[bsd]

I run a 2006 330d with i-drive and Bluetooth.

On occasion my phone would fail to connect to the car. Eventually one day, it stopped working alltogether. I checked fuses, updated my phone software, the connections to the unit itself (located under the boot floor carpet) disconnected the battery for an hour, all to no avail.

Original unit:



A visit to the dealer did nothing to improve my confidence that a cheap fix was on the cards.
They suggested they would need 3 hours to diagnose fit/repair and code the car. The part alone was £470 + VAT. Perfect, i was looking at a £1000 bill for handsfree capability?

To rub salt into my wounds, the radio became intermittent immediately following start up. This tended to clear after 5 mins but was most annoying!
When I selected the CD changer option, a message stating that it was checking the changer content was all I got. So, no CD's either, nice.

The part that my car came with from the factory is now obsolete and has been replaced by a new TCU (Telematics Control Unit). This was the part the nice man at BMW said would cost me £470 + VAT. Apparently they replace 3 per month at my local dealership alone....

Luckily I have a friend who has a similar spec 2008 330d who was kind enough to photograph the unit in his boot. This gave me a third option to consider.




I began hunting on ebay for any of the 3 that I believed would work. Long story short ebay.co.uk turned up nothing suitable under £200. A quick look on ebay.de turned up a unit exactly the same as the one fitted to my friends 2008 car. After a bit of chat thanks to Google translate, the unit was on its way to me after agreeing a purchase proce of 110euros.

It arrived safely and I set to it. First, I disconnected the battery - I had no idea if the unit would need coded, so figured disconnecting the battery was probably the safest option.
Swapping the over is easy. 4 x 8mm screws and in my case 2 plugs and one aerial type connector. Thw swap over took all of 5 minutes.

Anyway, battery re-connected and all is good, no coding required. Phone paired first time, CD works and Radio does not cut out. Delighted. Hope this description helps someone else.
(Worst part was searching for a suitable replacement on ebay....)

Cheers!

[OrlandoBimmer]

Thanks for posting.. Mine arrived today, will try to install it tomorrow... Why did you disconnect the battery??? I don't think that's necessary...

[mzaman2480]

Could you please let me know if this worked for you?

I have read quote a lot of forums where it is stated that the module needs to be coded to the vehicle and my fear is that I am about to spend £220 on a unit that is not programmed to work on my vehicle and I would have wasted my money

I looked for your response.

Thanks

[joeyt]

Just have it coded if it doesnt work. Lots of people on here coding. If you in essex/london area makkan00 is your man.

[mzaman2480]

According to BMWfans.info
states the module cannot be recoded, see below:

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/84109174261

"A TCU (Telematics Control Unit) can Only be ordered with specification of The Vehicle Identification Number. When Shipping the exchange TCU, the Vehicle Identification Number is encoded. Recoding is not possible. The TCU only Functions properly with suitable encoding. Therefore, exchange TCUs cannot be Ordered for stock! Retrofitting and Conversions to SA633 are Not possible! In case of impairment of the function of The Bluetooth functions, please first Check the compatibility of the mobile Phone software version with the TCU (see ASAP/parts and accessories/product Information/search, keyword: Compatibility matrix)."

This leads me to think that this may not have worked.

Would appreciate a response.

[mzaman2480]

It worked - Amazing!

The only thing is that the Bluetooth device name is different to what iDrive software says it is but that something you can live with.

Thanks bsd!

[graemsharen]

Hi,

Could I ask if you disconnected both terminals on the battery or just the negative?

Cheers

[Nircom]

Thanks for the info. I wonder how did you know what kind of TCU to search for? just according to the photo you got from your friend? no part number or anything?