MCSa ecu V42 update
 

I dropped off my MCSa last night for service today to get what my SA said was v42 to correct an issue my MCSa is having. Its the well known EML and SES lights coming on and causing the car to basically kill itself till its restarted. Well he said that having the SES light come on is normal for the MCSa and should be fixed with the v42. But he said with the EML coming on he is hoping to find some stored code and maybe see a bigger problem.

So we'll see how it goes..:sly:

How does one fine out what version number you have? My MCSa is a little over a month old and I have had no problems with the ECU yet, and I am wondering if I might already have v42. how do I tell?

- John

As far as I know you can only know if your SA ever updates it and says so on the ticket. My car is just over 2 months old.

I just called my SA and he said the tech was still working on my car and was currently out on a test drive. He said the code the car was pushing from the DME might be severe enough to warrant sending the part to some place for repair. I hope not..:cry: He said that takes about a week.

I just got mine back ( also an 05 S automatic ). The last version we had was 39. Now it got 42 ( 3 versions in 2 months ). I've got my fingers crossed.

Randall

I got my car back and it drives fine. I'm interested to see if it acts funny on the same exit ramp that it failed on twice:roll:. The ramp is on the way home from work so we'll have to wait and see.

Good luck! Let us know.

So the shifting, repsonsiveness feels like it did before?

Please share your experiences with us after you've had some time to pile on the miles:thumbsup: .

Shifting was just as good. I use my paddle shifters alot so I know how they respond. I plan to take a nice ride down a nice twisty when I get home for fun:grin:

We got the car back on Tuesday night. Wednesday was fine, but today the shifting has been getting jerky again. I will have a spin tonight. Also the external temp guage now reads 77 degrees all the time. ( it's about 91 right now ).

Randall

First Stall...Car just 3 weeks old and 600miles
 

I was hoping that my car was ok...but I am guessed wrong.... the eml light is off after the restart but the check engine light is still on... I may have to go in and get the reflash also...:mad:

v42 Unichip conflict
 

I got flashed to v42 a couple of weeks ago. First gear is better off the start, but every other gear is jerky, and there is a wierd stumble when the tach hits 3000rpm (unless accelerating hard). To make matters worse, my Unichip now doesn't work with it. It just dies after a minute, and all the dash light come on. It will then crank, but not turn over. Apparently, a software glitch.


So now, I have a $700 chip that is useless, and my car runs worse than ever. Thanks, Mini.

Well, it is now Sunday. Upgrade to V42 was done on Tuesday. It seems to be holding. The thing is, the V39 patch held until the weather got really hot and humid here in the north east last week. ( maybe it has nothing to do with it, but it was good from mid may until last Monday ).

RY

I may not have enough miles on my MCSa to have troubles yet, but I have been learning that software can develop bugs during use despite not having moving parts. Their programming can be affected by signals from other software. I should have known that, but jheesh kept believing they were the most stable components of any equipment--kinda like the letters printed in a book. Even though my MCSa is fine for now my Apple Airport started acting up and I have brought it back to the Apple shop for "genius" fixing 3 times now (reprogramming). I don't mind because I can use a cable as an alternate and a replacement is only $100 or so. But if my MINI goes bad yikes. I feel bad that all of you have such troubles.

Given the number of updates, Microsoft may have had a hand in writing the code. :lol:

Steve

Also, remeber to try computer resets if things get funky.
 

It's basically slapping the ECU on the side of the head and having it forget everything learned in it's adaptive settings. Codes aren't cleared though... Search for how.....

Matt

Check your build date in the door jam.
I was told that version v.41 was for those MINIs built from January through March 05 and from April onward it should be version 42. Roughly every three months the version changes to a higher number. A higher number version doesn't ensure that problems are fixed so stay tuned to hear how other owners are doing.

Now that's very interesting! Thanks for the input.

And what if your car (mine) was built March 23rd? Does it get v41 or v42? My car has been very stable, with none of the problems reported in this and other threads. Any way to query the DME to find out what version of code is in it?

No there isn't a way to know. My car was built in April and was flashed with the V42 and so far so far. No strange shifting and I have not been able to duplicate the EML and SES lights.

Sorry, no easy way for you to check your version.
If your MINI is running fine then leave it alone.

For MINIs built in 03/05 then likely version 41
If built 04/05 or later then at least version 42

Your door jam plate will list the build date but only so far as month and year.

Yeah, I tend to subscribe to the if it ain't broke, don't fix it school of thought. However, curiousity overwhelms:

My dealer gave me the exact build date (3/23/2005) and so, since the car is running fine, I am wondering if I have the v42 software. (But then again, I don't have the high temperature and humidity conditions that have been causing the problems with the DME, so I may just be blissfully ignorant - which is why I am curious about which version of code my car has....)

Minihune,

Who told you that pre 4/05 mini's should have version 4.1? My mcs is a 2003, so I'm wondering why they would have flashed me with v4.2. Is your source reliable?

Thanks.

Our cars are twins, Lil' Blue completed production 3/23/05! :thumbsup:

My MCS was built 2/19/2005. What DME version do I have from factory?

My car has been running great. Today we hit 100F and 90% humidity and still drove like a champ!:thumbsup: