Latest Gen. TCU Rocks!
 

Hi everyone,

My BMW dealer just replaced the TCU in my car. Very graciously, they installed the latest generation module. It is manufactured by Continental instead of Motorola.

The system ROCKS! While it looks like there is no new functionality, the system downloaded my 400+ address book in less than 30 seconds, it was wild! The old one would take over 30 minutes. The default volume on the voice activation and the beep are not as loud and the system most definitely understands commands better. It also connects to the phone, when you get in the car, in just a few seconds.

Jose

Do you have the part number of this unit (I'm assuming it's a combo TCU/Assist module)?

Hey mgruber, yes it is a combo TCU/Assist module. Here's the info as it appears on the label:

84.10.9132711-01
169211 11
USA 25.01.2007
Continental
BMW EVEREST IBUS US
SW: 37 HW:50
BT: 0019C08C9171
PK: 0128
ESN: 102 - 15457718
AUN0008064

I believe the part number is the first number (84.10...). I know PK Is the passcode key. I'm not sure what the other numbers mean. Maybe someone else can chime in and shed some light.

Interestingly enought, the work order refers to the unit as "RMFD TELEMATICS CTRL" -- I wonder if RMFD means remanufactured...

Jose

Very interesting information. On what date did the dealer do the work?

According to the latest ETK, your part number 84 10 9 132 711 was used for 10/2005 - 10/2006. There is actually a newer version and that is 84 10 9 115 729 which is spec'd from 10/2006 and on. Because the ETK is dated 8/2006 I have no way of knowing if anything newer than that exists. So at the least yours is 1 version old. It's good to know that it works better than the previous version (what is the build date of your car?).

The dealer did the work last week. What you say is interesting, confusing, and somehow contradicts what's on the new TCU label. See the third line, it has a 25.01.2007 date. But again, the work order refers to it as RMFD.

Also, the installation should have been done about a month ago, but it wasn't because according to the dealer the part was on back order. They had to wait a couple of weeks to get the part.

There is one function that has not improved... phonebook update. It still takes a couple of times of coming/going before any updates to the phone's address book gets downloaded to the car.

The build date of my car is 12/04. But, that is irrelevant in this case as the TCU module in the car is not original. Read this post for what happened.

Jose

Hey Jose-

You think you are confused! Get this, my TCU/Assist module part number isn't even in the BMW ETK ! And I can't find it on Realoem. So basically I have no idea about install dates. The sticker on it says Motorola and the build date is 6/12/2004.

You mentioned that yours is RFMD, which is a remanufactured part, but what I don't get is that I read somewhere in a BMW TIS bulletin that the TCU/Assist modules could not be reprogrammed and had to be replaced outright. So at least it appears that they can be remanufactured and recoded since that seems what BMW is doing.

NICE! Did you go to Lauderdale BMW?

Rich

Hey Rich, yeah I went to Lauderdale BMW. My service rep is Kevin. HE IS AWESOME!!!!!

jose

By any chance does the TCU play a role in determining any issues that may arise in pairing your bluetooth phone to your car?

Malave, it plays EVERY ROLE in determining any issues. The TCU (Telematics Control Unit) is the module that contains/controls the bluetooth function of your BMW. If you're having problems, I suggest you create a new post with the problem you're having. There's a ton of very knowledgable folks in this forum.

Jose