Mini Cooper R53 original key repair - Key Blade Removal 

Those of you struggling to remove the pin, use a ladys hair bobby pin. Take off wax seal at the end of the hair clip, insert into car pin and toggle, twist and pull until it comes out. Worked well when I tried. Just try to angle the hair clip so theres friction while you twist.

Top man...Brought a secondhand key for £23 and swapped the inners and blade as shown...All good, Saved £200 and lots of hassle :)

Very helpful and saved me from being ripped off by corporate greed charging £200+ for a key probably worth around £20, then charging a minimum hours labour to programme it.

Really useful, thank you very much

Appreciate the video mate, couldn't find anything about moving the blade over to a new casing anywhere else

I also tried a drill to remove the pin. I used a 1.5mm drill and immediately the pin started to turn which made it easy to pull out. However I found that the immobilser chip fell out, the old cover had a clip to hold it in, and the new key (the rectangular brass bit) was slightly wider which meant that it wobbled slightly. Better than being smaller and my key not going in!

Thank you.

top 👍👍👍

Just to let you know the all black keys are from a cooper or one (R50) and the keys that have the chrome wing logo are from a Cooper S (R53)

Any idea about how to re pair the key with the car ? I cannot make it open by pressing the button at all ..

I used a small drill bit that fits in hole worked for me just turned in and put side pressure on it and pulled right out.

My r53 key is different, the case covers the pin? Any ideas on replacing these ones.

I did this, but drilled it. Put correct blade in eBay second hand key, put an identical pin in, and plugged the front of the drill hole with some Sugru. Look it up, great stuff

I've just done this. Video was useful (thanks), but the pin was set too deep for me to pull it out the same way. I ended up slowly drilling a 1mm drill bit into the hole, and then reversing the drill to gently pull it out. Worked like a charm

car sounds good!

👍👍👍👍👍👍

Hi, do you still offer cut key fobs?

Thank you so much for your help.. I just did this on my sisters mini and the video was a great help. Beautiful music too 🕉️ namaste 🕉️

Good video. The type of pin is called a "roll pin". I should get out more. Well done.

If the button on the memory board is broken is there anyway I’m fixing it? Such as getting a new memory board but linking it to the car again

Where did you buy the new key with the logo on it? I’m trying to replace the shell on my fob too but I don’t want an all black plain one, I want the logo. I can’t seem to find an oem replacement shell with the logo

Is it possible to just remove the lock and unlock buttons from a new casing and put it on the old one? Therefore no need to remove the blade?

I can’t get the pin out, someone please help me.

The listing on eBay is not longer active anyone have any recommendations? have the same problem with my keys

So do all 2003 mini coopers have immobilizer chips? Because my car quit yesterday and the mini dealer said if the battery in the key is dead, the car will still start. Mini R50 regular 2003

OK, I do MINI key repair on the side and have repaired dozens of these keys. Let's go through a few things about Igor's tutorial. 1- He's correct on the aftermarket shells that have the three piece plastic design with one small piece attached to the blade. They are a bad combination of the design of the very similar Rover shell and the MINI shell. The "wings" button does in fact not line up properly with the board mounted microswitch and is also very hard to press. 2- I would avoid buying a used key from eBay. By now, the vast majority of original MINI keys have started to deteriorate in the way that Igor's did. If you use a used one you will be doing the job over again soon. 3- For you DIY types, I would search for a "MINI REMOTE KEY SHELL" from the eBay seller "artiway". Full disclosure, I am in no way affiliated with this seller but the case I purchased from him is still going strong on my personal key nearly 8 years after I repaired my key. His shells are of high quality and very well finished. Plus, as of this writing, they go for 11.5 pounds instead of the 20 that was paid for the used one. 4- To easily remove the pin, I use a 1/16" drill bit with a 1/4'" quick change hex shank. Hand twist it in and pull- you can get the pin out in about 10 seconds. No ruining your pen knife or gashing your fingers. 5- OHMYGOD Don't scrub your circuit board with a toothbrush! The circuit board has incredibly tiny surface mount components which could easily be scrubbed off with vigorous scrubbing and a stiff toothbrush. If you start knocking off components your circuit board is pretty much done for. 6- FYI, the extra circuit board can be made to work with a pre-facelift MINI. The sticker has a code on it; search for "MINI Key Barcode Generator" and then you can generate the longer barcode that is needed to code your car to allow the remote to work with it. This can be done at a dealer or an independent BMW/MINI coder. There is no series of button pushes that will allow a new remote to work with your car; the car must be coded by hooking it up to the computer, etc. The immobilizer chip can't be re-used; they are a one and done type of thing.

Use pliers! Dang man!

i received my 2.5euro key fob and i was happy until now... : (

thanks just what i needed no bud

Those are the sexy wheels on it 😘😍🔥

At 6:16 I worried you'd get cut!!!

Just get on with it.. zzzzz

So much extension of time. We really only want instructions. Not a story about everything U can think of. I appreciate U help but mate. We are really only interested in the key story. ..we don't need a run down on what U going to say. Just the key story please