I just finished upgrading the base stereo in my new 2009 Mini S R57. When I was installing the system I had no idea how finicky the computers were on these cars. I was tuning the system with the seat out of the car and with the battery plugged back in and tripped two warning lights. The first one is the air bag light. The second one is the 5 second brake hold on hills (Yellow brake light). I am going to go to the dealer to have them fix it and honestly I don't mind paying them to do the work since I created the problem. I just wanted to solicit the forums advise as to if this will void certain aspect of the warranty and how I may avoid that. Anyone with similar experiences please join in. The car has only 100 miles on the odometer and would like to avoid voiding my warranty if possible.
Thanks
Shaheen

 

A lot of the warrenty issue is related to how the dealer feels about it. My dealer for instance has/had not problem with my upgrades as the only place I added anything was to the fuse block, Feed thru siring from newministuff.com and and wiring to the door speakers. There were no changes to any of the vehicle items expect the actual speakers them selves, and obviously they will not be required to fix those if there is a problem.

Other dealers though will not work on cars that have any modifications. Shy i do not know but that is just how it is. Many people have to get very knowledgeable about the warranty laws and explain them to the dealer before they can get work done. It is unfortunate.

As for the seat belt warning that is strewn all of the threads here about what will happen i find it amazing you had not read that somewhere. As for the brake hold, nver heard of that being an issue from audio upgrades but there is always a first time for everything.

Good luck.

 

If you pay to correct the problems created, future warranty will not be an issue. The only time warranty can be denied for a modification to a unit is when the dealer can prove the current problem is a direct result of that modification.

For example, engine warranty problems cannot be denied because of sound system modification. On the other hand, repairing a blown speaker could be denied if the radio out-put has been changed. This is a Federal Law and applies to all consumer goods. The burden of proof lies on the manufacturer to prove relevance.