Bluetooth Died...

New to the "BMW's Owners circle"

I work in I.T., and I have never heard of such nonsense that BMW is throwing at us. I am the proud owner if an '06 330CIC, and the BT worked FLAWLESSLY for the first 8 weeks of ownership, meaning that the phonebooks loaded, and never dropped a call or had any kind of "static". Neither of my phones are on the "approved" list, but BT is BT, isn't it? Last week, it just stopped working, no warning. Got in the car and nothing. What i found most odd was that BOTH phones were able to see the BMW, but were not allowed to connect. Actually seemed that the passkey had changed. Brought back to the stealership, and they tried to tell me that the phone broke the BT module. I just started to laugh, i couldn't help it. I told him it's wireless technology, how the hell could the phone break the module? Anyway, he stuck by his answer and now it's been 3 days waiting for a new module.

Anyone, please, if the service dept was correct in thier answer, please tell me so I can research this further, and possibly give them an apology.

-Jeff

It's a crock of BMW sh1t. I have several bluetooth devices at home (laptop, pda, cell phones) and none of them have a "prefered list of devices" that are compatible. They communicate with each other flawlessly. Never broke down even once.

3 months after i got my X3 the bluetooth stopped working completely and I have a phone from the BMW bullsh1t list of preferred phones but the first thing that came out of the technicians mouth was that your phone is probably not approved, i.e on the list. I showed him otherwise. The whole bluetooth module needed to be replaced (took 2 weeks because there was a back-log on the modules) so their reasoning with you is a hoax. It is quite frustrating as a consumer because there is no logic to this reasoning from the dealers.

You may want to search through the forums but I believe their might be some sort of a factory defect/recall on the bluetooth modules. This bluetooth issue is not an uncommon problem.

Thanx for the reply. It's the same reply I got form other forums, so.............
Anyway, I got the car back today and when I get home I will try it, since my wife can't even spell Bluetooth.

Originally Posted by kjboyd

can someone explain how to "unplug" the module? i joined the club tonight.
kevin

Here are a few pics of the plug for the Bluetooth unit on mine. Use the lever to release and tighten the plug. I think it is the white part although I can't totally remember. I do remember that it was fairly intuitive. Good luck!

WOOHOO! Thanks X3eme!! that worked. I just unplugged it, waited ten seconds and plugged it back it and it is fine now! woohoo!

kev

I am on the way to the car to try and "reset" as described here but think that this weak on BMW's part.

The dealer gave me card for wireless4bmw.com. I called them and it looks like an excuse to sell phones. Even if i have an "approved phone" there is no guarantee it will work cause only there phones have the right software on them...so i need to buy it from them etc....

BMW needs to work every angle and cross sell the phones too? Looks like a scam to me or......a "brilliant marketing angle". depends on your perspective I guess grrrrrrrrr

Encountered the same problem (Bluetooth dropping out) with a US specification 2006 X3. I am an american living here in BMW land (Germany). Went to the dealer and told him my problem. He hooked my X3 up to the diagnostics; then said (in thick german accent) "Ohhh! dis iz da US vershun". I don't see the bluetooth. He reset it. Still didn't work. He went to the glove compartment; pulled the fuse and reseated it. Voila!! It's working again......Go figure!

My Razr V3 is on the approved list from BMW. Have had no problems in over two years of use.

Based on this information from this BMW USA website -

http://www.bmwusa.com/owners/bluetooth/phones

- it doesn't appear they are trying to sell phones at all... just indicating which one's are compatible or have know issues.

So just about exactly one-year ago, I started this thread...

It ended up taking three trips to the dealer and over a month in the time-domain to finally get resolved. Dealer service advisor tried to blame it on the corporate consolidation happening among the cellular providers,(AT&T-Cingular, Nextel-Sprint )...before finally fixing - WTF.

Well... it just happened again!!! Bluetooth is gone...

Depending on your build date, there were a number of service bulletins regarding the ULF in the X3's (and a number of other models). Some were just reprogramming fixes (something to do with an identification number of the unit being duplicated with another unit), and another where there were actually faulty harware units. I had the latter, and it affected 2006 X3's with build dates up to late April 06.

In any case, the first 3 times in the shop with dead BT, the dealer unplugged/replugged the unit and sent me on my way. Only problem was that this is exactly what the SB tells you to do to identify a faulty unit -- if BT is "missing" and unplugging/replugging makes it "re-appear", then the SB states the unit is faulty and should be replaced. After finally showing the SB to the dealer, they replaced the unit with another one.

Is it fixed for good now? Hard to say... it tended to die every 3-6mos and I've only had the new ULF in for a month. Only time will tell...

They figured out why the bluetooth died again, and perhaps this is the reason why this problem seems to plague so many X3s.

Turns out it was a drainage issue, water was not draining properly from the chasis and instead was accumulating where the TCU sits in the back and thus shorting out the TCU.

Both times the Bluetooth died was after really bad thunderstorms, I thought it was a coincedence but seems it was directly related...

Anyway, they solved the drainage issue and replaced the TCU all is good now.

I thought that I was going crazy this evening when the Telephone menu item from my Nav system disappeared. I have an '06 M3 Coupe w/premium package & Nav.

Thank for the post - I'll follow up with my service advisor.

My 2006 X3 bluetooth died about 2 weeks ago, I am going to try the unpluging method and then let you know what happend.

It works and the bluetooth is working now, save me a long trip to the dealer.
so far my X3 is running great without any problem except this bluetooth,
I had 13K on it and its giving me 18.7 MPG 50/50 driving.
Great SUV to drive, great Breaks and amazing road handling.

Given that you have an '06 like me, and if you "fixed" your BT by unplugging and replugging the module, you may have a faulty module -- see a few posts above. There was a short range of 2006 build dates (up to the end of April 2006) that have potentially faulty modules.

By all means keep unplugging to get BT working in the meantime, but you may want to log at least one of the times with your dealer - so that the module can be replaced with one that won't shut down on you.

I have an 07 X3 and my Motorola V3xx worked flawlessly with the BT. However, once I switched to a Palm Treo 680, the in-car BT barely functioned.

After lots of research, it turns out that the Bluetooth module in the newer Treos (any newer than a 650) have serious BT connection issues. There are numerous complaints about the BT not working with various cars and even many standard BT headsets.

So, I switched back to a Treo 650, which works fine. Apparently the Bluetooth stack in the 680 and newer series uses BT ver 1.2, while the 650 uses ver 1.1 and 1.1 seems to be more compatible with the BMW.

When I first read this thread I figured sooner or later I would be admitted to the very exclusive 'Bluetooth Club.'

And indeed, I was so 'honored' a couple days ago when it inexplicably stopped working.

A big thanks to everyone that posted here on their issue and resolution. I removed the BT module's power supply, counted to the proverbial 10, plugged back in, and all is well again after repairing my mobile phone.

Special thanks to X3eme for those great pictures!

Annoying, but not so much now that I don't have to make a dealer visit.
These forums are the best, and the forums are the people so that's you.

Obliged.

This forum and you guys rock! I also had the bluetooth die on my 2006 CPO. I followed these most excellent directions (thank you especially for the pictures!!) and now I am up and running with bluetooth!

Of course, it shouldn't have "died" in the first place and I hope I don't have to do this reset often, but I am thankful for this forum to keep me from running to the dealer or just "dealing with it".

Cheers.

This thread just probably saved me a couple of hundred dollars -- at the minimum -- thanks once again for posting it. I picked up a CPO 2006 X3 3.0i a few months ago, and asked the salesman about pairing my Blackberry with it. He looked at it (a new 8900) and stated that it wasn't on the "approved list" and that I risked frying the module and voiding the warranty on this part of the car. Like others in this thread, I've been in IT for a *long* time, and I've been using bluetooth practically since its inception. I have NEVER heard of any kind of BT "incompatibility" that allows one BT device to "fry" another, causing so much damage that it would voice a warranty. This is ludicrous.

Anyway -- the day I took the car home, the salesman - after delivering his warning - put the car in pairing mode, and I easily paired my 8900 with it. Oddly enough, my entire phone book transferred over to the X3, and I can SEE each and every entry on the radio display by scrolling up/down through the list with the arrow buttons on my steering wheel. But this version of the ULF apparently won't accept voice name dialing based on downloaded entries -- I have to record a voice tag for each item I want it to be able to dial by voice command. A pity, but this has worked since day one. Additionally, hands free calling and call answer work perfectly, temporarily interrupting whatever music I'm listening to when the call comes in. I can even pick up my Blackberry 8900, hit the voice dial key and initiate the voice dialing that way -- and once the remote phone starts to ring the audio is transferred via BT to the car, making a perfect speakerphone. All in all - pretty nice.

So -- after about 3 months of flawless operation, I got in the car today and BT wouldn't respond at all. I could hold the "face button" (the one that initiates a voice command, or repeats the last dialled number if I touch it briefly), and NOTHING would happen. I tried the pairing procedure, etc -- and the car acted as if BT had never been installed. I freaked a bit, worrying that I had, in fact, somehow "fried" the unit and they'd try to nail me for $700 to "fix" it.

Happily, I found this thread, went back to the car and unplugged the BT unit for 5 seconds, reconnected it, et voila - it worked again! All is back where it was 3 months ago. Thanks again to all who posted and contributed to this thread. Just saved me quite a bit of grief, time and money.

- Jon

Originally Posted by vatkens

I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m sorry to read about this problem with the Bluetooth operation in your X3. If you want our assistance, please phone us at (800) 831-1117 or email us at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com, and mention Reference #200620102600 so that we can help you more efficiently.

So, i just picked up a 2005 545i with 49K miles. On my way home, I tried to pair my iPhone and couldn't find the bluetooth option. So, I took it into my local BMW dealership and they charged me $230 to do a software update, but the bluetooth module still isn't working. The warranty ran out on this car in March and aaparently the prior owner didn't use the bluetooth. The dealership (dreyer & Reinbold) is telling me it is going to be a VERY expensive fix. Can you help me... please?

thank you guys for this thread.
I just got back my new car - old X ( 2006 ). and one of the features that didn't work is pairing with the phone ( i have "approved" %) BB Pearl).
Tech said that "it won't work, it locks up the system and it only works with non-PDA phones and IPhone"....
it's 2009 and the sh%% still not fixed?????

I agree fully with some of the posters here. Bluetooth is bluetooth and the compatibily list should only be for the eject box. That said there are two types of bluetooth units: TCU and ULF. From what I understand the TCU is similar to the ULF but has voice recognition disabled. The ULF has 13 generations with the part number determining the generation. I replaced the BMW assist module in my 2004 X3 with the latest ULF and added a paring button. Mine and my wife's phones are HTC's (Touch Pro, PPC6800) that are not on the compatibility list and have worked flawlessly for 5 months now. I think the problems are defective ULF (TCU) units and for some cases the only solution is replacement.

I am seeing the same drainage issue. Where/what is the CAUSE of the problem? How was it fixed?

Originally Posted by legalfee

I replaced the BMW assist module in my 2004 X3 with the latest ULF and added a paring button.

Ostensibly NOT under warranty...Cost? Did the dealer perform this or did you undertake the exchange.

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by T1T2GRE

Ostensibly NOT under warranty...Cost? Did the dealer perform this or did you undertake the exchange.

Thanks in advance.

Correct. It was not under warranty. I purchased the ULF on Ebay for $500. It was plug and play. I just took out the assist module and plugged in the ULF. I only used one of the coax cables from the assist for the bluetooth antennae (cream and purple). Then I purchased a pairing button from Bimmernav for $30. The pairing button plugs into a socket in the console. Once you've paired your phones you can either remove the button or just tuck it away. When purchasing the ULF be sure you're getting the latest version by checking the part number.