I'm posting this here because It won't let me post elsewhere. I'm not the most active of users, and I'm guessing that may be why. To be honest, I would rather be out driving my mini than talking about it. Once, on this forum, I was told that I was going to own several Mini's. This was a solid prediction. I'm on my fifth. My question is in regards to my 2011 Mini. About a month ago, my wife* comes home and asks, "Why is there smoke coming from the driver's door in the old Mini?" More concerning to me was that there was smoke coming out of the door. So I disconnect the battery, with the idea that I will get to it eventually. We had scheduled vacation and a whole bunch of other things making my usual schedule even more packed than it usually is. In the meantime I get a recall notice about the Footwell Control Module. I had been experiencing weirdness with the windows and lighting stuff, but it was intermittent, and I was waiting for it to break proper before attempting to fix it. I spoke with Mini, and they said the dealer would have to look at it. My roadside assist is long expired, and I am 150 miles away from the closest dealer. I will have to pay for the tow there, and then who knows how much they will charge me to fix it, because my experience with the dealer(s) is one of, "if we can get out of fixing it for free, we will." Obviously, I like Mini's, and I work on as much as I can on my own, because I have a better track record than when I have used mechanics. So do I roll the dice on the recall and go to a dealer, or should I try to fix it myself? Assume I know what I am doing.

*She drives our 2020 Mini S. It's too fast for me. At least that's what the cops tell me almost every time I've driven it.

 

I would try the dealer first. Get towing coverage on your insurance, its not that much per month i think you get like 3-4 tows a year. Then do the tow.