MINI2

oozeymc · Dec 16th, 2005, 09:04 PM

I'm thinking seriously about retrofitting a MFSW to my '04 Cooper. This is the 3 spoke wheel.

Now, if I buy the wheel off eBay for around £100. And I use the airbag from my current wheel and have it fitted by BMW - what am I likely to pay?

MFSW - £100
Fitting + other parts - £350? Wishful thinking?!

I really want this feature on my car and I'm willing to pay within reason.

Let me know your thoughts.

chris.lamb · Dec 17th, 2005, 03:49 PM

I am half way through doing this upgrade myself.

As well as the Steering Wheel with switches and matching Driver Airbag.
You will also need a 16 track Rotary Coupler to connect the Steering Wheel Switches to the vehicle harness.
Cars without MFSW only have an 8 track Rotary Coupler.
Then you will have to wire in the new Rotary Coupler to the vehcile harness as without MFSW the vehicle harness is mssing the right connetor and wires.

So far my install controls the Radio via the K Bus but I have not yet wired in the Cruise Control function, which also needs BMW reprogramme for Engine ECU.

Use the MFSW install instructions from BMW as a guide like I did.

oozeymc · Dec 17th, 2005, 04:45 PM

Is this doable then Chris?

Will you get it all working eventually?

What has been the total cost of all the parts?

And long do you envisage it taking you to complete the job?

RVW · Dec 17th, 2005, 05:45 PM

When I had mine done a couple of years ago dealer charged me £675.00 to supply and fit complete kit.
£215 of that was for labour.

oozeymc · Dec 17th, 2005, 06:50 PM

Jesus.

oozeymc · Dec 18th, 2005, 01:29 PM

Come on someone - help me out!

chris.lamb · Dec 19th, 2005, 07:24 AM

Is this doable then Chris?
I hope so, I know what it is I need to do and I have the parts and skills to do it, EXCEPT for the Cruise ECU programme. However I am hoping that I can pay my local dealer to do this.

Will you get it all working eventually?
Maybe, given enough time and effort.

What has been the total cost of all the parts?
I don't know, they were all gifts.

And long do you envisage it taking you to complete the job?
How long is piece of string, I am a busy man.

If you are not confident with swapping parts, cutting into the vehicle harness, making up harnesses and then getting the dealer to inspect & programme the system, then get the dealer to do it. They DO know what they are doing and if anything goes wrong.......

oozeymc · Dec 19th, 2005, 04:11 PM

I've been in touch with my local dealer (Sytner).

They've said that they will only fit the steering wheel if it was bought at BMW. (I'm hoping to get mine off eBay...) They said to make sure that the MFSW (I get off eBay) has the airbag in - if it hasn't this would cost upward of £400. They have thus requested the part number of the MFSW. Is this normal?

Interestingly though, they have said that the fitting of it will take no more than 30 minutes!

It's a bit of an odd one. not sure where to go from here.

I know I can't fit it myself. I'm just wondering if there's any way I can wangle this one on the cheap.

howardholton · Jan 14th, 2006, 05:28 AM

I just wanted to put in my 2c on this topic:

1. If you have the 3 spoke wheel now the airbag from your existing wheel can go into the MFSW from ebay if it is missing (the retrofit kit from BMW/MINI does not come with the Airbag - you need to keep yours).

2. The project specs 3.5 hours of shop time, and this is not a bad estimate, the airbag needs to be removed, spring clutch changed, harness run and installed, reassembly, programming and testing - few MINI techs have done the retrofit so the dealer that quoted 30 mins must have been thinking that it was just a straight wheel replacement (like my tech's initial thought was) - but it is fairly involved. If you can get the instructions and are a DIY kind of guy it does not seem to difficult and you would just need to get the programming changed to support the MSFW.

3. MINI sells a complete retrofit kit for doing this on a car with a 3 spoke wheel - you might want to look into that.

I hope this helps, if you have trouble finding the parts you need let me know and I will help you get it from my parts department (I work for Crevier BMW/MINI in California.)

Thanks
Howard

LouieCoop · Jan 14th, 2006, 06:28 PM

I bought my wheel off eBay for £110. Airbag cost me £105. My car doesn't have cruise control (02 reg mini cooper). I only want the volume and track buttons to work. I thought I could have this completed after buying the 3 spoke steering wheel wave adapter from www.ministuff.com Is there loaaaads more to it than that?? Cheers

Lewis.

LouieCoop · Jan 15th, 2006, 04:28 PM

Could anyone help me out please? Thanks

, Lewis.

Dec 16th, 2005, 09:04 PM	#1
oozeymc MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Leicester Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 54 Offline	MFSW retrofit...I know - again!... I'm thinking seriously about retrofitting a MFSW to my '04 Cooper. This is the 3 spoke wheel. Now, if I buy the wheel off eBay for around £100. And I use the airbag from my current wheel and have it fitted by BMW - what am I likely to pay? MFSW - £100 Fitting + other parts - £350? Wishful thinking?! I really want this feature on my car and I'm willing to pay within reason. Let me know your thoughts.

Dec 17th, 2005, 05:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
RVW 003 On a Mission My Classifieds Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Cabbage County Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 4,191 Offline	When I had mine done a couple of years ago dealer charged me £675.00 to supply and fit complete kit. £215 of that was for labour. Mine is the POWER and the GLORY UNI ON JACK OWNERS CLUB GB006 www.clubmanregister.co.uk

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Dec 17th, 2005, 03:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
chris.lamb MINI2 Regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Warwick Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 322 Offline	I am half way through doing this upgrade myself. As well as the Steering Wheel with switches and matching Driver Airbag. You will also need a 16 track Rotary Coupler to connect the Steering Wheel Switches to the vehicle harness. Cars without MFSW only have an 8 track Rotary Coupler. Then you will have to wire in the new Rotary Coupler to the vehcile harness as without MFSW the vehicle harness is mssing the right connetor and wires. So far my install controls the Radio via the K Bus but I have not yet wired in the Cruise Control function, which also needs BMW reprogramme for Engine ECU. Use the MFSW install instructions from BMW as a guide like I did.

Dec 17th, 2005, 04:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
oozeymc MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Leicester Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 54 Offline	Is this doable then Chris? Will you get it all working eventually? What has been the total cost of all the parts? And long do you envisage it taking you to complete the job?

Dec 17th, 2005, 06:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
oozeymc MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Leicester Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 54 Offline	Jesus.

Dec 18th, 2005, 01:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
oozeymc MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Leicester Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 54 Offline	Come on someone - help me out!

Dec 19th, 2005, 07:24 AM	#7 (permalink)
chris.lamb MINI2 Regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Warwick Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 322 Offline	Is this doable then Chris? I hope so, I know what it is I need to do and I have the parts and skills to do it, EXCEPT for the Cruise ECU programme. However I am hoping that I can pay my local dealer to do this. Will you get it all working eventually? Maybe, given enough time and effort. What has been the total cost of all the parts? I don't know, they were all gifts. And long do you envisage it taking you to complete the job? How long is piece of string, I am a busy man. If you are not confident with swapping parts, cutting into the vehicle harness, making up harnesses and then getting the dealer to inspect & programme the system, then get the dealer to do it. They DO know what they are doing and if anything goes wrong.......

Dec 19th, 2005, 04:11 PM	#8 (permalink)
oozeymc MINI2 Regular Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Leicester Local Time: 08:16 PM Posts: 54 Offline	I've been in touch with my local dealer (Sytner). They've said that they will only fit the steering wheel if it was bought at BMW. (I'm hoping to get mine off eBay...) They said to make sure that the MFSW (I get off eBay) has the airbag in - if it hasn't this would cost upward of £400. They have thus requested the part number of the MFSW. Is this normal? Interestingly though, they have said that the fitting of it will take no more than 30 minutes! It's a bit of an odd one. not sure where to go from here. I know I can't fit it myself. I'm just wondering if there's any way I can wangle this one on the cheap.

Jan 14th, 2006, 05:28 AM	#9 (permalink)
howardholton MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Local Time: 11:16 AM Posts: 5 Offline	I just wanted to put in my 2c on this topic: 1. If you have the 3 spoke wheel now the airbag from your existing wheel can go into the MFSW from ebay if it is missing (the retrofit kit from BMW/MINI does not come with the Airbag - you need to keep yours). 2. The project specs 3.5 hours of shop time, and this is not a bad estimate, the airbag needs to be removed, spring clutch changed, harness run and installed, reassembly, programming and testing - few MINI techs have done the retrofit so the dealer that quoted 30 mins must have been thinking that it was just a straight wheel replacement (like my tech's initial thought was) - but it is fairly involved. If you can get the instructions and are a DIY kind of guy it does not seem to difficult and you would just need to get the programming changed to support the MSFW. 3. MINI sells a complete retrofit kit for doing this on a car with a 3 spoke wheel - you might want to look into that. I hope this helps, if you have trouble finding the parts you need let me know and I will help you get it from my parts department (I work for Crevier BMW/MINI in California.) Thanks Howard

Jan 14th, 2006, 06:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
LouieCoop Loui The Mini Dude Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sheffield Local Time: 07:16 PM Posts: 160 Offline	I bought my wheel off eBay for £110. Airbag cost me £105. My car doesn't have cruise control (02 reg mini cooper). I only want the volume and track buttons to work. I thought I could have this completed after buying the 3 spoke steering wheel wave adapter from www.ministuff.com Is there loaaaads more to it than that?? Cheers Lewis.

Jan 15th, 2006, 04:28 PM	#11 (permalink)
LouieCoop Loui The Mini Dude Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sheffield Local Time: 07:16 PM Posts: 160 Offline	Could anyone help me out please? Thanks , Lewis.

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