Ok, I received the adaptor today and after adding the power socket in the armrest over the weekend, all works as advertised with powering the iPhone or the iPod Touch!!! It looks like the USB and AUX port alone was not enough to do the job. As to why some of the cars in same configuration can charge these two items is beyond me, all I know is mine would not and luckily I found the proper cable. Perhaps there was more to it behind the scenes. My configuration had no problems with standard iPod, it just did not like the iphone or the touch.

 

Glad to hear the adapter worked. Personally I would have talked to the dealer to figure out why your cars USB would not charge the iPhone.

 

where is the usb port?

06 M5

 

Oh trust me, I did talk to the dealer and they even gave me another cable to try which was the exact one I had, and it did not work either. The original cable that came with the car stopped working and I replaced it with the current one that I am using. I remember it have a square box in the middle and the new one has more of a tubular shape in the middle and much smaller. Regardless, my iphone never charged while connected. It's an 08 535 LCI so should be similar to yours in that respect. The SA even went the parts mgr as well and they all referred me back to the bulletin.

"Aftersales is pleased to announce the arrival of the highly anticipated iPhone charging cable. The
current audio Y-cable which is supplied with cars equipped with a USB/Audio interface (SA 6FL) will
not charge an iPhone 3G or 4, under many circumstances. As a result, this new charging cable was
developed to use in conjunction with the existing audio Y-cable. The charging cable is used in series/in-
line with the audio Y-cable".

 

Of you have the option which I believe all M5's had, it would be located in the arm rest in the lower portion below the plastic box or phone integration cable. It will be on the front.

 

This subject has come up before on this forum. The problem is not the cable or the car for that matter but the fact that Apple decided to change the assignment of the pins on Apple devices. This was done through an operating system upgrade and If I remember correctly it was when Apple released OS3.

 

This is correct. My 3GS worked fine and after the update, it stopped. My old 1st generation device which I unlocked a while back still charges. I just use that one when I go on long road trips to play music and make calls as it works fine. Thought of getting the snap in cradle but dealer said he believed it would not charge the phone so I decided not to get it. Waiting to see what new iPhone comes out this year and if there will be simple solution to get it to work in my 2010 535.

 

Did thi proble start with the 4.x?

 

All my Iphones are running 4.x OS and I do not have any charging issues on my 08. You may want to upgrade to the 4.x OS. I know the latest 4.x is much faster and comparable to the 3.x versions on the older 3g and 3gs phones

 

I have the Iphone/ipod Y cable option, the iphone snap in cradle option and an after market aux video cable connected to my indash monitor all under my arm rest. I also have after market rca jacks in my glove box that are also connected to my indash monitor. I am not an electronics expert but what I can reveal to you is this, all my Apple devices have the latest updates and it was only after OS3 that the Y cable stopped charging Apple devices. If I use an after market cable in the USB port then my car will charge the Apple device but I will not be able to control my device through my Idrive. I will still be able to play music if I connect another cable from headphone out to vehicle I would then just have to control my music with Apple device directly.