E53 Bluetooth Connectivity

[X5Sport]

BMW and crap Bluetooth go together on the E53 - especially the 2004 and earlier ones.  Even the TCU we have in the E46 had to be upgraded before it would work properly.  BMW basically got the design wrong and dug their heels in about what they would support (sod all) and what they wouldn't (everything else).  It was caused by the fact that Bluetooth was supposed to be a common standard, but actually isn't.  There are numerous 'flavours' of Bluetooth and some don't play nicely at all.  It was just like the VHS/Betamax mess in the late 1970's & 80's.

The list of BMW supported phones in 2004/5 was pitiful compared to what was on the market.  Some would pair and then no address book would appear, some dropped calls, some refused to do anything and my then Dealer's stance was that if it wasn't on BMWs list "tough".  Which is why I refused to give up my Nokia 6310i and still have it somewhere.  It might even still work if charged up.  For the X5 I specced the built in phone.  SIM card in the armrest and a Bluetooth handset.

Richard

[charlie_bendall]

I give up with mine! I've tried everything I've read on here and all it says is activate phone. There are no lights that flash and it doesn't bring up any message. All I can think is the Bluetooth module is knackered.

[Johnny-p]

Hi fella

Have you checked your fuses in the boot??

Mine wouldn't pair when I bought mine, checked the fuses out of desperation before the dealer got involved and one of the media fuses was blown- everything worked-sat nav radio etc.. But no phone..

Might be worth a check...

John...

[charlie_bendall]

Hi yeah I have checked the fuses related to the telephone suppose it wouldn't hurt to check the others in case there related. Sat nav works intermittently also so worth another look.

[avonside]

Just a little idea... My BT just stopped the other day after a dead battery issue .. Found this fix on xoutpost
Take out fuse 7 from glove box and fuses 73 & 74 from trunk area... Leave out for a good 15 minutes ... I locked and then unlocked car .. Replaced fuses and bingo everything back to normal..

[Beanfest2]

The paring was nothing but stress for me too. I ended up getting an obd reader and software from eBay to see if there were any codes stored for the bt module.
I found that you can activate the paring from the software. (Still not realy sure how I did it. ). But it worked perfectly.
Only thing is now that the volume is so low it's un useable. Found a small amp for it. But not got it yet.

http://www.bimmernav.com/amp.html

Insight electrical ltd.    &.  Bristol soundsystem hire

[X5Sport]

Have you tried turning the volume up while in a call?  Also I find that the volume settings in some phones affect the car phone volume so I have to set it higher.

Richard

[Beanfest2]

Yes I'm afraid I've tried it. I can turn down the volume but when I turn it up to max it's still far too quiet.


Insight electrical ltd.    &.  Bristol soundsystem hire

[Osprey]

Mine worked first time ....... stuck to Sanj post...top man..thanks 

[Dan Alex]

Hello, mine does not pair either...I won't even go into pairing mode, i have tried everything, even sweet talk before cursing the hell out of it ) Funny thing is, the last owner, twas in 2010 methinks did have his back then Iphone 3S paired with no problems.

Mine is Samsung Note 2, in car phone is motorola (vertu lookalike)) factory fitted, cordless (car 3.0i 09/2004 LT55304)
Any thoughts? 

[Beanfest2]

No idea I'm afraid. Mines still not playing nicely. Kind of given up now.
It's frustrating to say the least. Maybe you should try pairing through a PC.


Insight electrical ltd.    &.  Bristol soundsystem hire

[Sanj]

Check the button is connected underneath (known to be disconnected).

If you have an Intravee that will force pair mode too.

[Dan Alex]

There must be a way, the phone discovers the vehicle base station, but the car does not go into pairing mode to discover the phone (don't have pairing button under the arm rest) R/T button doesn't do anything except summon the scarcely populated phone book and that's that, and the talking figure has the call function alone, no voice recognition (YET! ) :devil:

ALTHOUGH, i have I/O switch underneath the armrest, and indeed Sanj, the plug beneath (purple, was it?) is taken out of the "socket"

[Chrisw4266]

The problem I'm having is the BT in the car is working it just doesn't like my new phone. With my old iphone 4s it worked perfectly but with my new LG G3 it pairs and phone book is there but no audio?? My question is can the BT module be updated and if so how? Cheers Chris.

[X5Sport]

It could well be that it is the BT module and phone being incompatible.

You can fit a later BT module assuming you can find one on line.  BMW will want a fortune for a new one.

It's a plug and play module in the boot.

BUT, there is no guarantee that even the last version released will work.

You might be better off fitting a Parrot type aftermarket system.  Certainly cheaper and it will work.

Richard