I saw one of the cars from a local dealer a couple weeks ago and one of the sales guys that drove it to a car show/meet didn't know when the doors were going to be opened. He went over to the dealer demo car and checked and was surprised to find that the storage compartment was in fact open. He thought that it may be a safety issue since if you don’t have the changer or iPod setup the storage area is open with no covering for the inside. I looked in there and its mostly open space behind the front of the dash and then the changer wire harness at eh bottom of the opening.

He felt it could be a safety issue with the wires being exposed instead of tucked away and nothing to collect stuff one would put in the storage area.

I can see his reasoning with it but for $10 you can get the compartment pocket to fill that area in and cover the wire harness.

Sounds to me that they didn't plan that compartment out really well. It is supposed to be in the storage package but it could also require the iPod or changer options to allow it to operate.

Anyone with the ability to open the compartment that does NOT have the changer or iPod kit see how open or exposed it is in there?

 

I'm computer challenged--how do I do that?

 

Tell you what Deb - if he will give it to you on a sheet of paper, then just fax it to me and I will post it. I can PM you my fax number if you think the dealer will share it with you.

Tell him that a friend in another part of the country is getting a song and dance from his dealer about it.

 

All the car show Minis that I sat in and opened the storage area had the finished compartment installed. Just like this photo posted by DyeLooper:



I don't recall being able to see a wiring harness in the compartment - looked like a plastic box to me.

 

Mine has the insert as well; great place to stash my Valentine 1

 

no ipod, no changer. compartment door works fine, no rattles.
picked up 07 mini 03/28

 

Okay, here it is--a cut & paste of the service bulletin, as received by my MA:

Message Date 4/2/2007
Message Submitted 4/2/2007 8:51:48 AM
Subject R56 Technical Update
Author First Name Technical Service
Author Last Name
Message
To: All MINI Service Managers, MINI Shop Foremen, MINI Technicians
Subject: R56 Technical Update Topic: Dash Storage / CD Changer Compartment
Status: As of 1/31/07 the dash storage / CD changer compartment has been installed 100% at the plant.
Correction: A retrofit procedure will be issued in a service information bulletin when the required parts are available.

 

Seems at odds with the previous posts, below.

 

Ah hah! Now I wish I had taken a picture of my dash in comparisson to this. I've never been able to open the door, and after studying the ETK diagrams very carefully, and seeing the picture below I realize what is up. There are two kinds of dash pods! One like mine, where there is NO door, and the one below, which may or may not be glued in place. In my car, the trim piece pops out completely (with quite a bit of force) and behind is a large area with a cd changer bracket, wiring for ipod and cd, and not much else. The compartment you see below, along with the black covers to the left and right of the opening, do not exist in my car (which was built before 1/31/07).

So, the real question is could I order the parts to install the door, cubby and trim bits? I have the part numbers, but I suspect the actual door with the aluminum trim is very expensive. I'll try and figure out what the parts are or look up the TSB for this when I can find it. Would be fun to have the cubby storage and the door working!

 

My 2007 Cooper S had the recall done before I bought it. The right cover is attached with press pins just like the left side. I bought the Checkered Flag panels and the right side was for the original hinge door. I have been told that later this year there will be an update so we can use that nice compartment in the future.

When I pried the right side off, there was the mount and wiring for the CD changer - cool. But I had to dremel off the glue joints of the stock and checkered covers so I could glue the checkered cover onto the recall mount. I used GOOP so I could easily remove the checkered cover in the future. Looks good, but I sure hope they come out with a good fix so we can use the compartment the way it was intended.

 

Mini USA says they are either installed with the CD changer mount OR the plastic box. On the earlier 2007's that had the hinged door, you got the box unless you ordered the CD Changer.