My 2010 Cooper S appears to have a dead radio. Display under the speedo is just black. Replaced all the radio related fuses under the passenger kick panel (didn't have a tester handy), but that pretty much covers my car electrical knowledge. Don't really want to take it to the dealer right now. (It's just out of warranty and I'm short on cash.)

Any ideas of things I can check would be appreciated. Hoping the thing isn't just dead and will have to be replaced.

 

Did you track this down ?
My 09 has blank screen, no door chimes, all footwell fuses good.

 

Exciting I'm dealing with the exact same thing at the moment.

Thread here

I've talked to my local dealership & MINI USA. I explained to the customer service rep that the dealership said it's a 4hr job to disassemble and reassemble the dash just to check the fuse in back of the radio, and that $500 for what could amount to a fuse replacement is not my of a fun time. They said to take it to the dealership, have them diagnose, then call MINI USA back with the plan. They'll see if they can do anything for me about the potential cost.

I'm not confident though, because MINI has already replaced my engine under warranty, and my transmission 500 miles outside of warranty. They probably wouldn't be too happy to pay more for my car. We'll see though. I can't take it in this week, but maybe next. I'll update if I hear anything positive.

 

my radio also out of the blue stopped producing audio.. i can see all the lights and radio stations, but i can not hear any audio.. and i noticed the radio was getting really hot even if the car was off, for some reason with the car off the radio still had power some how and the radio would get really hot... and the next morning it had killed my battery, so i unplugged the radio fuse and it has not drained my battery since that.. i am guessing i need a new radio unit. maybe a internal short

 

What did you guys end up doing? I have a similar problem....

 

Still using a bluetooth speaker sitting on the dash. My mechanic wants to check the airbag relay b/c I have intermittent functioning of the seat heaters and he thinks that might be the cause.

However, tossing this around in my head as well:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-...889764515.html

 

My 2010 Conv. S, with HK is showing all the info on the screen but there is no sound what so ever.

I've pulled and checked every fuse. I've even tried getting to the amp which is under a panel cover under the driver seat. Trust me, it's a booger to get to.

I can't tell if it's getting power because I can't get to it well enough.

I'm ready to get rid of this car, but can't trade it in with the radio no working.

So glad I spent so much money on a stereo upgrade. LOL.

Did anyone figure out if there is a fuse on the head unit? Although I suspect that if that was blown the display wouldn't work.

Any new thoughts on this issue?

 

Just to chime into this thread, ive just had exactly the same on a MINI Cooper 2007, stereo dead with no display.

Ive checked all the fuses in the kick panel, removed the stereo to check the small 10amp fuse which is spot on, also the fuse under the bonnet, fine too. Ive even tried a battery reset (disconnect for 2 hours) to no luck. i find it interesting all the lights work for the audio buttons, the cd in lights, even the power **** is lit up, just no stereo and no display :(

be interested to know who else has had issues and what was a fix, if there was one...

 

Hi there, Cooper si had the same problem as you on a 2009 clubman S.
checked all the fuses and had the dash off to check the 10amp on the back...all good.
all the lights work but no radio operation or display.
So the unit is brown bread.... or its a programming issue and wil have to take it into the dealer to check. Strange how it was working, then the next day it was dead.
So if you find anything or anyone knows what the problem could be I would be very appreciative. I really hope its not time to get a new unit... they are not cheap from what I have seen. Time will tell..........

 

any updates on this issue?

 

My 2010 JCW radio is also dead, fuses check good....any ideas what to do next?

 

I'm having what sounds like the same issue: radio is dead, display is dead. I have a 2010 Mini Cooper. The Goodyear mechanic claims the fuses are all fine and the Mini dealer's service department wants $100 just to look at it.

With mine, the iPhone connection plug/port is also dead.

Anyone have any resolutions for their issue?

 

mine is still dead, haven't taken to the dealer yet

 

took the mini to the dealer and they said the radio is dead, needs to be replaced and is on order. The best price quote they could give me is right around $940 parts and labor...the mini has gone from costing me $500 every few months for a repair to close to $1000?
Done with mini

 

got the mini back from the dealer, they replaced the radio head unit $946.00
parts and labor. I called mini USA and placed a formal complaint.

 

Peanut, I feel for ya man. I've read some of your other posts. Seems that once you get it running good, I'd unload ASAP.

 

Got the same problem here, 2010 H/K stereo, dead display, **** and button lights are on... no door chime, even lost mission control... Not sure if it's the amp, although it looks like something more serious... will try to check the fuse behind the radio unit and post results.

 

I ended up replacing the entire head unit with a nice Kenwood single-DIN receiver. I had it all installed by a local shop. I now have bluetooth, iPod connectivity, HD radio reception, and an EQ that doesn't squash the bass going to the rear speakers. MINI can't flash updates to the computer anymore, but I wasn't willing to pay the insane cost to have a shitty stock stereo installed.

They wanted $500 just to open the dash up, get the radio out, see if the rear fuse was blown, and put it all back together. Then if the rear fuse wasn't the problem, another $900 for a replacement Boost radio. So it would have been $1400 for a POS audio system.

Instead, I spent $700 and had a really nice unit installed and got a whole lot of other functionality that was previously missing.

When it comes to personalizing a car, the stereo is probably the most common aftermarket component. For a company that so openly markets "You-ification", they really screwed people over by engineering the computer into the radio.

I've had too much garbage go wrong with this car. I'll drive it into the ground, but will never even consider buying another MINI and will do my best to dissuade anyone I can from buying one.

 

I originally posted here about my radio troubles on 03-28-14. Scroll back up to see what my complaint was.

Here's the result, which I'm now adding here because it looks like folks are still having this happen:

This issue sucked - it happened not too long after I'd bought the car. I had it repaired - and had $900 sucked out of my wallet.

Apparently our lovely little Minis (I still have mine) have a fatal flaw somewhere that causes the radio/center console to short out completely. On mine, it also caused the computer to always show a warning message on start-up (warning that a light bulb is dead), to leave a tiny triangle with a ! sign next to the mileage, and to no longer chirp at me on start up.

The garage that fixed my Mini charged me a $175 diagnostic fee in addition to the replacement radio ($750 for a stereo from Mini) and then labor... oh, so it was more than $900. Sorry; I rolled the repair in with some other things and the total bill was $2600 ($500 for new brakes, something else broken, etc.). Say $1,000-$1,150 for the radio/electrical issues. They have to remove the dashboard to get at this stuff, so the labor is costly.

What I didn't notice until it was too late was that the garage did not repair the computer issue - Mini now wants another $250 for a software download that will fix it. It doesn't impact anything, so I've left it for now. Be aware of that if your Mini has stopped that greeting chirp.

When I tried to contest all of this with Mini (the car was out of warranty), Mini told me that the fault occurs only when someone attempts to reprogram the computer. I didn't try to reprogram anything, but how do you prove you didn't? *sigh*

I'm in Nashville, TN, if that helps any.

 

This is very interesting. I'm purchasing a 2010 mini cooper base and the radio is dead. The dealer agreed to fix the radio and has ordered a new one and is installing it free of charge (saves me about a grand). The mini also had a check control message (triangle with ! next to mileage). It was related to the tire pressure as one of the tires were low. Hopefully it's not some sort of "computer" issue?


I'm curious about the "computer" issue you are referencing. What exactly is the computer issue you're referring to? Is it the warning message on start up about a bulb being out? Mini said they had to download software onto your ECU for $250 to resolve your "computer" issue? Also, did the mechanic or Mini figure out the "fatal" flaw was with your Mini that caused the radio to short out? If not, won't it just short out again?

 

Hello - first post.

Sympathize with the dead radio problem. My wife has a 2010 Cooper S convertible. radio worked - and then it did not work.

Had the radio rplaced after a fuse check. Good news is the radio works - bad news is that the PDC - back-up chime - and seatbelt warning chime no longer function. The radio manual in the dash visually indicates that sound settings and PDC and chime are available by pressing the musical note button on the radio controls. However only the radio settings for bass / treble etc show up. The manual clearly shows PDC / chime as display options as well.

So I am thinking that either there is more than one radio for the vehicle or that I am not understanding how to set the new radio up to access the PDC / Chime volume settings.

If any body out there has expertise in this area your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

Just chiming in: 2009 MCS with a radio that suddenly went dead. Worked fine, the started the car after getting some gas and poof- nothing.

Going to put a double DIN replacement in instead of replacing it, but there's definitely something wrong here.

 

I've got the dead radio in my 2010. Are there aftermarket stereos that will work with the steering wheel controls? Is it too much to ask that it would communicate with the computer/clock?

 

We had to replace the unit with the OEM product - no aftermarket unit - not inexpensive.

Post replacement the door and other warning chimes no longer functioned. Dealer says full software re-programming is required to update radio with car features - not done yet.

 

On the way to work, the radio went dead, then came back on. The next time I started the car, it was gone. Fuses all good. I refuse to pay to fix it, so I'll simply not have a radio. Minis stink. I've put well over 10 grand in repairs into this clunker in under six years. Piece of garbage. I refuse to get rid of it now because it just got paid off. I'll drive it until it dies completely and then dance on the funeral pyre...