Well, to be honest, I am stalled with this project. I'm ready to order the dash, create the small custom harness and ready to use i-drive! However....
I'm still waiting to hear from the lead tech at the dealership regarding the programming of this thing. I got impatient and visited a friend at ANOTHER bmw dealership and talked at length with one of their lead tech's...he wasn't very enthusiastic and encouraged me several times to just trade in my car for one with i-drive. He even went back to "talk to other tech's." I honestly think he was very knowledgable and I think he was somewhat impressed by my use of the CID, CCC, K-Can, etc.. bmw lingo and my understanding of the TIS and the homework I've done with the WDS. He basically told me that the programming (progman/retrofit) is based on the vehicle order which is tied to the VIN of the car, and since my car wasn't built with it, it couldn't get programmed with it. He seemed to think that BMW engineers would need to get involved and that just wasn't realistic. I'm not thoroughly convinced, but it seems plausible.
I've been doing some reading on the e60 forums where there was an actual retrofit software update for cars that had the satnav installed after the fact. Interesting, but not necessarily applicable since BMW has not programmed a retrofit for this application.
Is there anyone out there that knows a BMW tech (or is one!) that has the knowledge to jump this hurdle? By scouring the net for any small tidbits of knowledge, I've read such things as utilizing the "ASAP process, but leaving the VIN box blank", "modifying the vehicle order to utilize the retrofit path", "Retrofit EBA instruction for CCC", and "need to code to update M-ASK to CCC." These terms mean little to me other than HOPE in finding the right person to have the knowledge to make this project work on the software side. I'm also under the impression that my UK CCC can work in the US by "flashing the part number of the CCC", utilizing a "CCC program disk to restore the CCC to factory state", that the radio tuner can be adapted to US by "modifying the vehicle order", and "utilizing retrofit path and remove radio region code."
So here I am...a little depressed due to the lack of progress.
I'm not gonna quit (just yet) and I doubt I'm going to trade in my car (just yet)...but I have a few more dealership resources I have yet to exhaust.
Anyone got any suggestions, knowledge, or good buddies that are BMW software geniuses?