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Hey guys, first post on this forum. We just bought our daughter a used 2015 Mini Cooper S from a dealership about 100 miles away.
When we got home we realized the head unit is after market (CPAA-70M) and supports Carplay and Android auto. What we initially thought was a great thing has turned into a nightmare since we can't measure the oil level or see any car system settings.
Can somebody help advise? We don't know what the car originally came with but I could pick up a 2015 standard infotainment without nav for ~$150. My question is, can I pick up any original head unit - post 2015 and it will work? Is there something better for <$500 that I could stick into the car that allows us to see factory settings (oil, tpms etc.) and adds carplay?
Any advice would really be appreciated. I need to be able to check the oil level and the car has no dipstick.
I suggest you first learn what system your car had originally. You can look this up using a free VIN decoder website (I like bimmer.work - ignore the big ads for Research VIN Decoding, look for the small text box between ads and the 'I'm not a robot' check box). Sometimes you'll have to stare at an ad for 15 seconds before getting the list of all your options. Another site, mdecoder.com does the same thing—again, ignore the big ads and look for the smaller text box at the top of the screen.
MINI's are specifically wired for the original options, which can make retrofits costly, time consuming, or impossible. If your car had the base radio (see below), it probably didn't offer the ability to customize a ton of settings, so you might not be missing that much. I don't recall seeing a factory upgrade path for this radio.
There are some upgrade paths for the other radio types. Over on minif56.com, member sb2002 seems to know a great deal about radio upgrades and the parts you will need.
Last edited by thunderball kaboom; Jan 23, 2023 at 07:51 AM.
Reason: Add phot I referenced but didn't originally upload
I have a 2017 Mini Cooper S with the factory "ENTRYNAV" unit, which does the job for all basic factory behaviors just fine while offering no functional Carplay option. If you need factory functionality (being able to check oil level, for example!) but also want Carplay, the ENTRYNAV is a no-go without additional 3rd party bolt-ons (which are available, but also not cheap). ENTRYNAV is not the lowest-end unit for the F series MINIs, if my memory serves, but it's the lowest one before you get to something that doesn't have a navigation-capable screen at all.
The advice to first learn what the car had originally gets a +1 from me. Carplay addition is not an easy or cheap undertaking, as @thunderball kaboom has indicated. That is probably how the car you bought wound up with an aftermarket Carplay etc., but simultaneously ended up having a hatchet job on base functionality. It's very easy for parties who are not well-informed (meaning whomever customized the car) to grab the shiny thing but end up breaking something else on a BMW/MINI.
Thank you both for the help and advice. When I run the VIN I'm not sure where it's telling me the radio type? I see US Radio listed below.
I did managed to track down the previous owner that traded the car in from service records in the glove box. He confirmed via email that the original system is the same as the one shown above by @thurderball kaboom. He also said he included the original head unit with the car less than a week ago to the same dealership we bought from. We've asked them to see if they still have it but so far they are still looking.
Just based on research over the last few days I just ordered the NTB system from here. Fingers crossed there's nothing else missing when I go to take out the aftermarket head unit. Thanks again guys! https://scpautomotive.co.uk/products...43464881144056
1CASelection of COP relevant vehicles
Selektion COP-relevanter Fahrzeuge
205Steptronic transmission
Steptronic Getriebe
249Multifunction for steering wheel
Multifunktion für Lenkrad
