As I type this I'm sitting in my office looking out onto the parking lot where a couple of PG's finest are pulled up next to a colleague's car (PT Cruiser). It has just been broken into and his audio system and satellite nav (dealer add-on) were ripped out of his dash and stolen. It was a quick smash-n-grab job that totally obliterated his dash board. His seat is a pile of safety glass and his dash is a bunch of cut cables and twisted pieces. What really stinks is this is the second time in 6 months that this has happened...there are surveillance cameras but they don't quite point at where his car is...it's broad daylight less than thirty feet from the (3-story) building full of occupied window offices. Also, my Mini is about six (empty) spaces from his.

That's the story...here's the question(s). Is my factory nav of any value to anyone else? Are theives who go after these sorts of things knowledgable enough to target useable systems or do they just grab and try to fence, and then trash what they can't sell? You can probably see my concern...

 

so if you have the factory one, only the display is in the dash. the brain is under the passenger seat (at least on the last model... I'm just guessing it's still there) and is a royal pain to take out....

Remove seat...
Unscrew module.
Flop module over.
Unscrew cover.
Undo cables.
Unscrew unit.

Of course a thief would just cut the cables and run. But it's locked in by the seat.

They sell for a lot of $, but because it's a pain (It's even a pain to get the display out) I doubt that it's a high frequency target for the Mini. But then smash and grab thiefs aren't the smartest around.... And yes, it's used in a bunch of cars, mostly BMWs, Rovers and Land Rovers.

Matt

 

These are the kinds of things you pay your insurance agent to stay awake at night worrying about.

Sure, there could be knowledgable meticulous thieves who know how to properly dissassemble a MINI dash, but most probably just want enough $$$ for another bag of drugs and don't care what it is they are stealing if they think they can get a little bit of money for it.

 

I guess what I meant to ask was, if the unit were to be lifted in its entirety, would it be able to function outside of my Mini's firmware environment?

 

Yes.
But as Dr O noted, it's a whole lot of work, and the risk is low. Definitely not a 'smash and grab' operation.

 

Ahh, I see. I'll check with my agent, but I'm pretty sure I won't need a rider for my policy since it is a factory nav. Thanks all!

 

Ahh so that is what that mystery box is under my passenger seat. I was thinking amp or something but hey, let them try and get the nav out of my mini. It is not really accessible under there

 

I thought the DSC computer was the box under the passenger seat.

 

That's what I've always heard as well. Perhaps both of them can fit under there?

 

Maybe they're cohabitating. I hear the DSC is quite a nanny.

 

is software that resides in both the ABS and ECU computers. There is a yaw sensor that is under the handbrake cover a bit in front of the rear cup holder, and a steering wheel position sensor as well.

Matt

 

I believe that is no longer true in the 2nd gen. At least the DVD map reader is now in the center stack, hidden behind I believe the volume control.

 

I don't know what that black box is under the passenger seat but when I reach under it, I could have sworn I heard the mission impossible theme.....:eek 2:

 

yeah, last time i messed with the box, the car self-destructed. kind of a pain.

 

Oh. That explains a lot! I was just getting ready to post over on the STOCK PROBLEMS/ISSUES forum that my pile of molten metal in the driveway won't start.

 

Where do you stick in the DVD?

 

In the 2nd gen, one of the trim panels on the center stack pops out to access the Nav DVD drive. The drive is actually integrated with the audio system. If you aren't using the Nav, you can eject the map DVD and insert a dual layer DVD filled with 8+ GB of MP3 files.

 

I found the amp!!! Its in the Driver side panel in the boot. At least it looks like an amp. Stainless color with a big heat sink. I guess that is why there is no first aid there!

 

As there's TONS of mod information out there for the Mark II, III, and IV separate units.....

I hope it's not a pain to add different video sources to the display like the separates allow...

Matt

 

MINI offers a TV option in Europe, so there is hope for add-on inputs. There was a thread on the topic, and MikeyTheMini posted this.

 

all the hypothisizing that things have to be on the buss is wrong. What one needs to find is the RGB wires to the display (on all BMWs to date, it's not NTSC or PAL coded composit video) and then cut in an intelligent video switch. To date (don't know about R56) the problem was the sync signal wasn't on a the "normal" color so you needed to have a module that took the composit and spit it to the colors, and put the sync on the right one. This is DOABLE, as Mike the Mini is talking about a module being available, or will be shortly. I did it with a smart switch from a third party company on the R53, and it even came with factory connectors!

So for you R56ers, expect to wait a while, and then spend a couple hundred $ for the mod. FWIW, once the switch is there, you get to decide if you want the parking brake interlock or not.

Also, it looks like while a drive may be in the stack, the opossum links show something under the seat still! Hmmmmm. More learning to do....

Matt