The problem is that old seat mats are bad and that is why you are having problems. If you buy one off of eBay it may work or may not. But it is not a long term solution.


Solution one is to buy the seat mat from Mini (my price was $2,000).


Solution two is to reprogram the control to do away with the seat mat control. The two negatives are it is no easy thing to do and you must have the OBDII connector referenced above. Others just don't work.


Reprogramming also makes the airbags fire in a collision even if nobody is sitting in the right seat (the reason the mat is there in the first place).


I reprogrammed mine. BTW, you can reprogram other things while you're at it, such as one touch sunroof).

Exactly... Note that R53's and R56's have different sensors and different ways to reprogram the module. When I reprogrammed my '09 R56 certain airbag(s) enabled/armed when the belt was plugged in and others stayed armed. I don't remember which and results will likely vary from Model/Year to Model/Year.
Airbag systems are not trivial to program and one should always verify the effects of programming (determining whether bags are active/not active) to ensure safety.
Hope this helps..

best,

bought an emulator for my r53 from srsdrive. my car r53 is an 1/2006 built. no more lights for me for now

You have a link to purchase?

Interested in this as well.

Edit, here's the R50/53 one. Would love to hear more feedback before I buy one.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Bypass-Mini-C...item258dc5f898

thats the same. they also include the passenger seatbelt module that you will tap so that it will not churp hehe.. though didn't install it eyt hehehe

Is anyone remotely near Western Mass who has the software and skills to recode my Mini?

I JUST bought it last week...guy casually mentioned, as I was driving away, that the "passenger airbag light sometimes flickers". I got 50 miles before it came on....and it's stayed on.

Now, of course, I can't get it inspected. It doesn't qualify for any Lemon Laws (2005, too old), and I have called the guy to threaten small claims and he has avoided my calls. Three hours away or I'd go sit on his doorstep. I don't have $1500 right now to get the seat replaced.

I bought the C110 scanner, and it will read the code as "71 - Seat Occupancy Detector". It was supposed to be able to clear it as well, but doesn't, even trying several times in a row.

I'll try the bypass as well, but not convinced it will solve my issue and the shipping is going to take several weeks.

Glad I live in NC, airbags are not part of the safety inspection.

It might be quicker for someone to recode it just to pass inspection (btw you might be able to get a temporary waiver or extension), but replacing the mat isn't as awful as it sounds.

The hardest part is finding a seat on eBay or from a junk yard with a working mat.

FWIW, both of the mats failed were made in France, the working and seemingly revised mat was made in Germany.

I wasn't aware that there was ever a revised mat, as far as I know the problem went on and on with 1st Gen MINI's

The two mats that failed were the 65.77 6989299-02 from France, and the 65.77 6989299-03 from Germany was still working.

I assume there would be a -01 as well.

Something changed, but I have no idea what.

interesting thanks for the great info

I PM the OP with the info of the person that coded mine off hopefully he can get someone in MA to help the OP

You wouldn't have the step by step guide for the coding do you? I had a print out that I gave to my guy when he did mine and it was of great help. Thanks

I didn't go the software route as there isn't any evidence that I've seen on how the airbag would actually behave in a crash.

Good to know about the mats. I'm not bothered by replacing the seat, but of course finding a decent used one is still several hundred dollars and this needs to get on the road ASAP. Sold my prior daily a few weeks ago, and have been dailying my 8.1L truck on my 45 mile commute. Ouch!

Minibx emailed me with his connection, so I'm going to get in touch.

Plan for this weekend is to just strip down the speedo and either pull the bulb, or paint/tape over it! :D Desperate times, desperate measures and all that..

MINI replaced my seat sensor matt in 2010 with the 65.77 6989299-03. Light stayed off for three years, but came back on a little over a year ago. Recently replaced with a used matt (didn't check the number) and the light came back on after three weeks.

MINI needs to rectify this problem once and for all.

Has anyone been able to purchase the eBay bypass and then use the computer/coding stuff (which I'm clueless about) to verify if the airbag is actually still operational as if someone occupied the seat all the time? I want to do this but am worried about a passenger if the airbag is disabled...

Or how about these:

http://new.minimania.com/part/NMI870...2-53-Cooper--S

I wonder if they carry any sort of warranty...anyone bought one of these? How difficult is it to simply swap the seat bottom?

It's the same OEM seat bottom a dealer would use. That vendor would order the part from MINIUSA, and you can purchase the same thing at a dealer parts counter.

The whole point of this thread is to avoid buying the expensive, new OEM replacement part.

That's what I thought, though it seems strange that people get quoted $1,500-$2k or one person even $4k for a seat. Is the labor THAT crazy high?

I got quoted at $888 from an indy shop for a replacement of the seat cushion to fix the broken sensor. I figured they were getting the part for like $600 and the rest was labor. While it sucks, I could stand to pay $650 and do the replacement myself as I'm fairly handy.

An official NHTSA safety recall has been issued. Shame on MINI/BMW for delaying years on a known safety issue.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/...tsa_ids=15V205

Bout time, soo happy they are finally fixing this.

Frustrating for those of us who own 09 with same issue but no recall

Years too late. A least we were only out $300 and the better part of a day.

I was about to come and post this, but I see the good news has already spread.

Anybody know when can we bring our MINI's into a dealer for this recall?

Per the bulletin: "The recall is expected to begin May 1, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525."