bimmerman

I just want everyone to get a financial feel on this popular Bluetooth Retrofit topic, and to help fellow members avoid possible dealer ripoffs... Post any additional information such as the amounts paid for the Retrofit (if you all don't mind sharing), any issues encountered, any fixes to those issues, etc.

Lomag

Bluetooth was never advertised in the U.S. and infact I don't think its even advertised for the 2005 models yet eventhough it's finally working.

You >= March 2004 production cars are lucky. I think I'm in trouble with my Jan build. I'm thinking to go in for a software upgrade and those two recalls sometime early next year. Maybe by then we'll have some more bluetooth info for pre March 2004 build cars.

I'm following the old saying here -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Iceman

Welcome aboard, bimmerman !

mrbelk

I paid for one hour of labor time ($96 here in ATL) for the "Tel. Bluetooth" retrofit, as my vehicle was recoded under warranty to the most current software revision under warranty. Everyone should be able to get their vehicle upgraded to the latest revision simply by informing their service advisor that their iDrive screen locks up periodically and that only shutting the car off for several minutes will bring it back to life. It's a problem that can't be reliably reproduced, but that can't be ignored, either.

I have not encountered any problems since having had the retrofit. The implementation is very well done, in my opinion. If I had one complaint, it would be that you can't effectively use callwaiting.

At no time, and in no form was Bluetooth ever advertised to me by my salesman to be a standard or optional feature in US spec E60's. Nowhere was Bluetooth mentioned in the official marketing brochure/catalog as being even an option, much less a standard feature. The only handsfree solution mentioned in the product literature was the CPT9000.

In fact from very early on, there was a known incompatibility between ASSIST and Bluetooth and the possibility of a retrofit seemed slim or non-existent. Other markets were able to have BT, since they didn't have ASSIST, but they have no bearing on what we can get here in the US. I think that this is the root of the problem; that board members don't make a distinction between what someone in the UK can get that we can't. Boards like this are definitely a double-edged sword in that regard.

I give BMW credit for working through the ASSIST/BT conflict and allowing some of us the option of getting it. Sure, some folks, like jksanford, will be on the wrong side of a product changeover. In his case he got an incompatible TCU and I got a compatible one, even though our vehicles rolled off the assembly line maybe on the same day, and certainly during the same week. There is a small price to pay for being an early adopter; and this is one of them.

I don't really know what to say to people who's salesperson made an un-keepable promise, except to work through the disagreement civilly and with respect for the other party. Maybe issues like this will compel them to keep more abreast of the current state of the products they are selling.

-MrB

m630

welcome bimmerman

kscarrol

I'm with Lomag and Mr Belk on this one. I still have the catalog at home I got back in December 2003 as I was preparing to order my Jan 04 build car. Nowhere in that catalog is Bluetooth mentioned, not even in the back where standard equipment and options are broken out by model. Maybe that changed later in 2004, but when I ordered, Bluetooth was not available or advertised as available.

And of course, Welcome bimmerman!

bimmerman

Thanks for warm welcomes! (Actually, I have been monitoring this forum for several months now, but did not get a chance to register)

How do you guys explain then the presence of the BT Passkey card in the US Manual? Does that imply the availability of BT compatibility?

kscarrol

Good question! The only thing I can think of is they were hoping to offer it but realized they had major problems and so backed off before making any claims about BT availability. The cars were still made as designed with the hope of resolving the issue, which has finally happened, hence the BT code key cards in our glove boxes at delivery. I'm sure Mr Belk or others more knowledgable will have a better answer, especially since they have now gotten the BT activated.

mrbelk

I explain the presence of that card the same way I explain why my DirecTivo has inactive and unusable USB ports: at some point in time, the designer/engineer/manufacturer _might_ want or be able to take advantage of them, so they're installed from the getgo knowing that it's relatively cheap to do it. Their presence doesn't imply anything other than unrealized future product features.

In my case, it was determined that my hardware (with the right software loaded that could resolve whatever conflict existed) could take advantage of that functionality so they made it available. In other cases, it has been determined that the hardware is incompatible. It was still a good decision on BMW's part to include the components on the off chance that it would work out.

I'm not sure, but I think that the card with the ESN/IMEI/BT Passkey info was/is included in almost every E60 produced; hence the different languages. The UK market has an option for a "Phone Professional" or somesuch that uses the on-board TCU cell phone with a hard-wired handset (not CPT9000). Here in the US, that on-board TCU cell phone is used for BMW ASSIST.

-MrB

salio

I asked my dealer the same question about the BT Passkey card last week. He looked at the card and he pointed out that there was only an ESN number on the card. The BT Passkey field is empty. Do you guys have anything filled in this field?
My 530 is Dec. 2003 build.