Been lurking for a while trying to find a solution for my iPod connecting Y cables' death. Great forum and discussions!

Found a replacement cable from a reseller on EBay and had a great experience with the purchase. Have to share for the group.

In short, my 80 G Classic iPod is almost always hooked up to my '08 Cooper. A few months ago, the iPod stopped "connecting" to the Cooper. The audio system would not recognize the iPod but I could control the iPod manually and play it through the Aux function.
Tried pulling fuses, resetting the whole iPod, hooking up other iPods etc. No joy.
Diagnosed that the cable had died. My dealer wanted $95 for a new cable. Bought a new one for $20 (really $19.95) from ipod-world-wide on ebay. Got it 2 days later (free shipping) and it works great. Problem solved. If you have a similar issue, I recommend taking a look at the Seller's offerings. Search for "MINI Cooper iPod iPhone 3.5MM USB Cable".

Happy motoring!

 

Welcome. Interesting first post. Your dealer would have replaced that cable for free under warranty.