2014 Mini Countryman Key Repair

After misplacing the main key to their Mini Countryman this customer made a trip home to grab the spare key.

Everything appeared normal, the car unlocked with the remote but upon inserting the key into the slot, the car was not responding. The concerned customer called us to see if we could help in getting the car started.

A couple of hours later we attended to find the electronic transponder inside the key was not reading however the remote was transmitting a signal. Further investigation into the Mini’s immobiliser found it was updated to ISTA-P, making it near impossible to program keys without downgrading the flash inside the CAS unit.

This was not an option so we instead chose to repair the Mini key. Luckily we had a genuine key to take parts from. Not long after starting the repair and changing a few things around, we were able to read the keys transponder and it appeared to be functioning as normal.

We were relieved to hear the car turn on and start as normal after the repair. Not all keys are worth this kind of repair, though this situation was the perfect example of when a key repair would prove beneficial. I’m not sure of the price that the Mini/BMW dealer quoted for a key but the lead time was over 10 working days.

The owner would also need to make a visit to the city dealer, prove ownership and pay for the key up front and have the car towed when the key arrived. All in all, the job turned out to be a success, we permanently fixed the customers key using parts from our genuine key, got them back on the road and saved them some $$.

If you have any problems with your Mini keys, immobilisers or locking system, give us a call as we may be able to assist when no one else can.