Cell Phone on 2004 5 Series?

[mgalvin]

Ok, I'm about to give up. I live in San Diego and can't find a BMW dealer to work with me on installing an eject box & cradle and use my own V60i Verizon phone on a 2004 BMW 525i. They said it can't be done and everything I read is a joke.

Everything I read on all of the BMW posts are the ability to install your own phone instead of having to install the BMW version.

They said if they were to do something that won't even work will take 3 hours labor and have to buy an additional voice activation box for $350.

Help. Any advice?

sandiegoeconomy@yahoo.com

[wolverine]

That's crazy, I just met with my Salesperson and the service person today and they showed me the BMW phone. It is a Motorola v60s(the replacement for the V60i) with Verizon carrier. The service person told me there may be some conflicts if you buy a V60s and have a different carrier, but if you have Verizon, it is the EXACT same phone. They should install it for you for $325.

[Silver4evr]

There is a lot of misinformation going around about the new 5. Some of it due to software updates coming out regularly and a lot of it due to the dealer's inexperience.

If wolverine can get the exact steps from his/her dealer and give them to mgalvin. Or maybe wolverines dealer can call mgalvin's dealer to discuss this. I've seen this same situation with other items as well.

Maybe call BMW directly or email them.

Good luck.

[saleschick]

I bought the BMW factory installed phone and have had numerous problems with it. The first thing is that the technicicans working on my car tell me the BMW phone is exactly the same as the Motorola V60. In fact to test the system, they use their own phones. Not to mention that I paid $1000 for mine. Rip off!

Although we now have the phone working, we can't get the volume loud enough to overcome the air conditioner or normal highway noise. We are continuing to work on the problem, but it's been frustrating. I'm interested to find anyone who has solved a similar problem.

thanks!

I'm tempted to have the entire system removed. Especially when I'm hearing about the new Bluetooth technology. From what the techs tell me, BMW may not even offer cell phones in the future.

[THE FEFF]

I have had no luck with my phone. I have been back to the dealer twice since it was installed. When the phone is recognized (only sometimes) I can call out but I can hear you ,you can't hear me. I still love the car but the phone is getting me very frustrated.

[bimmerman2004]

Sterling BMW qouted 125 for the install plus bracket costs. They said the V60s/verizon will work

[E-Man]

Wish I had better news, but you're hosed on a couple of fronts....

Motorola makes crappy handsets. They thought the world would want Startacs forever and have never invested in good technology since. BMW also had their heads up their butts when the picked the v60 to be the "flagship" phone. Acura had the right idea, the new TL has integrated bluetooth and any bluetooth handset will work. Sony and Samsung make good bletooth handsets, Sanyo has the best reception by far but no bluetooth yet.

Here are two suggestions:

Expensive one - Contact Virtual Office in San Diego 858-874-8770 (I think). They may be able to help you out or direct you to a third party that can do the install. Won't be factory, but it should work.

Best Bet - get a cradle and charger and a Plantronics headset and use that. Again, VO may be able to direct you to someone who can install the cradle for a near factory look. Plantronics makes a noise cancelling headset that will let you drive with the windows down while you talk and not blast out the person on the other end of the line. They are the most expensive headsets, but if you talk for more than 15 mins a day in your car or use it for business, your callers will appreciate it.

Good Luck!

[bimmerman2004]

up and running v60s ....on 2004 525i......no mods.....I plugged itin and the system recognized it

[wolverine]

Sounds like people are having success with the standard V60i/s phones. Also, sorry to hear about the problems with the standard BMW phone.

Using the standard V60i/s is it always necessary to plug in the phone after you start the car? What about the BMW phone? I'm still trying to get an answer from various sources about this special 'chip' in the BMW phone. I'll post when I get something.