For a while my R53 was having weird issues. For example: the temperature gauge would spike and the car would go into limp mode and shut itself off. The radiator fan seldom came on. The interior lights would flicker. The right side power window didn't work sometimes. The three right side turn signals did not work and at one point were permanently on and I could not turn them off, meaning I had to remove the battery just to park the car.

As I had suspected, my Body Control Module was faulty, as it had evidence of shorting and corrosion. I looked at the forums and everyone was adamant on one thing: You cannot possibly ever reprogram a used BCM, you MUST buy a new one for it to be reprogrammed." Almost every source was telling me this information.

So, I called the closest dealership. I was quoted over $900 USD and I had to tow my mini there. Less than 600 for the new BCM and 300+ for reprogramming and other charges. This angered me because why should I spend nearly 1/5th of the worth of my car just to fix a faulty computer. And the forums did not help because they had told me that the BCM must be new to be programmed to your car.

Well folks, that's a not true.

A lovely person named Chris at a Canadian company called RPM Motorsport told me that they can reprogram used BCM's. I almost didn't believe him because I was sure that he wouldn't be able to do it. But I went ahead and bit the bullet.

First, he told me to buy a used BCM. I have found them anywhere from $60-200 on ebay. I specifically chose to buy one with matching numbers to mine and that had a return policy. I spent $91 on the used BCM.

Then, Chris charged me $350 to reprogram it and $40 for overnight shipping both ways. He took about two days to do the work and he then sent it back to me. It was plug and play. Instantly, all my lights worked, the fan worked, and the gauges worked. The odometer showed the right miles and the key worked.

In total, it was about $481 for me to resolve this issue, slightly more than half of what I would have paid if I had gone through the dealership.

In conclusion, the reason I wrote this is to make it known that a used BCM can in fact, be reprogrammed, and that you don't need to spend nearly a thousand dollars just to fix this issue. Thank you for reading!

 

Thanks for posting this (I know it has been several years, but this still helps)

 

Absolutely = Thanks for reviving this topic.
A Mini enthusiast I had met at a salvage yard had contacted me a while back and asked me, that if I was ever a salvage yard picking an R53 if I could pull him a BCM as his had serious problems after water damage (leaking drain tube).
I managed to score one for his '04 from a salvage yard for $30. He was back on the road the day after I dropped it off. He must have had the right knowledge and tools.
As @Kmm730 has stated and from what I've heard, a used BCM is still a workable option.

Awesome!