Been lurking here since I bought my Mini half a year ago, but I have my first issue that I need some help with. My car had a problem for about three days where the lights would flicker when the car was turned off (no key in ignition). The issue would persist for days, intermittently, until the battery finally gave up. The problem lights were the brakes, the side panels, the interior accent (colorful) lights, and the temperature controls. The tach and speed on the dash were unaffected. I brought the car to a Mini dealership, and they said they'd have to replace the CAS at the cost of over $1400. I take their word for it, though I think it also might be the LCM or BCM. My family mechanic said he would look at the car, but I wanted to know your opinions. Also, would I need the keys replaced? Does Mini have to do the repairs in order to reprogram the modules? I saw some information on the topic, but some was conflicting. Thank you in advance for the help, and for a great community.
@Jobyn Did you replace the battery? Bad battery can cause odd problems? An independent shop can do it as long as they have the computer to do the reprograming.
The battery was checked. I brought it to my guy, and he said that he could do it for $500 or less. The dealership was charging me premium for the part and for reprogramming (as is their right to do). My guy has the computer to reprogram, so he said it wouldn't be an issue.
So, early assessment by my guy is that the problem can't be recreated on his side. He thinks it might have been a water issue, because he found one of the plastic covers that snaps shut was not shut correctly. He's not certain, but is going to play around with it for a couple of days (through rain and a car wash) and see what happens.