My 05 MCS airbag light came on. About a year ago I got that recall notice about the passenger bag but not a DO IT NOW letter. Does this mean it just died? Will go to auto zone for them to diagnose the light warning. No MINI dealer near me. There are a couple german car specialize shops. Would MINI approve of them doing the bag replacement if this is the issue or do I have to use an actual MINI shop?

 

Call a dealer and give them your vin. They will let you know if there are any open recalls for your MINI. You can also put in your vin on the MINI site HERE to find open recalls.

 

Thanks for the VIN link! I'm on the list. Now, do I have to go to a MINI dealer. We have a BMW dealer and some German car shops. The MINI dealer is 2 hours away!

 

You're welcome. You could take it elsewhere for the repair, but the only place you'll get the recall work done for free is the dealer.

 

Wow! That's a tough decision. What $$ am I looking at? It's pay here or miss a day of work and 4 hours of driving!

 

I'm not sure on the price. You can call your local shop and see if they're familiar with the recall and can give you a cost break down. I did see at the description of the recall on motoring file HERE that an individual paid $1400 to repair the seat sensor issue before it was recalled so it may be worth taking a trip to your MINI dealer.

 

You will have to take it to an authorized MINI dealership. They will replace these items.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-airbag-2.html

If you pay for it on your own it would be expensive, as an owner myself that has to drive also pretty far from a dealer , make the appointment. I been working with MINI dealerships since 2004. Call up , make an appointment, ask them if they have MINI loaners, most do. Get a loner when you drop it off. Most dealers service areas are open late so you don't have to miss work. Drop it off the night before and they should have a car for you. Some even pick up MINI more then 1 hr away and then given you a loner. So ask what they can do for you, been to may dealerships over the years, so everyone is a bit different.

That way you dont miss work.

 

Good information, Thanks! I'll give them a call. I notice the one in Charlotte works Saturdays, so I'll try to plan something for that. A loaner would be cool too. If I remember correctly, the repair will take most of the day.

 

You are welcome, helps when service is open on saturday, but that's usually there busy day for loaners, sometime dropping it off lat on Friday night, if they are open helps. Get it loaner, helps out a bunch.

 

Make sure to call the dealer first to confirm they have the parts in stock; especially if you have a special edition.

MINI reimbursed me the $1500 I paid a few years ago to fix my old Checkmate. It took 1 week for the seat pad to ship from Germany as the unique blue leather / silver cloth design had to be special ordered.

 

Good point , the rare seats options might not be in stock in the US, they are stocked in germany most of the time. So you will have a 2 week weight on order.

 

Fortunately (or not) my MCS just has the black leather seats. No special addition. I'll check with the dealer when I make the appt.

 

Yea, thats' a pretty common seat. English leather w/ pipping, checkmate, etc are the rare ones.