So, you’re dealing with a 2008 Mini Cooper key fob that’s not quite working like it used to? Maybe the remote functions are failing, and you suspect the battery. You might be thinking about a quick DIY battery replacement to save some cash. Well, I tried that route, and let me tell you, it didn’t exactly go as planned. In fact, it turned into a bit of a disaster, and I’m sharing my experience so you can hopefully avoid making the same mistakes.
Like many others, I figured changing a key fob battery couldn’t be too hard. My 2008 Mini Cooper S key fob was acting up. It would start the car when inserted into the slot, but the buttons were unresponsive. Thinking it was just a dead battery, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Armed with a box-cutter razor blade, I dove into what I thought would be a simple fix. Let me strongly advise you: proceed with extreme caution if you decide to open your key fob this way. Razor blades are sharp and key fobs are delicate.
I started at the end of the fob, where the seam between the two halves was most visible. Using toothpicks to wedge the gap open, I began cutting and prying around the perimeter.
I continued cutting around the entire circumference of the fob, thinking I was carefully separating the two halves.
Big mistake. As I neared the end of my cutting marathon, things started to go south. Components, or rather, pieces of components, began falling out. Oops! It turns out my razor blade skills weren’t as precise as I thought. I had cut way too deep and, in the process, shaved off at least six tiny electronic components from the circuit board inside.
Looking back, I realized my fundamental misunderstanding. While I was managing to separate what appeared to be a seam at the end, along the sides, I wasn’t actually prying apart a seam at all. I was just cutting through the plastic casing itself. In my 2008 Mini key fob, at least, there wasn’t a prying seam along the circumference like I expected.
Why did I even attempt this? Well, my key fob had seen very little use in the past year and a half. My wife was away, and the car mostly sat idle. When I did use it, the fob would start the car in the ignition slot, but the remote buttons were dead. Battery issue, right? I had even read online that an electric toothbrush charger might recharge the fob battery through the ignition slot, which I tried, but no luck.
So, facing a seemingly useless key fob, I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to open it up. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. Maybe a fob that starts the car but doesn’t remotely open the doors is better than no fob at all. Because now, thanks to my overzealous DIY attempt at a 2008 Mini Key Fob Battery Replacement, the fob is completely dead. It won’t even start the car. Looks like a new key fob is in my future. Learn from my mistake and be extremely careful, or perhaps consider professional help, before taking a razor blade to your key fob!
