Hi everyone,
I have an '08 MINI in the shop right now getting repaired after a realatively minor accident. It was a front impact but no mechanical damage behind the radiator. The only mechanical parts being replaced are the radiator and condenser, the rest is just the sheet metal parts (bumpers, hood panel, grill) along with headlights and steering wheel.

It's being completed by the end of this week and I'm wondering about any codes that may have to be cleared and if I have to take it to the dealership. I know if the airbag deploys, the mini cuts power from the battery and fuel line. I would assume the shop has already done this but i'm not sure. From what I understand, reseting the battery and fuel line resets the code along with it. Is this accurate? Will the car drive normally even if there are codes still in the computer even if the battery and fuel line are reset?

Thank you in advance for your input

 

Before going over the deep end with "what-if" scenerios....
First, does the car currently fire up and run?
If it does run, what, if any caution / warning lights are present?

If there are any warning lights, a specific OBD-II scanner can be used to remove those faults codes and lights.
Your accident doesn't sounds like any of the safety restraint systems deployed... and therefore should not have 'big problems' to overcome.

- Erik

 

The shop did test the car before they stripped the parts they are replacing and it was driveable even then, it just needs the radiator and condenser replaced which they are doing now. So the answer to your question is yes the car will run fine when those parts are replaced.

The airbag did deploy, hence the steering wheel replacement. but no other interior work is needed. The impact was probably the very smallest level of severity possible to deploy the airbag given that there is no real mechanical damage, just sheet metal damage. However I did not see them start the car so I'm not sure if there are any caution or warning lights. Thought the technician told me that none of the damage will affect the driveablility of the car. So I suppose my question is now will the car function normally even if these caution/warning lights are present? I would have to drive it to the dealership at least if the codes do need to be cleared.

 

Your repair shop should alleviate all of those "potential" issues before handing you back your vehicle.
If they are doing the repairs to return it's condition before crash-status, then they are responsible to do that for you on their watch / time / dime.

- Erik

 

Right this is what I would assume. However the technician did tell me that I may have to bring the car by the dealership to clear codes caused by the accident. This is an accredited body shop that is AAA certified and they have been around for a long time and I would fine it hard to believe they wouldn't have an OBD II scanner. I have heard of these scanners and they are availible for anyone to purchase for 80-100 dollars. There is no excuse for them not to be able to clear it but that sounds like it may be the case. It may come down to me buying a scanner and bringing it over there to prevent myself from having to drive a very long distance to the dealership.

 

Weaksauce of a repair shop...

If so, they should to pay for travelled distance and the cost of the dealer scan.
Make sure to get that in writing so it covers your butt.

- Erik

 

Right. My insurance is footing the bill, but I may talk to the shop about this if I do have to bring it to the dealer. I know this shop does good work, I know more than a few people who have had quality work done on their cars there so I can't imagine they will give me a hard time, they have been great so far in terms of speed and communication. I think they may have said this because maybe at the time they had not tried resetting the battery yet which may take care of it.

But I suppose the worst that can happen is that my airbag light or something similar will be on which isn't really a big deal because I know what the reason would be? I will know by the end of the week when the work is finished.

 

NO! Pulling power from the ECU or other modules DOES NOT clear out fault codes.
Fault codes are stored in the non-volitle memory of the ECU... simply removing power doesn't clear the fault.
Yes, the "readiness" will be reset and the light may go out, but when the car re-establishes readiness the warning light(s) will return.

To properly turn off any MIL / CEL / Airbag light, a scanner is required to remove / clear the hard-store trouble code faults from memory.

- Erik

 

Right I know I could clear any MIL or CEL light codes with a scanner, but what about the airbag light? Is there a scanner that can clear that without going to the dealership? My point is, even if the light is on, I obviously know why and it wouldn't effect the driveablity of the car in case I do need to bring it to the dealer?

 

Do you have a scanner that accesses the airbag module?
If not, do you have access to a Bavarian Tech scanner interface?

With the light on, there's been some speculation that in the event of another accident, the system restraint system would not deploy.
I don't know if that's true or not, but it still worth it to remove all the lingering codes to start "fresh".

- Erik

 

No I do not have a scanner, but is there a scanner available that can access the airbag module? I have heard of Bavarian Tech, is it it's own scanner or just software for a 'regular' OBD II scanner?

If a shop can hand me back a car that possibly would not deploy the airbag/seatbelt restraint in another accident - that just seems illegal. So they can tell me to drive 50+ miles by highway with possibly no airbag function? Although, I suppose not too long ago, no cars had airbags.

 

Outside of my knowledge... generic OBDII readers are worthless.

Own interface and software for a regular laptop or desktop computer:
* http://bavariantechnic.com/

That's why I encourage you to tell them they are responsible for doing the clear out of codes.

- Erik

 

Thank you for your input, i'm not really experienced with the computerized portion of the Mini anatomy. So with this Bavarian Tech connection wire and software for my computer I can access these things and clear them myself? By looking at it it is just a wire that hooks up the car to the computer and the software acts as the scanner?

 

Correct. See their walk-through demo; it's explains more the available details.

The cable is a On-Board Diagnosis (OBD) serial connector [for the car] with a USB connector [for your computer].
The software is the driver and communicating "tool" between the car's ECU proticol and the end user.

- Erik

 

Hmm, if the codes need to be cleared outside of the body shop I think I will get one of these, I should know by wednesday or so as the car should be finished by friday. It isn't too expensive and seems worth it. As long as there are some sort of instructions I should be able to manage it.

 

It's a well worth system for those (including myself) that do home service, modifications, and the like to the platform.

The main download page for instructions are here:
* http://www.bavariantechnic.com/download.aspx

- Erik

 

Cool thanks. My biggest fear is screwing something up and have to bring it to the dealer to get fixed. I may accidently clear something I don't want to.

 

You should get the car back in the pre crash condition not
have to chase the reset lights yourself.

An airbag reset at the dealer is $200-250.

That reset tool mentioned is $300. You'll probably need
it for the future but you really shouldn't ***have*** to
buy it now.

Also, what happens if you accept the car and go to reset
the light and it is mechanical not software (incomplete or
incorrect repair)? Once you sign the check it's most likely
"no habla" when you go back. For sure the insurance company
doesn't know you anymore. And it may be the repair shop
would re-align your headlights as a goodwill gesture, I doubt they
are going to chase a complicated and/or expensive repair in their
dime.

 

The shop has realigned the headlights, that was included in the repair estimate. Te car is actually finished now ahead of schedule and now all it's waiting on is the install of the O2 sensor. I'm picking it up thursday and they have not said anything to me about it so i'm assuming they have taken care of it. But if not, I won't settle if I have to A)Drive 50+ miles to the dealership, and B) pay 250 more dollars. I just got the car serviced 1.5 months ago and it will soon be due for it's 30,000 mile service. They got an almost 8,000 dollar check from the insurance company to fix it the least they could do is cover a code scan.

 

I only used the align the headlights as an example.
That didn't come out well. I meant to say, you leave,
they are most likely willing to do some thing later on, that is
easy and cheap. But if it's expensive and hard I'm not sure
how much recourse you have once you sign the check and
accept the car.

 

Right I figured that is what you meant but i'm just saying much of that stuff was included in the estimate and the only reason they wouldn't do it is becase they may not have a compatible scanner. My insurance is picking up that tab so i'm probably on my own with the code if they can't do it at the shop.

 

It should not have to be like that but I understand that it usually is.
The Man has yacht payments to make, always at our expense.
Sure.

Anyway, I recommend you just buy the tool instead of getting
it done at the dealer. I recently posted my experiences both
with an airbag light, the dealer (who frankly is very good in
our area), and the reset tool.

I learned a lot having had the airbag light go off after using the horn.
Normal stuff I should have expected from a german/english car but
had not yet ramped up the learning curve.

The dealer said they had to totally download upload reset whatever the
entire software for the car, to clear the airbag light. They said they
were not sure it would work. I was skeptical, but just having had a baby
and I'm really pressed for time, I agreed to what would become $220
plus tax, $250, to totally redo the software.
Keep in mind this is to reset a light. ?????
So they came back and it didn't work, and the estimate was $850
to replace the airbag, but, I could get credit for the $220 if I chose
to do it later.

So I did what I should have done way back. Joined the pay for play
on the minitechinfo.com site to download the information on stuff I might
need. Biggest POS out there and if anybody can get it to work I
congratulate them. Another $30 wasted.
Ordered the bavtech tool. Another $300. At this point I had already
figured it was just use the horn the wires on the airbag come loose.
Again, normal for a german/english car. So I pop the airbag off, wiggle
the wires, use the tool to reset the light. No problems since.

My dealer I generally consider to be honest so I am giving them
the benefit of the doubt. What I did find out however in researching
all this, is my sidekick (at work) has a best friend that is a professional
BMW mechanic, who has a friend at the dealer, who says it is so slow
there he is thinking about leaving. This does leave open the possibility
that people can do strange things when broke, like sell you an airbag or
worse, when all it needs is a wire wiggle.
That would be thinking the worst and I'm still not at the point I want to
do that, but it did shake my confidence in them.
I mean, an $850 wire wiggle....what will the next miss be, right?
Or it could simply be that the generation below me (everyone there seems
fairly younger) doesn't know the first thing you do is to wiggle the wires.

My point on all this is if you are going to be out $300 no matter which
way you turn you should just go ahead and buy the tool.
Because it might be that $200 or more at the dealer does not reset
the light.
Or, it could be that the replacement airbag has a defect.
In which case it gets really expensive.
Or some other sensor I don't know about, or computer chip blahblah
that failed due to the crash, etc etc has failed. In which case, it
will get very expensive very quickly.

This is why I urge you to not take delivery of that car until
THEY, the shop, has that airbag reset. I went through this a month
ago and learned all about it. If it is the light only it is a $300 fix.
If it is not just a reset on the code but something else it gets
incredibly expensive very, very fast.

You will have no recourse once you sign that check.

 

Wow thanks, I'll keep this in mind when I talk to the shop this afternoon.