HELP! I am throwing my hands up at this car!!!! This is long, sorry, but details matter.

2011 Clubman Base. I had her for less than 1 year. In March '25, she started to do freaky things. Lights staying on, mood lights going on and off, clicking noise from passenger footwell when starting car, window maybe working sometimes, blinkers stopped working, faulty warning lights ( brake , abs, cruise control. check Engine light) they all come on and go away whenever they want..., so I was told FRM issue, so sent the FRM off ( mid you i didn't know about a 15 year warranty on FRM at the time) and had it "re-something" to a guy in Orlando, FL ...it came back and placed the FRM in the car, everything was fine. THEN....water got into my car..dam you sunroof!!.... That same day, clicking noise at starting came back.... and all the above symptoms as well, like a vengeance, I'm having to disconnect my battery every time the lights stay...

And now the car has placed herself into limp mode which I think is because of the FRM . Mind you, the engine is sound, the transmission is sound. There's no shaking, fluttering. Anything that would cause a car to go into limp mode but this electrical issue. So I am going to assume that it is doing this because of the FRM freaking out. So I found out 3 weeks ago about this FRM ELW,..i didn't get a letter i found it online..... print everything off, go to my BMW today...... find out my Gainesville BMW is not a Mini Dealer only BMW, and they can't honor ELW for Mini.....WHAT!!!? Even though they are issuing the darn ELW for BMWs with FRM issues. Grrrs... I have to go to a Mini dealer 2 hours away in Jacksonvile???? Called the Jacksonville Mini dealer. They told me I could have it towed to them... 2 hour tow that going to be $PRICEY$ and they could do a diagnosis and submit the diagnosis to Mini Corp to see if it's approved for ELW FRM.. but there's no guarantee, and if they disapprove from Mini Corp, i'm out 300 bucks for the Dx on top of towing it to a location 2 hours away both ways... I could drive it to the dealership.. but she is in limp mode, it will take forever....so slow, so very slow...i mean sport mode does actually override the limp mode...but, shh. you didn't hear me say that. *looks away slowly*... Ok, this is the rant all above sorry, but it was needed. I do have a question. Does this really sound like a FRM issue, all of the issues, including the limp mode? I saw one guy in another group page confirmed his was in limp mode because of the FRM, so that makes me think..maybe?? Is this worth taking it 2 hours away to get diagnosed at the Jacksonville dealership and fingers crossed maybe corporate says it the FRM and Yes it falls under the ELW for FRM??? I need some solid advice if this is all worth it. I love this darn car. I really do.

 

Where did you find the water intrusion? Passenger footwell, driver footwell, or both?

Is the sunroof leak now fixed?

 

It was the drivers side floor. Yes leak is stop.

 

The FRM is located behind the driver-side kick panel, so a water-damaged FRM would be the prime suspect. You can inspect the FRM and its connectors for water damage.

There are 4 FRM fuses in the JBE fuse box behind the passenger-side kick panel. You can check for blown fuses there to see if you can get the engine out of limp mode.

Pulling DME fault codes using a BMW scan tool may also help guide a diagnosis for limp mode.

 

So you are saying that maybe limp mode could be the FRM issues??? So there is a small chance??. I know the FRM is messed up for sure with all that it doing again because it was the same thing before we sent it off for reprogramed or fix or what eve the guy in Orlando did. The FRM issues are a growing thing, it starts small and then becomes a beast of issues, never know what is will do every day, even found my widow down one day... I didn't put it down, I wasn't in the car for a couple of days , car was locked, window down... WHAT!??

 

No, but blown FRM fuses could contribute to the FRM-related problems.

You have been hearing clicking in the JBE, and blown non-FRM JBE fuses could contribute to limp mode. So checking for any blown JBE fuses is worthwhile.
Also recover the BMW fault codes from the DME. This also should help you diagnose and possibly fix the limp mode.

 

My GP2 has provided me with some FRM issues as well. in 2020 I had a tune, about three years later, weird stuff began to occur, interior lights not working, windows not working properly ext.
I sent the FRM out for repair and the results were good. After receiving a notice from MINI acknowledging as issue with the FRM I sent their form back for reimbursement for the repair. The reimbursement will take another 4 weeks to be processed. Meanwhile the issues have recently returned. If a dealership would replace the FRM (probably at my expense) would the ECU tune be taken off when they reprogram the FRM? I have not taken the FRM out of the MINI to inspect it so I'm not sure if there is any corrosion to the module or if the connectors have an issue.

 

I believe that your tune is DME specific, so tune information is unlikely stored in the FRM.
What FRM fault codes are retrieved?
Are the lights and windows problems currently intermittent or constant? If constant, check the 4 FRM fuses in JBE.
You definitely should remove the FRM and carefully inspect for water damage of FRM and FRM connectors.