? Bluetooth class action lawsuit against BMW Conv.??

[Docem2003]

I have heard thought the grapevines that some are considering a class action lawsuit for misleading advertising against BMW. Supposedly, BMW advertised that Bluetooth was an option on all its E46 models. However, it can not be installed in the convertibles. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

 

[CaveDweller]

I haven't heard about a lawsuit, but I'd consider joining one since it was NOT disclosed to me prior to my purchase that Bluetooth was not possible or that electing BMW Assist would prohibit its installation. Everything I saw in thier advertising online stated that it was available. Now I'm being told it isn't possible and I have emails from BMWNA stating that they can't disable the overpriced Assist system and retrofit me.

 

[MrElussive]

BMW Assist is so god damn stupid anyways. As is Tele Aid, OnStar, and those other services. Who the hell needs the ability to push a button in your car and have some concierge person make hotel reservations, send flowers, purchase tickets, or any other stupid shit like that. I mean honestly....wtf is the point? If you're too busy to do it yourself, you probably already have a secretary that does that stuff for you.

 

[deutsch100]

Yeah, I agree. BMW assist is so frickin lame. You only get one year free, then they charge the hell out of you. I tried it one time in my 04 330cic...it took like 10 mins to connect, then halfway through, the connection dropped (and I was not moving).

I am really pissed about Bluetooth. Before I got my cic, I went out and got the Motorola V600 (which at the time was so hard to get, and tons of $$$). I did this because BMW told me that all 2004 E46s were ready for Bluetooth. For a while I was told about a retro-fit coming out in August....now it looks like all of us were screwed and lied too. Sucks!!!

 

[Merlion]

Forget about all those original BMW options. The price itself is crazy. I just had a set of Motorola Bluetooth Kit installed into my 318iA. My installer had the steering wheel buttons hard-wired into the bluetooth kit control panel. It works perfectly. We don't have Nav screen here (Singapore), so I do not miss anything on any screen. Sing$220 total. And I'm using a Sony Ericsson T68i.

 

[drkeng]

Merlion: Do you mean that Motorola kit that comes with a little remote looking device that you're supposed to stick on your dash somewhere?? Also, what about speaker and mic?? Did they install them separately (or does the caller come over the car radio speakers)? If you have a convertible, where's the microphone?

 

[Merlion]

Yes. The rectangular control panel and is stuck on the dash. Independent speaker that is installed under the dashboard, in the footwell. A small mic is clipped next to the rear view mirror. In my case, I had a technicial that could hard-wire the steering wheel's button into the rectangular control panel so that I could 'answer' with the steering wheel button. Tested sound quality with a friend and he said I sounded normal.

 

[TheBry]

Let's bring this back on topic (mostly because I was screwed too)! We were talking about CONVERTIBLES.

I actually had a dealership tell me the BlueTooth option worked... ordered parts... scheduled installation... left car with dealer then got call saying they made a mistake -- BlueTooth is not supported in convertibles. They happily refunded my $600plus dollars for the parts and now I'm (blue)toothless.

The slap in the face was the fact that my convertible came with a BlueTooth passkey! Why the f*&$ would they put a passkey in my delivery kit if the freakin' car doesn't support BlueTooth?! For a company that prides itself on producing products with unending attention to detail -- this is one detail that got screwed up big time.

 

[2fast4u]

Unfortunately this is another reminder to me that our 50K plus 2004 Ci convertible with it's Sirius satellite capable radio still doesn't have that advertised feature apparently due to the navigation/assist features. You would think BMW would make issues like this and Bluetooth a high priority and fix them. It's apparent to me now that we are just customers and we don't count for much with BMW after they have our money.

VR

 

[Kirby]

It seems as though they have fixed it for 2005?

"Bluetooth phone preparation with functionality for BMW Assist offers users of some Bluetooth-equipped telephones the opportunity of using the wireless connection to select numbers from the phonebook and make / receive hands-free calls by simply using the multifunction steering wheel. This is differentiated from the ‘standard’ Bluetooth option by the addition of a telephone SIM card within the telephone control unit for the benefit of the BMW Assist system. "

http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2040910.004/bmw/1.html