gxprice

Hi all, I'm new to this forum having just purchased a 2008 530xdA Touring (E61) for my wife. Given that 95% of the trips we take together are going to be driven by me, I thought I'd learn some of the tips 'n' tricks of the car I'm a long term owner of BMW's (perhaps 10 over the years including an E39 M5 which was a fantastic car; sold and replaced by a 2005 330CiC E46 which I still have for the summer!) so many of the tricks I was already aware of. However, iDrive is very new to me and no amount of searching (including the 29 pages of the Tips and Tricks thread) seems to throw up the answer to the following:

1. The 2 programmable buttons on the steering wheel seem limited in what they can do according to the possibilities in the idrive menu. I'd like one button to automatically select "AUX" as a source while a second one should just bring up the Navigation map display. These options aren't on the list (and the list is pretty limited - e.g. turn voice navigation on/off). Currently, I'm going through the menu which is pretty painful (e.g for Nav, press Menu, slide right, slide down, down, down, press down to get the map up). It's similarly cumbersome for AUX. I have a 911 (997) as my daily driver and it has a dedicated button to do this which is really useful - just trying to emulate since I use it a lot.

2. I have the professional navigation, ipod integration kit (USB/3.5mm jack under the flap in the center console), phone cradle in the same place and bluetooth connectivity but don't seem to have voice command. Having read a few threads here (some old), a few say that with the option I've mentioned, I should have the voice command while others say that it's an add on ... Is there a definitive answer to this one? Do I need to get it configured at the dealer or would it involve additional hardware / installation (and hence cost). It seems that it would resolve the issues I've raised in the first point

Having said that, this is a fantastic car and I'm astonished with the economy (perhaps not difficult given my other cars and the fact that this car has replaced an XC90 as the family car!). Went on a small run yesterday (round trip 100 miles) and acheived 6.2ltr/100 (approx 45mpg UK or 38mpg US?). I'm used to twice those numbers; any of my cars even when not driven in anger. It also has excellent torque low down which makes it easier to drive rapidly that comparable petrol cars (my impression based on the cars I've owned - don't beat me up over it!). It's also a great car from the perspective of comfort and quietness. We were tossing up between an equivalent Audi and this and am pleased we ended up with the Bimmer

The only thing I find "really stupid by design" is the cargo cover which when extended, pops up when opening the tail gate but doesn't pop down again on closure! I've searched extensively here on how I could resolve this "technical anomaly" on the basis that although an intelligent engineer could design and perfect such a mechanism, the "Usability" department would throw it back at them with a "PostIt" (tm) providing directions to the nearest Lunatic Asylum... However, this is apparently the default "manual" option unless the auto tailgate lifter is spec'ed in which case it's then automatic in both directions. I suspect that when the engineering "feat" was presented for approval and inclusion in the E61 range, the aforementioned department were on vacation, medication or jet-lagged having just returned from their home planet (delete as appropriate)

Thanks for any input / comments - hopefully, I'll be able to contribute a little as I learn

Best,

Gary.

wtlb

These vehicles are surprisingly fuel efficient.

gxprice

Okay, I've worked out that holding the iDrive wheel in one direction gets you straight into the function. If you've left the map on in the navigation and switched to somewhere else, holding the wheel right will bring back the map. That's certainly one great timesaving!

Still leaves the steering wheel button programming though - presume it really is *that* limited or someone would have jumped in?

Best,

Gary.

sanjsanj

Gary, welcome to the forums.

I don't have Aux myself, but If you choose "change source" as the shortcut, it should cycle through FM AM CD & AUX.

Retrofitting Voice Control would need a second mic that fits near the sunroof open/close button, and a new iDrive menu button that has a voice control button too, plus some coding.

gxprice

Thanks very much for the suggestion - I hadn't considered that putting "Change Source" on a button would work in a cyclic way but it makes perfect sense I'll check when I get back in the car - I admit to not remembering seeing this as one of the options though, probably just missed it!

I probably won't bother with the voice control now that I've worked out this "hold in direction of desired menu" trick.

Best,

Gary.