I searched quite a bit but I couldn't find any info, maybe because it is a silly idea no one wanted to do.

I'm pondering the idea of deleting MFSW control from my 2011 MCS. She doesn't have factory bluetooth or navigation so phone/voice command buttons won't do anything at all, and I almost always stream music/podcast from my iPhone (Got Music-only bluetooth integrated sans MFSW control other than vol) and don't use radio at all. With JCW kit, cabin is very noise at highway speed so I prefer using dedicated headset when I have make calls anyway. And I just don't use cruise control.

GP came out with very clean steering wheel without MFSW control, but with black side trims that matches my 2011 setup. My car is heavy on performance options including JCW tuning kit, but not towards luxury/hi-tech stuff and I'm really liking the stripped down concept of GP minus aero/aggressive styling bits.

I'm wondering if I can just disconnect the stock MFSW control units and order those GP black trims to run without controls. I'll still have the dead phone button in center stack but I'll live with that like the new GP owners. (rather sad MINI didn't spend extra few bucks to make at least black button fill)

Does someone know if MINI built with MFSW will be OK with it? Or will it give error codes or even show some kind of error message?

I see countless threads of asking about retrofitting MFSW, but none deleting it so I guess I'm in the minority (by a lot), but anyone tried or know enough about how OBC would react to missing MFSW control connected?

Thanks for your help in advance.


This is how she looks right now, and I wanna delete MFSW controls from JCW leather/alcantara steering wheel, filling with black blank trims.

 

My gut feel (don't know for sure) is that you will not experience any warnings/problems disconnecting the MFSW buttons from the SZL module. My thinking is, those buttons just send out address signals on the CAN (I think its the dCAN) bus that the DME and RAD modules wait for.

If you do have an issue, you could remove the option code $249 from the Vehicle Order string with NCS Expert (or find someone that can help out) and default the vehicle. Then for sure you will not have an errors.

But you may want to go pull the airbag and try disconnecting the switches to see what happens before ordering the wheel.

 

strobeyprobey,

Thanks very much for the input. I sent Sewell Parts guys a message asking for part#s for the trims (I already have JCW wheels. I just need black covers to close off, I think), and they indeed had the parts, but also the rep sent me a note (nice of them):

So maybe the CC side could be a problem. I guess I'll have to unplug the connector and see if I get any errors. The plan is to keep/store the MFSW control units fully intact and unmodified so I can put them back on whenever I need/want to. I'm hoping I don't have to, say something like leaving CC side on the wheel by breaking up the cables, etc. At that point, I guess the project is not worth the trouble.

I wanted to try out NCS Expert for other stuff as well, but wasn't sure if this would anyhow potentially mess up the car 's behavior if I'm not careful, and that dealer would give me hard time with warranty issues. I'll try to read more about NCS Expert and educate myself what I'm dealing with. (oh and I need a Bootcamp environment on my Mac to do this)

Thanks again for your advice. I'll try disconnecting the control units and see what happens.

 

I assume not too many people would try this, but just for future reference, I'm posting the result here.

I unplugged the MFSW unit connector, put back the airbag and reconnected the battery and started the engine....

Dang it. There it was. The display on tach showed "!" with cruise control icon.

So I guess you'll have to have dealer or NCS Expert or something else disable the cruise control function from OBC to dismiss the error icon.

Bummer but just for the record...

 

DARN! I am sorry! :-(

I doubt the dealer will be able to remove the cruise control function, I think NCS maybe your only option.

 

Honestly it is not worth the trouble to delete it. Plus if you decide to get rid off Tue car it has a direct impact on the resale value.

 

+1 These are my thoughts. I understand how you say you could live without the MFSW (I can't). But is it a hassle to have it? It would be a major deal breaker for me on buying it used.

 

Yes, that's exactly my thoughts from the beginning, and the conclusion: If I need to modify/hack something, it's not worth the trouble.

If the original plan worked, then I could have switched back to MFSW control whenever I wanted without coding, dealer involvement, warranty issue etc. Only cost was two blank trim covers.

As a daily driver, I don't want to risk fiddling with car's brain via NCS.

Oh well that was fun planning. I do use MFSW (tho could live without) and it's not like I'd "lose" anything by having them. I just liked the simplicity of GP's clean steering wheel setup.

 

NCS is pretty safe! But it is nice to have cruise control!