The Ultimate iPod Info Thread

Ok, so I need some help. I have through most of this thread, but i'll admit, i got tired of looking. Lots of great information out there though. I have installed the AUX port in my 04 530. The instructions said to unplug the existing wires from the back of the stereo, and insert the wiring harness for the aux port. When I did this, i lost rear speakers and all bass in the car. Will this be corrected hen I go in to have the car recoded? Or did i do something wrong here. Thanks in advance for your help!

After much searching, i have got the care coded, turns out it looks like the dealer sold me the wrong plug, anyone know the schematics of how the wiring harness should be layed out?

After extensive research, I finally got it working. After lots of research and talking with the dealer I got it working. Turns out, the plug BMW provides with this retrofit is USELESS! You have to remove the wires from the plug supplied with the AUX-IN, and add those wires to the existing plug. In the instructions it says to remove the old plug, and just plug in the new one. THIS WILL NOT WORK. In order to get the wires out of the plug, there is a clip underneath, and a hole on the opposite side. You must pry the clip up, and then put like a paper clip or something in the hole to slide out the harness. Then use the same paperclip to release the wires from the harness. Then you add the 3 wires to the existing plug that is going to the stereo. In the instrustions, it tells you the exact holes each one of those wires goes to. I don't have the instructions with me, but they are out there. Hopefully this will help someone out there since no one tried to help me! Good luck!

Sorry but I can't read all 37 pages of posts. I just picked up an 04 525, and would like a quick advice on the most recommended Ipod integration.

I've read some pages at the start with the Aux Retrofit, but maybe someone down 37pages of posts might have figured something else better?

Thanks heaps!

Originally Posted by tonee

Sorry but I can't read all 37 pages of posts...maybe someone down 37pages of posts might have figured something else better?

Welcome to the forum. I see that this was your second post. This is a great resource for ideas, answers, and community among BMW owners, and you'll get a lot from it.

But...

What you did there is very poor etiquette on a forum like this. People aren't likely to recount their contributions for you because you can't be bothered to read them in the existing record.

There is a search function, and you can use it to search a certain thread only. That may be the best way for you to find the information you need without actually poring through the entirely of the material.

I mean this constructively - best luck!

Originally Posted by WJGreer

Welcome to the forum. I see that this was your second post. This is a great resource for ideas, answers, and community among BMW owners, and you'll get a lot from it.

But...

What you did there is very poor etiquette on a forum like this. People aren't likely to recount their contributions for you because you can't be bothered to read them in the existing record.

There is a search function, and you can use it to search a certain thread only. That may be the best way for you to find the information you need without actually poring through the entirely of the material.

I mean this constructively - best luck!

Ah yes, thank you.

I am aware of this as I'm apart of other forums too but it was worth a try. I'll just keep reading then

Originally Posted by tonee

Ah yes, thank you.

I am aware of this as I'm apart of other forums too but it was worth a try. I'll just keep reading then

By the way, here is the summary of my contributions and opinions on the subject:

• iPod integration is ridiculously expensive on E60s, especially if your car wasn't built with it originally.
• Ongoing compatibility with iPods is questionable; it's tough to use an iPhone as both an iPod and a phone at the same time using the iPod interface.
• The software for the iPod interface has some odd limitations on number of songs, artists, playlists, etc.
• The auxiliary input is much less expensive, has equal sound quality provided you use a line-out solution, and provides more flexibility in input sources.
• There are some very cool aftermarket interfaces, like the Spec Dock, that make an auxiliary input solution even more slick.
• BMW attenuated the input gain on all sources other than the radio and CD, so they are noticeably quieter. This is annoying, and can be addressed with a line-level signal amplifier.

For E60s, I think auxiliary is the way to go. Others may disagree.

Thanks WJGreer, really appreciate that. AUX it is!

I will admit that i have now read from page 20 to page 37. I ran a forum search for CD changer to being my reading and started on page 20 then continued to the end. Alas all i have found through my search and reading are people that do NOT have a CD Changer and then tried to add the iPod kit from BMW.

Now for the help that i need, if any kind BMW owner/BIMMERFEST Member is willing to provide:

I have an 06' 550i with NAV, CD, CD Changer, SAT, and LOGIC 7. I just purchased an iPod kit from another BIMMERFEST member with part number 65410411033. My questions are:

When I remove the CD Changer from the glove box and add this new iPod unit in, will it work or will I need to have the dealer recode it?

I have a 4th and 5th gen iPod Touch and a 4th gen iPod Nano. I will be using any of these to work with the car integration kit. I saw that some folks were having charging issues. Came to the conclusion that i should either buy a power adapter or deal with taking it out to charge once in a while

I Also have a iPhone 3GS (spare since i upgraded to 4). I will give that a whirl if all else fails in terms of device, but i wanted to know if i have iOS 4 on the device, can I use multitask mode to go to another app such as pandora or even a webpage based stream and have it play over the iPod kit? My initial guess is no, but if others have tried, that would be great information.

Third question, can i have an AUX port installed while iPod integration kit is installed in the car?

Thanks for the help/reply if you provide it. I truly am in awe of the great minds that we have on this forum

Originally Posted by Alpine550

I will admit that i have now read from page 20 to page 37. I ran a forum search for CD changer to being my reading and started on page 20 then continued to the end. Alas all i have found through my search and reading are people that do NOT have a CD Changer and then tried to add the iPod kit from BMW.

Now for the help that i need, if any kind BMW owner/BIMMERFEST Member is willing to provide:

I have an 06' 550i with NAV, CD, CD Changer, SAT, and LOGIC 7. I just purchased an iPod kit from another BIMMERFEST member with part number 65410411033. My questions are:

When I remove the CD Changer from the glove box and add this new iPod unit in, will it work or will I need to have the dealer recode it?

I have a 4th and 5th gen iPod Touch and a 4th gen iPod Nano. I will be using any of these to work with the car integration kit. I saw that some folks were having charging issues. Came to the conclusion that i should either buy a power adapter or deal with taking it out to charge once in a while

I Also have a iPhone 3GS (spare since i upgraded to 4). I will give that a whirl if all else fails in terms of device, but i wanted to know if i have iOS 4 on the device, can I use multitask mode to go to another app such as pandora or even a webpage based stream and have it play over the iPod kit? My initial guess is no, but if others have tried, that would be great information.

Third question, can i have an AUX port installed while iPod integration kit is installed in the car?

Thanks for the help/reply if you provide it. I truly am in awe of the great minds that we have on this forum

Haha, of course I am in the EXACT same boat as you. Just purchased part 65410411033 from someone on another forum and want to make sure that I can bring my car into work and have one of my guys install it without issue.... We'll see, I guess I'll update if I get results first.

I've installed the AUX kit and coded it with NCSexpert.

However I only get sound coming from the RHS of the car but if I change the balancer to the RHS I'll get sound all round the car. Also the sound quality is poor, worse than radio.

I've read from the forums that you only get poor quality if you don't recode it so after recoding it should be alright.
Actually...when people say that do they mean recode so AUX INPUT is displayed on idrive or is there more coding to fix the sound?

Hey all!

So I got my iPod kit and installed it myself by removing the cd changer. Even found my old 4g iPod 40 gb and it fits like a glove in the space below the kit. I haven't been able to get anything other than playlists to work but that's because I'm impatient and playlists is sufficient.

Now being an apple architect I needed to get my iPhone 4 working with it. Turns out you don't have to do much at all!!! Just by plugging it in you can use the iPod player. Certain times you do have to go to the iPod app but it works generally without doing that. Ofcourse this is great but I also love Internet radio. So I found my favorite station on the Internet ( groove salad on somafm.com) and made a iPhone bookmark on the screen. I opened the app and started the stream while the phone was connected to the BMW dock connector. Low and behold the stream started playing over the car!!

Just wanted to share the experience.

How can I tell if I have the 6FL option? I purchased my '08 550i used, but I don't have the Y-cable. I trying to understand if the cable is all I'm missing to control my iPod Touch through iDrive.

Thanks!

To everyone who drives period. Your driving something that is meant to break. So get over it and smoke a ****, cuz if it didnt break then i wouldnt have a job

Originally Posted by Mholiday

How can I tell if I have the 6FL option? I purchased my '08 550i used, but I don't have the Y-cable. I trying to understand if the cable is all I'm missing to control my iPod Touch through iDrive.

Thanks!

Check in the center console. If you have an aux in port AND a USB port, your car has 6FL. If all you have is the aux in mini-jack (like a headphone plug), you do not have 6FL.

I just picked up an E61 that has the BMW iPod cable in the glovebox (i.e., not the 6FL option). It is remarkably worse than the 6FL in terms of ease of use and information displayed, and it also does not scroll as quickly and has control lag--kind of an issue when paging through dozens and dozens of artists. Still, it's better than nothing.

I think I will also pick up a spec.dock to run to the auxiliary input, so that I can use my iPhone for Pandora and other audio apps that aren't supported by the iPod integration.

Does anyone have a link to more info/photos on how the spec.dock product installs? Their website is minimal and I'd like to see the wiring harness, etc.

Also, (possibly dumb question so forgive me in advance) I have read through just about all of this thread and don't recall seeing whether or not a standard AUX port can be changed to BMW's 6FL option. I have an 07 525i with Aux installed, but want to use the "modmynav" backup camera which includes a multimedia interface which precludes something like the Denison Gateway (I think!) I'm looking for the most seamless way to get metadata/control from iPod up to the iDrive screen...

Originally Posted by whdigital

Does anyone have a link to more info/photos on how the spec.dock product installs? Their website is minimal and I'd like to see the wiring harness, etc.

Also, (possibly dumb question so forgive me in advance) I have read through just about all of this thread and don't recall seeing whether or not a standard AUX port can be changed to BMW's 6FL option. I have an 07 525i with Aux installed, but want to use the "modmynav" backup camera which includes a multimedia interface which precludes something like the Denison Gateway (I think!) I'm looking for the most seamless way to get metadata/control from iPod up to the iDrive screen...

I self-installed a Spec.dock in my 545. I've got no iPod interface so mine only uses the aux output. It was pretty simple though, as I recall. Audio-wise, the output was a female 1/8" connector and the power was a normal hot- and ground- wire pair.

Suggestion - If you're on Facebook, find the spec.dock page and get on it. They seem to monitor it often and do respond to posts.

Google revealed this link, which looks like the official install instructions that come with the dock:

http://www.tunertricks.com/guides/in...kt_install.pdf

Hi, does anyone have recommendations on a good and reasonable audio specialist in the NYC metro area? Basically, the aux-input is a little bit busted due to my kids bumping into the aux-cable, so now sound only comes out of 1 side of the car unless I *press* the cable to one side. I looked into spec doc, but am a little loathe to do it myself, seeing the constant warnings of "be careful, you might chip this or that" and needing tools like a hole saw. I'm happy to pay someone simply to fix my aux jack and move it somewhere closer to the front of the car.

Thanks.

Hi, does anyone have recommendations on a good and reasonable audio specialist in the NYC metro area? Basically, the aux-input is a little bit busted due to my kids bumping into the aux-cable, so now sound only comes out of 1 side of the car unless I *press* the cable to one side. I looked into spec doc, but am a little loathe to do it myself, seeing the constant warnings of "be careful, you might chip this or that" and needing tools like a hole saw. I'm happy to pay someone simply to fix my aux jack and move it somewhere closer to the front of the car.

Thanks.

Just had the Spec Dock installed in my 2007 530XI by a professional audio shop. The total cost for the installation was $105.00 And it works like a charm.

Originally Posted by aballard

Just had the Spec Dock installed in my 2007 530XI by a professional audio shop. The total cost for the installation was $105.00 And it works like a charm.

Hi,

If you don't mind, can you share more details please?

- did your car come with a cd changer and/or aux input?
- does your spec dock plug into aux input, which means control only from ipod or can it be controlled thru the car's steering and idrive?
- No need for dealer programming, right?
- what was the model # and cost of spec dock that you chose?
- lastly, can you also share the name of the audio shop you used please?

Edit - I ask the above because my car doesn't have an aux input (dealer quoted $350 to install it).
Spec dock website suggests model SKU: BMWE60V2IMP3PKG for $600! + installation ~ $100
My dealer charges $750 for the current ipod interface - part # 6511 04 39425 - to be installed and mentioned that my car needs to be reprogrammed even though it has a 6 cd changer and can play mp3s. Based on many posts in this thread (all prior to 2011), I was under the impression that this is a plug-and-play. However, considering that the part # has changed, I now wonder if older cars like mine do need this reprogramming.

Given these ridiculously high costs, I am pretty much resigned to keep using the FM for my ipod.


Thank you and sorry for the trouble!

Hi. My car is a 2007 530Xi that came with the aux input already installed and a single CD player. I simply focused on the aux. input installation after receiving an estimate of $750 from a local BMW dealer to do the OEM retro install. Spec. Dock's site will walk you through all the steps necessary to find the correct dock for your car and your particular IPOD. I, incidentally, put out of my mind any attempt to purchase their unit that is controlled through Idrive. My unit is installed in the ashtray and the ipod is controlled directly by me just as if it were on a dock at home. For long trips, I put it on Shuffle or a long playlist and leave it there, pushing the forward or backward buttons by feel and trying not to look at it while driving. The cost of the spec.dock was $165.00 shipped to Albany, New York. Once it arrived, there were instructions to download a color illustrated installation brochure which I did and printed out. It is very clear and detailed. I took it to an excellent audio installer here in Albany, AUdio Obsessions, and after their man looked over the brochure for about five minutes, he was ready to go. They installed it so that both the power and the sound come through the connection when you place the ipod in the dock. The aux outlet remains the same and they tap into its wire so as to direct the sound into the dock. The cost for this thoroughly professional installation was $105.00 and that was that. Just used it on a weekend trip to Philly and it performed flawlessly--it was really great to have my IPOD so well integrated into my sound system. Simple and functional and I wouldn't have dared do the installation myself! Hope this answers your questions.

It did. Thank you very much for the detailed feedback. Hope you get to enjoy it for a long time.

Hey Everyone, I just bought a 2004 530I that was garage kept and very well taken care of. I am very happy with it as my new toy, My current car has a AUX input and basically without it I can't listen to my iPhone, I have a Single CD and I can't deal with that since every CD is on my iPhone. I have read everything, Checked every site, every mod and after all that I found that the only choice I see would be to buy the Aux Install, connect it at the CD Changer cable (I have the cable but not the Changer) I already found the wire so I could connect it by making a connector or hard wiring, But then I need to go to the BWM dealer to have the software upgraded, (Shame they don't have some user interface)

I am a musician so the Radio FM transmitter does not cut it, But they had an option that splices into the FM antenna that may be OK. If I was to go to the dealer I would probably go full blue tooth but at $500 for the Parrot and Install that is over kill.

I wire all types of electronics and speaker cabinets so many things, So I am thinking to try this Mod that I have not found anyone else doing. I am thinking to just splice the right and left output from a 1/8" Jack to the RT/LT and ground wires from the CD Player Out put to the I-drive Input, Then when I have it on CD I will be able to listen to the CD or connect my iPhone through the AUX, I am just wondering if it is smart enough to know if a CD is not spinning will I get output, In that case I would need to put a switch from that switches between the AUX and the CD, (Honestly I don't need the CD Player) Its not a Business CD just a standard CD (Does not state anything like Business on it) I have the I-Drive, No Phone It seems no Bluetooth (Although I have a Bluetooth card that came with it I have realized that does not mean anything, The communication on I drive has Phone but it just states to contact them.

has anyone tried what I am doing? I am wondering what wires are the output from the CD player, I am sure I can figure it out but it will take a few minutes. Anyone any suggestions before I dive into this?