Hi!

I traded in my 2004 Cooper S hardtop for a 2016 Cooper S Convertible last week. I am loving the new Mini, but am overwhelmed with the new technology compared to my 17 year old one. LOL.
I had a little satellite radio installed in my old Mini and was excited that my new one was "satellite ready". The sales guy assured me I didn't need to buy or do anything, the radio was good to go. The only options I see on the radio are AM, PM, and Bluetooth. No satellite option. From my research it seems that my car needs a software update. I can buy a remote software upgrade online for $350: https://www.bimmer-tech.net/products...cablefg-series

I'm trying to find out if my car should have had the software upgrade and the dealer is liable for the cost of the upgrade? I ran the VIN and satellite ready is listed on the feature package. I'm wondering if I'm misunderstanding what satellite ready means? I bought from Carmax, and their service is nonexistent. It takes a week to get a call back and then a promise of "we'll contact our vendor and call back to you with a date". I'm sure I will get a call back on the 12th of never. Should I just suck it up and pay for the update? I miss my satellite radio.

 

If like my former 2013 R56 MCS, "satellite ready" meant the receiver hardware was factory installed but a dealer flash was required to activate it for a new or existing XM account. I discovered that a "1-year free service" promo had been applicable on new 2013 MINIs. Purchased mine as a CPO lease turn-in, thus I was the first "owner" with the person leasing not actually owning the car. So I got that year of service at no charge but had to pay the selling dealer that software programming fee. Don't remember cost now but IIRC, much less than $350.

 

OR per this on the Crutchfield site ....Q: My brand new car is "satellite radio ready." What does that mean?

A: Although it may sound like your "satellite radio ready" car is all set to get XM or Sirius, that's usually not the case. Typically, the car will have an in-dash radio that will work with a satellite radio tuner -- but the tuner itself, and the required antenna, are not yet installed. Your dealer may quote a price of several hundred dollars or more for the equipment and installation.

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on my '15 the satellite radio option was $250 and included 1 year of service .... $200 is about list price for one year of FULL SIRIUS today

and just cuz: on my 2019 Mazda 6 the standard radio is Sirius capable and 3 months of service is included in the sticker . . .

 

The vehicle only has hardware for Sat. radio. It will need to be coded/activated/retrofitted. For a bit of history. In the passed the cars didnt not come with the hardware. The vehicle required each item to be retrofitted from bluetooth, sat radio etc.they had to be installed and programed either from the factory or at the dealers. Since 2011 for mini most of the hardware was integrated into the radio head unit. That remote activation is interesting. Although Id call a local dealer just to compare the cost. Then Id call carmax and get them to pay for the activation since the salesman said it had something that is missing.

 

Thanks everyone! Looks like I misunderstood what satellite ready meant. Bummer. Looks like I am going to have to pay for the software upgrade. I'll be waiting forever for Carmax to take care of it. I'm going to call a couple dealers and see what they quote me. I'm currently paying for a Sirius subscription which sucks. I thought I would be able to easily transfer my service to the new car.

 

So two parts, first is to enable sat radio on your car. The dealer can, but also people like ndal on this site, who did mine.

Once that is done sat radio will appear, and you can call it up and get the Sirius ID.
'Then you can transfer your old ID to this one. I think there is a fee to do this, but get it activated first. I found when I did the first part, my sat radio just worked. I assume it came with a free trial, but it's been almost 2 years now and still working.

 

I have a 2016 Cooper convertible and have satellite radio. Checking my VIN for free at https://bimmer.work (site is a bit slow to load) or https://www.mdecoder.com shows I have options 6FP Radio Mini Visual Boost, and 655 Satellite Radio. Since the 655 satellite radio option included a 1 year automatic subscription, you should be satellite capable if you have this option. Check your VIN for the option, and if you have it, go to the SiriusXM website. You can look up the car by your VIN to see if activation is available.

Pics of my radio screen, and what the option looked like on the window sticker below. If you have the two-**** radio, you may indeed be Sirius ready, but might not have the equipment activated. It is pricy to get the coding done: MiniUSA.com shows $375.


Visual Boost Radio

2016 Option for Satellite Radio

Standard Radio

 

Thanks for the links. I have the 645 BMW US Radio and 693 Preparation BMW Satellite Radio.
I guess that means my radio has the prep, but I need the software added to get satellite.

I checked with a local dealer and was quoted $600. Ugh. I bought the remote coding kit from Bimmer Tech, but am having problems with that. They have no remote coding sessions available, none! So I'm stuck with a $350 coding cable and no way to use it. I'm in process of trying to get a refund from them, but they are putting me off, telling me coding sessions will be available soon.
This sucks, I expected a newer car to come with this technology.

 

Update! In case anyone is looking to add satellite radio and not pay the dealer price of $600+

I bought a remote coding package from BimmerTech for $350. There were some initial delays in scheduling a coding session which I was not happy about, but was finally able to get one for today. I was worried this was going to be a pain in the a*s with all the software downloads I had to do with my computer before the coding session, setting up my laptop in the car, connecting to hotspot, etc. It turned out to be quick and easy, only took 15 minutes, and now I have Sirius radio!