In a recent article, I have posted some photos of a BMW iDrive system paired with the new Apple iPhone. It was the first article showing the full functionality of the two that has been posted on the internet just a few hours after the iPhone launch.
My post has received a lot of feedback, including a link from engadget.com , but in the same time a lot of readers have emailed me with questions regarding the iPhone’s compatibility with other BMW models. In the official press release by BMW, it was stated that the iPhone will work with the following vehicles:
3 Series built March 2007 and later
5 Series built March 2007 and later
X5 built April 2007 and later
6 Series built September 2007 and later
I have decided to start tracking down other BMW vehicles that were not on the BMW list, but would still work with the iPhone. Let’s keep the list ordered, so I will start with the 3-series, followed by the 5-series, and so on and so forth:
iPhone compatible with:
3-series E46 model built 2005
User review: “Paired my iphone with my 05 e46 330xi yesterday. Worked like a charm.”
3-series E90 built 2006 with and without iDrive
User review: “my iPhone is now working and I have successfully paired it with the bluetooth in my 2006 235i. “
5-series built 2005
User review: “The iphone works fully on my ‘05 525i. Full address book transfer with just over 550 contacts and all other features work as well. “
5-series built August 2006
User review: “I have the dealer installed iPod connector in the glove-box. The contacts all come up on the navi screen and are very descriptive. The iPod feature works great and I haven’t had any problems with either vehicle yet ”
6-series built September 2003
User review: “It works with my 9/03 production 645Ci Ipod connection too, so it looks like all years of 645 are fine. “
6-series built 2006 with iDrive
User review: “The Apple IPhone works great. It pairs perfectly. No more wrong numbers for received calls, no more phone resets, and the entire address book is now available in IDrive.”
7-series built 2006
User review: “iPhone paired with my ‘06 750LI without any problem. All functions performing normally as far as I can tell (steering wheel, dial pad, idrive)”
X3 built 2006 - No iDrive (almost full functionality, see review)
User review: “It has the ability to make/receive call, phone book automatically syncs to car, calling name display (using adddress book), but NO ability to dial by name (without verbal training of system) or ability to send/receive SMS. I can dial by name, but need to record the names first in the X3’s phone book. i don’t have nav, so there’s no way to view SMS messages. “
Z4 built 2005
User review: ” The iphone works fully on my ‘05 Z4. Full address book transfer with just over 550 contacts and all other features work as well.”
X5 built 2006
User review: “ I have the dealer installed iPod interface in my X5 and upon plugging it in to the connector, it states that this is not an approved accessory and do you want to put it in “airplane mode”. Just disregard the warning, do not respond, and the iPhone worked perfect. It loaded my phonebook (2500 entries) quickly.”
M3 built 2004 with and without navigation
User review: “I’m successfully using the iPhone with my 2004 M3 which has Nav and BMW Assist + Bluetooth. iPhone transfers the address book perfectly and appends (Work), (Home), (Mobile) to each address book entry. This now makes it easier to find the correct number using the NAV telephone address book sub menu option.I’ve also found that the audio gets routed always correctly to the car, and under the Nav telephone INFO setting, signal strength of the iPhone gets displayed correctly.”
So far, these are all the BMW models that I could find reviews on their functionality with the iPhone, but I will keep looking for more. If you have paired the iPhone with other BMWs than the ones on my list, please contact me and I will update my article. I think it will be great to have a comprehensive article that will help the BMW owners.
And a final thought: in my next article, I’m going to focus on all the known issues that we experienced in the pairing process or the functionality of the iPhone with the BMW vehicles, so stay tuned and sign-up for our RSS Feed to get the update automatically
