[CALWATERBOY]

Hate to use Brand-x as an exemplar, but my A7 works better on both counts: the iPod charges fine while not running down the battery, and the MMI (Audi-speak for iDrive) shuts down with the close of the door, shutting off the bluetooth, which is fine because I know to have the phone in hand when getting out of the car. Maybe I'm missing something being new to BMW.

That's one magic A7.

 

[CALWATERBOY]

Issue 1: Plugged in the iPod to the USB plug and it worked like a charm, but the USB plug does not seem to charge my 2-year-old iPod - am using a Radio Shack cord that's nice because it's coiled, keeping things neat beneath the armrest. I keep the iPod in there all the time as the car's music server. Would switching to a $30 Apple cord provide "chargeability" while the car is on?

An iPhone w/cradle's much more convenient.

However, you may use BMW's cable or Apple's.

 

[CALWATERBOY]

Issue 2: When exiting the car, the iDrive stays on even after closing the door; manually turning off the radio doesn't turn off the iDrive. The only way this seems to turn off is by locking the door, which if you forget to do this runs the battery down. Have seen (ancient - 3+ years) posts on forums for other models saying it could be a Bluetooth issue (am going to test this with phones' bluetooth off). If it's a matter of proximity, this is still a bad deal: parked the car in my basement garage, left my key in its normal place in the kitchen, and noticed my Blackberry still flashing blue indicating it was still connected via Bluetooth to the car, which had not been locked. I locked it remotely from the kitchen & the BB stopped flashing blue, indicating to me the iDrive was thus shut down. Am not particularly good about locking the car when it's locked in the garage, so this is a concern when it comes to inadvertently draining the battery.

BMW shutdown is a many splendored thing. Try holding the ON/OFF button down until everything goes dark, couple o'seconds.

Or not and you can cycle through options by briefly pressing same.

You may have noticed - everything times out / shuts down automatically if you don't do it, to keep the battery from running down.

Also, car comes with a manual.

 

[CALWATERBOY]

Got it with holding the button down, figured I missed something along the way despite several searches here & in the manual, thanks. Will try an Apple or BMW cable. The car is a real joy to drive!

When you're ready for mods, handling; driver satisfaction can be immensely improved.

A7 a pretty good Zeppelin by compare.

 

[CALWATERBOY]

Issue 2: When exiting the car, the iDrive stays on even after closing the door; manually turning off the radio doesn't turn off the iDrive. The only way this seems to turn off is by locking the door, which if you forget to do this runs the battery down. Have seen (ancient - 3+ years) posts on forums for other models saying it could be a Bluetooth issue (am going to test this with phones' bluetooth off). If it's a matter of proximity, this is still a bad deal: parked the car in my basement garage, left my key in its normal place in the kitchen, and noticed my Blackberry still flashing blue indicating it was still connected via Bluetooth to the car, which had not been locked. I locked it remotely from the kitchen & the BB stopped flashing blue, indicating to me the iDrive was thus shut down. Am not particularly good about locking the car when it's locked in the garage, so this is a concern when it comes to inadvertently draining the battery.

Times out - not a prob.