Pre-emptive introduction:
I've read some pretty iignorant comments on threads and groups, on remote starters in general. Nobody cares that YOU don't need one, or that YOU don't get it. Let's pre-empt that for this thread. Let's not drag this thread off topic. This thread exists because people some people DO live in snow country, let their wife get the garage, park outside, etc. Some people live in places where temperatures hit three digits - or are WAY below zero. Nobody cares about your "just go outside and start it first" comment of brilliant ignorance.

On the other hand, if you are one of the people frustrated at the general lack of availability of remote starters for MINI, this thread is what you are looking for.
Let's move on to the purpose for this thread. Solving the lack of remote starters available for 3rd gen MINI.

I happen to also be a former professional mobile electronics retailer (going back to those 2 decades ago young guy jobs) - but I'll never not customize and upgrade mine and my wife's cars. I just recently acquired a 2017 MINI Clubman JCW for my daily driver. I've already done the oil spray, and one missing ingredient is the remote starter.
I decided to pull the trigger on the Eurostart BRS remote starter.
Surprisingly the only game in town for MINI after 2016. Surprisingly, no one has done an installation thread here!

So far, from what I can tell, I'm pretty impressed with this company.
Here's my take:

The price: Expensive. But read on [EDIT: after installing - it's worth it.]
Before I knew BMW/MINI made life difficult for those seeking to add a remote starter to their 3rd gen, I was initially anticipating a $500 or $600 budget would get me a bells-and-whistles nice remote starter installed locally by one of the shops I still have some relationships with. I'd love to treat myself rather than installing one myself. So I was VERY surprised to hear them tell me "It's going to start at $1500 installed, and it won't even be one of the Viper or Compustar units you are familiar with - AND, you'll need to lose a key because there's no programmable bypasses"
To translate that last bit, he's saying "You'll need to spend another $300 getting a spare key - from the dealer - instead of a $50 bypass".
Also - if you want more range than your factory remote, you'll want to spend an additional $100-$150 on a remote dongle kit (from Compustar) or $160 plus subscription fees on a Drone Mobile unit to use a smartphone app on your phone as a remote.
​​​​​​Rough grand total, installed -

• Eurostart remote starter - $1500
• Extra key, programmed - $300-$400
• Drone Mobile or remotes - $150
• Drone Mobile service prepaid for 3 years - $300 (I hate monthly payments on anything but $12/month if that isn't your mindset)

Grand total installed - somewhere in the $2400 ballpark for what I was anticipating would be $500 or $600 (for any other car, basically). Still over $2000 if you are the type to live on payments for Drone Mobile or opt for the Compustar button dongle remotes. Still almost $2K even if you opt to go without either and just use your range-limited factory key remotes.

So alright - call it fate, Murphy's Law - whatever keeps me from being lazy. I guess I'm going the DIY route instead.
Rough grand total, DIY:

• Eurostart remote starter - $698 (USD)
• I also purchased the Drone Mobile option from Eurostart directly - $160

Subtotal here - it was about $900 shipped. If you are good with long-range 2 way remotes and no phone app, that's all the hardware you'd need.
I'm on my own to get a key from the dealer, I am hoping that will be closer to $300 than $400 but I'll find that out soon.
So even DIY, at $1200-$1300 it's about double what a "normal" remote starter - installed - costs. Just for the parts.
However, this isn't a generic remote starter for installation shops to figure out the integration needs. This is purpose-built for MINI and BMW, and it's essentially "plug and play"

The positive side:
Those DEI/Viper or Compustar (or other traditional) remote starter units are NOT "DIY friendly". They really do take some serious installation expertise, and realistically some expensive database subscriptions to help you find the correct wires in different car models that are often only available to remote starter product dealers. There's risk if you tap the wrong wire, and there's even risks in how you perform the wire tapping. Local pros argue between T-tapping and soldering, and neither is ideal. This Eurostart option is plug-and-play, using factory wiring that you aren't cutting or tapping. Swapping a few pins from one connector to another is actually pretty slick, pretty simple, and ensures long term reliability.

Installation:
Eurostart so far seems very DIY-friendly.
This video is VERY worth watching -
You can tell that they really put some thought into ensuring the installer's success. If you are comfortable with that, you can do this install.

The rest is disassembling the glove box area to access the connectors. Simply having the right attitude and disciplines about being careful and not brute-forcing things - that's the remaining part to ensure your success. Again, I'm a little biased because I have done this professionally (and JUST had this whole area apart to install a fancy dashcam), but I think with some cheap plastic panel tools off Ebay, small screwdrivers, a 20mm and 30mm Torx driver (and the instructions say 25mm also), and you should be all set. Take photos at each step so you can reference how things are, were, and go back together. I also like to place the fasteners and screws into small bins with labels made of sharpie on masking tape to keep them from getting lost and to keep you from getting confused on which screws go where.

Also, I haven't received the unit yet but as soon as I placed the order they sent me a PDF with installation instructions. That is thoughtful to receive ahead of time, let me review and plan the installation, and the PDF is full of all the information needed to perform the installation, full of pictures, and showing the specialty tools and verification cards that they are including to help successfully install this unit.

Stay tuned, I'll take some photos and cover my progress. So far all I've done is order the thing, just yesterday, from Eurostart directly.

 

I've been looking to get one of these as well. Excited to see how it turns out for you.

 

I just finished reviewing the installation PDF - I feel like it is very good. It's really well illustrated and contains lots of reference photos that are specific to the Clubman. It's a very thorough walk--through and it's clear that they both engineered this well and documented the installation well. There's also a troubleshooting guide that seems thorough as well.

I don't want to necessarily attach the whole PDF here as they don't have it available for download on their site, but did supply it immediately on completing the order as I mentioned.
But here's a few preview screenshots to give you a feel for the instructions:




The most detailed aspect is really what they covered in that video in the first post showing how to move pins in the harnesses. They do cover that in the instructions as well, both what pins go where and how to use the tools they supply - but that video is very much worth watching for the technique.

Not sure if this will show up in time for a weekend install - I do have a family event this weekend but if not this weekend, I'll shoot for next weekend.

Just checked - looks like the order shipped yesterday and they supplied a UPS tracking number.

 

Package showed up today, and I'm as impressed as I thought I would be with the detailed instructions and what they show in them, above.

In the box is the BRS5 unit itself.
There's a very complex looking bracket - it's covered in the instruction PDF. It's clearly well thought out, specifically designed - hoping it fits as well as the PDF shows.
There are two pieces of foam tape in the little envelope with the plug ends and labels and wiring identification cards, they go on that bracket in a specific way so that there's no plastic-on-metal vibrating after installation. Well thought out.
The wiring harness as well - it's already wrapped with the wires in the right positions to do the pin swaps, and then the OEM wires you swapped with go into the plugs in these bags, which then plug into the BRS5. They suggest using some more Tesa tape (I have a bunch) to complete the wiring harness from the OEM wiring, and they even include labels to mark those OEM wires that are now relocated into the BRS5 plugs, in the event that you ever wanted to uninstall and restore back to OEM stock or just needed to reference or probe those specifc wires for any reason.

Note that "NOTICE" paper down there - it not only includes some details to make clear if I'm referencing the right instructions, but it includes both an Email and a phone number for support. I feel like that instructions PDF is plenty good enough, but really nice to have them given not just one but two ways to reach support.

And the optional Drone mobile interface, which is just a plug-in 4 pin connector, simple. Same as if I'd opted for one of the Compustar remote packages, both are simple.



Also - I almost missed this in the box, thinking it was just the packing slip - they did include those two pin removal tools in the video:



It's funny because I own a whole big janitor's keyring full of pin removal tools for all kinds of OEM connectors but probably 95% of the time it's the basic, flat pin removal tools that I find myself working with. The other 50 of them on my keyring kit I bought way back when are mostly unused. Lots of installers get away with just using a pick tool.
But my thought here is - these that came with the kit are longer and seem nicer than my set already. I think for anyone who does install this, keep these tools. You really won't often (if ever) need a master pin removal set like all the dusty ones I have.

I've got some busy times coming up here - a parent's birthday and thanksgiving, it's going to squeeze my time, so I might not be installing this quite yet.
I need to ring the dealer to find out about getting an extra key.
While I have them on the phone I need to find out also about this automatic transmission shifter TSB / issue - mine is throwing the error that indicates that the little spring is broken, and I've already got a replacement spring - but if there's a TSB to replace this at the dealer, I'd rather get a new shifter, vs dissecting and repairing this new-to-me shifter. That'll have to be priority #1.

But this is definitely on my short-term list as well. Snow tires are already on the car, and it'll start snowing soon.
Stay tuned.

 

One requirement for this Eurostart is that you need to lose a key.
I don't want to lose one of the two keys my car came with - I'd be really stuck if I dropped my only remaining key in the toilet, right?
So in my opinion, the only way to go is to buy a third key.

If anyone is wondering "Why do I need to lose a key?" and "isn't it totally insecure leaving a key inside the car?"
The first answer is - it's because of what Kias don't have - an ignition interlock. The car won't start without a specific chip that's inside the key that your car needs to detect wirelessly.
The second answer is - you disassemble the key. No blade, no housing, no battery. There's a spot to assemble it inside the actual Eurostart unit, which stimulates the ignition interlock chip only when the remote starter unit is starting the car. Fairly secure.

For that, I went to the MINI dealer yesterday - $344 for the key. $375-ish after tax. I should say it's ordered - might come in Friday, might be Monday. I probably can't pick it up until Wed at any rate,

Programming? I expect it, but the service guy at the front desk (and admittedly he hasn't been there long) called someone back in service to ask about programming. He provided this interesting tidbit-
The "newer" MINI cars don't require key programming via the MINI code scanner. Just hold it against the column and hit the start switch a few times until it starts. Self-programming done. That's not totally infeasible, since they needed my registration and license for two reasons - to prove ownership, and to get my VIN. However, my 2017 is pre-LCI however, and the front desk guy nor the guy that he spoke with was sure it applied to my MINI. So possibly, it'll cost me more for key programming. We'll see, stay tuned for that.

 

One requirement for this Eurostart is that you need to lose a key.
I don't want to lose one of the two keys my car came with - I'd be really stuck if I dropped my only remaining key in the toilet, right?
So in my opinion, the only way to go is to buy a third key.

If anyone is wondering "Why do I need to lose a key?" and "isn't it totally insecure leaving a key inside the car?"
The first answer is - it's because of what Kias don't have - an ignition interlock. The car won't start without a specific chip that's inside the key that your car needs to detect wirelessly.
The second answer is - you disassemble the key. No blade, no housing, no battery. There's a spot to assemble it inside the actual Eurostart unit, which stimulates the ignition interlock chip only when the remote starter unit is starting the car. Fairly secure.

For that, I went to the MINI dealer yesterday - $344 for the key. $375-ish after tax. I should say it's ordered - might come in Friday, might be Monday. I probably can't pick it up until Wed at any rate,

Programming? I expect it, but the service guy at the front desk (and admittedly he hasn't been there long) called someone back in service to ask about programming. He provided this interesting tidbit-
The "newer" MINI cars don't require key programming via the MINI code scanner. Just hold it against the column and hit the start switch a few times until it starts. Self-programming done. That's not totally infeasible, since they needed my registration and license for two reasons - to prove ownership, and to get my VIN. However, my 2017 is pre-LCI however, and the front desk guy nor the guy that he spoke with was sure it applied to my MINI. So possibly, it'll cost me more for key programming. We'll see, stay tuned for that.

 

Good news - I completed the installation of this yesterday, and while it took a good "most of the day" to complete, the kit really was well engineered, designed to fit specifically to the F54 (I'm positive the other variants fit those MINI and BMW just as well), the instructions were super detailed and well written - and each step accompanied with very clear color photographs. I did print the PDF on my laser printer, and even the printout was "good enough" other than a few photos I had to zoom into the photos on the laptop.

First off, I'm glad that i installed this on my car:


The F54 is slightly easier to get to the negative terminal to disconnect the battery than the other MINI models, but while I wanted the power disconnected, there were a few times where I needed to reconnect power, and it was so easy to just press the "off" or "on" button and could see at a glance if the battery was connected or not. This device is an automatic battery disconnect, so if my power ever dropped to 11.8V, this device disconnects the battery so I can restart it - but I picked this to have the easy on/off disconnect. The voltage readout is a bonus. I 3D printed a base to mount it from ASA which can survive underhood temps..

 

The remote starter kit was pretty complete -
In the box in the static bag is the Eurostart unit and a very impressively nice and complete pre-wired harness specific to the F54. Poking out of the bubble wrap you can see a very nice bracket that is also specific to the F54 installation. This fits tightly to the back of the plastic carrier that holds the F54 fuse box, and the Eurostart mounts to two studs on the top.

The spare MINI key is the one I bought - and disassembled, so that piece you see there is just the portion of the key with the electronics, no back, no battery. This gets built permanently into the Eurostart right up front.

They included the blue trim panel popper (I have favorites of my own, so I used mine instead), and they included the two flat metal tools below the box. One is a purpose built tool for releasing pins from the BMW/MINI harness connectors, and the other is a purpose built "glide tool" designed specifically as a just-in-case any given pin doesn't easily release, to guide it out easier. I did use these tools, although I only needed the guide tool once.

In the baggie are:

• empty connectors. As you remove pins from the factory connectors, you insert them into positions in these connectors, then plug them into the harness. You replace the wires you unpinned from the factory connectors with pre-terminated pins already attached to wires on the harness.
• cards with color-correct connector diagrams showing the pin numbers and wire colors corresponding to the wires you will be replacing in those connectors. The instructions clearly describe when to use these cards, and also clearly name the colors both of the wire you remove, as well as the color of the wire replacing it. Those harness wires by the way - also have a piece of printed heat shrink that is a label stating what connector and pin that the wire goes to. They really go out of their way to ensure mistakes are not made.
• a sheet of labels that you wrap around the wires before you remove them from the factory harness. These labels serve double-duty - they label what factory connector/pin number they came from, in the event you wanted to uninstall the remote starter and restore the factory wiring. They also show what connector and slot position in the replacement connector each factory wire goes into, using a clear diagram of the connector and its keyed shape.printed on the label. Really well thought and well designed.

I spent a number of years working at a facility that manually manufactured devices and harnesses for military and medical devices, so I already owned an ESD wristband, but the one in blue below I bought because I couldn't find it, hadn't used it in years - but this really is a serious concern. Many electronics are very sensitive, and even a little static "zap" like you might giggle over in the house - that can take out a chip in a circuit, and this PDF stated in VERY clear terms that these electronics (both the Eurostart and the vehicle's ECU and BCM) are static sensitive. This thing was $10. You just alligator-clip it to the vehicle, to bare metal, to ground yourself. Cheap insurance.

The Tesa tape I already had on hand - and the instructions also mention it explicitly. You could probably get by with plastic zip ties, but it's cheap, matches how they built the harness, and it looks professional.



The Drone module is what I chose (or I could have bought one of a few models of CompuStar remote controls, keyfob dongles) integration and control. It comes with a cable that just plugs into the Eurostart.

And I printed all 31 pages of the PDF to have in the garage as I worked to install it.

 

I'll keep the pictures pretty minimal to give you the ides of the install -
Anyone who is interested in this remote starter, just trust me that each step of the installation includes two or three color photos in that 31 page PDF.

They do show how to disassemble this entire area. Basically what I've done in this photo is disassemble the area around the glove box, removing the glove box entirely, and kick panel trim. I'd done this before to install my fancy dashcam (the yellow/red wires you see routed around where the glove box are those - ignore them) and it's not hard, but the the instructions walk you through it, clearly illustrated.
Just needed a Torx 20 driver, and I used a Torx 20 on a 1/4" rachet for two at the celing of the glove box, and a Torx 30 on a 3/8" rachet to unbolt the airbag, which is what you see standing up at the right of the photo blocking the BCM.



I had to disconnect the fuse taps my dashcam harness came with, and then to remove the fuse box from the plastic fuse box bracket is as simple as unclipping it.
Then, two plastic 10mm bolts allow you to remove the fuse box carrier from the firewall.



This is where that impressive stainless (I believe) bracket comes into play. First, I removed the screws from the Eurostart and installed my extra MINI key (battery removed) inside of it, then screwed the lid back on. Then, you use two nuts to secure the Eurostart to that plastic bracket. Since I had a 2017, I used the two pieces of foam tape on the side of the fusebox carrier, where the bracket rests against it. Newer year F54, they instruct you to put the tape somewhere else on the bracket. They've done their research.

The bracket then installs over the backside of the fuse box carrier, with that hole centered over a hole that one of those studs go through. You replace the fuse box carrier, bolt it back in place, and the bracket is held in place between the firewall and the fuse box carrier, with the Eurostart pretty much hidden above where your glove box will be. Even once you re-install the fuse box carrier, the Eurostart almost disappears up in the dashboard. That made me feel pretty good about security, in the off chance that you might worry about someone accessing the Eurostart, disassembling it, fetching the key, bringing their own keyfob battery, and making off with your car. They really installed this securely - even for someone who knew it was in there, it would take a long time to get disassembled far enough to even reach the box, much less disassemble it - and the thief would need to know specifically about this Eurostart to even know there's a fob existing inside that screwed-together box.



Here's a picture after re-installing the fuse box carrier. Pretty hard to even spot the EuroStart above it, way up in the dash. And it's inaccessible once the glovebox and lower dashboard are reinstalled.


Look up - right behind the crash structure behind the dash. Behind that main wiring harness there:


Pretty clever.

 

The next step was to route the Eurostart harness. It just goes down the kick panel side, and they have you route it through a plastic channel that's actually a bit tricky to pop open, but worth the effort. The harness is clearly Tesa taped with one branch coming off at a convenient spot to come out one opening in that plastic channel, then I fed the rest behind some factory wiring also coming out that location, to route it to come out the bottom of that channel.
And it was just not easy to get a picture of that because the padded carpet just makes it hard to photograph. Heck, it's hard to unclip the channel to get access, much less photograph it. Routing it and clipping it closed was easier.

Here's all I've got.

Before routing:


The plastic channel is back THERE... you can see one of the four plastic clips if you look close.


After routing, you can see where the harness comes out - ready to start pinning the connectors.

In the BCM on the right, in the top row - the black and white connectors are two that will be unplugged (one at a time, following the instructions), and in the bottom row, the black and dark grey.

On each, once you unplug the connector by lifting those little bails up, and then there are small releases to slide the connector hoods off the actual connector components held inside. Once the hoods have been slid off each connectors, then the pins and releases are accessible to start doing the wiring... which really just consists of moving a few wires around.

 

They really try to make it foolproof, most of it I described earlier.
Wire labels wrapped around each wire, both identified on these cards, as well as described in the instructions both by position and color.
The labels show where they will be installed in which new connectors, as well as identifying where they came from, so you could restore the wiring to factory if needed in the future.
They included the tool to release the pins, and then the pins just naturally come out of the connector (you do have to release it twice - once where it is initially secured, then a secondary catch just above that).
Here's a few photos of different steps-

Here's where I strapped up - note I have the metal grounding pad against the bottom of my wrist - I'm not that hairy of a guy, but regardless this is the best spot, and I still used a little lotion on my wrist to make sure that my skin was properly conductive. You can see I just grounded myself with the alligator clip attached to the bare car chassis off to the side.


Then, on to the wiring.
Releasing the bail to unplug the connector.


Releasing the actual connector strips from inside that connector:



Once those are free, you use the cards in conjunction with the instruction descriptions to identify the correct wires to attach labels to.
The label with the "52" was the first I installed. It identifies pin position 52 in the factory "connector 8" (also on the label) in case this needs to be restored.
Then the image of the connector that it will be installed into (as viewed from the front of the connector) and the pin position it will be installed into is shown on each label:


Using the tool to release the identified wires from the factory connector.


Installing those factory wires into the new connectors (which then just plug into matching pre-wired sockets in the Eurostart harness):.


Installing the replacement wires from the Eurostart harness (nicely labeled) into the newly vacated spots in the factory connector at the spots indicated on their labels)

Just push them in until they click.

 

I'll also show where I installed my Drone X2 unit.
This is what I chose instead of Compustar remote control dongles. I almost did go this route, since it's basically the same cost but no subscription, it does have 2-way confirmation that the car started, and the only real trade-off is having to carry that extra remote on your keychain. But I went the Drone route so I wouldn't need to carry extra remotes.

Note I can still use my factory remotes to remote start the car. The car first has to be locked, then you press the lock button once, twice, then hold it for a few seconds on a third press, and then a few seconds later the car will remote start. But the Drone unit lets you pay for a subscription to use their app to remote start your car, so you aren't limited to distance.

Either way, you still have to mount the box for the X2 or Compustar remote receiver. Either way, they just plug into a 4 pin connector in the Eurostart, but it has to mount somewhere.

Remembering that the fuse box has an access door in the back of the glove box (as weird as I still think that is for fuse box access), and seeing that I had room behind the fuse box, I thought there was a spot the LEDs could be visible for the drone unit. I just had to slightly relocate the mounting holes - the Drone unit had a hole, but a slot that extended away from it. I just relocated the mounting hole to the end of that slot:
(Note in the photo below - I turned over the sticker that shows a barcode that is unique to my device - that's what's used to set up the Drone app. That's covering the port in the photo where the wire plugs in that goes to the Eurostart, which you can see plugged in in the next photo. That is why I drilled the two mounting holes so the Drone unit here will be mounted "upside down" with regard to the logo. Also if mounted the other way, I really wouldn't be able to see the LED's through the glovebox access door)



And then I mounted it to the fuse box carrier (I had to pre-drill the holes - it's very rigid plastic):



Visible when the fuse box is clipped back in place - LEDs just barely peek out over the fuse box:


This is the point everything is assembled, at least functionally. This is the point to test to confirm everything works. Test time.
Here's one spot where i was really glad I just had to poke the "on" button on my battery disconnect device.

Don't skip the test procedure in the instructions, first. They have you get in the car with your normal keyfob, start the car, and then go around the car opening the doors one at a time, hatch doors, and opening/closing the hood. That apparently tests signals that the Eurostart monitors, and will throw error codes if you'd done anything wrong.

Then - test it by remote starting it with the factory remotes. Lock, lock, lock(hold a couple seconds) car should start. And mine did! Huge victory.

Then - if you have Compustar remotes, test starting with those.
Or in my case - I tested my X2. I had to install the app, scan the barcode it came with (installed the sticker inside a trim panel for future reference or app reinstall), and it was pretty simple. Worked right off the bat also.
I'm a day into it, I hven't figured the whole Drone app out yet - other than starting the car. It is cool that it shows battery voltage, tracked my GPS position on a quick lunch run I made today, notified me when i started the car (not just remote started the car). There's two or three "Aux" functions, I can't find documentation for those - the Drone documentation describes a few options if I had it on a traditional remote starter, I'll possibly reach out to Eurostart to ask them what they control. Or maybe I can figure it out with some trial and error - not something I'm really chomping at the bit to do since it's definitely already winter outside (thank god for garage heaters!), and the remote starting - it's doing what I want it to do. But would be nice to know what thsoe Aux functions do.

And if yours works - done! All you have to do is reassemble the glove box and lower dash and you are really done. Which I did - project DONE.

I'm really super impressed with the quality of this unit so far. The documentation in that 31 page, F54-specific PDF with the color photos and clear instructions was above and beyond maybe anything else I've used or followed. I spent a TON more money on this in a DIY capacity than I was thinking I'd originally spend just having some shop install a remote starter in my car, but I'm left feeling my money was well spent. They've obviously spent a lot of time not only developing and manufacturing this unit, but the specific bracket and instructions for the F54 - and I'm sure equally so for the other third-gen MINI models, equally so for the X1 and X2 and whatever other BMW that Eurostart is compatible with - they've put a lot of time into installing this and ensuring installer success - so I don't mind paying a premium for that.

And even the key - yeah, paying $375 is a lot for an extra key fob. But at least I didn't have to pay $200 on top of that to have the key programmed - the key just works by teaching it to the car, as described earlier. So while it's a lot of money, and a hell of a DIY project - the instructions are good enough thata DIY guy can feel like he's got an expert there with him.
And if you need an expert - I didn't need it, but their install PDF contains an 800 number in large print that basically screams "call us if you need help", and based on the care that went into that PDF - I'm sure the support must be top notch, for anyone who is on the fence. Even though I took it slow and it took me many hours, many podcasts in the background - it was really well documented and facilitated well enough to have been an enjoyable, fulfilling experience.

When you buy the thing, they supply the PDF link right up front - and seeing how good those instructions are, gives you confidence even before the unit arrives.
I'm not sure if my pictures above give you confidence or not like the instructions gave me confidence.
I hope they do.

 

Love the detailed guide and pictures! The install doesn't seem too bad. It's definitely pricey but there aren't many other options out there and this seems very well put together.

 

It's really not bad at all.

I'd definitely stress "disconnecting the battery" seriously, for anyone tackling it. One reason is because you never know what part of these cars are "awake", and anything you touch seems to wake the car up. Not what you want to have happen as you are unplugging and unpinning the connectors plugged into the computer/BCM.
The second reason is the airbag is right there. You have to unbolt it, you have to move it around - I don't recommend unplugging it - for sure don't. You don't want the airbag going off on you. So disconnect the battery upfront.

And even with the ESD - static discharge could zap your BCM or could zap your Eurostart. Neither is cheap to replace. Maybe worse - it might not totally break, just become quirky and annoying. Ever have electronics get some mystery gremlin or occasional annoyance? $10 is cheap for an amazon ESD grounding wristband. Do it.

The intimidating part to me was popping the pins from the factory connectors, but now that I've done it I can say the BMW connectors are well built, easy to disassemble, and then pretty straightforward to release the pins - and the pins themselves are made of substantial enough metal that there really wasn't a risk of them getting deformed or bent or breaking.

Disassembling the glove box and kick panel areas down to where I had it wasn't a big deal, neither was disassembling the fuse box. I've done that kind of work a ton in the past (even professionally), but I can say this car was easier than most in that regard.

Especially with the level of details in those instructions (and definitely watch that video I shared at the beginning of this thread showing the de-pinning, before you start this - it's not that boring), it's DIY-friendly. Again, I didn't call support, but you can tell from everything that they are really set up to support the installer.

And if this is too much for you to DIY but you really want a remote starter - I think the local shop that quoted me $1500 was a little steep since the unit cost is about $700, but then again this isn't a 30 minute remote starter install.- even for an installer who's already done this job before on another MINI, they would have to block out 3-4 hours I'm sure.
Maybe less - I wasn't rushing, I wasn't on the clock, I was listening to podcasts, I was helping my wife out with a few things. It was nice not to rush the job - and actually enjoyable thanks to the details they provided to help you feel confident.

 

Just two follow-up notes on this-

The back of the manual has a procedure for programming a few preferences.
You enter programming mode by turning the ignition on-off-on, then pressing the brake pedal 3 times. The indicator lights flash once to confirm you are in that mode.
Then you can use the steering wheel voice button and volume up and down buttons to cycle through the options and change them.
I did go through this process one time, the only defaults i wanted to change was the default heated seat options of "driver and passenger seat on high heat", to "Driver seat level 1 and passenger seat off". I thought that I had confirmed it, but in the times I've remote started it since, I've seen both seats on high heat - the default.
I'll try again, I may have just misunderstood the "save" step or when to do it.

Also, on the Drone Mobile unit, it has three "Aux" buttons that you can configure into the app. You can drag these into a control menu panel, along with "start", "lock", and "unlock" (and "trunk"). The Drone Mobile instructions basically say that the Aux functions are whatever the remote start manufacturer makes available. The Eurostart PDF is incredibly thorough on the installation details, but doesn't really have much info relating to integration either with the Drone, or the Compustar 2 way remote options you can buy, other than plugging them into one of the two 4 pin connectors.
I'll have to reach out to Eurostart to see what they made available for these Aux options - if anything.

Would be great to be able to set it to "max defrost" or turn on the rear defrost. Not that I know that those are even "Aux" control options - just saying those would be ideal options.

 

I just installed the Eurostart on my 22 Cooper S a couple weeks ago. The instructions are very thorough. And the only place I got hung up on was exactly how the stepped aluminum bracket mounted behind the fuse box against the firewall. The picture in the instruction wasn't too helpful. But I eventually fiddled until I figured it out. (It would have been wonderful to see this thread first! Excellent pictures!) Removing the pins in the connections is something I've never done before and it was very easy. Also, Eurostart has really good customer service. They seem genuinely happy to help.

I don't have the drone system. So it's a little cheaper without it. Here in Michigan, remote start is must in the winter. I use it a couple times a day. For me, it's worth every penny.