Looking for some help...

[mbetoni]

Originally Posted by STR3T

Can someone get me a link to BMW iPhone 5 device that works with the 2009? Dealer said he'd get me something but now says it's not available yet.

Note: looking like without Prem sound and/or Bluetooth there's not much functionality for the iPhone in this car.

I'm curious - what's your budget? While the proposed car looks nice enough, you may want to do some more shopping. Technology & Premium packages are worth it if you're looking to easily plug your iPhone in via a lightning cable and be done with it (music, messages, apps all easily accessed through iDrive).

There are also some things on this car that would bug the bejesus out of me. First thing I would do would be re-cover, replace with OEM or change the steering wheel. I can't deal with shiny, armor-all looking steering wheels, but that's partially my OCD, ha.

[STR3T]

mbetoni, where ya been? I asked for advice like two days ago. The car is bought and home already :-)

Avg about 78mph on the trip home and 24.2mpg with some pretty spirited spurts on top of the avg speed.

At dinner with the Mrs. I'll fill in more blanks soon...overall very happy with the purchase.

[STR3T]

Ok too cold to drive it today and the Mrs. made me take her shopping anyway. But I do have a couple more Q's of course.

Manual indicates some mirrors had a compass. I don't have Nav so that sure would have been nice. Any rhyme or reason for getting a compass or not?

Sales guy recommended a trickle charger. Really won't need one until Fall but thought I'd start asking and see that CTEK is highly regarded. This one do the job: http://www.amazon.com/CTEK-Multi-12-.../dp/B000FQBWCY

See you can get others at 2-4x that price easily, but not exactly sure what you get on the pricier models.

We found two wear/tear issues with my car that need attention:

1. Paddle shifters and other 'aluminum' trim pieces on the steering wheel are peeling pretty badly. Recommended site to replace these parts? Looks like #2 from this site: http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...=32&fg=35&hl=2

2. Driver side dashboard leather piece has seen better days....like too long in the California sun. Little warped on the left side and coming unglued on the right half (near the center of the dash). Thinking with some consistent leather treatment and glue this can be fixed without buying a new part but not sure. Anybody have good experience in bringing warped leather back to respectable appearance? Any chance this will "unwrap" with lots of love and product. If not, at least it appears the dash is not one big (super expensive) piece but broken into a couple unique shoes and part numbers.

#1 son with me at delivery:


Oh and damn but what is up with Rudolph's nose hanging under the rearview? That's some kind of grotesquery!

[jparnes1]

Haha. All BMW's with an alarm have the red clown nose. It's the alarm indicator.
Don't know about that trickle charger, but what you want is a "smart" charger. It won't overcharge your battery cuz it has a chip in it to cut off flow when the battery's all charged up. BMW and Deltron make good ones (in fact, BMW's may be a Deltron)
To avoid damaging the leather, don't leave the car in the sun all day long with the top down, and treat the leather with a cleaner/moisturizer (looks like you know that all ready).

[Fapout]

Originally Posted by STR3T

Ok too cold to drive it today and the Mrs. made me take her shopping anyway. But I do have a couple more Q's of course.

Manual indicates some mirrors had a compass. I don't have Nav so that sure would have been nice. Any rhyme or reason for getting a compass or not?

Sales guy recommended a trickle charger. Really won't need one until Fall but thought I'd start asking and see that CTEK is highly regarded. This one do the job: http://www.amazon.com/CTEK-Multi-12-.../dp/B000FQBWCY

See you can get others at 2-4x that price easily, but not exactly sure what you get on the pricier models.

We found two wear/tear issues with my car that need attention:

1. Paddle shifters and other 'aluminum' trim pieces on the steering wheel are peeling pretty badly. Recommended site to replace these parts? Looks like #2 from this site: http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...=32&fg=35&hl=2

2. Driver side dashboard leather piece has seen better days....like too long in the California sun. Little warped on the left side and coming unglued on the right half (near the center of the dash). Thinking with some consistent leather treatment and glue this can be fixed without buying a new part but not sure. Anybody have good experience in bringing warped leather back to respectable appearance? Any chance this will "unwrap" with lots of love and product. If not, at least it appears the dash is not one big (super expensive) piece but broken into a couple unique shoes and part numbers.

#1 son with me at delivery:


Oh and damn but what is up with Rudolph's nose hanging under the rearview? That's some kind of grotesquery!

I only get my BMW parts from Tischer BMW http://www.getbmwparts.com

In fact you can even replace them with the (-/+) shifter paddles.

I hardly ever drove my Z4 over the winter, didn't need a trickle charger.

[mbetoni]

Originally Posted by STR3T

mbetoni, where ya been? I asked for advice like two days ago. The car is bought and home already :-)

Avg about 78mph on the trip home and 24.2mpg with some pretty spirited spurts on top of the avg speed.

At dinner with the Mrs. I'll fill in more blanks soon...overall very happy with the purchase.

Sorry man, busy few weeks at work. Congrats on the new ride and hope you enjoy!

[STR3T]

Fapout, good to hear...thanks again for your help end of last week. Was hoping for better weather here this weekend but coming soon! Haven't driven it again since I parked her Saturday night.

mbotoni, sarcasm just doesn't come through well with text sometimes...I was just goofing...I only gave like 1.5 days between posting and buying I get anxious sometimes. Thanks for your thoughts.

So no joy on the rearview mirror compass? I guess I just need a good iPhone 5 holder for the dash or center vents for google map/gps.

[nicknaz]

Congrats on the purchase. Have you tried plugging your phone into the car via USB port in the center console and selecting "iPod" as the audio source? That enables me to stream music using Pandora from my iphone 5s. My car has prem sound but no nav.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by HerrK

Much easier to fill the wheel gap by going up a notch on the F&R tire aspect ratios, especially if you have sport suspension, don't want to mess with emulators, and considering switching from the RFT to Non RFT. Less than two figers (1") works for me. Gets rid of that rubber band on rim look especially with 19" rims.

Agreed, I switched to 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 dunlop zii and it did help a bit with the wheel gap on the factory sport suspension. Still has about a 1" gap though, like you said

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Agreed, I switched to 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 dunlop zii and it did help a bit with the wheel gap on the factory sport suspension. Still has about a 1" gap though, like you said

What wheels are you running, Nick?

[STR3T]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Congrats on the purchase. Have you tried plugging your phone into the car via USB port in the center console and selecting "iPod" as the audio source? That enables me to stream music using Pandora from my iphone 5s. My car has prem sound but no nav.

I haven't seen a USB port. Just the "jack" at the elbow when you open up (vertically) the center console. I saw in the manual the a USB might be in the glove box but haven't had a chance to look hard for it. Didn't notice it when I did open the glove at the dealer.

My sound is not Premium for sure. It is base stereo so I'm guessing I didn't get a USB port.

[jparnes1]

The USB in the glove box is on the left and not easy to see. Look around for it - it's there.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by Hujan

What wheels are you running, Nick?

factory wheels, style 325. If you are thinking about the dunlop zii in those sizes and a drop, you might need to add camber plates to get more than -1 in the front. They run wide and the outer edge of the tread block is pretty flush with the front fender

Originally Posted by jparnes1

The USB in the glove box is on the left and not easy to see. Look around for it - it's there.

I believe that is only for iDrive equipped cars. On my car the USB is in the center console, next to the Aux in and 12V, just to the rear of the 2 cupholders under the arm rest

OP, I THINK you car does not have the USB option because it does not have the bluetooth option. If I recall correctly, the bluetooth and USB ("option 6FL" I think?) were bundled together in the US

When I was in this situation in the past, I purchased a "y cable" that would go into the dock connector of my phone into the aux in and the 12V, so that one connection could provide audio output and power. The drawback is that there is no integration for controls (but then, there really isn't any integration possible without the appropriate options in the car)

[STR3T]

I think that's right nick...don't have it next to the aux in for sure. And no Bluetooth. I'm a Prem Sound upgrade or ~2 model years away from bliss

It's ok, my son plugged in his iPhone 4 on the drive home thru that aux-in. I have an old iPod I'll have to load up with tunes. I'm good for awhile as is...just hoping she runs without issue thru the Spring/Summer. Then has some issues under CPO warranty that they can fix up for me over the winter down months

Thanks again for all the feedback on here. Great responses/support.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by STR3T

I think that's right nick...don't have it next to the aux in for sure. And no Bluetooth. I'm a Prem Sound upgrade or ~2 model years away from bliss

Glad I could help. I recommend taking a ride with someone who has "premium" sound or the aftermarket setup you are interested in. It might not be worth the money....

My car doesn't sound very premium (at least compared to the HK stereo in wife's 335) due to all the road noise coming into the Z with the top up. When the top is down, I can't hear anything will the wind noise anyway, unless i BLAST the music and sound like a d-bag so I don't use the stereo when the top is down anyway.

[Gpwheels]

Maybe the I-drive and nav screen stereo is better, but I have the stereo with the USB port in the centre console and you're not missing much. If you want to use a phone or iPod as your source, they are a better interface than the factory stereo controls. If you want a Bluetooth connection, Logitech and homespot both make Bluetooth adapters for about $30. Add power and better speakers when you can

[STR3T]

Looks like I was wrong (not a first). I hit the phone icon on the stereo and it pulled up a Bluetooth pairing menu. I saw the prior owners phone name and deleted it but I was unable to get it to pass me a PIN. My iPhone sees it...

Not sure if I need a software update or need to do something different.

Never mind, 5th or 6th times a charm. IPhone is paired.

[Gpwheels]

Can you stream music via Bluetooth? I think I have the same stereo, and I can pair my phone, but it just acts as a hands-free device. I can't make it stream music.

[STR3T]

Originally Posted by Gpwheels

Can you stream music via Bluetooth? I think I have the same stereo, and I can pair my phone, but it just acts as a hands-free device. I can't make it stream music.

Hey, I keep learning as I go but I'm 95% sure it doesn't stream music. I didn't see any settings for that capability. But the phone call to the Mrs. sounded really good

Meanwhile, at lower speed I have a pretty obnoxious rattle behind the seats. Any thoughts on what to look for...shore up? At highway speed, the car has been golden so far.

[JodyT]

I just recently picked up a 2011 Z4 i30. 23K miles, immaculate interior, exterior. I didn't pick up the whine behind the seats during my test drives, but did shortly afterwards. It is CPO so warranty until 2017 (part of why it beat out a Porsche I was looking at) so I took it in to the dealership.

Long story short - rear differential. Some people complain about a whine or a rattle. BMW replaced mine and sound is gone. From what I was told, they don't attempt to repair these anymore, they just replace.

I'm also looking to update my base stereo with something in aftermarket that gives me access to features on my iphone. I don't have Nav system but I'd like to do more than just get a bracket for the phone. Anyone have success in touchscreen flip up units?

[Gpwheels]

Might be tricky. The SOS phone and your vehicle settings all run through the stereo. Also, a standard DIN deck would likely have to be cut in. I've been pondering this. If you could build an enclosure outside of the centre stack, maybe on the rear shelf or cut into the rear wall into the trunk, could you just run the outputs into the aux line in? A lot of custom work for sure, but I don't think you can just replace the head unit. If there is a way to replace the head unit, let me know. I don't like the BMW stereo controls.

[CeEl]

It's actually quite easy to update the software that handles phone connectivity and Blutooth. Download from BMW onto a USB stick and plug into USB port in the glove compartment. Link should be on this forum... Let us know if you can't find it and someone will repost. That may fix any connectivity issues. The website also clearly states what works and what doesn't with a particular phone.