This may not apply to many folks, but I wanted to share the solution to this problem in case anyone else has it.

Sirius updated their channel line up last week. When my radio got the channel update, I needed to change the presets from the numerical numbers they were before to the new numerical channels that my desired stations are on. I did this just fine, all within about 20 minutes of the channel update. (yes, I pulled off to the side of the road )

About 15 minutes later my entire Preset page was blank, and I couldn't store any presets to it. When I went to the preset page all I could see was an empty checkbox with the orange selection dot next to it, with no text. When I selected the empty check box, I got an error message giving me my Sirius ID number, and a message to call Sirius.

I went through 3 operators on Friday, and three more today before it finally was fixed. The technician sent a soft reset twice to the radio, the first time didn't work, but the second time it did.

Strangely, I had to have the radio off, and the door open while he did something magical on his end, and then close the door and turn the car on to receive the magical message that let me have the presets back.

Bottom line, if you lose the preset page, call sirius and tell them you need to get the radio reset over the air, at least twice before you give up.

Much more better now.

Happy Motoring!

 

Interesting--I wrote down all my presets the day before and what number they were changing to the next day, in anticipation of having to manually change everything. But I was very pleasantly surprised to find that when I turned the car on the next day, after just a minute or two, all the presets automatically updated themselves. I have the same channels assigned to the same buttons, and it automatically figured out what the new numeric channel number was. It was the first time I was pleasantly surprised by the whole BMW-inspired radio interface!

 

Same experience for me.

 

I have the exact same error in mine. I guess I will be calling for the soft reset today. Thanks for the info

 

40 minutes on the phone with Sirius and it has been forwarded on to engineering. I googled the issue and this seems to be a common problem with BMW / Sirius radios. Now I guess we get to wait for them to determine who is at fault.

 

My presets have gone blank as well. Interestingly, on the screen to call Sirius, when I click on the item it nukes my bluetooth capabilities for dialing out until I turn the car off and back on again. If I dial manually from my phone, the call will come over the speakers. This effects manual dial, selecting a number from the phone, voice, etc. Inbound calls work fine.

Thanks for posting the need to call Sirius. I've been waiting a few days to see if this was isolated to my car.

 

Well, my wife's Acura RDX did this exact same thing, so I think it is a protocol designed by SiriusXM. Past reassignments have been smooth as well. Can't attest to what my MINI did as it is sitting in Southampton waiting for a ship.

 

Well it worked for a day or two, and now the presets are dead again.

This will be a fun saga.

 

You can also Log In to the Sirius/XM website and have it resend the signal. Saves a phone call and I'm guessing some frustration.

 

I think I can only resend the activation code online, not the reset that the technician was resending. I could be wrong, but he said it was a soft reset instead of saying it was the activation signal. Who knows, they were pretty opaque about it.

 

My reset went well and now my presets are dead again too. Any updates on this? This is very frustrating for such a simple task to store a preset. What happened to the good old days when you dialed the station, then pulled the preset button out then back in to store it?

 

Same issue with my 2010 Mini Cooper S w/Navi. Today will be day 8--as is in Sirius told me they'd get back to me in 7-10 business days. My guess is they'll issue a firmware update and I'll have to trek back to the dealership to get it updated.

 

It now seems that my presets seem to appear or not appear depending on the mood of the car. Some days I have them, and some days I don't. Impressively they remain set, it just appears to be a problem with whether or not the page appears in the menus.

I'd call Sirius back, but I don't really see the point. Not really sure what to do other than: and see what happens.

 

I received a call from SiriusXM yesterday and they told me to take my car to the dealership and tell them a service information # that Sirius passed along to me and everything would be fixed. I took down the SI# and called the Mini dealership to make an appointment but was told there was no fix. So, I called Sirius back and let them know this info. The person I talked to looked at my account and told me, yeah, there's no fix yet and they're still working on it. So why did I received a call saying there was a fix? In the meantime, I complained enough to get 6 months free. Good by me. It's a bit of an inconvenience, but I think they'll figure it out at some point. I don't even remember what I pay for SiriusXM, but I figure it's gotta be at least $10/month. So $60 worth of product for my inconvenience seems fair. As long as they do eventually figure this out...

 

I called today, and they said to take it to a dealer and they'll replace the modulator. Haven't pulled the string yet, that's my latest info. Anyone else?

 

I found this today on another forum. I did the procedure of removing the fuse and putting it back. All my presets came back, so we will see if it holds:

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']To: MINI Service Managers, Shop Foremen, and Technicians

Subject: SDARS Channels PRESET list is erased

Affected Vehicles[/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']

All MINI models produced before 09/2010 with option 655 (SIRIUS Satellite Radio)
Information

Satellite radio stations stored in the PRESETS list are erased.

The issue is caused by SIRIUS/XM Channel Change in combination with the SDARS-Exbox (SDARS receiver from Visteon).

The SDARS-Exbox is the stand-alone satellite radio receiver (not integrated into the head unit).

Correction

Only if Service Information M65 07 11 doesn’t resolve the issue, perform the following work-around procedure:

IMPORTANT: Have all assigned remote control keys for the individual vehicle available before starting the procedure.

Note: The vehicle must be parked outside in order to ensure proper satellite reception.

1. Lock and unlock the vehicle with the first remote control key.

2. Remove the plastic cover in the passenger footwell area to access the Fuse Box.

3. Then insert the remote control key into the Car Access System (CAS) and start the vehicle.

4. In the first 10 seconds during startup of the Car Communication Computer (CCC head unit), pull the fuse (F13) for the power supply to the satellite receiver.

Note: The Central Information Display (CID) displays the BMW screen during startup.

5. Wait 5 seconds and reinstall fuse F13.

6. After reinstalling the fuse, the “Presets” list displays stations 1 to 12 with check marks next to them.

7. Switch to “All channels” in the “SAT” menu and select satellite radio channel 184 Preview.

8. In the next step, when the SIRIUS/XM phone number and website information are displayed, push down the joystick to continue.

9. Select “Store” in the next step and press down the joystick to continue.

10. Store satellite radio channel 184 - Preview in the “Presets” list on station 01. When stored, “Preview” will be displayed next to the station number.

11. Repeat steps 6 to 9 until all stations (01 to 12) in the “Presets” list are prefilled with satellite radio channel 184 – Preview.

12. In the following steps, the customer’s favorite satellite channels can be restored into the “Presets” list.

13. Select a desired satellite channel (e.g., channel 010 Pulse) from the “All channels” list.

14. Select “Store” in the next step and press down the joystick to continue.

15. Store the selected satellite radio channel (e.g., channel 010 Pulse) in the “Presets” list on station 01. When stored, the station name (e.g., Pulse) will be displayed next to the station number.

16. Repeat steps 12 to 14 until all stations (01 to 12) in the “Presets” list are filled with the desired satellite radio channels.

17. Turn the engine off, remove the remote control key, and lock the vehicle with that remote control key.

18. Repeat the steps 2 to 15 with all remaining assigned remote control keys for this vehicle.

19. When finished with the procedure for all assigned remote control keys, retest proper operation after a sleep mode cycle.

20. Reassemble the plastic cover and release the vehicle.



Thank you for your cooperation.



Technical Service[/FONT]

 

I emailed my Mini dealer, and the service rep said there is a procedure, but he says his experience is that it isn't working and recommended that I wait a week or so so I don't come in and waste my time with a procedure that isn't working yet. No details on said procedure. I'd love to know what Service Information M65 07 11 says to do.

 

I tried the procedure listed by Minidean and it seem to have worked for now. It's not as easy as it sounds with one person and a manual transmission though. Left foot on the clutch, left hand on the start/stop button, gear shift pressed into my chest as I hold my breath as exhaling might force it into gear and the right hand reaching across to the fuse box with a pair of needle nose pliers.

My presets all came back but they were off because of the channel change. I was able to reprogram them.

 

I didn't even follow the procedure to the "T". I locked and unlocked, started my car, turned on the radio, ran over to the passenger side and then pulled the fuse, waited about 10 seconds, put the fuse back and the presets all showed up. It's still working, so fingers crossed! It is an orchestrated performance, so run through what you're going to do before you do it.