it was not a good way to start my day, I back up my mini from my garage without knowing the door was half open, bad news is the garage door hit the antenna housing and break it into pieces(included the microchip inside the antenna), good news is other than the antenna the garage door did not break anything else.
my radio does not work anymore since the breakage but neither the cd player, I will take it to the dealer to replace it but I wonder if anyone could get me some idea how much it will cost me.
thank you for all!!
have a great day!

 

I did'nt realize there was a microchip in there.
What does that do?
Is "Big Brother" spying on me?

 

not sure if you got it fixed or not yet, but did the base break? I recently broke my base going through a car wash and had to replace the part. Took it to the dealership and the quote was around $500. I searched the forums a bit, and just bought a new base and installed it myself.. took about 45 mins

 

so after i fixed my antenna base, I ordered another short antenna from alta. The thing doesnt fit in my base! the screw from the antenna isnt long enough to reach the base.. wonder if alta just sent me the wrong antenna?

 

Pete, do you have the second generation car or first gen?

I need to replace the antenna base for similar reasons (aftermarket antenna is corroded into the base, and stripped the base trying to remove it).

Did you have to drop the complete headliner to get at it, or is there room from the back?

Thanks

 

Hi Guys,
Same issue here with broken base. Bought new one yesterday and following the tips I read here tried to replace it.
I have an '05 MCSa by the way.
I have the Bentley manual and it also says "carefully lower rear edge of headliner to gain access to aerial base".
I've got small hands and nimble fingers but it seems to me it will be a cold day in hell before I can get to that base without destroying the headliner.
First issue I hit was a little plastic clip that is (was ) glued to the headliner. No mention of that anywhere that I've seen.
Then the upward curve of the headliner toward the roofline makes it fairly rigid and you cannot even see the target.
There is a "box" in the headliner underneath the antenna base which seems permanently attached although it is definitely a separate moulding. Anybody know if that can come off?
You're input is much appreciated.

 

wolfe

I just dropped the headliner in the back a little bit, I bought the car used, so i'm not sure if the previous owner had to do this as well. but the headliner was just tucked underneath the mold.

canad ian

I dont remember a clip on the headliner, maybe i just missed it. the little box that you are talking about should come off.. it should just pop right off.. its hooked on with latches, but i was just able to pull mine down. that might give you some more visual aspect for what you are trying to do. the only thing that i did through that was unscrew the antenna base, but all the unplugging of the wire came from pulling down the headliner a bit. also one of the wires that i had to plug in for the base, there was some purple clip that i also accidently broke.. but everything seems to be fine..

hope that was some kind of help.. let me know if you guys have any other questions

 

Well I didn't believe it was going to get done but we did it.
Took way over an hour, 'though it didn't need to, but it was check, double-check, discuss alternatives, find the right socket, think about it and finally the new base was sitting proudly on my roof.
I found that I could get a socket (7/8" A/F) on the nut through the hole created by removing the "little box", which does pop off with a litle prying.
I think this saves some extra stress on the headliner and minimizes chances of creasing it.
Many thanks to pete ROQ and others on other threads who contributed their experiences.
Also to my son for his help. When I was trying to get the nut back on the new base we were both laying in the boot (by the way if you are looking to do this job, get a sheet of wood to act as a backboard, that seat back edge is in exactly the wrong spot) he was holding the "little box" to keep it out of the way whilst pushing the wire loom out of the way and I had a torch in one hand and the socket/nut in the other. Taped the base to the roof to stop it from moving and eventually got the nut started.
It is not big job but is it ever fiddly. Pack your patience before tackling.

 

My base just cracked open and broke the screw off inside. Radio still works just fine. Is there any way to just replace the base and not come from inside under the headliner? Is the base only available from MINI Dealer?

Thanks

 

I think that you have to go from under the headliner. because you will need to unscrew the base. I do not know if there is another source to get the base from. I just got it from the dealer. it was about 50 bucks