mikeyd

I just purchased a 2008 528i does anyone know what i would need to connect my iphone 5 so it can display on the screen? If it's even possible?

alexbaldy

Hello! First congratulations on purchasing the car!

It should be possible. I have same car and mine has basic iDrive unit (no nav). With this I can make calls, answer/decline, also it reads my address book without issues.

To connect iPhone to your car: hit TEL button next to iDrive knob, there you would see Settings. Before connecting your iPhone delete (if any) previous users phones.

Than you can start pairing you car's iDrive to iPhone....

If any questions don't hesitate to ask.

With basic iDrive you cannot stream music via Bluetooth (but it is possible with a simple mod).

mikeyd

Thank you that worked great! Now what mod can i do to stream music through blue tooth?

alexbaldy

To stream music via BT I would prefer buying a Bluetooth audio receiver. There few options out there, I would look on eBay, they go for $10-$25 depending on build quality. Also they sell them in two variations: USB and 3.5mm audio output. Most likely your car has both USB and audio output, or at least one. The only one downside with this option is that iDrive will not display any album/artist info, and you will have to control your music on your iphone only.

That's probably fastest and cheapest way to stream music over Bluetooth...

sahiljain22

Possible with an iPhone 4. Should be possible with a 5, but will take some trial and error. I would start with an iPhone 5 to hdmi to component cable conversion. Modmynav or another idrive kit can take component as an input.

No guarantee that it will work. Might be worth getting an iPod touch with the old apple connector and going down that route.