MINI Ends Aftermarket Coding—While Introducing Its Own Customization Option

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revorg

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"Say goodbye to aftermarket coding and apps Bimmercode. MINI has shut down the popular coding loophole on its latest models—but there’s a twist. With the introduction of MINI OS9, new built-in customization options bring some of those tweaks to the masses. Here’s everything you need to know."

Motoring File
 
I was hoping that a benefit of J01 being delayed in the US would be that if it did make it here, it would have the benefit of an ecosystem of third-party customizations available. I'm sure that will be the case for physical mods but probably not software.
 
There are probably a lot of security vulnerabilities if they allow for ECU coding in MINI OS9 or iDrive X. BMW seems to be very tight lipped about moving to zonal ECU.
 
teslarati97 said:
There are probably a lot of security vulnerabilities if they allow for ECU coding in MINI OS9 or iDrive X. BMW seems to be very tight lipped about moving to zonal ECU.
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For years (a decade now?) I've been amazed BMW would allow something like Bimmercode and its ilk to alter what BMW intended (and, in some cases, governments required). I'm not surprised that back-door has been closed.

MotoringFile wrote in 2023, "[The MINI Connected store] will eventually be a MINI curated App Store leveraging Android apps that are made by MINI or by 3rd party developers." I wonder how many 3rd party developers are beating on MINI's door, clammoring to make apps for the small volume of OS9-equipped vehicles?
 
insightman said:
For years (a decade now?) I've been amazed BMW would allow something like Bimmercode and its ilk to alter what BMW intended (and, in some cases, governments required). I'm not surprised that back-door has been closed.
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As much as MINI owners dislike this change, I don't know of any other car maker allowing such customizations.
 
It it what it is. Thankfully there are a lot of built in customizations for MINI OS9.

The only thing missing is AM radio and maybe Homelink (kind of mediocre on the F56).
 
teslarati97 said:
It it what it is. Thankfully there are a lot of built in customizations for MINI OS9.

The only thing missing is AM radio and maybe Homelink (kind of mediocre on the F56).
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After you get your new OS9-driven ride sorted out, I'd be interested to read how you customized it. Is there any hint that 3rd-party OS9 apps will be available from MINI?
 
I left things pretty vanilla and I don't use third party apps. Many of the stock features are apps instead of ECU modules (i.e experience modes, android auto, apple carplay) which leads me to believe there is some form of ECU consolidation.

There is a clear difference in driving dynamics as you switch between the D or B mode on the gear selector as well as the experiences. Timeless feels most like a classic FWD MINI, and I prefer Core or Go Kart. There is certainly some electronic dampener manipulation of some sort.

As for personalization, it's best to link it to your MINI ID because local accounts don't allow for certain things like auto retract seats (when seatbelt disengaged), Hey MINI/Spike is also disabled without a MINI ID. Personally I disable the voice command, but leave the steering wheel button available. For the F56, MINI had more of an ICE platform that was also offered in BEV. However, for J01 and U11, it's a BEV that happens to offer an ICE variant. Now I totally get why the ICE drivers hate OS9 lag because BEV will preload OS9 and start climate control when you open the door. Not sure if that's the same for ICE.
 
I doubt there will be an SoC% in Carplay or Android Auto, but the battery indicator is still on the top right of the circle.

Still annoys me that the only two ways I know how to find numerical SoC% is either the MINI app or Go Kart mode. Haven't really had time to use personal mode. It snowed five inches today and there's probably another six inches of snow tomorrow.
 
Puppethead said:
As much as MINI owners dislike this change, I don't know of any other car maker allowing such customizations.
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Maybe not an exact 1:1 with Bimmercode, but I owned a Passat and two Golfs and was able to do a lot via the VAG-COM/VCDS tool back in the day. Call me old-school, but I strongly believe in the right to modify the things I own.
 
LittleWoods said:
Maybe not an exact 1:1 with Bimmercode, but I owned a Passat and two Golfs and was able to do a lot via the VAG-COM/VCDS tool back in the day. Call me old-school, but I strongly believe in the right to modify the things I own.
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Same, along with owning a XENTRY-DAS to diagnose and code MB/smart/Sprinter, but VCDS and XENTRY were both pretty arcane compared to using the BimmerCode UI (though XENTRY is much easier to use overall than Esys/ISTA).
 
inferno10 said:
Have you tried CarPlay and/or android auto on it? I’m wondering if os9 communicates SoC to Apple Maps.
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The mechanism for getting battery status in Apple Maps is actually a change needed in the iPhone MINI app. Basically Apple created hooks that, once implemented, allow Apple Maps to query the EV maker's app to get battery status. This allows makers to communicate with their EV in whichever proprietary manner they wish.

My F-150 Lightning got the Apple Maps interfacing after Ford did a software update on the Lightning as well as an app update on the iPhone. I don't know why car makers have failed to do this, and since MINI doesn't do OTA updates on the SE I'm not hopeful. Maybe the new OS9 platform will eventually support it, since it has OTA updating.
 
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