Weird issues - a "Ghost in the Machine"?
 

Hi all, Anyone else having these issues?

• Computer voice comes on while driving, without pressing any buttons, and says "say a command" - this then mutes radio, then stops after a bit, then starts doing it again?!
• bluetooth is connected to my bberry - no issue there
• while listening to sat radio, the channels change - again without touching anything

Not sure what is going on, but if anyone had had these issues, please post them and what was done to correct the issues.

Thanks!

are you sure you're not hitting the steering wheel buttons by mistake since those will do what you described?

No hitting of any buttons - which is why i stated above "without pressing any buttons"

Sounds like some buttons or circuits are getting shorted. Anything unusual happen to the steering wheel, like did it get wet recently?

Nothing that I am aware of. Winter weather has settled in here in Alberta, Canada, so I turned on the heated steering wheel, but that is about it.

It is the weirdest thing, and at first I thought I must be accidentally hitting the steering wheel buttons. I kept my hands well away, and my wife was able to confirm zero contact with any buttons, i-drive, etc.

I just hope this is not the start of something more serious...

u get this voice command from BB if the hot button on the left side of the phn is pressed. do u any thing pressing the sides of phn?

The bb was in holster, and in my wife's purse - i don't think the side buttons are active while in bb holster. Also, there is the matter of the sat channels changing as well - there is something up with this and i will update this again after I drive today.

Serious WAG follows...

Is it possible that when heated the steering wheel covering expands/shifts just enough to occasionally activate the voice command and/or channel change buttons? For example, when you change you hand position / grip in turns, etc..

Funf Dreisig

No, I don't think so - there was zero pressing of buttons. Tested by holding only top of wheel and waited for it to happen again, it did. And there is the matter of the changing sat channels as well.
I will be out in the X again today and will update this post with whatever occurs.

Perhaps there is some connection between heated steering wheel on/off - i will watch for that carefully and test different scenarios.

could be a coil spring - that's the bit that connects the buttons to the loom. Does it happen only when you are turning the steering wheel? Or does it happen when the steering wheel is straight as well?

more about steering wheel buttons here

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/e7...%20Cluster.pdf

FWIW I'm not suggesting that YOU pressed any buttons. Rather that the heating of the steering wheel may cause the outer skin to press down on the edges of some of the steering wheel buttons. If this is the case, it could do it every time the heater turned on/off whether or not you were even touching the steering wheel.

As I said this was just a WAG. But if it were my X5 I'd see if turning off the heated steering wheel made any difference.

Funf Dreisig

I will be checking for that - see my previous message ( i edited it). I will start out today with heat off and see what happens, and then see what happend with heat on. The buttons are isolated from the leather and i just cannot see how they could be 'pressed' by anything.

i will do some detailed investigating and update this later.

I was hoping to hear that other members had similar issues and an easy fix. no such luck, at least not yet.

Could be a bad switch pack on the steering wheel. Is the voice command button on the same side as the up/down buttins that changes radio channels?

They are on opposite sides.

Funf Dreisig