Radio change in E46

Code the radio to the car?

If that is required, it can be done in a couple of minutes. If you have an independent BMW service center in your area, he will probably have the computer to do the coding.

I'm not sure the radio has to be coded, but I suppose it does. I added a BMW Alarm to my daughter's '00 E46 car, and the alarm would not operate until I had it coded. I guess the same idea would be true of the radio.

I think my kid paid about $45 at the independent BMW garage, and the guy did it while she watched.

If you plug in the new radio and it doesn't work, then you have to get it coded for the car. If the connectors fit, then the pin outs should be the same.

Jeff Strickland schrieb:

Sorry, i dont know the right word for that. A friend of mine upgraded the radio in an E39 to navigation system. Afterwards he had to bring the car to BMW service to make the navigation system functional.

Thank you for your answer. Well i will plug it in and then i will see.

greets, Sebastian

The radio knows if it's not in the car. I tried powering mine up on the bench and it just said "Locked" (or similar.) Whether it wants to be in 'a' BMW or 'its' BMW is another matter!

I forgot about that.

The radio has an anti theft feature that works by entering a unique code FOR THE RADIO. If the radio is removed, it assumes it has been stolen, and the way to get it working again is to input the code, mine is five digits in a range of 1 to 6, and the digits are entered by the station preset buttons.

So, the OP may or may not have to have the car programmed to take a different radio, I'm not sure about this and my logic says the car ought to not care so the programming should not be required. BUT, the radio he's installinig will be in Stolen Mode and will not function until he inputs the correct code for the radio.

I FORGOT A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION Each radio unit has an identification code built in. The purpose is to make it difficult to steal a radio. You MUST know the correct identification code for the radio you are installing, or it will not work.

I told you earlier of my adventures with a new car alarm, and told you that maybe the different radio would have to be programmed to the car. I'm not sure the car has to be programmed for the new radio, or not. But the radio has a unique identification code programmed inside, and you must know this code or the radio will not work.

The idea is, if the radio won't work unless a bad guy has its code, then he's not going to steal the radio to sell on eBay. If you do not know what the code is for your radio, it will not work when you plug it in. If you do not know the code for the radio you are removing, it also will not work when you plug it back in.

If you have a radio unit that you do not know the code for, the only way to recover the code is to ask your Authorized BMW Dealership.

is there a DEAFAULT CODE for all radio's ? and where/how do you input that code or is it done some other way ??

Not on a 2004 it doesn't. Disconnect it - Locked. Reconnect it to the car - unlocked. It talks to the car electronics to work out if it should work but whether this is specific to the car it came from is another question. Logically it should only work in the car it came from, hence why a unit would need dealer reprogramming of either car or head to make them play nicely together.

There is no default code, that would defeat the purpose of the code at all.

If the CODE is not input, the radio refuses to function, which defeats the reason to steal one.

If the wrong code is input three times (I think it's 3 times) then the radio locks out. This prevents one from hunting for a code by entering them until the radio turns on.

The code is input via the channel preset buttons.

Okay, I can go with that. The radio talks to the car, and if the radio is unplugged then plugged back into the same car, this communication tells the raido it is not stolen, and the vehicle operator is not burdened with inputting the code as is the case with the older cars, like mine.

So, the OP is replacing his radio, so by definition the radio talkign to the car is going to keep the radio locked out because it will think it has been stolen. He can only get around this by taking the car to a service center where they can access the car's programming. Is that right?

Jeff Strickland schrieb:

I will get the radio on june the first. I will put it in and then i will report. I got so many different opinions about this topic, now iam really confused ;) I read that most/all of the radios built after 2004/2005(?) do not have a radio code or radio-card any more. Well, my car is from 10/2004, and the radio i bought is from 01/2005. Iam really curios about what will happen ;)

Greetz, Sebastian

tion the radio talkign to the

That's right. No more code. I did this yesterday on my '03 325i. BMW did the right thing getting rid of these annoying code. One more good thing which comes out of it is now you can disconnect your battery without worrying about resetting radio code.

Replacing the radio is elementary. Remove the trim on top of the golve box. Use a stiff putty knife to gently pry away the trim starting from the door side working your way in. After that trim is removed, remove the trim surrounding the radio from the top and the sides. This exposes two phillips screws. Remove the screws to pull the radio out. There are two electrical plugs behind the radio. The small one just pull out. The large one you need to grab the plastic lock by your fingers to slide up in order to release the plug.

That's right. No more code. I did this yesterday on my '03 325i. BMW did the right thing getting rid of these annoying code. One more good thing which comes out of it is now you can disconnect your battery without worrying about resetting radio code.

Replacing the radio is elementary. Remove the trim on top of the golve box. Use a stiff putty knife to gently pry away the trim starting from the door side working your way in. After that trim is removed, remove the trim surrounding the radio from the top and the sides. This exposes two phillips screws. Remove the screws to pull the radio out. There are two electrical plugs behind the radio. The small one just pull out. The large one you need to grab the plastic lock by your fingers to slide up in order to release the plug.

QUESTION ... Is there no longer a theft deterent in the radio?

If there IS a theft deterent, how does the radio handle being moved from one car to another?

Apparently BMW placed more emphasis in stealing the car than stealing the radio. Just try to steal a BMW. See if you can drive it away. Actually I think nowadays thieves steal a car to sell it to someone to take it apart and sell as parts because stealing a car has become so much more difficult.

No. I don't know the answer to your question. There is apparently no theft deterent on the radio.

Last month I replaced the cassette player with a business cd-player in my E46-touring from 2000. It was plug and play, no coding needed. period.

Sebastian Adamczyk schrieb:

Thanks for all your replies. Today i put the new radio in. Just plugged in the backside cable und that was it! Only had to turn it on, no code, no additional work by BMW needed.

Greetz, Sebastian