general:

    Hold function
    Concept
    The system holds the vehicle automatically when gear is engaged. This prevents rolling against the direction of travel. In selector lever position D, the vehicle cannot roll backwards. In selector lever position R, it cannot roll forward. The brake pedal does not have to be pressed.
    Reducing energy consumption
    To reduce energy consumption when the hold function is activated, activate the parking brake or engage the selector lever in position P when the vehicle is stopped for long periods of time.
    The hold function can be affected by the vehicle's load and the road incline. If needed, a Check Control message will appear and position P will be selected automatically.


    If the brake is never actuated after a complete stop, perhaps the incline is too steep for the hold function to work in the manner of the drive-off assist.

    I look forward to continuing to learn and many miles of happy motoring. Cheers!
     
  5. drdunkyn

    drdunkyn Well-Known Member

    Yep, exactly as I said, my use-case does not include use of the brake pedal. A moderate incline is able to overcome the forward force from an SE that has decelerated using high-level regen braking, and car slowly glides backwards. I thought I was just providing helpful insight, but as it seems I'm in the minority of people trying this on an incline I'll make a video tomorrow. It really is simply a matter of real-life use! I appreciate that you made the effort of reading the manual thoroughly, and it's interesting they make note of a "hold function" -- that does seem to be active when the car is near-level or only on a slight incline, but not with the mildly increased inclines I've experienced. I wonder if the "hold" carries more force with an ICE? As far as I'm concerned, I really only would be bothered by the lack of Drive-off assistant, which I have found extremely helpful for YEARS!!
     
  6. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I tested my 2021 SE on my driveway that has almost a 20% grade, and sat with feet off the pedals for over two minutes. The SE did not roll backwards in the slightest.
     
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  8. Torrey

    Torrey Active Member

    Did you drive forward into that position and simply take your foot off the accelerator without using the brake?
     
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  9. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    Yes, exactly what I did. High brake regen was on.
     
  10. Brian Beuchaw

    Brian Beuchaw Member

    Mine's a 2022, I use high regen and when I'm in drive and let off the accelerator and it comes to a stop without using the brake pedal on an incline, it will roll backwards, but only a couple of inches, certainly not enough to have the camera come on, and it will hold it there for the few minutes it takes the light to change.
     
  11. drdunkyn

    drdunkyn Well-Known Member

    It's just an "observation", folks, not sure why the need to prove me wrong... Anyway, here's a video of my experience.
     
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  13. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    My apology if you feel that way, it was never to doubt your experience. It's different behavior from other SEs, and it's instructive to discuss the nuances. I wonder if maybe your SE has slightly different components due to the chip supply issues and that's why the behavior is different? Or you have a unicorn SE that gives it a unique personality?
     
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  14. drdunkyn

    drdunkyn Well-Known Member

    No worries...also, I guess I forgot to mention my Iconic Unicorn special edition. :p I thought everyone had that!!
     
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  15. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I've alway wondered how the SE uses its motor to hold the car stationary on a hill. I wonder what part of your SE is functioning differently than in our non-Unicorns? What component could be responsible for your unique, slight delay? I assumed the system uses the wheel-position sensors to determine if the SE is rolling, but if those were defective, you'd be experiencing additional problems. Now that I think about it, your wheel-position sensors appear to be detecting your SE rolling in reverse based on the activation of the rear camera. The explanation is beyond my experience.
     
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  16. drdunkyn

    drdunkyn Well-Known Member

    That's just the thing -- I actually liked the roll-back on a steeper incline, if for no other reason that it's a little reminder to use the brake. What I found interesting was that any roll-back triggered the back-up camera to switch on. It rolls a couple inches on lesser inclines but still wakes up the camera, but stays put very quickly.
     
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  17. revorg

    revorg Well-Known Member

    Don't forget one of the rules of the road - all Mini's are unique. Apparently, they're unique in many different ways.
     
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  18. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    Yes - absolutely believed your assertion of the rolling backward, @drdunkyn . Some of us just like to dig in on these differences and try to figure out the 'why the heck is that happening?'. I'm glad you reported it.
     
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  19. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I did more testing of this in my 2021 SE, both high and low regen. I took my foot off the accelerator on an incline similar to @drdunkyn's and my car stopped without going backwards. The backup camera did not activate. I then shifted into neutral and rolled backwards, still no camera. My backup camera only activates when I shift into reverse.
     
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  20. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Your experiment makes @drdunkyn's SE even more mysterious!
     
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  21. Hatch

    Hatch Active Member

    PA
    The wireless phone charger bothered me so much, i took the plunge and bought a used center armrest without charging, in great condition on Ebay for $149. I thought i could swap out the existing armrest. After a bit of struggling and not wanting to break my wife's brand new car, i got too scared. It appears you need to completely remove the center console to get to the armrest bolts. But i was able to remove the charger which was still a big struggle. After that, it's simple to remove the plastic tray that accepts the charger, and bolt in the plain storage tray from the plain armrest.

    I hate that i spent so much to obtain what looks like a $20 piece of plastic and rubber mat. If you can find a really ratty non-charging armrest with a good storage tray for a decent amount of money, it will be worth it.

    I took pictures of only the hardest steps. I'll try to explain the rest.

    First take a thin plastic trim tool and pry all around the edges of the charger until it pops up. Then you'll see that the charger won't come up at the back. There's a wire tie that you need to cut in the rear of the armrest. You can't cut cutters in there. You need a pointy sharp edge of a utility knife to cut the wire tie. It's white and you can see it thru 2 holes in the plastic.
    IMG_20220910_115556.jpg

    Then you can raise up the charger. You'll see another wire tie underneath that you need to cut.
    IMG_20220910_115932.jpg

    Then unplug the connector to the cooling fan in the armrest.
    IMG_20220910_120219.jpg

    You'll see 2 wires on the bottom of the charger. You can unplug 1 - the other is soldered to the board. Both wires are bound together with this rubber thing. I cut this in half to separate the wires (because i'll cut the soldered wire further back). Use a sharp utility knife and try not to slice your fingers.
    IMG_20220910_122942.jpg

    IMG_20220910_123141.jpg

    IMG_20220910_123226.jpg

    Now you can cut the soldered wire mid-span to give yourself plenty of room to solder together if you want to reconnect it (but i don't ever see me wanting to do that).

    IMG_20220910_123610.jpg

    Ok now you can remove the charger! Now you have just the undertray with a bunch of holes in it, which you could bolt back down to the armrest. Just stuff the wires underneath and bolt the tray back down. If i hadn't bought the other armrest, i would have just fabricated a cover for all those holes. You can do this for a totally free mod. Note the vertical holes at the front of the tray - you need to make a cover for those too, so you don't lose things in those holes. But i had the solid storage tray and rubber mat from the other armrest, so i bolted that in (torx T-25).
    IMG_20220910_125334.jpg

    Now you should disconnect the plug at the back of the console. This is easy to access - take off the cup holder at the back of the console - 2 plastic push pins on either side (down low near the floor), and one T-20 torx under the rubber cup holder mat. This involved my worst nightmare - unclipping connectors. I finally managed to figured it out after about 15 mins. Then re-install the cup holder.
    IMG_20220910_124223.jpg

    Finally, i took a picture of the wire i cut - i stripped the wire so you can see what it looks like. This is on the disconnected charger. It looks like a coax type of wire - with a single center conductor surrounded by a circular shield wire.
    IMG_20220910_132636.jpg

    I hate that i blew all that money on the other armrest. If i had to do it again, i would just make a cover for the bottom of the tray which remains after the charger is gone. But i'm happy. I can store things in my armrest now!
     
  22. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Thank you for your thorough and well-documented remedy to a feature that turned out to be a bug for many of us!

    Perhaps someone with a 3D printer could profit from making a tray-bottom cover.
     
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  23. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    That is fascinating, but now I’m wondering about the fan and if an upgrade might lower the temperature in the cellphone oven.;)
     

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