BMW.Aaron.TeamF1

why are there so many problems with the E60? Most of those problems are minor and the dealer most of the time can fix them. That's why you have 50k miles warranty. Also remember this is the first year of the E60 so you should know what to expect.

I think the E60 is doing well and it should just get better

isbell

Does this mean that I won't ever be able to get Bluetooth in my soon-to-arrive 545i?

Peace.

NickP

Does this mean that I won't ever be able to get Bluetooth in my soon-to-arrive 545i?

Peace. [/quote]
Let's see in MY2005. Right now Europe customers can order Nav Pro + BT. Since Europe doesn't have Assist this works fine. I have seen information that explains to BMW techs for other cars (e.g. Z4, 3 series, X5) how to remove the TCU and replace it with a BT unit. (e.g. Assist deactivated, Bluetooth in it's place). If this became an option for US E60's, I'm sure most of us would be happy with that. This would require a waiver release that Assist functions won't work (e.g. crash call to Assist/911, roadside direct to Assist, etc)

MARCUS545

I agree with you 100% NickP. A very thoughtful and fair post. I don't appreciate the profanity used in one of the responses to your comments. I also don't think Bimmerfest is in the same flame/troll category as RF. I rather like the "Fest".

The only problems I've had with my 545 after one week of driving:

1. Can't change CD tracks or radio stations using the steering wheel or dash button. This is rare...and only has happened a couple of times...and it corrects itself after a bit.

2. Voice activation...lots of errors due to operator error and/or background noise.

I also find that the I-Drive boots up faster if the car was locked beforehand. When I have started the car after I've left it unlocked..the boot-up takes twice as long. Not a big deal to me.

And one more thing....the CD player seems to be playing even though I have pushed in the knob on the dash. I get the "Speaker w/slash" symbol on the screen which is like a "mute" symbol....but I really want to turn off the CD player so I can resume listening to the disc later wherever I left off. But that's not what happens...the CD just keeps spinning continually. What am I doing wrong.....besides not reading my owner's manual yet?

browellm

Marcus, this is a s/w fault on a particular version of 11.x

I have the same problem too, annoyingly you'll need to switch source to pause the CD player until we can get our hands on the (now) legendary v.12 <_<

isbell

Let's see in MY2005. Right now Europe customers can order Nav Pro + BT. Since Europe doesn't have Assist this works fine. I have seen information that explains to BMW techs for other cars (e.g. Z4, 3 series, X5) how to remove the TCU and replace it with a BT unit. (e.g. Assist deactivated, Bluetooth in it's place). If this became an option for US E60's, I'm sure most of us would be happy with that. This would require a waiver release that Assist functions won't work (e.g. crash call to Assist/911, roadside direct to Assist, etc)[/quote]
Yeah, I'd have to say that I'd give up assist for BT. I don't know how my lovely wife would react to that, but, well, we'd have to work it out (by which I mean we'd have to get BT). I suppose the alternative would be to get the cpt9000 kit and try a v60 in place of the "bmw phone". But I'd much rather have the BT. I'd hate to take a step backwards in Cool Phone In Car Technology(tm) going from a 540 to 545. Sigh.

Peace.
WAS: 1998 540i alpine silver/black manual+phone+nav
WILL: 2004 545i jet black/black manual+nav+hud+comfort+sound

NickP

I would love to see the US specific TCU get Bluetooth (as an upgrade/replace to the TCU unit) *OR* The Euro TCU support a Quad band GSM implementation. (Mot has chipsets for this, why the Euro TCU is GSM 1800/900 for the inbuilt unit is nuts)...

Europe users can get a program similar to Assist which uses their TCU. However it isn't free like ours is for the first year so take up has got to me "minimal"

I would be happy just being able to order the Euro TCU and have the inbuilt GSM1800/900 portion of it disabled so at least we get working BT...

rem

I'm a pretty picky person and have to say that my only unresolved gripes are the ashtray and the inconsistent operation of the phone. The ashtray is a design flaw...oh well...I can deal with that. The inconsitent phone gives me a good excuse for not returning calls

I'm pretty much thrilled with this car. I have almost 13 thousand miles on it and it is absolutely rock solid. I smile every time I have the chance to take a corner without someone slowing me down (if u know what i mean).

Iceman

???

German spec BMW's DO have BMW Assist - all of 'em!
And this service is free for the first year, just like in the US.
Usually your dealer signs you up, if not you can DIY.

NickP

Iceman, I stand corrected... I know of other markets that are not offering it for free with some cars....