MitchBMW

OK,

Earlier this week, I brought my car in for some minor things to repair while still under warranty. I asked that they code my in dash cd player for mp3 playback, and they told me that it couldn't be done. I have a 2005 545, with NO Nav, but I have a CD Changer. I asked them, if I got the iPod adapter installed, will I then be able to listen to mp3's through my in dash CD player, and they said no, because it's a mechanical issue. What? Sounds like these guys don't know what they are talking about. Or, do they?

So, if I decided to get the Dension GW 500, will I not be able to see the text on the screen?

Please help. Still Confused.

caldersj

It is simple enough to check whether your in-dash player can play back MP3s, and whether the track names appear. I have a 2004 545i with business nav, and it works fine playing an MP3 CD on the in-dash player, including showing the track names on the screen. The CD Changer won't play MP3 CDs however. It refuses to recognise the disk.

(In case you were wondering, you can burn an MP3 CD using iTunes, though beware if you downloaded the tracks from the iTunes store, as it tries to stop you burning them in MP3 format. I went through this whole performance yesterday. Fortunately, there are numerous tutorials on Youtube showing how to get around this. Let me know if you need help.)

Does this mean a Dension 500 would work for you? I'm afraid I have no idea, just as I still don't know whether it would work for me, despite many helpful posts on this forum. These are murky waters, and the dependencies seem to include:

The year and model of your BMW
Whether it has the MASK or CCC control unit for the iDrive system.
The version of the iDrive software, and certain settings within that software
Whether it has Satnav
Whether is has a CD changer
The version of the firmware on the Dension 500, and possibly the type of connectors it comes with.

BMW dealers certainly can't be relied on for accurate information (at least in the UK), and nor can Dension or their dealers.

It seems to me that one could easily spend $500 on the Dension, and the same again having someone install it, and still find that it doesn't work. The only way to mitigate this risk is to get the Dension on a 'return-if-doesn't-work' basis, and do the install yourself, which in my case is a different kind of risk as I'm no expert at electronic installations.

Sorry if this is not the most helpful post, but I'm pretty frustrated with the whole situation.

MitchBMW

Will,

Thanks for your info. I'm not ready to spend $500 for the Dension, and then another $500 for the install. That's a little too much for me. Especially where there's a chance it won't work. I think I'll stick to the BMW adapter. At least, I know it will work. But again, if I can't control the iPod through iDrive, then I don't want that either. $600 is too much to install to have to control my iPod through the iPod. I would rather get an AUX installed, which is cheaper, and I can still keep my CD Changer, and control the iPod with the iPod. It's just kind of frustrating that we have these great cars, and they don't have the ability to play mp3's built in.

Thank you so much.

Mitch