Summary: On a 2007–2015 MINI Cabrio, interior lights that dim or flicker, electric windows that work one day and not the next, and central locking that ignores the key usually trace back to one unit: the FRM3 footwell module. Your garage removes it and posts it to us; we bring the fault out on a load-testing rig, repair it, and return the same module with its coding in place and a lifetime warranty.
This page deals with the convertible only. The FRM3 itself, and the wider range of BMW and MINI models it is fitted to, is covered on our BMW and MINI FRM3 footwell module repair page, and the estate has a page of its own for the MINI Clubman (2006–2014). All of them come under our body control module repair service.
- Car: MINI Cabrio, every variant built from 2007 to 2015
- Unit: the FRM3 footwell module, which runs the interior lighting, electric windows and central locking
- Typical complaint: faults that come and go rather than failing outright
- What you get back: the module that came out of your car, repaired, with its coding intact
- Testing: in-house HIL rigs that simulate heat, vibration and electrical load
- Warranty: lifetime
- Which Cabrio faults point to the footwell module?
- What should a diagnostic scan show on a Cabrio with a failing FRM3?
- Which Cabrio years and FRM3 part numbers are covered?
- What damages a Cabrio’s footwell module, and why does the fault come and go?
- Should you repair the Cabrio’s own module or source another?
- How does a Cabrio footwell module get repaired by post?
- Cabrio footwell module: owners’ questions answered
- Final thoughts
Which Cabrio faults point to the footwell module?
Most owners notice it inside the car first. The FRM3 manages the cabin lighting, the door locking and the electric windows, so that is where trouble shows — and on a Cabrio it often shows only some of the time.
- Interior lights that are dim, or flicker
- Cabin electrics behaving erratically: working, stopping, then working again
- Electric windows that respond inconsistently, or not at all
- Central locking that will not lock or unlock the doors
Any one of these alone could be a bulb, a switch or a motor. Two or more together, on a car where those parts have already been checked, point towards the module they have in common. A convertible that will not lock, or will not close a window, cannot be left secure, so treat those faults as urgent rather than cosmetic.
What should a diagnostic scan show on a Cabrio with a failing FRM3?
Less than most people expect. No published fault-code list pins down a Cabrio footwell module, and code lists quoted without a source are best ignored. Intermittent faults add a second problem: if the module happened to be working when the scan was taken, it may have stored nothing useful.
Read the scan alongside the symptoms instead.
| What the scan shows | What it suggests on a Cabrio | Worth noting for us |
|---|---|---|
| The tool cannot reach the footwell module | The module has dropped off the car’s network, at least for the moment | Whether it answered on a later attempt |
| Faults that are cleared and then return | A real fault that is not constant, which is typical of this module | How often it comes back, and in what conditions |
| A window or locking complaint, with the switch and motor tested and sound | The command is not getting through the module | Which door or window, and which direction |
| Nothing stored, despite flickering lights | An intermittent fault the scan did not catch | When the flicker happens: cold mornings, after rain, over rough roads |
Write down every code before anything is cleared and send the list with the module. The conditions matter as much as the codes, because they tell us how to set up the test.
Cabrio footwell faults · Mail-in repair
Not sure it is the module? Describe what the Cabrio doesTell us which functions misbehave, how often, and whether weather or battery work seems to set them off. We will say whether the FRM3 is the likely cause before anything comes out of the car.
Rig-tested under heat, vibration and load · Your coding stays in the module · Lifetime warranty on the repair
Which Cabrio years and FRM3 part numbers are covered?
We repair the footwell module across the Cabrio’s 2007–2015 run, early cars and late cars alike; the fault is not confined to one year. The Cabrio’s FRM3 belongs to a module family fitted to other MINI and BMW models, so the list below is shared: it holds the part numbers that have come through our workshop for repair.
The number is printed on the module’s label. If yours is missing from the list, it may still be a unit we can test and repair — add it to the repair form and we will check it against your car before anything is posted.
| Part Numbers | Part Numbers |
|---|---|
| 61359390491 | 61359340339 |
| 61359308371 | 61359286887 |
| 61359263803 | 61359240533 |
| 61359241008 | 61359204536 |
| 61359187559 | 61359166708 |
| 61359159808 | 61359153779 |
| 61359224595 | 61359240527 |
| 61359249083 | 61353456588 |
| 61353456394 | 61359263800 |
| 61353456051 | 61359224589 |
| 61359241006 | 61359230450 |
| 61353457427 | 61353456034 |
| 61353456395 | 61359241005 |
| 61359240530 | 61359230447 |
| 61359230448 | 61359241007 |
| 61359249081 | 61359249080 |
| 61359224593 | 61359241002 |
| 61359230451 | 61359263797 |
| 61359224592 | 61359224594 |
| 61359230454 | 61359251487 |
| 61359263794 | 61359240523 |
| 61359224588 | 61359251486 |
| 61359249084 | 61359224618 |
| 61359230432 | 61359230433 |
| 61359224616 | 61359224617 |
| 61359224598 | 613592230445 |
| 61359230445 | 61359146058 |
| 61359263801 | 61359249082 |
| 61359230446 | 61359230438 |
| 61359240528 | 61359241004 |
| 61359340333 | 61359230453 |
| 61359390484 | 61359197159 |
| 61359390483 | 61359340331 |
| 61359230444 | 61359241011 |
| 61356827064 | 61359225496 |
| 61359269830 | 61359263798 |
| 61359240524 | 61353456587 |
| 61353457428 | 61353455895 |
| 61359249085 | 61353456393 |
| 61353457029 | 6135345730 |
| 61356827072 | 61353457429 |
| 61353457586 | 61359263791 |
| 61359224597 | 6135981387801 |
| 6135925148601 | 61359251486-01 |
| 6135922459401 | 61359224594-01 |
| 6135345739201 | 61353457392-01 |
| 61359287250 | 61359230455 |
| 63159263793 | 61359263793 |
| 61359251489 | 61359383050 |
| 61359269815 | 5350538C200 |
| 61353457528 | 61353456988 |
| 61353456987 | 61359241012 |
| 61359242522 | 61359249086 |
| 61353455896 | 61353457526 |
| 61353456952 | 61359308361 |
| 61359240529 | 61353457426 |
| 61359241003 | 61353456586 |
| 61359240532 | 61359224596 |
| 61359287251 | 6135345639401 |
| 6135926983001 | 61359249074 |
| 61353457390 | 61353457390 |
| 61353457389 | 61353457389 |
| 61353456951 | 61359224590 |
| 61353456986 | 61353457587 |
| 61353457402 | 61353457400 |
| 61359224591 | 61359249092 |
| 61353457031 | 61353457401 |
| 61353457403 | 61353457387 |
| 61353456953 | 61353457596 |
What damages a Cabrio’s footwell module, and why does the fault come and go?
Battery trouble. The FRM3 is sensitive to its supply voltage. A battery that runs down while the car stands — a convertible laid up for the winter is an obvious candidate — or a jump start, a battery change or a voltage dip during other work can knock the module out. Sometimes it stops outright; sometimes it carries on with functions dropping in and out.
Water. The module sits in the footwell, so water that finds its way into the cabin can reach it. Moisture attacks the module and its connector gradually, which is why the faults tend to be intermittent before they become permanent. The source of the water needs finding as well as the module repairing.
Heat, vibration and age. The youngest Cabrio this page covers was built in 2015. Every journey since has put the module through temperature swings and road vibration while it switches lamps, motors and locks.
A short on a circuit it drives. A fault in a window motor or lock circuit loads the module beyond its design, so that circuit needs checking alongside the unit.
Because the module sits between each switch and the lamp, motor or lock it controls, a failing FRM3 makes whatever is on the end of the circuit look faulty. A flickering cabin light suggests a bulb or door switch; a stalling window suggests a regulator or motor; failed locking suggests an actuator. With an intermittent fault, the car can pass every check at the garage and play up again on the drive home. Our HIL rigs recreate the heat, vibration and electrical load the module sees in the car, and that is what brings an intermittent fault out where it can be measured.
Should you repair the Cabrio’s own module or source another?
A footwell module is configured for the car it is fitted to, and that settles most of this question.
Your own module, repaired. It keeps its coding and security data through the repair, so it goes back into the Cabrio as the same unit that came out. We rebuild with high-quality components and reinforce the module’s known weak points rather than returning it exactly as it was built, and the repair carries a lifetime warranty.
A used or new FRM3. Either one usually has to be coded to your car before it will behave. A used unit brings an unknown history from its donor car; a new one is the same design, going back into the same footwell.
Whichever route you take, find the cause first. If water or a shorted circuit stopped the original, a replacement will meet the same conditions.
How does a Cabrio footwell module get repaired by post?
- Fill in the repair form
Give the repair form the Cabrio’s year, the part number from the label, the symptoms, any codes and when the fault shows itself. If it followed battery work, a jump start or a leak, include that too.
- Module removed and sent in
You or your garage take the module out and post it to us, padded so it cannot move in the box and with the connector protected from damp and dirt.
- Load-tested on arrival
It goes onto an in-house Hardware-in-the-Loop rig that recreates heat, vibration and electrical load, so an intermittent fault shows itself instead of hiding.
- Circuit-level repair and a second rig run
Our engineers repair it at circuit level in a cleanroom-standard workshop, check it with dealer-level diagnostic tools, and put it back on the rig before it leaves.
- Back into the Cabrio
The module returns with its coding in place. Your garage refits it and clears the stored faults, and the lifetime warranty runs from there.
Cabrio footwell module: owners’ questions answered
My Cabrio’s interior lights flicker, but the bulbs are new. Could it be the footwell module?
It could. The FRM3 supplies the cabin lighting, so a failing module can make good bulbs dim or flicker. The case is stronger if the windows or locking are misbehaving as well. Check the battery first, then have the module tested.
The fault never appears when the garage looks at it. Is the module still worth sending?
Yes. Intermittent faults are typical of this module and easy to miss on a quick check. Our rigs apply heat, vibration and load to bring the fault out. Tell us when it happens so we can match the test to it.
Water got into my Cabrio’s footwell. Can the module be saved?
Send it for assessment: every unit is tested on the bench and we report what we find. Have the source of any water traced as well, or a repaired module goes back into the same damp.
Will my Cabrio need coding once the repaired module is back in?
No. The module keeps its coding through the repair, so your garage refits it and clears the stored faults. A used or new module is the one that normally needs coding to the car.
Is the Cabrio’s module the same as the one on your FRM3 and Clubman pages?
It is the same FRM3 family and the same repair. The FRM3 page explains the module across BMW and MINI, and the MINI Clubman (2006–2014) has a page of its own. This one concentrates on what goes wrong in the convertible.
Final thoughts
A MINI Cabrio with flickering cabin lights, a window that works when it chooses and locks that sometimes ignore the key is rarely suffering three separate faults. More often one module is failing slowly, and the on-off behaviour is part of that pattern rather than a reason to wait and see.
Note when the faults appear, collect the codes and the number from the module’s label, check the battery and look for water in the footwell. Then have the FRM3 tested under load before any switch, motor or replacement module is bought.
Sinspeed · Convertible FRM3 repairs
Put your Cabrio’s cabin electrics rightBook online and have the footwell module posted to us. It comes back load-tested, repaired and still coded to your car, ready for your garage to refit.
Cleanroom-standard workshop · Known weak points reinforced · Lifetime warranty included