Was looking on one of the BMW Vin decoders and it said that if you had SA693 on your car then you can retrofit Sirius radio.
SA693 is satellite radio prep.
Here is the Bimmertech link to the part you plug in...
http://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw-...radio-retrofit
Says it takes 30 miniutes and includes 1 year of service.
Seems like a good deal don't you think....

 

Yes, Gregory, Flow Mini in Winston-Salem retrofitted Sirius to my '14 MCS back in April. Cost was $485 and took most of the day as a reflash was necessary.

Surprisingly to me, I had contacted a number of dealers about the possibility of this retrofit, and none was either knowledgeable enough to do it (or perhaps just not interested?). Those are dealers that I will never deal with in the future!

I'm very pleased with this addition as I have the basic HK setup and had not been able to play my CD's. Now, I can listen to the music that I prefer. *BIG SMILE*

 

Cool glad to know it can be added after the fact, I have the HK radio with the XL connection package so I think I am good too.

 

I had mine done last week and it was a three+ hour job; because of some serious scheduling confusion they ended up doing it for free. I canceled my prior mini's service and got the unused money back ($120) and changed another account to drop all access and take advantage of the free service. All in all it worked out quite well. I ended up getting a free year, and paying $59 to extend my base service for a year without losing anything. Pretty happy with it all. I might also add that from what I was told on the standard radio, the receiver is already present but the software upgrade enables it. Sorry about the prior typo that should have read $120 not 1200).

 

Definitely a better deal than what dealers charge. The activation code is $350 by itself and then most dealers charge an hour or so of labor to just have it program. If you had just the code, you can technically do it through ESYS, I think.

 

Yes but you need the module that is the $350. The coding is to tie it all together and have it show up as Sirius on your screen...

 

If you're content with an external unit, just call SiriusXM and let them know and they'll send you a free radio and a free install card. I had mine installed last week and i had it placed low on the windshield to the left of the steering wheel. Doesn't look bad at all.

 

How about posting a photo?

 

Sorry about the lighting. It's daybreak.




View sitting back in the seat





Close up


It is a bit far to reach when changing channels, so if you change them often it may not work for you. I typically leave it on one or two channels.

 

The module is most likely an OBD connector, as you need a laptop handy. There's a link on that page that takes you to install instructions. They send you a cable, you connect to a Windows laptop, and they remote in via Skype ( I think) and code it for you.

My dealer charges ~$500 total, and that includes a 1 year subscription.

 

Think that is so but according to the rep there is a box that has to plug into the antenna - they are saying that there is a piece of additional hardware. Their $250 price is half the MINI charge but it would likely take you a couple of hours.

 

I was at the dealer yesterday and I asked them about it for my 2015 MINI Hardtop.

The tech said it would take about 1 1/2 hours. No mention of adding a module.

 

If that was so I wonder if there are printed instructions!!

 

I am sure the dealer has instructions.

I actually talked to the tech. He said it was simply a reflash. It sounded like the 1 1/2 hour was for labor.

I will probably have it done in Oct at the same time I have the recall work for the Side Impact Protection as well as the Tire Label done.

 

Hmm...I know that if you have the dealer do it, there is no additional hardware needed. Just the activation code from SiriusXM. All the wiring and everything is already there - the radio even has an ESN.

I was under the impression that if you are retrofitting it from a third party (like BimmerTech) they are simply providing the unique "FSC"-like code to enable the hardware and they remote code it in (probably using ESYS).

Admittedly though, I don't KNOW how they do it - just that no additional hardware is needed if you do the dealer retrofit.

 

So if you could borrow a cable and get the instruction on how to program it could be free.....I'm not clear on how they could charge that much for factory installed Sirius..

 

I believe it to be true for the Gen 3 MINI...that no additional hardware is required. "Satellite Radio Pre-Wire" is what MINI calls it.

I do know on my Gen 2 - 2008 MINI Cooper S...the antenna was wired and the cable (from the antenna) was underneath the passenger floor mat. As I recall, to enable it so it would be integrated into the car radio, required an additional box that the dealer would install...perhaps this is the $350 module that GregoryK has mentioned. On that car, I got the kit from SiriusXM and did the install myself.

 

When I had mine done they were very specific about it only being a software upgrade; I seriously doubt they would have done if for free if it involved selling hardware. I'll check again when i get down to the shop next.

 

HogWldFLTR

Year and model of your MINI, pls.

 

2014 mcs.

 

I believe the code itself still needs to be purchased from SiriusXM as it is unique to your tuner's ESN. All the MINI/BMW parts websites mention getting an FSC code so once you get the FSC code, you should be able to use ESYS to program. I'm sure the code carries a cost and the rest is dealer markup + labor costs to have them plug in the car to one of their computers while it codes the feature in.

If I recall correctly, all 2nd gen MINIs post LCI (2011+) had standard satellite radio prep and require no extra hardware.

EDIT: I found the instructions on how to retrofit Sirius yourself via ESYS, assuming you have the FSC code for your car. The instructions are for BMWs, but as we all know, in terms of coding, they are almost exactly the same as the 3rd gen MINIs: http://bmwesys.com/guides/Sirius%20F...structions.pdf

 

Taking mine in next Thursday to get it done.

 

Please let me know how it goes... and if you are willing to share, PM me the cost.

Also - the year of your car.

 

I'll fill you in after and let you know how it went. I don't mind sharing the cost at all, $495 plus tax. Oh and it's a 2015 base Cooper hardtop. It's a little steep, and to be honest I thought about just buying of the radios you add in, but I didn't really want the cluttered look that would be (at least in my mind).

 

Not sure why you would not do it yourself or with the BimmerTech guys for $250...