[abrandonment]

Summary
We all know the ASS in the U11 X1 stands out as one of the most annoying things about the car (if you're unbothered by it or don't mind disabling on each drive, congratulations, you can stop reading here).

A Mini tuner in Taiwan sells a module on eBay for about $80 US that isn't a plug-and-play solution but is an effective and cheap fix for something that many of us hate.

The install consists of removing one passenger footwell panel and pulling the passenger side forward kick trim, unplugging a bundled harness, removing the two pin blocks contained within (held together by tiny plastic clips), dropping two wiretaps into open pins, and then reassembly.

The process start to finish took me 45 min, which included a call to BabyX6 (who I owe a big thanks to) for a bit of advice, that I'll mention more on below. I could do the install a second time in 10 min.

The good news is that the install is quite simple, the bad news is that the instructions are not only in Chinese (if you get them at all, I didn't) but Chinese or not, they are in no way helpful.

Required Tools
Small flat-head screwdriver, trim tool and maybe needle nose pliers.

Install

1. Turn the two forward thumb screws on the footwell panel (1a) and pull towards you, this will release the panel, next you find a place to grip the kick panel (1B), the clips holding everything together are substantial and unlikely to break, you'll need to pull hard.
   
   
2. Unplug power from the light (red) and the fan (blue), the module's harness will intercept the power from the footwell light, so you'll later be plugging in the car's male power into a supplied female port, and using the module harness to go back into the light's female port.
   
   
3. Find the harness (2a), pull the green lever back to allow you to pull it out. Look at the ends, you'll see a grey and a black pin block inside (2b) -- this was not obvious to me at all and in addition to his earlier photos, a quick chat with BabyX6 helped me work out what I needed to do. You'll need to work four small clips, two on each side (2c) with a flat-head to release them, at the back you'll see a small 'window' that will allow you to push the blocks out of the white housing using the same flat-head, you may need to grip them with a pair of pliers to pull them the rest of the way out. They'll come out attached, a step I missed, slide them apart to separate black from grey. (2d)
   
   
4. With the blocks free, you'll only be focused on the black block, which has a front and a back. I was told the pins were numbered, and mine were, but I have reason to believe the numbering may not be consistent for every car. For this reason I suggest just deducing the right placement using photos.
   
   
5. The tap labeled L goes into the 4th pin, H into the 3rd, leaving two empty -- again ensure you're on the back, the blue wire will be on the opposite row from your insertion. With the taps in place (3a), reconnect the to blocks (they only fit together one way) and reinsert them into the white housing.
   
   
6. The hard part is over. Plug the main module harness into the ASS module it's (there is no wrong way to do this). Next, tuck the module box away, there are few options, plenty of space.
   
   
7. Reinsert the white harness into the board, you may need to try different angles with the green lever to get it to fit. Top tip: if you fail to get it correctly inserted, the car will do all sorts of fun stuff; warning messages, lights flashing, wipers going on and off.. chaos.
   
   
8. Connect the power as descried above, again no wrong way to do this and if you've made it this far it will be very obvious.
   
   
9. With this done, I suggest you take a test drive before closing everything up -- if you can drive over 10 miles an hour in D and come to a stop without the ASS shutting the engine off, congratulations - your car is now far less annoying!
   
   
10. Replace the kick panel, which is just alignment and pressure, slot the footwell panel back into place and turn the thumbscrews.
    
    You're done!

Thoughts
As I said I know this is a nonissue for some people, and honestly I was almost bought in to the 'let it go.. either turn it off, or learn to live with it' narrative. In hindsight, after just one day without having to deal with the ASS, I can't overstate how happy I am that I spent the money and time to resolve it. It may not be rational but it is VERY real.

My photos aren't completely comprehensive, with the very obvious/simple stuff omitted but I hope it is helpful to anyone who decides to do the install. In any case, you'll be glad you did, it really does make an outsized difference. Thanks again to BabyX6 not only for the help but for being the first here to dive in and try it.
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[smooth68]

Great info and pics, but that would surely void a warranty...if one was worried about that.

I am getting use to just giving a swipe down and turning it off

[BabyX6]

A Magnum Opus! Now this is a proper install guide. If this doesn't influence some to follow suit... then you and I must be neurotic for being as bothered by this as we were.

[abrandonment]

Originally Posted by smooth68

Great info and pics, but that would surely void a warranty...if one was worried about that.

I am getting use to just giving a swipe down and turning it off

I would be inclined to disagree re: warranty, and if someone wanted to remove the install without a trace - it would take fewer than ten minutes.

[BabyX6]

Originally Posted by abrandonment

I would be inclined to disagree re: warranty, and if someone wanted to remove the install without a trace - it would take fewer than ten minutes.

Ditto. It's like any piggyback tuner module in that there are no changes being made to the substance of the car itself. It's simply intercepting and modulating signals being sent throughout the nervous system of the car. Unplugging it would erase any trace of it's existence, and even if it were plugged in during a trip to the dealer it would have to:
a. be physically discovered
b. its existence found to be responsible for the warranty claim being made

I think there's a common misconception out there that if one wrong modification is made that it will trigger an alarm that will null and void the warranty as a whole, and poof it's gone. The warranty is essentially like an insurance policy: an incident occurs and then a claim is made. For any specific incident to be denied, those two qualifiers I mentioned earlier would have to be met.

[abirmaher]

Great guide. Thanks for the write up!

[abrandonment]

A few weeks in and I can't say enough about what a difference this makes. It is a bigger deal than I would have guessed.

[kenrok1]

I feel like I may have to give in and do this- you've addressed the concern in step 7. with the lights and warnings going bonkers that someone else mentioned with this device - I'm betting that's what happened, or maybe they had it close enough that they didn't trigger right away and vibrated loose or something.

I was also holding out hope for the bimmercom.io device - but I know how the universe works... that device will never materialize until after I purchase install this in both ours. :P

[BabyX6]

Originally Posted by abrandonment

A few weeks in and I can't say enough about what a difference this makes. It is a bigger deal than I would have guessed.

The typical U10/U11 owner will never know how AMAZING the difference is, but rest assured they will continue to casually bitch about it. That is, until this solution is offered. And then they say "oh I will just keep using the shortcut, that thing will void my warranty." Afraid to pop a couple panels off and plug a few wires in.

Cheers my friend, to the good life without AS/S!

[abrandonment]

Originally Posted by kenrok1

I feel like I may have to give in and do this- you've addressed the concern in step 7. with the lights and warnings going bonkers that someone else mentioned with this device - I'm betting that's what happened, or maybe they had it close enough that they didn't trigger right away and vibrated loose or something.

I was also holding out hope for the bimmercom.io device - but I know how the universe works... that device will never materialize until after I purchase install this in both ours. :P

I hope it helps.. the car scene was pretty funny without it plugged all the way in.

I get the sense (from private conversations) that the Bimmercom will offer more than ASS kill, I hope that is the case, and if so I'll pick up one up and not be bothered in the least that I took the time to install this kit.