I thought i was losing my mind but over at Mini2 there was a mention of two others with the same issue. I almost always leave the car in gear w/parking break (i learned the hard way) but conceivably did not this time (must not have). Anyway, about twenty minutes after i turned off the car and locked it with my remote/keyfob... someone came and told me the car was running. Impossible. Right? I go out to the car and it's not only still locked but it is on and running, dashlights on and all. If I hadn't had a witness there and the key in my hand i wouldn't have believed it was off when I left. But there I was... with the key outside the running car... perplexed (and a little wierded out).

I unlocked it and put the key in it to turn it off. Restarted it and turned it off again. it stayed off (as far as i know, lol) the rest of the night. I do not have the push button starter. It's an 08 with manual transmission....

The dealer says (so far) that she doesn't think they can find anything unless it reproduces in the garage. Like that's gonna happen. They also had no idea of it happening to anyone else.

I'm gonna take it in and see if any faults show up in diagnostics but I'd love to know (and track) if there are more of you out there experiencing this. It's disconcerting to say the least. Perhaps it would happen more often if I didn't leave it in gear? Who knows? It's a definite safety issue however.

I'll check back when/if I learn anything....

 

That hasn't happened to me, BUT...I have noticed that my car (a 2011 base model hatch) seems to hold some sort of electrical charge long after I have parked it and walked away. Sometimes I can hear a very quiet high pitched hum over the radio after the car is off - key out; and no, it's not the fan. Every once in a while there will be a huge *POP* when I put the key fob into it's slot in the dash. Often this has happened after the car has been left in the driveway overnight. Scare's the beejeezus out of me every time.

There doesn't seem to be anything 'wrong' with the car though; it runs great, only it seems to enjoy surprising me now and then (cheeky little devil!) One of the service guys at the dealership said he noticed the same thing with his MINI. At any rate; i think there is something funky with the electrics in MINIs and am not a bit surprised that yours revved itself up and was ready to go without you! Yikes!

 

I hear you. I've had some thermostat issues where the fan would run long after the car was off. but i've also noticed an ongoing "sound" after the car is off or just after - where there's "something" still going on once the key is out. It's all very disconcerting. i can live with some oddness but driving off without me is something I don't want...