Right, time for a proper update to my thread, as things are certainly moving along nicely now!
First things first, just to clear up on a few of the questions I'd posted previously:
- Side M Badge Accents: As you may have spotted my mentioning of this before, having investigated this at length (and checking out some other M235i/M135i cars at my local dealership), I was able to confirm that, the side accents that had been fitted to my car were indeed wrong! They're not meant to be bright chrome, they're supposed to match the 'Smoked Grey' colour of the boot badge! I raised this with the dealership, and after showing them the evidence, they agreed that the badges fitted were indeed wrong. For some reason though, their parts search was only bringing up the badges in bright chrome for the car, none in the smoked grey. The situation looked as though I might either have to leave the current badges applied, or just go without, but after a week or so of my dealership doing some digging however, they did fortunately manage to find the correct part number, but listed under only one model of car - the current shape X5 M Sport. These were then ordered and fitted yesterday (26/10/2014), so I'm pleased that's now resolved!
- Fuel Gauge Needle Illumination: So to summarise here, I'm a muppet. The needle never lit up in daylight, since new, and I was just imagining it. My genius astounds me.
But as an update on how things are moving forward, I've now managed to check two things off of my original list:
- Enhanced Bluetooth retrofit (Via E-Sys)
- Cruise Control retrofit (Parts installation and E-Sys)
I completed the Cruise Control retrofit myself yesterday, despite being told by BMW it wasn't possible! You should never say never, because I now have full Cruise Control (with Brake) function installed and running in my M235i, which previously only had the speed limiter function available! The process was in fact fairly straightforward, so for anyone else who wants to have a crack at it...
Parts
For the install, you'll only realistically need two parts from BMW - the new switches themselves, and possibly the screws that are used to apply them (I ordered these as a 'just in case I lost any' fallback, but didn't end up using them). There are actually two different versions of the switches - a set for post 03/2014 cars, and pre 03/2014 cars:
http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...92&hg=61&fg=35
As my car is a post 03/2014 build, it required the slightly newer switch version, but I've listed both switch part numbers below:
Switch Unit (Up to 03/2014) - 61317849407
Switch Unit (From 03/2014) - 61317849411
Screws - 32307848333
So here are the parts I ordered below:
The parts, altogether, set me back a grand total of £185.11 - many thanks to Cotswold BMW (Cheltenham) for your generous discount!
Tools
Very few tools are actually required for the job, although, it's important to remember that physically fitting the new switches is just one part of the process - in order to actually make them functional, they must be coded to the car using E-Sys.
If you don't have E-Sys, or aren't sure how to use it at all, I advise asking someone else to help you code the car!
You'll need:
- A T20 Torx screwdriver or equivalent bit set
- A very small flat head screwdriver
- 16mm socket and ratchet (preferrably with some decent leverage)
- A computer running E-Sys to code the new switches (no Token is required, as only VO coding is involved)
Step 1
As the process of fitting the new switches requires the removal of the driver airbag, and ultimately the steering wheel, it's
VERY IMPORTANT to disconnect the battery as a safety precaution (
not doing this could result in some serious injuries).
So, first things first, disconnect the negative battery terminal, see picture below. I advise putting at least one of your rear seats down, just in case the boot somehow shuts, because if it does with that battery still disconnected, you won't be getting it open again very easily!
Step 2
A. Firstly the airbag needs to be released or 'unlocked' from the steering wheel. Locate the two opening holes on the underside of the steering wheel (on either side), and using a long and fairly flat ended implement (i.e. your T20 screwdriver or key), push firmly upwards into these. You might have to move the tool around a bit until you find the right angle, but when you're pushing it in the right direction, you should feel a 'spring like' resistance - these are the airbag release clips.
B. Once you push the clip in the right direction against the spring, the airbag should pop forwards out of its mounting automatically.
C. Repeat this for both sides, and the airbag should come free. The first side is always easier than the second, as the second takes all of the weight once the first side is released. Have a hand ready to catch the airbag as it loosens, as I'm sure you don't want to scratch that steering wheel!
D. Once the airbag has come free, you'll need to disconnect it. Remove the clip shown in the photo below.
E. As the steering wheel is going to be removed next as well, be sure to remove the other electrical connector to the right of the airbag connector, as otherwise this will snag when trying to remove the wheel. You may need to use your small flat screwdriver to help loosen this clip.
Step 3
A. Next the steering wheel needs to be removed. Removing the airbag will have revealed the central bolt that connects the wheel to the steering column. Use your 16mm socket to undo this bolt.
B. Remove the bolt securing the wheel once fully unscrewed, but be sure to hold the wheel in place, to stop it from falling.
C. The wheel is now free to be removed. Be sure to take a photo, or mark where the wheel sat initially in terms of the notches on the thread/seat of the steering column.
If you do not do this, your steering wheel may end up misaligned when refitting it later! When ready, remove the steering wheel.
Step 4
A. On the lower underside of the wheel, remove the T20 screw.
B. With the wheel facing towards you, remove the T20 screws on the inside of the wheel, either side of each button cluster (silver screws).
C. The front facia of the wheel is now ready to be removed. Carefully free the plastic clips holding it in place, and it should lift free. There are 3 on the top part of the ring, two on either side of the lower half of the ring, and two either side of the lower spoke towards the bottom M Badge. Be
VERY careful undoing the clips, as otherwise, a replacement facia will be needed!
Once the facia is removed, your wheel should look like this:
Step 5
NOTE -
I advise completing the removal of the switches illustrated in this step one side at a time, so as to ensure you've got enough free hands to hold/support loose parts! Furthermore, this step illustrates the process used for a steering wheel with paddle shifters. The method may vary for vehicles with a manual transmission (more than likely just skip section A.).
A. Remove the T20 screws from either side of the inside of the wheel just below the switch panels, which release the paddle shifters.
B. Lifting the paddle shifters off the back of the wheel will reveal the T20 screws that secure the switch panels you are replacing. Remove these screws to release the switch panels. You can disconnect the cables for the paddle shifters if you wish and remove these, however this is not necessary to complete the install.
Step 6
A. The switch panels on either side should now be free, and should fall away from the wheel easily. Lift the right hand side one gently, as this houses the connector that needs to be removed next.
B. Remove the cable connector from the back of the right hand side switch panel. This connector was quite stiff for me, and took some force to remove. Be careful.
C. Remove the earth cable (brown), by lifting the spade connector from its contact. This gives you the room you need to remove the switches and their bridge cable.
D. Remove both switches, carefully freeing the bridge cable connecting them from its housing around the bottom of the steering wheel centre. Take a picture of how the cable was threaded if you wish, to make it easier when threading the new bridge cable into the wheel.
Step 7
A. Firstly, connect the cable connector you removed in Step 6, B. to your new switches, and then place them in their mounting positions either side (leaving the bridge cable free initially), and secure them by reinserting their T20 fixing screws that you removed in Step 5, B. (on the underside of the wheel). Next, thread the bridge cable carefully back into place, making sure it's out of the way as the previous one was. Be sure to remember to reconnect the earth cable you removed earlier too (Step 6, C.).
B. Reposition the paddle shifters (if applicable), and then secure these by reinstalling the T20 screws you removed in Step 5, A.
Next, reinstall the facia you removed in Step 4, by clipping it back into place first, and then re-adding the two T20 screws either side (Step 4, B.), and the one T20 screw the lower underside of the wheel (Step 4, A.).
C. Reinstall the steering wheel by reversing the instructions from Steps 2 & 3. Be sure to remember to align your wheel correctly, according to the picture/record you took before you removed it, and to reconnect all relevant cable clips. Make sure the steering column bolt is done up tightly too. The airbag should simply push/clip back into place - you do not need any tools for this. Before you install the airbag, make sure all wires are tucked reasonably well away, to avoid any snags or breakages! Lastly, reconnect your battery. Once complete, give yourself a pat on the back, and observe your newly installed Cruise Control switches!
Step 8
Last, but by all means not least, you need to code the car to allow the usage of the new switches, and ultimately enable Cruise Control to operate successfully.
Prior to coding the car, the LIM button will still work as normal, and you won't see any IDrive or dash errors, so you don't have to do the coding immediately if you don't want to.
WARNING -
If you do not understand the below terminology, or are unfamiliar with E-Sys, get someone else to do it for you. Mistakes could be costly, and result in a car that won't even start!
Once you're ready to go, get yourself connected up to E-Sys (with the car running on idle of course), and add option
544 to the FA. Once you've done this, you'll need to VO code the new FA to the below ECU trees:
- FEM_BODY
- ICM
- KOMBI
Whilst coding, my IDrive showed me a few errors, one of which was a DSC error, asking me to take the car for immediate service. As alarming as these may be, ignore them, and proceed. They'll be gone once you restart the car.
When the coding is completed (with no errors), you should have some working Cruise Control buttons. Restart your car, and you should end up with something like this:
Take her out for a test drive, and enjoy your newly retrofitted Cruise Control with Brake functionality!
I'll be sure to keep adding more updates as and when anything else moves forward, but that's all for now! Hopefully the above guide is helpful too!