TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted February 12, 2016 Just wondering if anyone else has hit this issue with an iDrive unit failing to boot reliably. Had my car in getting a door trim/switch panel replaced and this involved the whole door panel off and disconnecting a bunch of things. When I got it back the iDrive was just coming up to the BMW logo and then flicking off later on. It is intermittent - about 15% of the time it does start up and run OK. Have done the reset/CTL_ALT_DEL using the 2 disc-player eject keys and the volume on/off button but that doesn't help. The garage is not a euro specialist but does regularly work on BMWs and the diags were reporting issues or absence of low-voltage signals - and didn't know what this meant in terms of a solution. Have it booked into Jeff Gray to get it diagnosed and/or replaced. Thank heavens I have an Autosure Extreme Cover warranty!!! Anybody seen this issue? Unfortunately if it gets replaced (with a replacement Japan-spec unit) I'm expecting to lose the NZ localisation for the radio and GPS nav system Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbmiester 936 Report post Posted February 12, 2016 My old E60 had issues with a flat battery, needed to have some sort of reprogramming done when the new battery went in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted February 12, 2016 Cheers - hopefully its something simple and the unit doesn't need to get replaced! Will report back when sorted... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matth5 471 Report post Posted February 12, 2016 Might just be the car battery getting old. These cars start turning features off when the battery gets weaker so that the car remains drive-able. I think the region thing is just coding, not hardware. Look up how to change it, might not be as bad as you think. Getting NZ maps will be more work through. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 Unfortunately if it gets replaced (with a replacement Japan-spec unit) I'm expecting to lose the NZ localisation for the radio and GPS nav system Can't help with your problem sorry but if it gets replaced surely you'd get it replaced with a NZ unit? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breaker 980 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 $750 for NZ module with sat Nav as well, worth every cent Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 We'll see what happens - I think Jeff Gray as an official dealer will need to replace it with the Jap spec'ed part (car is an import) if it is different from NZ units. Sorting the radio is cheap but getting Nav redone not so much. Agree the nav is prett good but haven't really needed it to date. I will be happy if it is just a battery issue or similar! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 Breaker - as a matter of interest which of your 3! V8 BMWs do you enjoy driving the most? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matth5 471 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 We'll see what happens - I think Jeff Gray as an official dealer will need to replace it with the Jap spec'ed part (car is an import) if it is different from NZ units. Sorting the radio is cheap but getting Nav redone not so much. Agree the nav is prett good but haven't really needed it to date. I will be happy if it is just a battery issue or similar! Would make no sense for them to stock and install japan specific parts, I would expect them to provide NZ specific parts. If they'll only do the Jap radio, rather take your car elsewhere. BM Workshop helped me arrange to replace a blown charge pipe in my 335i with an aftermarket one, covered by Autosure. So I don't see why you'd have any trouble getting an NZ unit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2429 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 You know why they would install a Jap unit? Because thats what the car came with. It would be hard for them to guarantee that everything will work 100% if anything is changed from original spec so generally its something dealers wont do (and they literally HAVE to guarantee the work). Depends on how lenient the dealer is. Youre not wrong about taking it to an independent workshop if you want to change your car from stock, they generally have more experience with aftermarket or unauthorized solutions. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breaker 980 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Re which I like the best : today.. Well the E39 is the go to Daily and Hammer it in the hills, the E38 is the weekend cruiser and the E61 does everything and gets you there quickest. Sum it up, and pretty much in my order of favourites.... E38 - Cheapest, quietest and the one we are taking on a 2000km SI trip, sit back relax and smash the distance out. E39 - Daily sporty lots of fun, noisier then the E38 for trips though E61 - Sporty and bigger, not as much character as the E39, Technological tour de force compared to the other two 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted February 16, 2016 Cheers Breaker - good to have choices eh! A friend of mine sold his E39 M5 last year and I did briefly ponder buying it FYI my E60 wouldn't start this morning - flat battery - and as far as I can tell there was nothing 'left on' to drain it. Took it into Pitstop and got the battery checked - came up as 'borderline' so to be on the safe side had it replaced and hoped it might resolve the iDrive issue.... No such luck of course so its in @Jeff Gray tomorrow to get sorted! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1319 Report post Posted March 10, 2016 Car back yesterday from Jeff Gray with replacement computer - working nicely but unsurprisingly back to Japanese operation. Both Autosure and Jeff Gray BMW have been excellent about handling this under the Autosure Extreme wty. Eurosurgeon will recode it back to NZ radio and nav without charging again. So all round a frustrating experience but with good service from Autosure, Jeff Gray and EuroSurgeon. FYI it looks like whoever originally installed the band expander (a previous owner) made a mess of the aerial wiring, didn't put all the screws back in and also did not remount the cooling fan - and this could have taken a toll on the unit over time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
