Hi,

Does anyone have experience removing a 2013 R56 airbag and steering wheel? I will be swapping out my new one for a wooden one and just want to make sure that I do everything correctly so I don't set the airbag off. (i.e., not sure amount of time to leave the battery disconnected, and which lead to disconnect, etc.)

The Bentley manuals only go up to 2011, should I get one just to be on the safe side? I have watched the available youtube videos and none of them really go through everything, so I'm a little nervous about the airbag part.

Also, the new wheel has all the multi-function buttons, but I would like to switch those out for the black ones, is that possible?

I plan to make a video of all of this from start to finish to help other people, including replacing all dash and door trim.

Thanks much, LG

 

Sounds like a great project. The steering wheel is the same as the 2011. Be sure to discount the battery first before anything. And leave it discounted untill everything is back together.

Here is a video someone posted on youtube. Its the 2007 and the same just the MFSW pads are silver. Yours are black.



The MFSW pads ( muliti function steering wheel ) are you going from black to gloss black ?




These are the regular newer black : Left and right control pads only.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/ES2590704/ES2590704/


These are the regular newer black : Center bottom pad.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32306794628/ES2136439/



MINI Goodwood - Gloss black MFSW pads : Left and right only.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/61319284595/ES2578776/


MINI Goodwood - Gloss black bottom pads : center.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32306858294/ES2578598/


Thanks and let me know. Also , Which wooden wheel did you get?

 

Wow, I cannot believe how thorough and amazing your post is! Thank you SO much!

I am installing all of the wood trim that I removed from my totaled '07, and purchased a NOS wood sport steering wheel (without the paddles) from Outmotoring.com. It will be like an organ transplant!

The wooden steering wheel has the older matte silver controls and I was thinking of moving the regular black ones from the existing 2013 steering wheel onto the wooden one to keep it "updated." I would have to do that anyway to use all of the functions, right? Or is all of that controlled by the computer?

Just hope the airbag fits ok! The "new" wooden wheel has a manufacture date of 12/19/12, so all should be ok.

Do I disconnect both terminals on the battery and how long do I leave disconnected before reconnecting everything?

Thank you for all of these fantastic diagrams, it is EXACTLY what I needed to see to give me a little confidence! Here is a pic of my bounty from my wrecked car.....

Thanks again, LG

 

Thanks so much. I am here to help.

I would disconnect the ground terminal on the battery.

Like I mentioned before , battery disconnected before you touch the wheel or anything. Make sure everything is back together like the previous wheel. Then when everything is back and in place . Reconnect the battery ( very last step after installation of new wheel ). You will have to reset the clock, but its not a big job. The youtube video is good and can help you.

You are ok going for MFSW to MFSW on the pads.


Very nice dash trim, looks like the English Oak.

We have them here in English Oak . The MINI Goodwood version is the Rolls Royce Walnut Dash.

English Oak:

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/English_Oak/


The steering wheel is very nice and I really like the English Oak.

Sports Wooden wheel w/o paddle shifters
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32306783354/ES52730/

Sports Wooden wheel w/ paddle shifters
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32306783355/ES52731/

Just make sure you have the correct steering wheel.

Thanks and good luck on the install. If you need anything else let me know.

 

Thank you again for your help and recommendations. Yes all english oak, including the wheel. All local dealers told me it couldn't be done (the steering wheel swap) and also could not confirm that the dash could be swapped either, but after some investigating, I realized it could be done, so this will be my first "car project" ever. Should be interesting! I will post the final pics and video when completed. I will likely get the trim in quickly, but will wait for the weather to warm up a bit to tackle the steering wheel since I will likely be out there a while.

You wouldln't happen to have any diagrams of the automatic shift **** removal would you? I had help removing it, but it didn't really go that well, so I bought a new one that has the rod attached. Should I ask the dealer to do this part, or do you think I can do this thing?

Thanks!

Best, L