E53 Bluetooth - Unable to pair new phones
 

Hi Guys,

I have an E53 4.4i (2005 Australian Upgrade model), and the Bluetooth seems to be malfunctioning. When I first got the car, I had no problems pairing both my Nokia and my Wife's Nokia, however as time has gone on, we've both bought new phones (I have an iPhone 3GS, and she has my old 3G), and we can't seem to be able to get the computer into the Bluetooth Pairing mode, which is outlined in the supplementary guide in the Owners Handbook.

I follow the guide, which says to turn the Phone on (which it is, and discoverable). Then I press the button inside the Centre Console for more than a second, and turn the key to Accessories (position 1). After that, nothing happens. I've started the car with the button held down, I've turned the Key to position 2, still nothing. I'm expecting to see "Bluetooth Pairing" on the dashboard screen, but nothing happens.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to reset the Bluetooth Module (by pulling the fuse), or is the module itself faulty? Just for the record, my Nokia 6233 still pairs fine with the car when it is started. I just can't pair any new phones with the system.

Thanks guys.

This might help.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ing-05-x5.html
http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/bl...Pairing_05.pdf

When my module went bad, it drained my battery. I couldn't access or pair when I had the car charged up. I pulled the fuse and it started working again, but it started to drain my battery again. Took it to the dealer and they agreed that my TCU was bad. It's not fixed and I just insert the fuse on long trips to use the bluetooth.

There was recall on the TCU's a few years ago but looks like they pulled as I tried giving them the recall #'s found on another board....but they said they couldn't find them. BMWNA could find them either (or said it didn't apply to the x5)

I would pull your fuse. It might be 73 in the back, reinsert and see what happens. Don't be surprised if you battery drains. You'll know its faulty if the red light doesn't disappear when no phones are paired.

This happened to my X5. I could use existing paired phones but could not get into pairing mode. It turned out to be the wiring at the TCU that BMW had to fix.