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MINI Cooper Audio & Entertainment System Questions

27 messages,  Last post on Feb 07, 2013 at 4:24 PM

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What is this discussion about? MINI Cooper, Audio, Hatchback

Messages Page 3 of 3

#17 of 27 Re: Subwoofer [novyalby] by jaar819

Jun 15, 2009 (12:11 pm)

Replying to: novyalby (Jun 14, 2009 5:54 am)
the poor quality stereo really is a shame. I love the car but get hit with a pang of irritation every time I turn the radio on. i read somewhere that switching the rear and front speaker wires will improve the sound somewhat, due to the fact that the signal to the rear speakers, for some reason, is high pass filtered, meaning that the low frequencies are attenuated. the smaller, front speakers won’t generate the low frequiencies anyway due to their size. the best way to do this I am told is at the speaker harness located somewhere under the dash/front door (check with mini where it is). I am planning to try it at some point. let me know your results, and I’ll do the same when I get to it. thanks for the feedback.

#18 of 27 Re: Subwoofer [jaar819] by antennariidae

Jul 03, 2009 (1:58 pm)

Replying to: jaar819 (Jun 15, 2009 12:11 pm)
To the person asking about improving the system for about the $500 is takes to get the (not-so) hi-fi upgrade, check out the upgrade kits at newministuff. There in the UK but will ship to the U.S. You will have to feel comfortable pulling the whole inside of the car apart but the sound quality is very nice. The kit I got contained a special harness that plugs into the back of the radio. The radio harness then plugs into the new harness. I got an amp (which goes under the passenger seat), two Kenwood 6x9s for the back and Clarion components to replace the door speakers. I chose the option to have them pre-mount the tweeters into new stock A-pillar trim pieces. It ended up costing me about $600 ish once customs duty was thrown in, but you could conceivable do better by sourcing some of the components in the U.S. The harness is the key piece as it makes everything more or less plug and play once the car is dis-assembled. Yes, it is true that the standard sound system is designed so that the bass is cut off from the big speakers in the back. The harness I got drives everything off the front two channels, and that solves the problem, though you lose fader control; but I figured a car this big really doesn't require a lot of fader control anyway! If you'd just prefer to try to swap around the channels yourself or just replace some of the speakers, check out the forum at northamericanmotoring -- there are instructions there.

#19 of 27 Sound problem by jadenbroc

Aug 18, 2009 (4:02 pm)

I have an 03 Mini Cooper S with the Harmon Kardon sound system. The problem I am having is that I have no sound. The stereo is on. I can change channels. The CD works. I just have no sound. I have checked all the fuses under the dash and they all seem fine. Could this be an amp problem? I have yet to pull the amp out and check it. Is this my next step?

#20 of 27 Re: Sound problem [jadenbroc] by uppi

Sep 26, 2009 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: jadenbroc (Aug 18, 2009 4:02 pm)
Jadenbroc, I'm having the same problem in my 06 S. Was it a amp problem or a loose wire? Thanks.

#21 of 27 Re: Sound problem [uppi] by fribble

Nov 06, 2009 (5:01 am)

Replying to: uppi (Sep 26, 2009 2:47 pm)
Hi all,
 
Just thought I’d share my experience, I have a 04 cooper with the HK. The radio was still working but the HK settings were lost in the head unit and there was no sound coming out of the speakers so I concluded it was the amp.
 
I wrote to the Mini UK Customer Services manager, Simon Anderson (simon.andersonbmw.co.uk), citing I believed the problem was inherent and that it should be replaced for free. He denied this and asked for me to take it to my dealer and once diagnosed ask for a goodwill gesture towards fixing it. I did, they diagnosed that it was the Amp and said that would be 700 quid to fix (160 diagnosis fee, 410 for the amp and 90 for fitting plus VAT). I then asked for goodwill and, after fighting to not to have to pay the diagnosis fee because I approached Simon knowing what the problem was, got it for 160 inc vat which was 20% of the price of the amp plus half an hour fitting. I also had to contact their customer service department a bunch because getting through to Simon direct was challenging. The BMW head office number is 01344 426565, ask for him and they will put you through. FYI the goodwill was, in part I was told, based on the fact that I’d had a ‘real’ bmw dealer service my car.
 
It still annoys me that I had to pay anything as there clearly is a problem but c’est la vie. If anyone has managed to get this for free from BMW I’d be interested to know.
 
Good luck
 
Regards
 
Ben

#22 of 27 Adding amp to hi fi package? by jlorfing

Feb 11, 2011 (11:50 am)

I'm getting conflicting messages from sound system dealers here. Two have told me they can install an underseat amplifier to my 2009 Clubman S with Hi Fi upgrade (the $500 package), and that my speakers can handle this increased load. A third dealer (Best Buy) stated that wasn't possible, because of the 2 ohm amp versus the 1.5 ohm speakers in the Mini (or something like that - I'm not very technical) - at any rate, they said that if an aftermarket amplifier was added, that my speakers would begin to go out in 2-3 months, and I was asking for real trouble there.
 
What to do? I want more and better volume.
 
Thanks!

#23 of 27 Mini Cooper Impact Studys - There are none!!! by randybey

Mar 06, 2012 (12:52 pm)

I am one lucky dad. My daughter had an accident in her Mini Cooper. She had rear ended the car in front of her because two cars in front of her slammed on their brakes as did the car in front of her. Greatfull that it was a low speed impact and the car in front of her was not damaged. The bonnet (hood) of the Mini Cooper was bent and imediately the car burst into flames. The flames and smoke from the engine compartment filled the inside and luckly my daughter could get out of the car. Within minutes the car was totally in flames and the whole car a total lost. This site says that the safety of this car is good. Look at the safety tests on impact and there is none. No lawyer will touch this because there were no deaths or major injuries. How many people must die before Mini and BMW pull these death traps off the street. The transmissions, water pumps and electrical systems also cause fires to this car. Check to see how many recalls to the late model Mini Coopers there are. I just thank God that my daughter or no one else was injured or killed. If she had be stuck in the car for one minute more she would have died from the fames or smoke

#24 of 27 Re: Mini Cooper Impact Studys - There are none!!! [randybey] by iwgbtp2

Aug 31, 2012 (6:33 am)

Replying to: randybey (Mar 06, 2012 12:52 pm)
wow that has absolutely nothing to with Mini cooper stereo systems or amplifiers. I mean sad story, but really?!

#25 of 27 audio selection problem by lenihan

Dec 02, 2012 (12:34 pm)

I have a 2009 Mini Cooper S The audio selection no longer recognizes satelite radio, I-pod or auxillary. It was intermittant yesterday and is constant now. When the audio selection button is pressed, the "TUNER" icon is present however, the "SAT" and "USB" icons are not. The CD icon is present if a CD is inserted. Has anyone seen this and, if so, how can it be corrected?

#26 of 27 Re: audio selection problem [lenihan] by new2mini

Jan 13, 2013 (11:13 pm)

Replying to: lenihan (Dec 02, 2012 12:34 pm)
I am in the process of purchasing a mini and I noticed that my aux and usb port are not working. I am also having problems linking my phone to the bluetooth. The Phone button is there but when i press it nothing happens. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Messages Page 3 of 3

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