An update from me....

So I tested removing the monitor and replacing to make sure I could do before I bought one from eBay . got that to work so was confident and ready to buy.
Before I could Mrs says need to go shopping :-( . Put on A/c and start car and everything is all working again !
And has ...

Thanks Guys,

Will (at last) take kjb1's advice and buy and install myself. From ebay as suggested - there are a few on there.

Again - will keep you all posted.

So - the latest:

Took in today for diagnostics, took them about 25 mins. Still charged full whack! Seemed like decent guys.

Gave me the report - showed for Central Information Display (CID) - "A475 Hardware fault". They said its suggested first step is to do a software update - £295 + VAT !
Then ...

Cheers kjb1 - thats very useful to know.

Plan is to get diagnostics done - get confirmed what it is, then if needs new screen, I'll probably follow your instructions and replace myself.

Diagnostics booked in for Monday - will let you all know.

F.

Thanks kjb1 - unfortunately, I dont know anything about replacing the screen - its sealed in, so not sure how I would take out to replace. Anything on YouTube to show how to do this ?

In the meantime, I called up a few BMW specialists - found one that said this was rare, and potentially might be a ...

Thanks for the support.

I live in London - can you recommend any company who will be able to fix this type of issue, without going back to BMW ?

F.

Hi,

4 weeks ago - privately bought '08 3.0 SD - one with TV in it. It had full BMW service history, etc.
Last night I started it and I couldnt see anything on the front LCD Panel. Shining some light on it - I can see everything but all looks very dimly lit. Checked Rear TV screen - and it working ...