General driving notes – BMW 2004 Mini Convertible Cooper User Manual

Page 95

GENERAL DRIVING NOTES

Parking the vehicle

Condensation forms in the air conditioner
system during operation, and then exits
under the vehicle. Traces of condensed
water on the ground are therefore normal.

Safe braking

Your vehicle is equipped with ABS as a stan-
dard feature. The best way to brake the
vehicle in critical situations requiring brak-
ing is to apply maximum pressure to the
brake pedal: panic stop. Since the vehicle
remains maneuverable, you can still go
around any obstacles with the smallest
possible steering movements.

The pulsation of the brake pedal, together
with the sound of hydraulic regulation,
indicates to you that ABS is actively taking
effect.

Hydroplaning

When driving on wet or slushy roads,
reduce road speed. If you do not, a

wedge of water can form between tires
and road surface. This phenomenon is char-
acterized by a partial or complete loss of
contact between the tires and the road sur-
face. The ultimate results are loss of steer-
ing and braking control.

Mobile communications in the vehicle

The manufacturer of your MINI
recommends that you do not use

mobile devices, e.g. cellular phones, inside
the vehicle without directly connecting
them to an outside antenna. Otherwise,
interference between the vehicle electron-
ics and the mobile device cannot be ruled
out. In addition, it is not ensured that the
radiation emitted during mobile transmis-
sion will be directed outside of the vehi-
cle.

Driving through water

Do not drive through water on the
road if it is deeper than 1 ft / 30 cm,

and then only at walking speed at the
most. Otherwise, the vehicle's engine, the
electrical systems and the transmission
may be damaged.

Clothes hooks

When suspending clothing from the
hooks, ensure that they will not

obstruct the driver's vision. Do not hang
heavy objects on the hooks. If you do, they
could injure the occupants during braking
or evasive maneuvers.

Hot exhaust system

High temperatures occur in any vehi-
cle equipped with a catalytic con-

verter. Do not remove the heat protection
plates fitted in the area of the exhaust sys-
tem and do not apply body-cavity pro-
tectant to this area. When driving, standing
at idle, and parking the vehicle, take care to
avoid contact between the hot exhaust sys-
tem and flammable materials, e.g. hay,
grass, leaves, etc. Such contact could lead
to a fire resulting in serious personal injury
and property damage.