[ktosiek]

Hello guys,

Just last week I became the owner of BMW 5 G31 in Sophisto Grey. It's my first car from BMW (before mostly had Audi) so I have some questions/small issues that I hope you can help me with.

1) Default driver's profile
- Whenever I enter the car - I have to confirm that I want to load my own profile. If I forget - I end up having "Guest" settings. Any way to change this?

2) Is there an option to have different equalizer settings for each source - radio/carpay/bluetooth?

3) Sometimes my driver's profile seem to forget seat settings. It adjusts steering wheel/mirrors - but not the seat. Is it some common issue?

4) How do you adjust the tailgate height?

5) Is there some easy way to display the current radio station name and average fuel consumption in the instrument cluster?

6) Any way to play youtube/netflix without some special hacks/dongles etc.?

7) Is there a way to have navigation with satelite view (default graphics is so simple and retro compared to Audi/Mercedes)?

8) Is there any nice solution to hang some shopping bag/groceries in the trunk? There is plenty of space, but I hate when my bags are flying around without any way to fix them in one place.

Thank you in advance for feedback!

[LuvMyE92]

Congratulations on the new car!

1. If you associate a profile with the current fob, it should do what you wish.

2. No

3. No. Sometimes when you change driver profiles, it only adjusts the seat if you unlock the car with a fob associated to a profile.

4. Not sure, read the manual.

5. Not at the same time.

6. No.

7. Not that I know of.

8. There should be at least one hook in there to hang bags. They are black and hard to see.

[Qsilver7]

If you didn’t I know…there’s an owners manual built into iDrive which has multiple search features. One of the search features is by KEYWORD. You can type or speak the word you need to search and it will give a description and sometimes there’s links in the description that will open up to additional info on the iDrive screen.

For example, if you need to adjust the Tailgate and don’t know how or can’t find it in settings..simply open the owners manual and do a keyword search for TAILGATE.

Here’s a video I found doing a quick search on youtube…it is an earlier version of iDrive (looks like ID5 or ID6)…but watching the video the instructions are just like the ones for my 2014 X5 which has an even earlier versions of iDrive (ID4):

Current radio station and fuel consumption can be displayed at the same time…but in multiple location either on the iDrive screen or the instrument cluster. Again, if you get an understanding of how to set up radio info and OBC info…these things can be always displayed. One example is if you have the radio selected using the button next to the idrive dial (or if you’ve saved your favorite radios stations {AM/FM/SATELLITE} to PRESETS…you can use the scroll wheel on the steering wheel…and if you have HUD …a list of your stations will appear (if you don’t have HUD the will appear on the cluster display). If you have OBC info selections for fuel consumption, then you can use the BC button on the tip of the turn indicator to scroll through all the selections you made to appear in the cluster with each press of the BC button.

Example of how easy it is to use the owners manual embedded into iDrive using the KEYWORD search feature. There’s also pictures and embedded videos (which are very interesting and educational):

[Dephead2004]

7. Try the excellent app AAiDrive. It has a satellite map used for navigation built in along with many other useful features like notifications to your Idrive screen for id5 or 6

[ktosiek]

Thanks guys for all your feedback. I plan to study manual fully in the next couple of days

One more thing - is equalizer and treble/bass settings connected? I mean in all my previous cars I only could adjust bass/mids/treble - now there is separate setting for treble/base, but also the whole equalizer. Is one affecting the other or how do they work?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by ktosiek

Thanks guys for all your feedback. I plan to study manual fully in the next couple of days

One more thing - is equalizer and treble/bass settings connected? I mean in all my previous cars I only could adjust bass/mids/treble - now there is separate setting for treble/base, but also the whole equalizer. Is one affecting the other or how do they work?

Not sure what system you have, but on B&W, there is a Bass and Treble slider on the ends of the Eq. Yes, they are connected to the bass and treble sliders on the previous screen.

Congrats on your first BMW.

[ktosiek]

Thanks again for all your feedback - very helpful. I have one more question. Is this small compartment, left from the steering wheel, also closing so "ugly" for you? For me - if I try to close it without pressing the button/latch - I have to use force to get it locked into place.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by ktosiek

Thanks again for all your feedback - very helpful. I have one more question. Is this small compartment, left from the steering wheel, also closing so "ugly" for you? For me - if I try to close it without pressing the button/latch - I have to use force to get it locked into place.

I can’t say I have that issue but I do know that little cubby is a pain point for many owners. Mostly what I read is that people wish it were lined because things rattle in there on the hard plastic.

It’s also a weird shape and not much can fit in there, such as a sunglass case. My guess is the prior owner of yours tried to jam something in there and forced it to close which stressed the plastic latch. Check eBay for a replacement.

[AP]

That small cubby hole is lined. At least it is on my 3 month car. I think I’m right in saying that it was not like only initially in the cars life, at some point it changed possibly LCI or sooner

My 2017 model it wasn’t but 3 month old model it is

And mines closes just fine

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by AP

That small cubby hole is lined. At least it is on my 3 month car. I think I’m right in saying that it was not like only initially in the cars life, at some point it changed possibly LCI or sooner

My 2017 model it wasn’t but 3 month old model it is

And mines closes just fine

I'm pretty sure mine is lined too, but I believe they all were not over model years or production date. I haven't really felt the need to research the cutoffs.

[AP]

Me too. Far better things to be doing!

[ktosiek]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

I can’t say I have that issue but I do know that little cubby is a pain point for many owners. Mostly what I read is that people wish it were lined because things rattle in there on the hard plastic.

It’s also a weird shape and not much can fit in there, such as a sunglass case. My guess is the prior owner of yours tried to jam something in there and forced it to close which stressed the plastic latch. Check eBay for a replacement.

Thanks, it's a brand new car, straight from the factory, so there was no previous owner. I checked some of the dealers cars today and it seems to close a bit better, less force needed. Perhaps mine just needs to 'break in'? a bit?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by ktosiek

Thanks, it's a brand new car, straight from the factory, so there was no previous owner. I checked some of the dealers cars today and it seems to close a bit better, less force needed. Perhaps mine just needs to 'break in'? a bit?

Ah, brand new, next time in for an oil change, have them check it out. Could be a bad unit from factory.

[ktosiek]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Ah, brand new, next time in for an oil change, have them check it out. Could be a bad unit from factory.

Thanks, I might. Or it just gets better with some usage. I'm just used to Audi, where those compartments close nice and "plush". Here it's sort of plastic on plastic hard snap.

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by AP

Me too. Far better things to be doing!

like spamming the g60 forum?

[Warp Ten]

That little cubby left of the steering wheel has been a source of frustration for many, as it is sometime difficult to keep closed. There have been one or more threads here about this, so search is a good idea. When I first saw a thread on this cubby not latching, I had not even known it existed on my car. So I went out an found it and opened it. Sure enough, when I tried to close it it kept popping open. Finally got it to stay closed and I haven't opened it since. --Bob

[ktosiek]

Hi guys,

One more question. Has anyone successfully bought an addon via BMW connected store, but that’s only available in a different country? For example Drive Recorder? It’s available to buy online for most EU countries but for Poland. Is there some walk around?

Is the soft close function slightly different in BMW than for example in Audi? In my A6, if I closed the door with enough force - they just closed and the soft close mechanism didn't do anything. Here, in BMW, it seems that even if the door is closed with enough force, the soft close motor is still working, pulling the door and positioning them on the latch. Am I correct? For me it's a bit strange, because it should only help if it's needed (the door is not shut hard enough).

[ktosiek]

And is the squeeking/cracking/popping of the dashboard normal when the car sit in the sun a bit and then cools down? It's really almost like somebody would be playing with bubblewrap...

[Dephead2004]

Originally Posted by ktosiek

And is the squeeking/cracking/popping of the dashboard normal when the car sit in the sun a bit and then cools down? It's really almost like somebody would be playing with bubblewrap...

There was a fix for that. I believe it involved removing the speaker grille and applying some felt

[ktosiek]

Originally Posted by Dephead2004

There was a fix for that. I believe it involved removing the speaker grille and applying some felt

Thanks, I tried searching the old topics, but nowhere any real solution. I hoped that getting a new car at the end of it's production cycle will keep me safe from such problems. They should be resolved by now by BMW, but seems like they are not...

[COBodom]

Originally Posted by AP

That small cubby hole is lined. At least it is on my 3 month car. I think I’m right in saying that it was not like only initially in the cars life, at some point it changed possibly LCI or sooner

My 2017 model it wasn’t but 3 month old model it is

And mines closes just fine

Same here, my 2018 car had ugly plastic on the inside of that cubby, my 2021 LCI has the lining. I think they corrected it before the LCI as I vaguely remember seeing the lining in some late pre-LCI cars too.

[ktosiek]

And what's the best way to regulate rear AC temperature from the iDrive/front seat? I can't find this function - I can only disable/enable AC for the rear seat. I have the 4-zone climate control.