Verizon Storm killed my Bluetooth
 

I bought a used 2006 X5 with 42K miles. It has nav and bluetooth. I have Verizon Storm Blackberry. I was able to successfully sync and use for about a month. Then all the sudden it just stopped working.

I took it to dealership. They charged me $124 for diagnose and said that the problem was caused by me using a phone that was NOT compatible with my X5's bluetooth and therefore it is not covered by warranty. To fix it would cost about $900 for new part and labor to re-program.

Am I really just out of luck here?

Sounds like you're asking if using a phone that was NOT compatible with your X5's bluetooth will damage you bluetooth? My guess in no. Before my iPhone I used a palm 700P which was not on the list but worked. My question would be what are they saying
happened to your bluetooth? Did they give you an explanation? Just take your vehicle to another dealer for a second opinion

+1 to this suggestion. Atlanta has a number of excellent dealers. That sounds like an experience typical of Global Imports. You might try United BMW Gwinnett-- they have historically had excellent service. The other I would recommend is Matt Swaim at Nalley BMW in Decatur. Matt has been a BMW Service Advisor for years, and he may be the best SA in the history of BMW. A good SA is key. They are not the ones who do the work, but they know how to get work done and care for customers.

Gwinnette United BMW tech is who told me that. But, I'll try the Matt at Decatur.

It just doesn't sound right that using a non-compatible phone can cause such catastrophic damage. I mean, it synched and worked for a good month or so, you know?

The tech told me that it may have worked just out of fluke. But after a while, it must have "jammed" up the software and caused it to go bazark.

Yeah.

All those "MAY HAVES" do not provide a technological explanation for equipment failure.
It just as well MAY HAVE been a bump in the road
that caused whatever the problem is. Who knows, you may get
it checked out somewhere else only to find the device partially
unplugged. Trust me, others have had the same kind of problem
with other things only to find that un-plugging and plugging
something back in solved the problem.

I couldn't agree with you more there. Only thing is that it's their(BMW dealer) word against mine. Who am I to argue that it's more likely the bluetooth failed because of some other reason than using incompatible phone?

Maybe I need to call BMW and ask the corporate office. Does anyone know what number to dial for that?

Thanks!

Here's a quick test... does any other Bluetooth phone work? If another compabitle BT phones works, then you are probably on your own. However, if a compatible BT phone does not work, then it is a warranty issue.

If another compabitle BT phones works then he's in great shape it's just his phone.

That's why your here. Once armed with enough information
then you can do like the rest of us. Approach them kindly
with enough info so they can have a different vantage point.

You can try BMWNA but IMO you would be barking up the wrong
tree. Better to go to another dealer after you have tried another
compatible phone and it doesn't work.

If another phone works then you know it's your phone
not the vehicle.

If it failed for some other reason and it under warranty then
you're good to go.

Alright, so I know that iPhone is "compatible" phone. I'll try it tomorrow and see. Now, if the "compatible" phone does NOT work, then are we saying that it is NOT my Storm that caused the problem? I'm thinking, that even if iPhone does NOT work, the dealer will say that it isn't working now because my Storm already "broke" it.

What do you think?