Problem with not audio from the radio ...

I have had this issue from the very beginning with my 2011 BMW 3.0i, but I've lived with it all this time. However, I thought I'd finally ask you all in this forum if you have experienced the same thing.

SYMPTOM
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Sometimes, when you start the engine, the radio "turns on" but no audio comes out. You can see the lights on the radio, change the channel, change to the CD / AUX / USB, but no sound. Turn off the radio and back on again, nothing.

But if you leave the radio OFF, turn off the engine, wait a bit (say, 30 minutes or so) and then go back in the car and turn on the radio again (with or without starting the engine), it will usually start working again.

This happens A LOT if I turn off the engine with the radio still turned on. However, I have learned to ALWAYS turn off the radio before turning off the engine as this seems to drastically reduce the chances of the problem happening again.
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I reported this to my dealer, and he thought it was strange, but didn't really question it, which leads me to believe that this daoes happen. He's the one that suggested I try different options like turning off the engine with the radio off, perhaps unplugging everything from the USB and AUX ports, etc.

So, have others experienced this problem?

/LesC

Can't remember the layout as the Z is my wife's car, but are you pressing the volume button to make sure it's not muted?

Definitely not muted. You can play with the volume knob on the radio or the volume controls on the steering wheel, not a sound as you crank it ... not even any static. Showed my friends when it occurred and they swore it was broken until I told them it would fix itself after the lunch break, which it did.

I get this about once a month with music stored on the hard drive. Happens about 10 seconds after starting ignition and between tracks. Everything else works fine.

As you say, only temporary fix is to let it cool off.

I experienced the same issue in my 2009 model. BMW actually had a recall on the radio itself. I found this out after I took it in to get looked at. If you haven't taken it by your dealer to get looked at I would.

Thanks, Venom.

Not critical for me to take in just for this and lose my car for a few days. So I'll bring this up when it's due for the next warranty tune-up in about 7K miles. I just friggin' hope that they say they won't be able to touch this unless they can reproduce it, which is not always possible to reproduce.

Do you happen to have the recall # that this was? That would definitely make it easy for them to look up.

/LesC

Ask your dealer about the master reset for BMW's

involves batt cable manipulation...simple

Will do. Thanks!

All ...

Well, after living with this issue for many, many months, in addition to another persistent issue (more on that later) ... I finally did the master reset procedure of unplugging the battery cables, touching the cables to each other, waiting for 30 minutes, then re-attaching the cables to the battery. It worked! It's been several weeks now and I haven't had any more issues with the radio nor with the other issue, which definitely should have occurred by now if the problems still occurred.

The other issue that I kept seeing was that the TPM monitor "INACTIVE" light would keep turning on from time to time. It would freak me out, I would check the tire pressures (which were fine), and then eventually the message would go away ... sometimes. I lived with that warning for quite a while. Dealer even switched out a few sensors. You guessed it, the master reset fixed this issue as well.

Thanks for your help on this.

Originally Posted by lcheong

I have had this issue from the very beginning with my 2011 BMW 3.0i, but I've lived with it all this time. However, I thought I'd finally ask you all in this forum if you have experienced the same thing.

/LesC

I had the exact issue you are describing with my 2009 Z4. I finally figured out that when this happened, I just needed to open the door and close it. But it only worked if I left everything running. (Not stop the engine, open door, close door). In fact, it just became second nature, if I didn't have any sound, I would notice it as I was pulling out of the driveway, I'd open/close the door while I was going down the road, and boom radio would work again.

Originally Posted by KingpenM3

I had the exact issue you are describing with my 2009 Z4. I finally figured out that when this happened, I just needed to open the door and close it. But it only worked if I left everything running. (Not stop the engine, open door, close door). In fact, it just became second nature, if I didn't have any sound, I would notice it as I was pulling out of the driveway, I'd open/close the door while I was going down the road, and boom radio would work again.

My TPM INACTIVE light went on again after taking a month off. I remembered reading this piece of advise and tried it. I quickly opened and closed the door and it worked! The light went away! This is an embarrassing workaround, but a workaround nonetheless.

Thanks for pointing it out.

/LesC