2011 MINI Hardtop 2 Door
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2011 MINI Hardtop 2 Door Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call from a woman in Casa Conejo, Thousand Oaks, on a Wednesday morning. Her 2011 MINI Hardtop was sitting in the driveway and the remote head key had stopped unlocking the doors. The blade still turned, the car still started, but the remote side was completely dead. No response on any of the three buttons.

She had already ordered a replacement fob online. It arrived, looked right, and did absolutely nothing. That is when she called me.

I pulled up and the first thing I did was check the battery in her original key. CR2032, and it read almost zero on the meter. Swapped it out on the spot. Still nothing on the remote side.

That told me the key had lost its pairing to the car, which sometimes happens after a battery dies completely -- the module just drops the registration. Not a big deal, but you do need the right equipment to re-enroll it.

I connected to the OBD port, pulled up the key registration, and paired her original key back in. Tested all three buttons, locked and unlocked, watched the mirrors fold, confirmed it was holding signal from across the driveway.

Then I looked at the fob she bought online. Different factory FCC ID than what the car wanted. It was never going to work. I left her with the info she needed to return it.

The whole job took about 25 minutes. She mentioned she had gotten a quote from the dealer in the area -- it was a lot more than what she paid me, plus they wanted her to leave the car for the day. She did not say much else about it, just laughed a little and went back inside.

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