juic3boy

Hi,

New here - be gentle with me

I have an 04 530D. Great car everything has been peachy until now.

My stereo has decided to be permanently on mute...I suspect it's something to do with Bluetooth - which had worked fine until now, but the mute problem started one day when I got out of my car and carried on my phone call - i.e. it switched from 'loudspeker' to handset...it's just that it has left the stereo permanenetly muted. Other symptoms are that iDrive will no longer let me make 'Bluetooth communication Active'.

I took it to my dealer - their diagnosis was I needed an entire new computer - cost ?1200!
They contacted BMW who said they would pay half (my car is out of warranty)

Obviously ?600 is massively steep for a broken mute button - (all other iDrive functions are fine).
And I'm hesitant to fork out ?600 for something that can break so easily.

So - has anyone got any tips on how to solve this?

Many thanks in advance.

zimguy

ofcourse they will try to sell you the expensive bits

Amazing that if you were under warranty they would probably tell you everything was fine or that it was your "incompatible" phone.

So insist they reset the TCU or perform a SW update or check for an error code ... all this before spending ?1200

Above all, try a couple of dealers for different opinions etc

One thing you could try yourself....long shot. Delete the phone pairings, switch off the car, lock it (puts it to sleep after about 10 mins) then restart it, see if you have any joy.

javelin73

Hi, to the forum,

a few leads for your problem (I do not know if that will help you, but you can't damage more...):

Put the hole car from the battery - one night or so - maybe it will reset the CCC...

Try resetting the CCC manually - push the radio on/off knob, the cd eject and the dvd eject knob all at the same time for about 10 seconds - maybe this will reset the CCC (try it with and without ignition)

Delete your BT Mobile from the CCC and log it in new.

Check radio fuse

If you have "voice control" (don't know the English phrase ) aktivate it (ignition on) and just turm the key into "off" (thats not a normal act, so maybe this will reset your CCC)

Ok, I really hope one thing will work

Ask the dealer for your software - if you have the V25 version, then it might be the SW (I had a problem with V25 and my CCC blow up - my delaer confirm, that this SW is faulty!)

timewa

Strange reaction of the dealer to say that your CCC needs to be replaced when it sounds like a software/initialization issue. Don't pay anything above 100 before they've done a better diagnosis, and certainly not 1200.

Question 1: Do you see the muted speaker symbol in the idrive screen? In other words: Is the audio switched off and can't you switch it on, or does the mute symbol disappear and still no sound? This will give you a hint if it's related to a faulty mute function or a generic audio error (amp?).

Question 2: No sound whatever source you select? Have you tried AUX (if you have it)? AUX goes through the ULF, the phone module.

After trying all the reset options as suggested by other replies, try disconnecting the ULF, the bluetooth communication unit on the left side of the trunk. Disconnect the MOST fibers (and bring them together to form a closed loop again) and see if you get audio when you switch on the sound system. This will tell you if the ULF keeps the system muted when it shouldn't.

Even if this doesn't bring you anything, I'd go for a reset / reprogram option. Your dealer may charge some money for it, but no way it comes close to 600/1200 and it will most likely solve the problem.

Also, check another dealership for a 2nd opinion.

Good luck.
Tim

juic3boy

Hi,

Many thanks for the quick responses guys ...to answer a few of the questions raised:

1. The mute icon is permanently displayed. No audio at all from any source - no warnings from Parking sensors, no hazard warnings (e.g. low fuel)
2. The problem does not go away by turning the engine off and locking the car eg. overnight.
3. There are no Bluetooth phone functions available on iDrive as it won't let me click the 'Activate Bluetooth communications' in the main menu - this is why I suspect that this is all a Bluetooth mute problem.
4. I don't have a DVD eject button - but I have tried the CD eject on/off button for 10s - this doesn't reboot my system.
5. The on/off button is functioning correctly - as it allows me to access the radio/CD screens when the engine is off - i just don't get any sound!

I'm not v confident with fiddling with leads etc:
1. Is it safe to disconect the battery cables to force a 'hard reboot'? - (I'm aware that you should always disconect the negative cable first). Is this easy to do - any special tools required?
2. How can I find where the ULF is - is there a jpg or pdf anywhere that I can access easily? Ditto the MOST fibres?

thanks for the tips on getting a second dealer opinion - I wondered whther there was a consistent level of service across dealers? I will also ask them for a detailed report on what diagnostics they actually performed (software updates etc).


Thanks Again

juic3boy

bump

Any more advice/answers much appreciated.

DD_545i

I just had this exact problem. I could see the mute icon displayed and could hear no sound from any source. I stopped the car, took the key out and put back in. Didn't help. I had to drive all the way home without sounds. After I got home, I left the car for half an hour then went back out. I figured a good half hour of switched off might help it, because it'd mean I get a full idrive reboot (and I don't know how to perform a reboot without this waiting).

It works perfectly again now. So although I had exactly the same problem as you, it only took a good reboot to get out of it.

porsche911targa

Happened to me a couple of times with the old software (twice in two months). Problem went away after shutting off engine, locking door, and letting car sleep for more than 20 minutes.

Has not happened since software upgraded to 31.02 nearly a month ago.

luigi524td

First picture = button turns off all audio from any source; it's also the main volume control - push it in to switch audio on and off:




Second picture = This indicator shows that all audio is switched off:

DD_545i

I don't see how your pictures help us when the iDrive is frozen on permanent mute? Are you suggesting we're too stupid to try adjusting the volume control ?