Thanks to anyone who can offer me some information on my 2007 R56.

I recently bought a wrecked 07 R56 at auction and rebuilt it. The seat belt pre-tensioner on the DS and the Driver and Passenger Airgags deployed. I replaced both airbags, the pre-tensioner and the crash sensors and had the module reset, and the light didn't go off.

Took it to the dealer and they said that if the airbag system trips more than three crash codes, they are un-deletable and stored forever in the computer's memory...no way to erase them.

They say the only way to "reset" the system and get the light out is to replace the whole module and have it reprogrammed by them. I'm looking at about $700 for something that normally costs $0 on any other vehicle I've rebuilt in the past.

Is there any way around this??? The tech. I am talking to is open to suggestions, he's worked for MINI awhile but doesn't know much at all about the airbag system.

Any help is MUCH appreciated!!!

 

You might want to ask the mod's to move this to a broader forum.

 

Straight from the Min WDS Mini Wiring Diagram System - Model MINI R55 R56
But have you rebuilt a new 08 or 09 recently. From things i have read on other forums this is becoming more prevalent.

No way to change this. The module MUST be replaced.

Many manufacturers are doing this type of stuff so that the public is not out there repairing cars that are unsafe and can never be made safe after an accident.

If there were three seperate "hits" to the car, not a triggering of three seperate sensors, which is what it would take to get to this point then the car is most likely not safe and can not be made safe in the eyes of the OEM then the car should be scrapped.

 

First of all, thank you very much for the quote from the WDS. Much appreciated.

Yes, A couple of 08s (4) and one 09. Late model auto restoration has been my full-time occupation for the past five years. I trained under my father who has been in the business for 30 years.

I've learned this the hard way.

I think it's a pretty dumb idea to be honest with you, and for this reason: the lightest of hits can deploy the airbags. All it takes is a firm jostling of the crash sensors; it could be at 5mph, it could be at 25mph, it could be at 100mph. And from what I understood from the Mini tech, any three circuits tripping will cause the crash codes to be permanently burned into the module's memory. For example: the driver side, passenger side airbags and the driver side pre-tensioner deployed in the crash on my 07. Had it just been the driver side airbag and pre-tensioner, there wouldn't have been an issue, $110 for programming and I'm back on the road in an hour.

Anyway, that's really neither here nor there, my main quip is that complicating things unnecessarily isn't going to make the road safer. It's actually going to make it less safe. People who rebuild cars are still going to rebuild cars. Instead of replacing airbag components though, they're going to begin "faking" them with resistors and modification if the process remains this difficult. Why not just make teh airbags plug-and-play like they've always been??? (Yes, I realize I'm very biased because of my profession. I do see the other side of the story...I just don't agree with it.)

Finally, just because a car has been rebuilt doesn't mean it is unsafe.

The fact is that hundreds of thousands of cars on the road have been rebuilt. What makes them safe isn't if they've been fixed before, it's the competence of the driver (mostly) and the thoroughness of the repairs (partly).

Not sure I follow. The car was in one accident only. Three components tripped through the left front crash sensor. Three sensors didn't activate. There are only two crash sensors in front, so for three to activate the side airbags would have had to deploy as well. They did not.

The OEM would tell you that any car that has had the slightest of damage is unsafe. It's how they make their money. They don't want people outside of the company doing repairs because it loses them money. They've gotten wise now, however and made sure that if anyone attempts to repair one of their cars, they are still going to make money. It's a win-win for BMW.

Finally, just for clarification, the car I rebuilt is safe. I wouldn't sell someone a car if it weren't safe. My 100% eBay rating since 2002 justifies that comment. A perfectly good, rebuilt car does not need to be "scrapped."

Thanks again for your reply--it helped quite a lot to see it in plain text from the Mini WDS and not be forced just to take the tech's word for it.

 

I can not and have not been able to verify what i am saying below. it is just from experience.

From what i understand about this system is that the module can hold all the data from all the sensors, three times. I.E. if the car is hit once it takes data reading from all the sensors. That is considered 1 (one) hit. Now the second time the car is hit it records data from all the sensors. then the third time the car is hit it records data from all the sensors and then locks itself and must be replaced.

What i do not know is if there is a timer that is set that must end before a second or third hit is registered. If this is a very short time frame then in one accident there could be multiple hits registered or maybe only one.

I can see if the car was in one accident that even with a long timer where a hit could be registered. I.E. once in the accident. Two when the tow drive dumped the car off the flat bed. And maybe a third for some other reason.

I also do not agree with the way it is done but unfortunately have to live with it.

 

After working on airbag systems for the past five years, the way I've come to understand their function is that they can only register one "hit" before they have to be replaced (or in any other case aside from the Mini - simply "reset").

Semi-Permanent (Or, in the case of the Mini, permanent) "crash" data is stored in the computer's memory once the crash is acknowledged by a crash sensor. This is data that is stored only after a deployment is activated by the "jostling" (for lack of a better word) of one or more of the crash sensors.

In this case, the computer fires the driver airbag and pre-tensioner (or if there is a passenger present then it will fire those, too) and any other components it sees fit (for example, if the side crash sensors interpret a "jostling," then the appropriate side airbags will fire).

The "crash" data is far different than "fault" data which is, under all circumstances in my past (save the 07 Mini), is erased simply be repairing the fault (IE The connector on the left seat belt tensioner has come loose, or there is a short in the wiring to the crash sensor, etc.). Most cars will make the airbag light "blink" a code that spells out exactly where the fault is. Mini is not kind enough to build this type of system into their automobiles.

In the case of the Mini that Fault data is non-erasable, except by a Mini tech. I've read a lot of posts that complain about having to take their MC in for re-programming because they disconnected their side airbag to do some modification and forgot to unplug their battery - resulting in a tripped airbag light even after the fault was repaired.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm still blathering on aimlessly. Sorry about that.

My main point was that one "hit" is all it takes to register crash data in an airbag module. That crash data either has to be erased by someone with the proper equipment (which I've been doing the past five years), OR...you're stuck buying a new module.

The tech. at Mini said it was the amount of "crash" faults that tripped the accursed module replacement requirement. In my case, since (1) the driver side airbag, (2) the pass. side airbag, (3) the driver side seatbelt pre-tensioner, and (4) the left front crash sensor deployed, it locked the module since there were 3 or more faults.

He said 2 crash faults (IE - the crash sensor and the airbag only [not sure that is even possible]) could have been erased, but since there were 3 it had to be replaced.

Anyway, not sure if any bit of that is helpful. Sorry again for my long-windedness!

 

So this thread has been helpful. I am working on rebuilding an 08 MC. This is my first car in which the airbags were blown(previous experience with side impact truck beds, etc) At any rate I ordered a new driver/steering wheel airbag which is the only one that was blown in a front right corner collision. I a wondering what needs to be done before I plug the new airbag in? Will it deploy of some sensors are not replaced? Can anybody with a decent diagnostics computer reset the control module? Thanks a lot for any info

 

I know this is an old thread but it's the best on the subject I have found.

I am working on/rebuilding a 2003 which had an accident. The drivers side bag was "replaced" (it looks like it was physically replaced) but I need to replace the passenger side. I am a little uncertain on the status of the drivers side - the external temp shows 122 and the temp sensor is AWOL, makes me wonder if they just popped an airbag in or even just a clean cover on. Does a error code detect that?
Assuming that drivers side is all cool a couple of questions:
I need to replace the bag and the dash panel - that's obvious. I assume they plug into the same module as the drivers side?
Does the 2003 have a per-tensioner and if it does is this a full replacement of the seat belt or is it just a component?
Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks for any replies.

 

This is the Gen 2 section (2007 +) and as such the airbags systems are completely different. Your best bet would be to ask this question in the 1st Gen section.