[Jules6]

Just been looking on the BMW website and found this.
I thought that only the 6FL option could do these functions?




iPod interface
Enjoy all your favourite music on the road. The interface connects the iPod™ directly to your vehicle’s audio system: playlists and artist, song and genre information can be viewed on the control display or radio, and music can be selected using the iDrive controller, the multi-function steering wheel or the radio. The iPod™ is stored securely in the glovebox.


Price on request


Available for 3 Series Saloon from 03/05, 3 Series Touring from 09/05, 3 Series Coupé from 09/06, 3 Series Convertible from 03/07

[Mud]

This is the kit which I have been discussing, it does not charge the new 5th gen ipods or the new iphone

[Jules6]

Saw your thread which is what made me look this up as I made the schoolboy error not to specify 6FL when ordering my car. I was still a CD man then.

Anyway, with this kit will it do all the things that they say, like show the playlists etc and can be operated through the steering wheel controls?

[chris330D]

Yes it does and works well. it seems from others that the latest iPODS don't charge. I have an old 3rd gen that just stays in the car glovebox and works fine.

[mjh93sa]

The retrofit iPod connection (unless changed since it came out) basically imitates a CD changer, so use can use the numerical buttons to select between playlists, artist etc as if you were changing discs. I think it also means that you can't have a CD changer connected at the same time. Have a search around and you'll find posts from years ago going through what it does.

I do seem to remember that 6FL retrofit is now a possibility, though the price may be a bit steep.

[Estoril Sport]

Any idea how much this costs, it looks like a software update as the USB socket is already in the glove box. I can only import or export which is OK but this option sounds better?

I think the 6FL retrofit will be very expensive.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by Estoril Sport

Any idea how much this costs, it looks like a software update as the USB socket is already in the glove box. I can only import or export which is OK but this option sounds better?

I think the 6FL retrofit will be very expensive.

If you have a USB port in the glove box, I think you already have the 6fl retrofit?

[Mantooth]

I have this and it sucks. It only loads like 1/3 of my artists ~250. And super slow to load - like 4 minutes to load the max 250 ish artists (up to like j.. in my case). Every time you switch from playlists or to artists it reloads all the info. Definitely not worth it imho. I never use it now. And it doesn't charge 5th gen devices like everybody says.

[sniffer]

I was thinking about getting this fitted but am put off now by some things I have read about it.

Anyone got any recommendations on the best solution? I have heard people talking about the Dension Gateway?

[Boyd1963]

I though that it was rubbish when I first got it fitted but now I am pretty pleased with it. I tend to just keep it on the Playlist screen which avoids the timely delay when changing to artists, genres etc. You are limited to 255 items on the first level screen but when you get down to track level I think that you can have about 15000 tracks which is more than my ipod holds.

The best way to simulate the ipod interface is to play an MP3 CD. The interface is identical except that with the ipod interface you effectively have 6 very big MP3 disks.

I have heard that the Dension 500 and mObridge are better/faster but have never seen either of them in action.

[a1reader]

Cars that have the new iDrive system have a USB socket in the glove box to upload music into the car's hard drive. This is independent of the 6FL option which would give you a USB socket in the centre console and allow MP3 player and USB stick playback. 6FL retrofit is possible but is prohibitively expensive (I enquired).

[sniffer]

So, I have heard that the Dension can be a little buggy / cause problems.

Not sure on the Mobridge . . .has anyone got one?

BMW glove box Ipod adapter seems to be the way to go for me then . . . .

Barons BMW will do the labour for the accessory rate which works out pretty low, around £60 / hour, so only £120 to fit. They also put the latest software version on the car before they start work so you get the latest software on the car as an added bonus.

[swanseahammer]

I've got the mobridge and it's much better than the BMW retrofit option. On the whole it's very quick even without iDrive although very occasionally it takes a while to initalise. Slightly buggy if you want to play playlists in random song order but I hardly ever do that anyway so that's not an issue. Cost was £325 when I bought mine in Dec 2008 + £100 for an indy to fit and code the cd changer in (as well as update all the other software on the car :-) ). Can control the ipod and iphone from the sterring wheel - it even charges the iPhone 3G.

6FL is the best option but my local stealer quoted me £900 to retrofit it.

[sniffer]

Just got a quote on mObridge.

£500 installed, which includes coding the car so it thinks it has a CD changer.

Seems a bit expensive if I am honest. Anyone got any recommended links to buy and get installed?

[swanseahammer]

Originally Posted by sniffer

Just got a quote on mObridge.

£500 installed, which includes coding the car so it thinks it has a CD changer.

Seems a bit expensive if I am honest. Anyone got any recommended links to buy and get installed?

Without going into the technical details, it runs off the MOST bus so the car sees it as a CD changer. IIRC, the BMW retrofit option works in the same way.

[E92Fan]

The Dension 500 is the best available system to connect an iPod into either an iDrive or non-iDrive E90. It used to be a bit buggy, but the latest firmware is seamless and very reliable. The Dension, unlike the BMW option, allows alphabetical searching of artists, albums and genres, and unlike the BMW option is NOT limited to just 255 CDs or artists.

Scrolling is very quick, sound quality is excellent, and you can switch between the Dension and a CD Changer (if you have one) so you don't lose total functionality of the CD changer. There's also an RCA auxiliary input using proper connectors if you want to connect anything extra. You can also connect a USB drive to the Dension, and there are additional Bluetooth modules if your car doesn't already have Bluetooth.

The Dension is around £360 to buy (unit on its own), takes an hour to install properly, and only requires coding if your car doesn't already have a CD Changer. Coding takes half an hour if required.

www.dension.com




BMWs 6FL option (which is the USB socket in the glovebox) will cost around £850 to install and code. It's not cheap!

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

The Dension 500 is the best available system to connect an iPod into either an iDrive or non-iDrive E90. It used to be a bit buggy, but the latest firmware is seamless and very reliable. The Dension, unlike the BMW option, allows alphabetical searching of artists, albums and genres, and unlike the BMW option is NOT limited to just 255 CDs or artists.

Scrolling is very quick, sound quality is excellent, and you can switch between the Dension and a CD Changer (if you have one) so you don't lose total functionality of the CD changer. There's also an RCA auxiliary input using proper connectors if you want to connect anything extra. You can also connect a USB drive to the Dension, and there are additional Bluetooth modules if your car doesn't already have Bluetooth.

The Dension is around £360 to buy (unit on its own), takes an hour to install properly, and only requires coding if your car doesn't already have a CD Changer. Coding takes half an hour if required.

www.dension.com




BMWs 6FL option (which is the USB socket in the glovebox) will cost around £850 to install and code. It's not cheap!

Sounds fantastic. Wish I had known all this before I fiiited the BMW interface Still it only cost me £190 as the dealer did the fitting for free as a favour.

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by sniffer

Barons BMW will do the labour for the accessory rate which works out pretty low, around £60 / hour, so only £120 to fit.

I've never heard of this accessory rate. That explains how somebody on the forum got them to fit the Alpine HIFI for £450. Wood quoted me £717.28!!!!

[sniffer]

Barons BMW are absolutely excellent.

I will travel a 150 round trip to put my car in with them, they are that good.

Completely different approach to normal stealers. They would want to keep the car for 2 days to fit the IPod interface.:

They said they want to put the car up to the latest software revision before starting any work which can take several hours and on a car running software that is an early revsion, it is not unknown for the upgrade to be problematic.

They then prefer to have the car overnight so they could obtain any parts such as any obscure plastic clips or trim, which although unlikely, may be damaged in the fitment.

Very professional. They would do all this for the accessory labour rate. I asked them about the Alpine upgrade a few weeks ago and they would do this in the accessory upgrade too.

So, the options for me seem to be:

1. BMW IPod Interface - PN 65412160342 - Around £350 fitted

2. mObridge Interface - Around £500 fitted

3. Dension Gateway 500 - Around £400 - £450 fitted

[e92phreak]

There are limitations of this product, as I discussed in numerous threads. You will have a 500 listing limitation, so it will only list the first 500 tracks/artists/etc...

Furthermore, when you go between different sorting options (i.e. Songs/Artists/Playlists), there is a delay of up to 3 minutes to load the entries into memory.

When I am in the artist sorting mode, I can only see A through L artists. This is because I have 30GB of music on my 4th gen iPod.

To get around this, I group my songs into playlists. Makes it a bit more bearable.

Yeah, it doesn't charge new iPods and the iPhone because Apple made a change to their pin format. However, there is an adapter out there that you can buy that will allow your iPhone and newer iPods to be charged on older iPod accessories. My old Bose Sounddock doesn't charge my iPhone.

Know that there are limitations and that this product is probably the best one out there if you have an iDrive. Otherwise, I'd go with some over-the-air method (DLO and others).

[PaddChas]

I have the Dension 500 gateway and I am very pleased with. I've never seen the OEM kit, or the Mobridge in action, but the 500 does exactly what I was expecting.

It is £300 all in on ebay (brand new) and you CAN fit it yourself unless you are scared of a little DIY. It is an easy job once you follow the instructions on this site for how to a) dismantle the glovebox and b) remove the head unit

Your head unit does need to be coded if you don't already have a CD changer - you can get this done by an independent for around £75 all in

I agree with the earlier poster, the sound quality is excellent, it is fast, has USB (seriously useful) and AUX in as well as IPOD

The only fault I can find is that when you are browsing the ipod, you drill down into e.g. artists or albums etc - after you've chosen what you want, if you want to choose something else, you have to re-drill down again from the top. You can alternatively select entire Artists, or Albums, but the free browsing around is limited a little by this.

I fitted DAB at the same time as a retrofit and got the coding for this thrown in 'for free' - bonus

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by sniffer

Barons BMW are absolutely excellent.

I will travel a 150 round trip to put my car in with them, they are that good.

Completely different approach to normal stealers. They would want to keep the car for 2 days to fit the IPod interface.:

They said they want to put the car up to the latest software revision before starting any work which can take several hours and on a car running software that is an early revsion, it is not unknown for the upgrade to be problematic.

They then prefer to have the car overnight so they could obtain any parts such as any obscure plastic clips or trim, which although unlikely, may be damaged in the fitment.

Very professional. They would do all this for the accessory labour rate. I asked them about the Alpine upgrade a few weeks ago and they would do this in the accessory upgrade too.

So, the options for me seem to be:

1. BMW IPod Interface - PN 65412160342 - Around £350 fitted

2. mObridge Interface - Around £500 fitted

3. Dension Gateway 500 - Around £400 - £450 fitted

I think that you probably get what you pay for and the Dension though more expensive does have extra functionality.

I've only got the professional stereo but have noticed in courtesy cars that the newer software handles mp3 disks (and presumably ipod) a lot better. On my car the track appears as a track number unless I press "List" and then the ID3 Tag data is displayed. However on new cars it gets displayed automatically aftyer a few seconds. I wonder if I could get my software upgraded to do this.

Did they give you a price for the Alpine upgrade?