2012 MINI Clubman
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2012 MINI Clubman Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call out to the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach on a Tuesday morning. The owner of a 2012 MINI Clubman had one key left, and it had gone through a washing machine cycle. Buttons were dead, but somehow the car still started. She had been using it like a plain metal key for two weeks before she called me.

She needed a working remote head key, and she wanted to know if she could keep the washed one as a backup.

I checked the damaged key first. The chip side was still responding to the ignition, so it was functional as an emergency start key. But the remote side was corroded through, and the battery contacts looked like something off a science project. Not really a backup worth trusting.

I cut a new key blade to the vehicle on site using the code pulled from the lock, then ran the programming procedure through the OBD port. Paired the transponder, synced the remote, walked every button. Lock, unlock, and the third function all confirmed working before I handed it over.

She asked about the dealer. I told her they would have wanted to order the part to VIN and schedule it out across the week. She had somewhere to be that afternoon, so that answer would not have worked for her.

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