Official 2005 Rear Foglight Retrofit Kit

Ian Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

Excellent … as simple as upgrading the original MINIs

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Erik Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

I did not order this on my soon-to-be delivered ‘05. Anyone know how much hassle it is to personally install one?

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Sean Bartnik Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

It looks to be pretty straightforward on cars built after 10/14/04. Those built beforehand might have a little more trouble since it appears that those cars were not pre-wired for the rear fog light.

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SteveG Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

If your 05 build is prior to 10/14/04 are you out of luck? No wire connection etc?

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Sean Bartnik Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

Erik, Installing the switch panel is easy (see my site). Installing the rear fog lens should be simple, but I have not had occasion to install one on an ‘05. The gotcha is that you have to have the car coded to recognize the rear fog light, which has to be done by your dealer.

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Luke Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

This only applys to 05’s produced after 10/14/04

Mine was built on 7/10 :(

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Mike Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

All,

I just retrofitted the rear fog light on my wife’s 05 MCS and it was very easy. It took me about 30 minutes to install the new toggle panel (thanks to Sean’s excellent instructions) and the fog light itself. Our car was built on 11/09/04 and so we were lucky enough to have a pre-wired car (just pop out the plastic placeholder trip, reach in and unwrap the wiring connector, plug in the new fog lamp, and then pop it back in). However, I’m not able to use the rear fog light yet as I have to take the car into the dealer and have it activated.

BTW, the replacement toggle panel now includes the orange LEDs for the waterfall lighting in the 05 cars. There are two very tiny LEDs on the bottom side of the toggle panel that produce an orange glow when the lights are on. Thus, you won’t lose your really cool waterfall lighting when replacing the toggle panel (just make sure that you order the correct 05 part).

As far as pricing goes… You can order the rear fog lamp piece for around $16 and the new toggle panel for about $60 from Classic in Ohio. Thus, the retrofit costs around $75 plus whatever the dealer charges you to activate the rear fog light (should be about 1/2 hour labor I’d imagine).

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Ian Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

The “waterfall lights” have always been present in the toggle switch panel – there are only two, with a third one tracked but not fitted.

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tim Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

so, is the option completely out for any before that build date.

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Ian Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

Tim, There is a different retrofit for pre-’05 MINIs (ie: built before September 2004). Actually it is nearly the same, since it requires the same toggle switch panel replacement and a (different?) computer activation. The oddity is cars built 09/04 and 10/04 that don’t have the wiring present so would need more expensive retro-fitting including wiring. But I think there is a kit for those cars too.

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Mike Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

Ian,

[The "waterfall lights" have always been present in the toggle switch panel - there are only two, with a third one tracked but not fitted.]

Oh! I didn’t know that. You are indeed correct though as I just ran out and checked our 02 MCS and indeed there are waterfall lights under the toggle panel. I guess that it’s just the overhead consol lights and the door handle lights that are new for the 05’s.

Thanks for clearing that up for me/us. :)

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Matt Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

How does one go about figuring out when your car was built?

I purchased mine “off the lot” around Dec 27 or so….

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Gabe Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

I always equated the waterfall lights with the LED lighting to the interior LED lighting on the current 3 series BMW. I figured (probably incorrectly) that, since the electronics are so similar between the two cars, the engineers just had to stick those LEDs somewhere in the MINI.

It’s interesting they decided to add another pair near the rearview mirror (probably where they should have been in the first place). Now add to that the LED lighting in the doors handles of the ’05s and you have 6 LED lights in the interior of the car. What a wonderous age we live in…

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TJKonarski Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

I’m new to owning a MINI and don’t know all the names of every area to my car yet. (I’m still adjusting to using “boot” and “bonnet” )

So my questions… The Switch Pack — Is that the area above the cupholders with the 6 toggles that control the power windows, power locks, etc…? If yes, then Sean Bartnik, I should follow the directions titled, “Replace The Toggle Switch Panel” on your website, correct?

Also… Since the car has to go into service to be coded to recognize & operate the new fog light anyway, wouldn’t it be just about the same cost to just have the dealer install the light & switch pack for me? I mean, if it only takes about a 1/2 hour to install — Doesn’t the dealership charge a minimum for working on our cars? Isn’t about a 1/2 hour or 1 hour? I could be wrong on that one. Anyone have better insight on this?…

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TJKonarski Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

I wish the LED lights under the toggles were a little further back to illuminate the storage tray way back under the toggles. I can’t see back in there at night.

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Frank Feb 3rd, 2005 Link

I realize everyoe is discussing the rear fog light, however, I was wondering if anyone has installed or knows the ‘good’ and/or bad about the MINI-SPORT driving lights and mounting bar (which allows up to 4 driving lights to be mounted). I am just about to order an ‘05 MCS and cannot decide if I want the factory installed driving lights or if I want the MINI-SPORT driving lights. Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

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Joe K. Feb 4th, 2005 Link

I’m still not quite sure if my TD94408 is before or after the TH50468 cut-off vin for allowing the retrofit; i.e. is it the last 5 digits, or does it include the H? Any know for sure? Thanks.

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mataku Feb 4th, 2005 Link

matt – you can tell by your VIN. Look at the last 6 figures and you should be able to tell. wiht that said, it seems most likely that your car is pre-wired. Mine was built 10/19 and delivered 11/28. I doubt your car sat at the dealer longer than a month.

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Ian Feb 4th, 2005 Link

TJ, You are correct about installing a new switch panel. As to whether it is better to get your dealership to do it – it depends how high their set their labor rates. I have heard $200 labor to do the rear fog install!

Joe, From the retrofit instructions it sounds like you should be able to remove the blanking plate in the rear bumper and check to see if the connector is present.

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Matt Feb 4th, 2005 Link

Joe – I’m with you on the VIN thing (my last set being TD94150). Does anyone have a VIN that is THxxxxx?

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RB Feb 4th, 2005 Link

Frank…nice toyz…I may have to buy some.+++RB

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SL Feb 4th, 2005 Link

bummer. found out mine was built on 10/13/04

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Frank Feb 4th, 2005 Link

My soon to be ‘05 MCS will have the rear fog lights installed from factory ($100 option, much cheaper than dealer installed). I can’t stand that ugly black plastic cover put in the middle of the back bumper. Aside from the safety aspect, I always wanted to have a fully functional 6 toggle switch panel.

I originally intended to enable the rear fogs in my ‘04 MCS but got discourage about the cost of doing it at the dealer.

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Howard Feb 4th, 2005 Link

My convertible was built 10/9/04. How much does this suck to miss the date by 4 days.

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Mike Feb 4th, 2005 Link

Are you guys who just missed the date by a few days absolutely sure that the connector is not there? You should try popping off the black plastic panel and looking for the connector as I’ve read on one of the other forums that someone with an earlier build date still had the connector in place.

If you look in the hole (once you’ve popped off the black plastic cover – I just lightly pried mine out with a small screwdriver), you will see the connector taped (with some light colored tape) to the main wiring harness on the left-hand side.

It’s worth a try I guess.

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Howard Feb 4th, 2005 Link

I just popped off the black cover. I saw what looked to be 2 black wires. Is that what your talking about? I didn’t pull them out, since I’m not a big fan of messing with parts I don’t know what they do.

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Gabe Feb 4th, 2005 Link

This is probably as good a time as any to say that any technical instructions seen on MotoringFile are followed at your own risk :)

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Mike Feb 4th, 2005 Link

Howard,

When I popped my cover off, I looked in the hole with a flashlight and in the back (on the left) was a (gray) connector taped onto the existing wiring harness. It was quite obvious that it was there and it was very easy to reach in and grab it. Thus, if you don’t see it right away, then it’s probably not there I’m afraid.

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Howard Feb 5th, 2005 Link

Ok I check again today and it looks like a black wire that splits off into a V. I didn’t see any connector or anything. So my question I guess would be, is it still possible to get the foglight, but now its going to cost twice as much since its not wired?

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TJKonarski Feb 9th, 2005 Link

Does anyone have a parts list and instructions for a rear fog light retrofit kit for ‘05 MINI’s that were built prior to 10-14?

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steve Feb 9th, 2005 Link

Same question for me. Missed the cutoff date by a week or so, my MCSC isn’t prewired, so I need instructions/parts list for the retrofit.

Thanks in advance, Steve

“Does anyone have a parts list and instructions for a rear fog light retrofit kit for ‘05 MINI’s that were built prior to 10-14?”

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Matt D. Feb 9th, 2005 Link

I was in for service for another reason, so I had them check the wiring harness for me, as I had a 10/04 MINI with a TD9xxx VIN, and was unsure (like some here) if the letter mattered.

It turns out that the ‘D’ is, in fact, significant. Mine was not pre-wired.

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MsBrit Feb 9th, 2005 Link

I called my Mini Dealer yesterday to see about getting the rear fog light installed in my O5 MCSC(I have a 11/04 build-date)- evidently they didn’t get the update on the 05 retro-fit as they acted like they didn’t know what I was talking about. I told them about the letter posted on this site, but I still couldn’t get a straight answer out of them. Anyone else having this problem ?

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Gabe Feb 9th, 2005 Link

I’d recommend printing the bulletin and bringing it into the dealer.

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David Feb 20th, 2006 Link

I too am having the same problem with my dealer (MINI Woodbridge).

When I ordered my car I choose the fog lights (front and rear) – when I took deliver of the car I was told that the fog light hadn’t been installed and that they would be by the dealer – the following week.

After 9 months of fighting with them – they insist that the rear ones can not be installed – I have told them the part numbers and have shown them the bulletin. They shrug the bulletin off as “something found on the internet”.

I have had to file a complaint with BMW Canada – and to the day are still at battle with them.

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