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DIY: Disbale X3 seat belt chime

54K views 56 replies 39 participants last post by  kakarotyaaj 
#1 · (Edited)
So I finally got around to fixing the seat belt chime problem on my X3.

A few weeks ago, I had my indy BMW shop program my 2006 X3 to disable the seat belt chime and to turn off the chime when it gets below 37 degrees. Unfortunately, the programming does not work on US spec cars--despite the fact that the Autologic displayed the chime as disabled. Blah.

So here's my DIY on removing the seat belt chime...

Step 1:
Remove instrument cluster. 2 Philips head screws holding it in. Remove screws, then pull out cluster and disconnect cable harness.

Step 2:
Remove back of instrument cluster. There are 4-5 tiny torx heads screws holding the back of the cluster together. Remove them, then gently pry the rear of the cluster off with a small flat head screwdriver.

Step 3:
Remove speaker. With the back off of the cluster, I turned the car on, found the source of the noise, and err solved the issue. There is a small speaker held on by 2 solder points. Gently sway the speaker back and forth until the connections sever.

Step 4:
Reassemble cluster.

That's it... We read the cluster with the Autologic for faults, and it came up clean... The whole project took about 15 minutes to complete, and I am much happier without the ear-piercing beep every time I throw my laptop bag on the passenger seat...



 

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#3 ·
:) My 01 and 04 e46 never made the damn beeping noise... I've heard the new F cars don't have the damn chime either. So apparently BMW only planned to punish people who bought cars in the last 4-5 years... ;)
 
#5 ·
Well, I can't take too much credit---I was just the complaining customer... My tech was the clever one with the idea... ;)
 
#7 ·
Yup! I hate the chime... I really don't need an annoying beep in addition to the following:

- the warning lights...
- Escort 9500i boot up noise
- Laser jammer beeping at bootup
- kids asking to turn on the DVD players
- my wife complaining about something.

Anything to reduce overall car noise I'm a fan of...

What else is it for anyhow? I know of:
- seat belt
- 37 degrees
- key in the ignition

All 3 of those I can gladly live without.
 
#11 ·
Don't think anyone will be asking why is not beeping! lol

Good job Sna, I know several here could use your instructions, I never thought it was that easy.
 
#12 ·
This looks like a promising modification. The chime is a nuisance and there should be a way to disable it via on-board adjustments. On two previous vehicles (Ford products) I had, you could locate the part that was bleeping, simply unplug it and consign it to the trash.

Does this improvement work on 2008 X3's? Will this modification produce any check lights?
 
#15 ·
This looks like a promising modification. The chime is a nuisance and there should be a way to disable it via on-board adjustments. On two previous vehicles (Ford products) I had, you could locate the part that was bleeping, simply unplug it and consign it to the trash.

Does this improvement work on 2008 X3's? Will this modification produce any check lights?
Should work on all X3s. The instrument cluster part # has changed, but the previous versions have ended, and been replaced with current generation ones:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=PA93&mospid=47794&btnr=62_0463&hg=62&fg=05

No lights out at all on my car. The seat belt light stays on just like it would before if you aren't wearing your seat belt... only without the annoying chime. This is as simple as simply unplugging the speaker...

Well, you might be surprised at who would be asking why the chime is disabled. I suspect any dealer would have to reconnect things as a safety feature, before reselling the car. There may also be an insurance issue with the buying party's company for a private sale. Not to mention any state DMV issues that may or may not be affected. While its your car you can pretty much do what you want to it (broadly speaking) but when you are transferring it to another party it becomes another story, especially a dealer as a trade in. I know that if I was buying a car that had safety features (however useful) disabled I would want everything put back together to insure against potential liability issues. Good luck in any event!
I saved the speaker... If I ever sell / trade-in the car I will solder it back to the cluster and return to original condition... Its like any other modification done to the car (like my Euro mirror glass)--back to stock when selling...

Sna77, great idea. Luckily my 2007 does not beep nor chime because of the seatbelt.

Cheers!
The chime is deactivated by default in the rest of the world. Only sure happy USA gets the chime turned on by default. I watched the tech as he tried to disable the chime via the Autologic--there is definitely a button to turn it on an off. He contacted Autologic after attempting to disable the chime via software coding did not actually disable the chime. Apparently USA spec cars had something in place that renders BMW's coding ineffective.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Well, you might be surprised at who would be asking why the chime is disabled. I suspect any dealer would have to reconnect things as a safety feature, before reselling the car. There may also be an insurance issue with the buying party's company for a private sale. Not to mention any state DMV issues that may or may not be affected. While its your car you can pretty much do what you want to it (broadly speaking) but when you are transferring it to another party it becomes another story, especially a dealer as a trade in. I know that if I was buying a car that had safety features (however useful) disabled I would want everything put back together to insure against potential liability issues. Good luck in any event!
 
#17 ·
I suspect any dealer would have to reconnect things as a safety feature, before reselling the car.
I bet the OP's next interesting project will be that he opens things up agaian, and:

- replaces the missing (annoying) chimer with a much more subdued pleasant-sounding one

The next project after that will be to:

- bring a microprocessor into the mix that sends a text message to the GPS screen that says, "Passenger - please fasten your seat belt", or, "The air temperature is below 37 degrees".
 
#20 ·
Sorry, if will be rude. My apologies in advance!

But I cannot help say that this is the most brutal way to solve an issue. I mean, good god, do you have to literally "break away" the speaker from the instrument cluster, just because you do not want it to chime???

So, next time just break anything else, just because you do not want it to work !!!

Gosh, this is insane!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Hi all,

My first post at Bimmerfest. I wanted to 'chime" in on this thread, as I have always found the seat belt/key chime annoying, and now that we're getting 30 degree temps here in SE TX, I really don't need the frost warning going on and off. I've just taken care of the problem on my '07, and there are a couple of points I'd like to add to the origin (very nicely done) DIY.
The '07 uses T10 screws on the cluster, not phillips head, and the small screws holding the back of the unit on are T9 (not too common, make sure you have one before you take the cluster out).
Almost all the noise comes out the hole in the back of the chime. Rather than break it off, I stuffed some foam in the hole, secured the foam with a small piece of tape, and put another small piece of tape over the little grill on the back of the cluster.
The volume has been reduced to almost nothing, barely above the threshold my airplane/motorcycle damaged ears can detect.
 
#31 ·
People don't do this!

I cant understand how can you damage your car in this way! the speaker is used for error messages, so when someting actually goes wrong with the car it you will not hear it!

The proper way to do this is coding the car with NCS expert, all you do is plug in to the OBD port 2 minutes later no chime, and physical modyfication:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...authkey=CPqY7sEC&hl=en&authkey=CPqY7sEC#gid=0

Another thing that people do not understand is that when you put the buckle in the car sets itself up as if you would be wearing a seatbelt! (Belt prenensioners, SRS air bag deployment force, etc) and this can cause harm to you!
 
#32 ·
The x3 works differently than the e46. This speaker is on US X3s only and it's only function is to make that beep...
 
#34 ·
Wow, do you guys react this way to everything? The guy is annoyed by the beeping, he wants to stop it, so he removed the speaker. If he wants to put it back, he can just solder it back.

Trying to do this in software isn't simple at all compared to what he did. And it's not guaranteed to work. And the fix would need to be redone if the ECU software is updated.
 
#35 ·
Wow, do you guys react this way to everything? The guy is annoyed by the beeping, he wants to stop it, so he removed the speaker. If he wants to put it back, he can just solder it back.

Trying to do this in software isn't simple at all compared to what he did. And it's not guaranteed to work. And the fix would need to be redone if the ECU software is updated.
A. He is damaging his car an recommending it as good solution encuronging others to damage theirs

B. software fix is easy just follow a guide one YouTube how to do it and it allways works! It's simpler than dismantling half you your dash to get to the cluster.

C. Stop encouraging bad practise, this forum is supposed to have usefull and proper tips, and this one is not either.
 
#36 ·
Settle down. It's a modification, a minor one at that, that is reversible. No modifications allowed?

There is simply nothing wrong with removing the transducer to stop the noise it's making. It's is useful and is far from bad practice.

Your claim "dismantling half your dash" is false. It's a couple screws that hold in the instrument cluster.

Can you point me to the YouTube video you're talking about? What equipment is needed?
 
#37 · (Edited)
Disabling X3 seat belt chimes via Coding

You need a BMW MINI USB OBD Diagnostic Programing cable INPA KDCAN DIS SSS GT1 NcsExpert kit

Once you've taken a little time to follow the instructions... closely.
You want to look at the settings listed below. For the E83 LCI these settings are located in the AKMB module.

To alter seatbelt warning beep and dash board indicator:

Default values have * next to them.

Setting enables/disables the seatbelt warning lamp, when you initially start the car. However if the seat belt is unbuckled and you begin to drive the lamp will light up anyway.

GURTWARNUNG
mit_gurtschlosskontakt* - enable visible seatbelt warning lamp
ohne_gurtschlosskontakt - disable visible seatbelt warning lamp

Setting enables/disables the seatbelt warning beep, when you initially start the car. However if the seat belt is unbuckled and you begin to drive the beep will sound anyway.

AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN
aktiv* - enable acoustic seatbelt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable acoustic seatbelt warning

This setting seems to enable/disable the driver's unbuckled seat belt timer that starts counting down when the driver's seat belt is unbuckled. When the counter reaches zero, the seat belt warning lamp and beeping sound will occur. Even if both GURTWARNUNG and AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN are set to "nicht-aktiv".

SBR_FAHRER
aktiv* - enable driver side fasten seat belt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable driver side fasten seat belt warning

This setting seems to enable/disable the passenger's unbuckled seat belt timer that starts counting down when the passenger's seat belt is unbuckled. When the counter reaches zero, the seat belt warning lamp and beeping sound will occur. Even if both GURTWARNUNG and AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN are set to "nicht-aktiv". ( I have switched this setting to "nicht_aktiv", but left the other settings at their defaults....)

SBR_BEIFAHRER
aktiv* - enable passenger side fasten seat belt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable passenger side fasten seat belt warning

If you disable any of these setting, please remember to buckle up!
 
#38 ·
Thanks for that step-by-step guide. I am new here and was contemplating getting rid of that annoying sound too. FWIW, I have no issues with breaking off that little buzzer.

But i am also curious about learning what can be done coding-wise and now I can see what is needed to be bought for equipment, so I will probably go that route instead.
 
#39 ·
My purse, gym bag, or any other significant item on the passenger seat sets off the chime. I finally buckled the seatbelt and wallah, it stopped. However, I do hear a one-chime every now and then, and wasn't sure what it was. Then I saw something about the outside temperature flash above the steering wheel. Guess that's the one-beep 37 degree signal? I'll have to look at it more closely next time. I live in New England, and it's winter, so the temp is going to be quite low for the next several months. One beep isn't that bad, although it makes me wonder if there's something wrong. Who the heck thought it was an important feature???

Hello....coat warning! Your mother says it's too cold to be outdoors without a coat! LOL.
 
#43 ·
Standard on just about every car in Europe for the past 10 years or more. Fords or whatever.

Would be preferable for the chime to be noticeably different from other warning sounds.
So the driver would know right away that it isn't a mechanical malfunction or something that needs rectifying.

The Rover 2000TC in the 1960's was one of the first with an 'ice alert'.
 
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