Retro fit MFSW stereo controls

[Buz999]

Can the steering wheel controls for the stereo be retro fitted onto a 3 spoke steering wheel from the new clubman?
I am looking to buy a clubbie and really want MFSW however i have seen a beauty with everything but . Not bothered about the cruise control because i know that will be a pain to do, just interested in the stereo controls. Any help would be great, cheers.

[BrianDromey]

You can do the MFSW, but if you want stereo controls you have to have the cruise as well, apparently because of the way the system is designed. One wont work without the other.
Depending on how new the car is the job could be as simple as plugging in the new buttons and an hour or so coding. Probably less than £150. If the car is a bit older, the accelerator and all that jazz has to be done too. This is fairly labour intensive. Its about £600, I think, maybe slightly more.

Brian.

[ONED]

I'd say ask Mikey.

I've had this issue with great cars but no MFSW!

[Buz999]

After bothering my arse to use the search facility i have found the answer . Apparently cars after April 2007 are pre wired so things are now much easier to retrofit so armed with this info i called my dealer Cotswold Hereford to see if this is correct. He couldn't say about the date but yes later cars are pre wired and the car i am interested in can be fitted with the MFSW. You must have the 3 spoke wheel already then all you need to buy is the button pack at £92 and the replacement trims £15-20 then once plugged in just needs recoding and activating. All in he reckons about £150. The way to find out if this is possible on your car is to remove the airbag unit and check it has the 6 pin block switch in place, if yes then easy peasy. If not you can buy this block switch at £228 so its still possible just a bit dearer!
Hope this helps others in need of stereo and cruise controls.

[MJS]

You need to buy the column switch block for MFSW as they need coding and the block without MFSW cannot be updated or something like that.
Chris at Woodmans told me that a few weeks ago when I was asking the very same...

[Buz999]

Just done a bit more delving on realOEM and seems the date from when they all became MFSW enabled is 08/2007. If you look at the retro fit kit on there it says possible by replacing MFSW switch and changing steering column switch cluster. Well if you then go and find this steering column switch cluster on another section it gives all the various options and the dates of production. The thing that gives it away is a note on this page says " please use the MFSW version as replacement on vehicles without MFSW" which i reckon means they are now all the same and MFSW from 08/2007 onwards.

[MJS]

good find there Buz
you going to give it a try?

[Buz999]

Dam right im going to try. I called into dealers today on the way past and spoke with the parts guy and he is in agreement with me but he wont say for definate because its something he has not done before.
Gotta be worth a go to get controls for £150!
Will let you know how i get on with it all.

[splitboy888]

hello,
did you manage to get it done?

[Buz999]

I haven't tried yet as only got the car on friday and been busy at work since so probably be in 2 weeks time when im on a week off
Will let you know the outcome!

[wes r56]

be careful!! just bought a new cooper d. part of the deal was they fitted mfsw. they thought it was just switches and code. but bmw have stopped fitting the stalks that can accept mfsw and gone back to how they did it before!! the switches cost £80 the stalks cost about £350 then coding for around 2 hours. they plug it into computer after fitting everything and it runs a cycle. that took 2 hours. i know of a mini scrappers which might have the right stalks in but dont know how much they would cost! cant remmber name but its in Bury.

[zippy.mini]

Hi All
First post

I'm watching this thread with much interest as I've just bought an 08 MCS with no MFSW and although I did want it, I talked myself into it not being that important because I wouldn't use cruise control and I am perfectly capable of changing my stereo using the ordinary controls! However, it's still on my want list, especially as I now hear that you can control your iPod\iPhone with it if you have the right bits.

My section on RealOEM says the following:

i Retrofit possible by replacing
multifunction steering wheel switch and
steering column switch cluster.
Code retrofit with Software Service
Station (SSS) via "Retrofit CIP" path.
Vehicles with standard steering wheel
must be converted to Sport steering
wheel.
01 Set, Mfunction switches, Sport str.wheel 1 32306773645 +core
01 Set, Mfunction switches, Sport str.wheel 1 32309190802 +core
01 Set, Mfunction switches, Sport str.wheel 1 32309200098 +core
Notes

Am really hoping that this means that my car is able to have this retrofitted for not too much money. My main dealer seems to like making as much money as possible so I'm concerned that a "couple of hours coding" could cost me about £200 over and above the cost of the parts. Is software coding classed as something other than labour? I guess I'll find out when the parts people are back in tomorrow but I'm so impatient! I only put the deposit on the car on Saturday!

[Buz999]

Thanks for the warning wes!
I am off to collect a few bits and pieces from the dealers on monday so going to ask if they can pop the airbag off as this is the only way to know for sure. If i do need the replacement switch block then i will try and track down a set from a breakers as priced at £228 from BMW . Not sure about the 2 hours of coding, think they are telling you a sob story so you dont try for any further discounts. I retro fitted a trip comp on my old Cooper and the coding only took 20 odd mins and was told similar task for the MFSW retrofit.
Will keep this post updated!

[zippy.mini]

Quote: Originally Posted by Buz999 (original)

Thanks for the warning wes!
I am off to collect a few bits and pieces from the dealers on monday so going to ask if they can pop the airbag off as this is the only way to know for sure. If i do need the replacement switch block then i will try and track down a set from a breakers as priced at £228 from BMW . Not sure about the 2 hours of coding, think they are telling you a sob story so you dont try for any further discounts. I retro fitted a trip comp on my old Cooper and the coding only took 20 odd mins and was told similar task for the MFSW retrofit.
Will keep this post updated!

Hi Buz999

I asked my dealer about this at the weekend and got a call back after he'd spoken to the parts guys. My car is an 03/08 car and he tells me that according to their computer, I will need to "swap" the block inside the steering wheel. Suggests that even if one's there, it's not necessarily the right one, which sounds a bit strange? If you haven't got any switches, why would there be a switch block in there?
I'm hoping they're wrong, but won't know for a couple of weeks when I get the car and can take the airbag out.
Fingers crossed you find that it's the right block in yours! If you can take a photo of the right one if you have it, or let me know if it's got a part number on it, that would be very useful.

For what it's worth, the dealer said that it would be around 1/2 hour coding, costing about £50.

[Buz999]

If you haven't got any switches, why would there be a switch block in there?

As explained in post 6, from 08/2007 we think all cars were wired with the MFSW switch blocks even if MFSW wasn't specced, so hoping its just a plug and play set up.

Fingers crossed.