I have just today picked up my wifes new car 2008 Mini Cooper (Chili pack and lurrvvly full leather!!). The dealer (non franchised - Arnold Clark) supplied 2 round three button fobs. He remarked that one had a flat battery and needed battery changing. On getting into the car, we opened it with the working remote but unknown to us, used the "flat" fob to start the car, which it did and drove 150 miles home. On getting home we changed the flat battery. It still would not lock or unlock the car. I checked the key inside the fob which opened car, therefore ensuring correct key but triggered alarm system.
My concern is, does this mean the car needs a trip to dealers or can be simply paired with keys in hand at home. Please help as hate only having one key!!
THANKS ALL!!

How did you change the battery? If it's a round three-button fob with no exposed key - as you would find in a 2008 R56 second generation (but not a 2008 R52 convertible which was still a first generation in 2008) - then the battery is not replaceable and is charged from the car when plugged in. If you drove 150 miles with the 'flat' battery fob in the dash, it would have charged up.

So it sounds suspiciously like the 'flat' key fob might not be a valid fob for the car. There is no guarantee that the fob goes with the key insert that is currently plugged into it.

And as I understand it, the car cannot be taught or programmed to accept an invalid key - a new key has to be ordered for a particular car and that's not cheap. Maybe the previous owner bought a second-hand key and fobbed (!) Arnold Clark off with the story that it had a flat battery. Or maybe Arnold Clark knew the full story and just tried to get away with it with you.

As you bought the car from a dealer with two keys, you would have grounds for getting them to pay for fixing the problem - probably the great expense of ordering a new fob from Mini. I suspect that only a Mini dealer can tell you for sure if the fob 'belongs' to your car, by plugging it into the fob readers they have in their service department. This would at least tell you whether it's just defective or in fact isn't a valid fob for your car.

Sorry to be spoiling your new car honeymoon period.

The battery inside the fob is a 2032 (think thats number!?) battery which I have tried three brand new replacement quality batteries in. I havnt opened (and dont intend to!) open the working fob to check battery in there as I dont intend having ZERO keys. I take on board your point that it may be incorrect fob and will attempt to take up with dealer tomorrow. Seems strange how fob will start car, is the transponder in key itself?

THANKS FOR RAPID RESPONSE!

Seems strange how fob will start car, is the transponder in key itself?
Doh! I didn't pay enough attention - if the fob starts the car, then it must be a valid fob for the car. Scrap pretty much everything I wrote above!

Is it just a distance issue? I find my fob has good days and bad days. Sometimes it wants to be right up against the driver's window before it will unlock the car and other days it will do from inside the house.

How did you get the fob apart? My 2009 fob has no sign of anywhere that it will come apart. And a 2032 battery is a non-rechargeable (well, not designed to be recharged) button cell so that won't get recharged by the car. There's something odd here, but I can't see what it is.

If it doesnt work get your dealer to pay for a new one.

I just got a new key and fob last week an it set me back £150.40p!


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