Hanny, this is indeed the behaviour if the battery
has been disconnected. The windows don't drop automatically
until after the window switches have been used at least once.
And Mr Bill, contrary to your previous post on this subject,
a

no damage will occur if the door is opened or closed
when the lowering function is not active.
b) you will not break the glass
c) you still get a good (but not optimal) seal
d) the door will only requires a slightly greater amount of force to close
e)There is no hard mechanical/obstruction issue, just
that it does not sit on the rubber seal quite correctly.
f) the action is supposed to be there to avoid the air cushion effect which makes closing the door harder.
Now Mr Bill, its been said before by equally pi**ed off MINI
owners, but can you please
1) Stop scaremongering on issues that you are merely
speculating about, rather than have any first hand knowledge
2) Stop being so bloody negative, and lighten up
Reading your posts makes me feel like how an Enron
employee must feel right now.
3) If you are so concered by the amount of technology
BMW put into the MINI, go and buy a Chevy Cavalier
4) IF you acually ever buy a MINI (which I severly doubt)
THEN you can express your opinion based on FACT, rather
than fantasy.