Want to upgrade MK2 nav - not sure what to do!

[mattjones17]

Hi
My dad owns a BMW E39 touring, 1998. It is fitted with a MK2 CD nav, which he would like to upgrade. The firmware and map disc on it are old - with the disc dating back to about 1999.

I am aware that apparently NAVTEQ have recently stopped releasing official maps, and there seem to be a lot more 'unofficial' website offering discs than the last time I looked into this, about six months ago.

What I am trying to find out is if these sellers are reputable or not. I'm aware that the disc might not be a BMW OEM part, which doesnt really concern me as long as it works. Some of them promise 7 digit postcode search and some promise 3 digit postcode search - at the moment the MK2 nav seems incapable of this, so would this feature only be unlocked with a newer map disc?


Best regards
Matt

[Brian-bmw]

BMW switched map disk providers. They now use Tele Atlas data. You can get the latest 2010 map update disks from a dealer. They setup an online link for North American folks, so there may be a similar link for European folks.

[mattjones17]

Thanks, I'll look in to this. Would my system be a MAP DISPLAY or a 1-DIN - those are the two categories on the TeleAtlas website.

Would I get any benefits from purely upgrading my firmware - or would it also need a new map disc for any benefits at all?

[Roy in GA]

Better to upgrade to at least a MKIII or even a MKIV with latest OS.

[mattjones17]

Yeah you're probably right - thing is that will cost me into the hundreds, for a system that is probably not as good as a brand new TomTom would be out of the box for £100. If it's just a matter of £15 for a CD (which I've now shelled out for!), then it's worth it, but otherwise I don't really need satnav that much.

Is the MK4 a good sytem? Would it still communicate with my OBC to give me arrival times on the MID etc?

EDIT: My current software is SW 2-1/25 - probably the one it shipped with. Will that HAVE to be updated as well?

[Roy in GA]

Yes you should update it to 2-1/81. You need an OS disk of Ver.21 or higher to do that. Download it or buy at the dealer. In the US a Ver.32 disk costs less that $10 from the dealer. P/N 01 59 0 141 891.