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2016 Navigation Map Update DIY for CIC models (2009+) Here

2M views 4K replies 1K participants last post by  shawnsheridan 
#1 ·
Just figured I'd pass on some info I obtained while attempting to update my '09 E93 iDrive navigation software recently. As you all probably know, from 2009 on the iDrive is now the CIC-based system (hard drive) and as such all of the official channels tell you that you have to bring the car to the dealer to have a map update performed. In 2010, I had to do this to update my maps from 2009 to 2010, at an out-the-door cost of $253 from my local dealer, and the car was there for two days. At the time, this was the only way to do it. Now, however, there are places out there to purchase what you need to do this upgrade yourself with a significant savings in both cost and convenience. Thanks to Technic and other members on the forum who provided some info and guidance.

In order to update your maps, you need two things: (1) a 3-disc DVD set containing the 2011 map data (BMW part #01990037287), and (2) a BMW Navigation Map Certificate, also commonly referred to as an FSC code (BMW part #65902181742). A couple notes about these part numbers--first, the 3-disc DVD set uses the same part number for both 2010 and 2011 maps so ask to make sure you are getting the 2011 map set if you are upgrading. I had the parts manager physically go locate the discs in inventory and visually verify that the discs were labelled 2011 before placing my order. I don't know if BMW will recycle this part number again for future years or not. Second, Tischer BMW originally believed they could order the FSC code but upon attempting to order same, they discovered the part numbers had been pulled from their system and they could not, in fact, order the FSC code. They claim BMW has since pulled this part number from all USA dealers as a part they can order for a customer (I cannot verify if this is true or not).

Okay, on with the update. DISCLAIMER: As with any car modification, proceed at your own risk. I had absolutely no issues with the procedure, even with a small hiccup (see below). Also, I have no affiliation with the vendors I mention in this DIY--they were simply the cheapest and most reputable at the time I needed to make my purchase--both were *awesome* to deal with and have great customer service. This doesn't mean it will be that way for everyone in the future. Again, proceed at your own risk.

1. Get the 2011 3-disc DVD Map Set. I ordered my discs from Tischer BMW online. I conversed with Jason, the Internet Parts manager, several times regarding the recycled map part number and also the availability/non-availability of FSC codes from them. As of 05/01/11, the 3-disc DVD map set cost $7.12 from their web site. You can't find the part by searching but if you put in the actual part number you will see it. Of course, since it was the only thing I ordered from Tischer, I got whacked with a $4.95 "handling fee" and $14.95 for standard UPS ground shipping--both which I consider exorbitant--for a grand total of $27.02 to my door. If you get them through Tischer, I recommend doing so when you place an order for something else and your shipping cost should be divided out over multiple items making it more reasonable.

2. Get the BMW Navigation Map Certificate (FSC code). Since Tischer could not obtain this for me, I shopped elsewhere. When I did the upgrade in March 2010, the cost at my local dealer for the FSC code was $229. When I called my dealer this year I was told that the list price for the code is now $343, but he would give me the BMW CCA discount which would bring it to $310. They wouldn't sell it to me directly though--only if I had the dealer do the upgrade, and they would also charge $60 in labor for the install, so after tax it would be just over $380 out the door. Calling around to other dealers I had several others quote the $343 price and no one would sell it directly to me. Enter BMWRetrofit.com. I saw them posting in another forum that they could obtain USA FSC codes directly for customers. They are located in Canada, and as of 05/01/11, they charged $200 CAD, which as of my purchase worked out to $208.74 US. My CC company charged me $6.26 for a foreign exchange fee, for a total of $215 for the code. Within 48 hours, I received an email from BMWRetrofit with an attached one-page .PDF of my BMW Navigation Map Certificate containing my unique 20-digit FSC code. For those that don't know, FSC codes are generated using your car's unique VIN so it can only be used on your car (BMW's way to avoid piracy). You do have to email BMWRetrofit your VIN after your payment so they can get the code. I will say BMWRetrofit was awesome to deal with.

3. Prep the car. The update process takes just over two hours to complete start to finish, and needs to be done with the car either running or the ignition in the on position. If the car is not running, this will drain the battery so you need to have the car tethered to a DC power source. I don't know if a battery tender would suffice (very low amperage), but a standard battery charger certainly will. I connected up the alligator clips to the terminals under the hood, set the charger for 10amps, and plugged it in. I had no power problems and no battery drain. Once the power source is set, you need to have the ignition on. Press the start button twice but DON'T put your foot on the brake. This will turn on the ignition. If you press the start button only once, you put the car in "radio ready" mode which turns on the radio/iDrive. The problem with this mode is the car will go to sleep after 20 minutes and shut off your update. So definitely keep it with the ignition on.

4. Insert the first disc. It will automatically load the update program and tell you it's about to start the update and you select OK. It will then prompt you to enter in your activation (FSC) code using the iDrive wheel. Once you enter the code and select OK it will start the process. You can watch the status bar slowly crawl along as it proceeds.

5. Insert the second disc. When the first disc is done, it will prompt you for disc 2. It will not automatically eject it from the drive so you need to press eject to remove the disc, then insert disc 2. You can watch the status bar slowly crawl along as it proceeds.

6. Insert the third disc. When the second disc is done, it will prompt you for disc 3. It will not automatically eject it from the drive so you need to press eject to remove the disc, then insert disc 3. You can watch the status bar slowly crawl along as it proceeds.

7. Reboot the iDrive system. When the third disc is complete, it will tell you it is done and will then say it needs to reboot the iDrive system. Select Reboot/OK and the system will automatically reboot and your update is complete. Eject the third disc. Store the disc set with your BMW Navigation Map Certificate in case you ever have to reinstall it.

Once you are done, if you go into the Options menu in the navigation system, under Navigation Version, you will see:

NA
BMW Group
112093.2.19
Road Map North America Premium 2011

A couple final notes about the update:

1. I've heard rumors that you need to have a (relatively) recent ISTA/P firmware version in the car to do the update. I don't know if this is true or not, but I do know my car has 2.37.1.0.1 from March 2010 and I had no issues. There is no way for the layperson to check their firmware version without a specialty reader or a trip to the dealer. However, based on my experience I don't think it's an issue. As long as you have the CIC hard drive iDrive, this should work for you.

2. This update is for the map data and the POI (Points Of Interest) data only. There is no software/firmware upgrade, no new features added, and no bugs fixed/introduced. You would need an ISTA/P software update at the dealer for that, if needed. Rule of thumb: if you aren't having problems you don't need one.

3. This update can be down while you are using the car/driving, and can be interrupted and will (or should) pick up where it left off. I actually had to go somewhere while the update was still going on and I was driving down the road still using iDrive/radio/menus, etc. It even prompted me for the iDrive reboot and rebooted at the end of the update while the car was in motion without any issues. When I first started this update, I started with the car in "Radio Ready" mode and after 20 minutes it shut completely off and went to sleep. I turned the ignition back on and the update continued from where it left off.

4. At any time you can go to Navigation, hit the Option button and the last choice is a new temporary selection "View Navigation Update Status" and it will show you the current status.

So in summary, the CIC hard drive navigation map updates can definitely be done by you at home, and for a lot cheaper than at the dealer. My dealer was going to charge me $380 and I would have had to leave the car for the whole day. Total cost for the discs and the FSC code shipped to my door was $242.
 
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#55 ·
FYI: for $6.81 at the dealer you will be getting two sets of Map DVD updates, the 2011ii and the 2012. The 2011ii does not require any FSC to load and it takes about 20 minutes to update -at least if your current version is 2011i.

The 2012 update takes about 3 hours and require the FSC to load.
 
#57 ·
Interesting. The 2011 doesn't need to precede the 2012 maps though, right? I'm coming from '09 maps, so my plan was to install the 2012 maps with a purchased FSC code. I assume I wouldn't need to update to 2011ii and then 2012.
No, I just did it to see what would happen. I do not even know what is the purpose of the 2011ii version as is not documented anywhere. It is just added to the order of the 2012 version for the same price. :dunno:
 
#59 · (Edited)
I don't believe the code is tied to the year, only to the VIN of the vehicle. But it is a use once code. I believe you could buy a code this year (2012) but not use it this year. Then next year (2013) you could buy those maps and then use the code. So it doesn't matter what year you use the code on, but you can only use it for one year.
 
#103 · (Edited)
I wonder how the car knows the date so that it can reject a previous year's FSC. Surely they wouldn't just rely on the user-entered date/time, would they? That would be an easy over-ride: just dial the car back to the year the code is known good for, update with the latest maps for the actual calendar year, and then turn the car's date/time forwards again.

Maybe it uses the built-in cell phone component to obtain the date/time from the cellular operator. (That's what I'd do, but then I'd also use that signal to set the car's clock). Or maybe it looks at the most recently modified file in the CIC's file-system and uses that modified date as a guarantee that the whole disk has been present in the modern era.

Anyway, I'm in! I'm going to the local dealer this afternoon anyway (my slipping transmission, see other thread) so I'll see if I can order/collect 2012 maps from their parts dept.

Thanks for this thread and all contributors.

Frank.
 
#61 ·
If I'm gather from this thread, I can start the car up, plug in the code and first disc, and go for a two or three hour drive (pulling over to swap discs when necessary), and that would do it? If Getbmwparts does have the code (as described above) then updates may be worth it for me. It hasn't really been a priority for me because I've yet to run into a single POI missing (that is for LA, YMMV where you reside).

BTW, when I googled the above part number, it did give me a hit on dealer websites in the Atlanta region:

http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/...-2011-Update-PREMIUM/3485906/65902181742.html

Thunderdump and Technic, you guys are huge resources.
 
#62 ·
If I'm gather from this thread, I can start the car up, plug in the code and first disc, and go for a two or three hour drive (pulling over to swap discs when necessary)
That is correct. But you don't even have to do that. You can start the install and even if you have to shut the car off, it will pick up where it left off. I was installing disc #3 of 3 and there was obviously an issue with the burned copy I had because it got stuck at 88% and said the disc couldn't be read. So I had no choice but to eject the disc and burn a new one. I figured I would have to start from scratch when I started it up again, but when I restarted the car (several hours later) I got the prompt that an update was in progress. It then asked me for disc 1 again. Popped that in and it read it, jumped to 33% done, and immediately asked for disc 2. Ejected disc 1 and inserted disc 2 and it read it, jumped to 67% and immediately asked for disc 3. Ejected disc 2 and inserted disc 3 and it read it, jumped to 88% (where it left off before the bad sectors on the old disc) and picked up from there. It finished the install, rebooted, and all was fine.

This leads me to believe that there is enough space allocated on the hard drive for a complete install of new map data without overwriting the old data, since I could still view the old maps while the install was taking place. I think the system doesn't touch the old data at all until the update is 100% installed and verified and then during the reboot it deletes the old and points the system to the new files.

Also, except for the initial prompt for the FSC code when I first started the system it never asked me for the code again, even during the subsequent resuming of install. That must also be stored with the new map data.
 
#63 ·
BTW, I tried to install the Navigation DVD update without running the car at first. I hooked up a battery charger and put the key.
This was to help not to drain the battery.
After few minutes, the navigation update system still turned off.
So, the Navigation software resumed and finished the update after I started the car and then drove around.
Was wondering if there was a way to update navigation without the car running?
 
#70 ·
Question on FSC codes for 2012 DVD NAV UPDATE

Did you buy the codes from the dealer to update the maps or do you recommend any online sellers of the codes??? Are these sites frauds? Or are they able to get the codes legitimately??? Recommendations?!!
 
#71 ·
#73 ·
Hopefully this is some innocent problem and not a rip-off. How much did he charge, and what was the form of payment?
 
#80 ·
Was told that FSC codes come from the BMW Server.
It would be cool, if some smart folks here figure out
the logic behind these codes.
My dealer's cost on the FSC Code is $185 for them to buy it from BMW, which they in turn sell for $229. I think it is a safe bet that those selling it for less than the dealer's cost of $185 are somehow generating the code themselves rather than buying it from BMW.

Now, it would be nice if the same could be done for the 6NR ConnectedDrive (BMW Apps) FSC Code, which runs around $650.
 
#84 ·
I took the part number from thes post to the to the dealer and they laughed at me. Three days later they couldn't believe I got all 6 cd's (2011 and 2012) for $7.

Now I need to find the best/cheapest way to get the FSC codes. The whole idea of wiring money to Russia for codes does not appeal to me??

Anyone get the FSC codes cheaply any other way?
 
#85 ·
I took the part number from thes post to the to the dealer and they laughed at me. Three days later they couldn't believe I got all 6 cd's (2011 and 2012) for $7.

Now I need to find the best/cheapest way to get the FSC codes. The whole idea of wiring money to Russia for codes does not appeal to me??

Anyone get the FSC codes cheaply any other way?
There are four options listed in this thread. You need to read the posts.
 
#86 ·
Is there any reason a dealer would not sell you just the discs for ~$7? I mean, if the dealer tells me "we dont sell the discs alone, only with an install" or "we dont sell the discs alone, only with a $300 FSC code" do I just assume he is full of sh-t?

Also, it seems obtaining the dvds for <$10 isnt the issue, its the FSC code. While it looks like there are several options for that too, does obtaining a FSC code from a non-dealer void any kind of warranty when I bring my car in and someone notices I updated the software?

Thanks in advance, I just bought my beemer and am a total noob. Also I refuse to say bimmer ;)
 
#87 ·
Since the cd's are cheap from the dealer, it's worth a shot. You can download them but why bother when they only cost $7. I see the places people bought the FSC codes (in this thread) but I'm hoping there are additional places (within the USA would be nice) that other people who haven't already posted may have used??
 
#90 ·
Ok sorry, answering my own question here.. CCC is the <2008 version of iDrive with the smaller screen, and CIC is the newer 2009+ iDrive with the hdd and larger screen --- is that accurate?

If so, then I need the CIC discs :)
That's it in a nutshell, but if you want more specifics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDrive :thumbup:
 
#98 · (Edited)
I tried to use Sergei, and he said he only accepted Moneybookers (now changing name to Skrill). I would have ordered from him if he would have taken paypal. I did set up a Skrill account in order to use Sergei, but Skrill Froze the account, before I even loaded funds, and demanded either a color copy of my passport or drivers license to prove I was legitimate. Having just cancelled my debit card to clear up fraudulent charges, I was in no way going to scan either of those documents and send to a website to save $100. I ended up buying the Enabling code from my local BMW dealer for $206. My overall cost about $225. BTW, getbmwparts.com would not sell the FSC code to me because they thought you still had to take it to the local dealer for installation and "programming". I even sent them the link to this thread to review the first post of how it can be done.

Amazing the lack of knowledge amongst BMW dealers and parts sellers.
 
#99 ·
Are we talking about same guy? sieras5@inbox.lt?

I paid him paypal only yesterday and got my code this am.
 
#100 ·
Sergei takes PayPal. FSCMap.com uses Moneybookers, which adds like $20 to the cost.
 
#102 ·
Good to know, but I got one hit for GBP 95.00 or Approximately US $150.51. Sergei is $97 US.
 
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