Tips, Tricks and Secrets?

SameGuy said:
Though I ordered my bottle openers long before I took delivery of my car, I used one this week for the first time when I popped into the post office to check my PO Box and wanted the heat, seat, and steering wheel to stay on. When I hopped back in the car, it didn’t recognize my fob and I had to shut down and restart anyway. That makes the whole Tikit procedure kind of pointless. I’d rather just leave it on the reduced heating via the centre display as I shut down.
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I assume you took your fob with you?

I've never tried that. I only use the Tikit when my passenger is still in the car, and I leave the keys. Basically, it fools the car into believing the driver is in his seat, even if the front door opens, whereas normally an unbuckled driver's seat belt and the opening of the driver's door shuts down the car. Removing the fob signal may be another variable in the car's logic.
 
Yup. Leaving the fob in the car with no passenger might not be unsafe where my PO is located (a sleepy village in the North Country of New York near a town that used to host an AFB), but it’s not exactly “best practices.” ;)
 
I coded out the seatbelt warnings and the MINI still runs with an iginition on warning when the door is open.

The only time it shuts off completely is when you are on accessory mode (radio on, engine off) and the door is opened.
 
When playing music, the up/down buttons on the right side of the steering wheel scroll my playlist on the HUD. The OK button then selects the highlighted song. However, the up/down buttons do not scroll the playlist on the center screen (why not?).

For MINIs that do not have the HUD, do those steering-wheel buttons scroll the playlist on the center screen? If not, what do those buttons do when playing music?
 
Click once followed by OK to go skip forward a song or backward. Of course, this too is backwards: the down arrow skips ahead to the next track, the up arrow skips back (essentially scrolling “up” to a previous song on the playlist or “down” to the next in queue).
 
insightman said:
For MINIs that do not have the HUD, do those steering-wheel buttons scroll the playlist on the center screen? If not, what do those buttons do when playing music?
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I've found when the HUD is off the station list is displayed on the driver display and the buttons do the same scrolling as on the HUD. I would think it works the same on cars without a HUD. Scrolling on the center display is accomplished by using the iDrive knob on the console.
 
insightman said:
When playing music, the up/down buttons on the right side of the steering wheel scroll my playlist on the HUD. The OK button then selects the highlighted song. However, the up/down buttons do not scroll the playlist on the center screen (why not?).

For MINIs that do not have the HUD, do those steering-wheel buttons scroll the playlist on the center screen? If not, what do those buttons do when playing music?
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It displays in the instrument panel.
 
Thanks for all your replies! I've never turned off the HUD, so it's interesting to learn what happens without it.
 
F14Scott said:
View attachment 19156

Buy a "Bottle Opener" by Tikit

Bottle Opener- 2PK https://a.co/d/73AaaOt

I use this faux seat belt clip all the time, when I want to leave my wife in the SE with the "engine running."

By unbuckling my seat belt and then inserting the clip, before opening my door, the car stays in drive ready mode, allowing the radio, AC, and all accessories to be on indefinitely.

Assuming the car is in Park with the brake on, it would take three simultaneous independent actions (foot depress brake, thumb depress shift lever button, hand pull shift lever into gear) to make the car move, so it's perfectly safe.
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Ditto on this one. leave the wife in the car and all of the unnecessary items in the grocery store. It actually makes that awful phone charging armrest a bit useful:rolleyes:IMG_0574.webp
 
Rogwp said:
Welcome to the forum!

Two things that my MA never mentioned which I find very useful:

Short press on the steering wheel mounted voice activation summons up MINI, long press for Siri,;)

Little switch behind the left side of the dash activates the clock (useful in the dark when in the ferry line-up ).
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I’m looking for this little switch. The idea that there’s a feature in there that I don’t know about is making me itch. Anyone have a more definitive location description?
 
WildHare65 said:
I’m looking for this little switch. The idea that there’s a feature in there that I don’t know about is making me itch. Anyone have a more definitive location description?
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It's "2" in this photo from the Owners Manual. Unfortunately, there's no button in a 2022/23 SE to enable the analog clock screen-saver in the center display that's available in the 2020/21 SEs.

upload_2023-1-14_10-15-41.webp
 
Also, if you are using CarPlay, there is no need to long-press the button for Siri; simply say, “Hey Siri,” just like you would with your mobile device.
 
WildHare65 said:
I thought that might be the case. In my 2023, that button calls up and resets the trip odometer.
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Unless the motor is off in which case it illuminates the screen to show the digital clock. It’s in this state that I sometimes need to know the time! I have a 2023 BTW.
 
SameGuy said:
Also, if you are using CarPlay, there is no need to long-press the button for Siri; simply say, “Hey Siri,” just like you would with your mobile device.
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I tested this and I'm not sure it's exactly true. I have "Hey Siri" disabled on my iPhone and when I say the phrase in my SE nothing happens. I have to push the voice button for Siri to respond. I'm guessing your iPhone is picking up the "Hey Siri", not the car.
 
In my pocket? I guess, but CarPlay is just the extended UI of the phone; the car’s mics pick up my wake words, and the speakers relay the phone’s responses, so the distinction is moot. Yes, if Hey Siri isn’t enabled, it doesn’t matter if the car’s mics hear me, Siri won’t respond.
 
SameGuy said:
In my pocket? I guess, but CarPlay is just the extended UI of the phone; the car’s mics pick up my wake words, and the speakers relay the phone’s responses, so the distinction is moot. Yes, if Hey Siri isn’t enabled, it doesn’t matter if the car’s mics hear me, Siri won’t respond.
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Oh you could be right that if enabled on the iPhone it could be listening through the car microphone. I don't know why I thought it would be a car function. More testing is needed.
 
I just discovered something new on my SE, which I've had for 2.5 years!

I don't know if anyone else knows of this, but it's subtle and neat. The window controls actually have two modes:
  • Light press (open or close) – window will move until you stop pressing.
  • Full press (open or close) – window will completely open/close on its own even when you stop pressing.
(This is how my 2021 SE works, I can't say it's still the case for the post-chip shortage builds.)
 
Puppethead said:
I just discovered something new on my SE, which I've had for 2.5 years!

I don't know if anyone else knows of this, but it's subtle and neat. The window controls actually have two modes:
  • Light press (open or close) – window will move until you stop pressing.
  • Full press (open or close) – window will completely open/close on its own even when you stop pressing.
(This is how my 2021 SE works, I can't say it's still the case for the post-chip shortage builds.)
Click to expand...

That's a typical common features that exist in most modern vehicles. My 2006 Audi, 2017 vw and 2022 land Rover all have that features
 
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