My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

So I've had my 04 530i (ED) since July of last year. Car has been absolutely perfect for 9.5k miles. Not a single complaint about anything.

Over the weekend, things went south. All of a sudden, all four doors creak and rattle under acceleration. At cruising speed, it's quiet as a mouse. It's only under acceleration that it's noisy. And noisy enough to compete with the radio (at lower volumes).

Compounding the issue is a constant alarm telling me to stop driving immediately because the engine oil has apparently drained from the car. Yet I checked the oil several times and there's plenty in there.

Oh, and now the radio is a crapshoot. Every other time I start the car, the iDrive mutes the stereo system. If I click over to the "Entertainment" menu, it shows that the input source is TV (!). It also has a MD (mini disc?) option as well, in addition to FM/AM/WB/CD. No matter what I do here, I can't get the radio to work. So I drive in silence.

My question is this: what can I get the dealer to fix. I'm assuming the latter two items won't be a problem -- fix the sensor, update iDrive. But what about this creaking? Is this a problem for anyone else? What's the fix?

Thanks for any/all advice.

Hoya

Reply » My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

Your car needs at least two things- an iDrive software update and new door seals. BMW redesigned the door seals earlier this year because of the creaking problems. Its also possible a module has gone bad and needs to be replaced, hence all your strange warnings. Good luck, keep us posted.

Reply » My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

Those are Euro market options (Weather Band, TV, Mini Disc). It sounds like you're iDrive controller is confused, and needs to be looked at and hopefully only re-programmed.

Reply » My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

We get weather band here in the US but no TV or Mini Disc. Well, you can get the other two aftermarket with some clever hacking....

Hoya, your car is still under warranty...just take it in and tell them the issues. It will only cost you some time and hopefully not even a rental.

Good luck...keep us posted about what is found.

Reply » My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m sorry to read about these problems with your 530i. If you and your BMW center would like our assistance, please phone us at (800) 831-1117 or email us at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com, and mention Reference #200522901393 so that we can help you more efficiently.

Reply » My iDrive is stuck on TV . . .

Quick update here -- picked the car up from the dealer today, all is fixed. Apparently, the creaks are known problems ... the i-drive update went just fine. Despite my begging to be able to get TV on NAV, it was not to be.

In an interesting twist, I elected to have the Bluetooth retrofit performed (car is 6/04 build). The dealer charged me $220 for the update, which seemed reasonable. That said, my SA told me: "Every now and then, when we do the update, the TCU melts down. If that happens, it will cost you about $1,900 to get a new TCU. This cost is not covered by BMW. So if you want the update, know that there is a slim chance that it could cost you a few thousand."

I chose to roll the dice on that one -- I figured that if it the TCU meltdown happened with any meaningful frequency that BMW wouldn't have offered the retrofit. But I was nervous all morning until I got the call.

Cheers,

Hoya

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