I have already used warm water and detergent to clean my Nav. DVD which has helped the system to read it better. But I still occasionally cannot get a map on my screen; instead I a get message to check my CD/DVD.

I'm wondering whether it is safe to clean the Nav. DVD with alcohol.

 

The disc is a standard DVD disc and the Nav uses a standard DVD reader mechanism. There are many commercial products on the market for cleaning a DVD disc or the laser lens. Use Google, or you can find these products in an electronics store such as Best Buy or Radio Shack.

If the map disc appears visually clean and unscratched, it is unlikely that further cleaning will help. The problem could be a dirty laser lens, or the laser itself could be failing. Try a lens cleaner first. If the laser is failing, MINI will only replace the entire unit at a high cost. If you are adept with electronics, you can replace the laser component cheaply. I have posted this in the past:

 

Thanks rkw.
Those were very helpful links. I've printed them out. I would be no good at soldering to replace just the laser, but I probably could replace the whole drive unit. I may give it a try.

 

rkw:

I sent you a private message.

Joe Santoyo

 

RKW: Thanks for the links in your previous message to threads at Xoutpost. They were extremely helpful, especially the step-by-step instructions on how to disassemble the navigation unit to isolate the laser drive.

I wound up buying a brand new laser drive from Grandata in the UK (about $180 including air postage to the U.S.). Decided I didn't want to try taking out my passenger seat and disassembling the under-seat navigation unit myself so I talked my local BMW/MINI shop into following the step-by-step instructions in the link you provided. They did the whole thing in barely one hour.

Now my map DVDs play perfectly again. I'm very happy with the result.

Your suggestions were invaluable.

Thanks,
Joe Santoyo

 

Has this fixed the problem completely?

 

YES! ABSOLUTELY !!!