E65 745i

[jochen 4]

Jochen, could you list the countries that will work in NZ, and the models of BMWs? Any particular year onward? Would serve as a nice buying guide.

All countries in the world EXCEPT Japan, China and Korea. Those 3 x countries have very special systems fitted.

So there are essentially two systems: Rest-Of-World (ROW) and Japan/China/Korea

It clearly shows this in the WDS.

Remember when importing one to also make sure the gearbox is fitted to the correct side of the steering wheel :-)

[Apex 693]

Is your friend a drug dealer?

Yea what are you after?

All countries in the world EXCEPT Japan, China and Korea. Those 3 x countries have very special systems fitted.

So there are essentially two systems: Rest-Of-World (ROW) and Japan/China/Korea

It clearly shows this in the WDS.

Remember when importing one to also make sure the gearbox is fitted to the correct side of the steering wheel :-)

Good to know, Thanks Jochen.

Don’t suppose you can comment on reliability in Singaporean imports. Having owned a Jap E39 with major electrical issues before (don’t know if you remember but you fixed the radio for me, was a blue 528i with a kit) im just trying to make sure my mate doesn’t end up in the same boat.

Thanks

Graham

[jochen 4]

I totaly agree with you, many car dealers have been caught out with these. I know of 2 Jap imports that have cost more that $10,000 to get systems to function.

Hi. Interesting to hear this

I have developed many theories about changing the Japanese nav, radio etc in iDrive cars to work in NZ.

But I have had no practice on this car, because I never found a willing enough guinea pig who was prepared to spend the money with no guarrantied outcome.

One of the reasons I had success in changing navs on the previous generation BMW cars was that I had a willing guinea pig, and also that I owned the same type of BMW. Also, the technology was simpler and had less inter-dependencies in the software.

The new cars demand the proper BMW tools and that is also a challenge.

As for programming going wrong, that is an interesting topic, because I firmly believe that the devices can be recovered if you have access to the write type of tool (one of the BMW tools will do this) and you have the necessary knowledge and experience, and some EEPROM contents from good working units.

Another 2 cents worth :-)

Edited May 20, 2008 by jochen

[Yuen 16]

Thanks Jochen and 318Touring (sorry mate don't know your name).

Edited May 20, 2008 by Yuen

[jochen 4]

All models supplied with iDrive. Even on models that could have iDrive but weren't delivered with iDrive still have some issues i.e. E90, E87.

These are overall electronics issues, not just in relation to sat-nav and radio.

The main comment I made was the differences between ROW (rest of world) models and Japan models

From the introduction of the MOST bus, which appeared in BMWs in about 2003 (E65) and progressively in other models, the ability to change the country-specific radio, TV and nav options became much much harder.

It can only be done with specialist BMW software tools and specialist programming knowledge. So specialised that the standard BMW dealer does not have the tools or the knowledge.

For cars built for Singapore and NZ and Australian markets, all the audio/nav/TV options are the same as NZ, although even then some small differences occur.

Eg: in Australia, the nav system comes in Business and Professional versions, and the maps are different. In NZ, the system is Professional only, and there is no Business map produced for NZ. So an Aussie E60 car I saw with the Business nav couldn't have working nav in NZ because the required map disc was simply not available.

As for general software issues: yes they exist, but again with the right tools and knowledge a lot of modules that are labelled as "faulty" actually work, and can be restored to life if you use the correct methods.

[PBOY23 0]

southen cali spec

zenneti that kit looks nice iv seen many on our japan auction site with nice kits 20s and 22s they look nice and tidy

[Fai+H777 0]

That 'thing' looks aweful

[hotwire 352]

Absolutely in agreeance with Jochen. I was the "guinea pig" with the first Nav conversion in our E39 - a sh*t load of research & a punt - at that stage, although confident, neither of us were absolutely sure as to whether it would work.

I would, in future, look to bring a car from Singapore (specifically BMW) - due to the fact of compatibilty of electronics with here. I hate having something fitted that wont work.

I, through work, have seen many Ex Singapore cars & really have not seen issues with BMW. Same certainly cannot be said about Benz - have seen failing body/window trims & crumbing wiring insulation (can of worms for future) in these cars at only 5 or so years old. Not seen these issues in comparible BMW's

My target would be as young as possible - so that time in that adverse environment was at a minimum.

Also to confirm that the vehicle was fully specced with heating options - some aren't.

[RvT 9]

No disrespect to jochen and others who want the Sat Nav working in the car BUT IMO the BMW sat nav is not that fantastic when compared to the Tomtom or similar nor is it easily updated with map changes.

To be balanced, you are thinking it is worth paying $10k more or invest $1,000s of dollars to correct the Jap sat Nav when you can buy a Jap BMW and save BIG bucks and then buy a $500 Tomtom or similar that is transferable from one car to another and can live in the glovebox until you actually need to use it. How many people actually drive with the Sat Nav on all the time in NZ?

$10k extra for NZ Sat Nav is a bit extravagent. When it comes to later resale, do you think you will recover the $10k because you bought a car with NZ Sat Nav in it.

Just my thoughts

[Apex 693]

No disrespect to jochen and others who want the Sat Nav working in the car BUT IMO the BMW sat nav is not that fantastic when compared to the Tomtom or similar nor is it easily updated with map changes.

To be balanced, you are thinking it is worth paying $10k more or invest $1,000s of dollars to correct the Jap sat Nav when you can buy a Jap BMW and save BIG bucks and then buy a $500 Tomtom or similar that is transferable from one car to another and can live in the glovebox until you actually need to use it. How many people actually drive with the Sat Nav on all the time in NZ?

$10k extra for NZ Sat Nav is a bit extravagent. When it comes to later resale, do you think you will recover the $10k because you bought a car with NZ Sat Nav in it.

Just my thoughts

Good call on the sat nav.. its nice to have it built in though.

Also factor in that half the menu will be in Japanese, the radio wont pick up your favorite stations (unless you like miFM) you wont be able to fit euro plates and your instruction book and service history will be un eligible if there at all.. Plus the cars system will make it hard for BMW nz to work on.. and then there is resale.

[RvT 9]

Good call on the sat nav.. its nice to have it built in though.

Also factor in that half the menu will be in Japanese, the radio wont pick up your favorite stations (unless you like miFM) you wont be able to fit euro plates and your instruction book and service history will be un eligible if there at all.. Plus the cars system will make it hard for BMW nz to work on.. and then there is resale.

I can only speak from experience with the e60. Mine was Jap import so the Sat Nav was a waste of time. The radio is resetable to NZ stations by a company in Akl I am told - (I took the easy option of band Expander). Yes Euro plate on rear won't happen but it will fit on the front. Instruction book is available in CD form in English so you will have that. The iDrive has a command to change language so mine is 100% English on all instructions. BMW stealer can work on all the Jap cars except when you want to play with the entertainment systems and retrofit to it. The service history is programmed into the car so the dealer can plug in and see all history so Log Books are sort of redundant with the newer 5 & 7 series cars.

A friend owns a '03 NZ new 745 and he has had a few issues with the electronics over the last 2 years as mentioned earlier in the thread, so the issue is not about where it came from but rather about the car and its complexity. They are all made in the same factory so the fact they have spent the first part of their life in JP is not a real issue IMO. I wouldn't right off a JP 745 too quickly because they are not favoured by some.

[jochen 4]

$10k extra for NZ Sat Nav is a bit extravagent. When it comes to later resale, do you think you will recover the $10k because you bought a car with NZ Sat Nav in it.

The 10k is for the sat nav, radio, TV and you may even get telephone in there too.

TomTom doesn't have radio, TV or telephone

TomTom doesn't integrate into the car and show you turn-by-turn instructions in the middle of your speedo, mute the stereo when it wants to talk to you, and lots lots more

You cannot compare a TomTom with a BMW integrated system

That's like saying why buy a BMW 545 when a 1200cc 20year old Toyota Corolla will also get you from A to B?

And you could buy 30 Corollas for the same price as the BMW

So you gotta compare apples with apples.

But I respect that some people want the best (that's why they bought the BMW) and want everything to work, and other people couldn't give a rats a**e about radio, nav, paint colour, upholstery, wheel types, or even what type of car they drive.

As a wise man once said to me: "Thank goodness we're not all the same"

[318Touring 40]

Also another thing, if yours comes with HUD and sat-nav. You'd want them to be able to work together :-)

[RvT 9]

Also another thing, if yours comes with HUD and sat-nav. You'd want them to be able to work together :-)

True. The HUD is the BEST and well worth it. The reality is that I would never use the Sat Nav as Chc is only sooo big therefore having the instructions on screen is not a necessity.

Hi Jochen. The TV in the JP e60 picks up all channels and while phone option is OK, the bluetooth option is more practical these days with BMWs but it only came effective on 2006 models onwards. The phone systems only work with some older selected models and in time, it will be a waste of time unless you keep your old phones and don't update.

Talking about bluetooth and BMWs, if you have a Nokia phone, they do not work or link up with the BMW bluetooths very well if at all. Other brands are OK but BMW and Nokia must have had a fall out as there are huge compatability issues and even now they the latest 08 models still won't talk to each other or the latest n... phones.

[318Touring 40]

Here you go, NZ new 7 series, and cheap too!!

Cheap!