ZEV Parking Decal came today

Received my official ZEV Parking Decal today (State of California) I probably didn't really need this but thought what the heck, it's offered so I'll apply for one. :) Decal measures approx 2" square. Here's the link for more info:

CA DMV ZEV Decal Info

MINI E gift box arrived :)

Today we received a gift box of MINI E goodies from MINI. Inside was a hat, mouse pad, custom key chain with our car's number on it, cards to give out to folks inquiring about the MINI E, one dice, a notebook with pen and stickers that you can use to make up phrases about your MINI. Not pictured is a black bag. Thanks MINI!

MINI E back with new Gold Box

We picked up our car this evening at around 7pm from Long Beach Mini. Earlier this morning the gold box under the hood was replaced. I was told that the MINI E tech was very familiar with the problem we experienced (see earlier post video) and we were the 5th one he'd worked on with this problem. When I peeked under the hood after returning home, I noticed some stickers that weren't there before including the large one on the box itself. Glad to have the car back and hope not to be back at the dealer until our 3000 mile check up. The gas powered MINI loaner was fun but it was no MINI E. :)

P.S.
When picking up your car from a service visit, be sure to check the charge setting before plugging in. Mine was set at 50amp the last two service visits.

The mysterious golden box

Dropped off the car this morning for the problem mentioned in blog post below. Received word back that parts have been ordered and the MINI E tech will be installing them on Wednesday. The parts involve the mysterious golden box under the hood. Should know more soon.

Video of car auto shifting to "N' while driving

Unfortunately, we're still having the problem with the MINI E shifting to "N" on it's own while we're driving. The gear shifter still shows "D" but the display shows "N". See video below. The set up for what'll you see: Dry road, sunny, driving at 40mph and punching it....video shows what happens:

#140 auto shifting to Neutral while driving

Car was acting quite strange this evening. Car was parked all day and I decided to give my Cousin a test drive before calling it a day. We started off with 100% charge and traveled about 1 mile with no problem. I then took the car up to 40mph and then punched it...wanting to demonstrate the quick pick up even while moving....I immediately heard a loud pop and noticed that the car had switched to neutral and the triangle next to the miles traveled had lit up...similar to how it does when the battery warning light comes on at 29% charge. While still moving I moved the gear shift to neutral (it still showed "D" even though the display showed "N") and then back to drive and the car appeared to be back to normal. However the triangle stayed lit up. We then stopped, turned off the car, waited a minute and then started it again. Triangle was gone and all seemed well. Took off again and whamo, happened again at approx 40 mph...once I punched it, a loud pop and then the neutral light was lit up again. We repeated this a total of 4 times over the course of our 3 mile test drive. This is the first time I've ever had this problem. We'll see if I can repeat it tomorrow.

Video of the MINI E charging at work

Picked up the 110V cable this past Thursday from Long Beach MINI and shot a short video of the MINI E charging at work.