Do you have this button?

[dreaminE46]

So I work at a BMW dealership and my car has this button under the center armrest.
I've asked around and no one has ever seen it in any other E46. (one salesman thinks my car was supposed to be a European model? Because they come with slightly different options)
My car is an '04. The blue tooth phone does not work but when I press the R/T button it says something about the phone. When I push this voice button my car starts talking to me. I can record a note and have it played back to me and even voice dial a number or save contacts in my car by voice.
I've never seen another E46 with this voice activation feature or the extra button. I'm just curious if anyone here knows anything about it.

Here is the button under the armrest:

It's kinda hard to see but it's the same as the button on every E46 steering wheel under the R/T button.


questions? comments? smart remarks?

[danewilson77]

Mines on Steering wheel...I donot have in center area, and I have no armrest...

Smart remark? Get a wheelskin...now!

[ZX9RBART]

smart remarks?

Its the secret "shut that bitch up" button which mutes your wife when she is in the passenger seat complaining that you never listen to her. Rare but coveted option.

[HavocNC]

Its the secret "shut that bitch up" button which mutes your wife when she is in the passenger seat complaining that you never listen to her. Rare but coveted option.

only in European models.

[dreaminE46]

Mines on Steering wheel...I donot have in center area, and I have no armrest...

Smart remark? Get a wheelskin...now!

all E46s with the multi function wheel have that button..but it never does anything..except for mine..when you push yours what happens?

[MJFX328]

Smart remark here.. Its obviously the phone button!

[dreaminE46]

Smart remark here.. Its obviously the phone button!

I think I should have left out the "smart remarks"
but the phone button is the R/T button

[MJFX328]

Dreamin, from lookin at the blurry pic I think it shows a face with some lines coming out of it.. hinting talking.. k sorry i'm done

[dreaminE46]

Dreamin, from lookin at the blurry pic I think it shows a face with some lines coming out of it.. hinting talking.. k sorry i'm done

Don't be sorry..I posted it to see what people had to say

[danewilson77]

I think I should have left out the "smart remarks"
but the phone button is the R/T button

LOL...I <3 you guys......

[hyptnochicken]

My car has bluetooth. The R/T button is radio/telephone, it works when my car is paired with the phone. The face? button either dials or answers the phone.

[dreaminE46]

so yours is an 05 or 06?
Mines an 04 so the blue tooth doesn't work..but on a car where blue tooth doesn't work when either of the 2 buttons are pushed nothing happens..
My car talks to me and does the functions mentioned before..
I just don't see how my car can be different from ever other E46..

[DamSutt1986]

Here's my wild guess. Someone needed a switch for something and that was the first OEM button they found for cheap, so they wired it in there to control something like neons or subwoofers or something.

Crazy? I think so.

[hyptnochicken]

so yours is an 05 or 06?
Mines an 04 so the blue tooth doesn't work..but on a car where blue tooth doesn't work when either of the 2 buttons are pushed nothing happens..
My car talks to me and does the functions mentioned before..
I just don't see how my car can be different from ever other E46..

Bluetooth came available in 05 for the convertibles (cannot say for everyone else). From what I understand that before that they had some kind of cell phone device that was hooked to BMW's version of Onstar.

[roverT604]

I believe in your trunk somewhere the bluetooth module is behind there where you can find the bluetooth pairing code. From there you can bluetooth pair your phone to your car.

[G. P. Burdell]

So I work at a BMW dealership and my car has this button under the center armrest.
I've asked around and no one has ever seen it in any other E46. (one salesman thinks my car was supposed to be a European model? Because they come with slightly different options)
...
I've never seen another E46 with this voice activation feature or the extra button. I'm just curious if anyone here knows anything about it.

No one at BMW of Chattanooga knows what the dealer-installed Bluetooth pairing button looks like?

Get out of the showroom and go down to the parts department...enthusiasts tend to know more about the cars than the salesmen do.

[dreaminE46]

There was nothing listed in parts..I tried that.
The shop foreman told me today that its a dealer installed option, like an alarm, for cars without blue tooth..it's supposed to make the blue tooth work.
it was a $2,000 option..and the blue tooth still doesn't work. That's why nobody understands it.
I mean why would someone pay 2k to add a button and still not have blue tooth?

Oh..and a few of the sales guys at work are major enthusiasts..more so than the parts guys..that's why I went to them first.

I believe in your trunk somewhere the bluetooth module is behind there where you can find the bluetooth pairing code. From there you can bluetooth pair your phone to your car.

I have the passkey in my owners manual...it just doesn't work.
:/

thanks for the input though.

[hyptnochicken]

Do you have the car's 4 digit pairing code? The dealer should be able to plug into the car's onboard computer and get it for you (probably cost you $50 though). After that your phone should be able to detect bluetooth, you enter the code into the phone for the handshake and you should be good to go.

[dreaminE46]

Do you have the car's 4 digit pairing code? The dealer should be able to plug into the car's onboard computer and get it for you (probably cost you $50 though). After that your phone should be able to detect bluetooth, you enter the code into the phone for the handshake and you should be good to go.

I already have the passkey..aka pairing code..but it just doesn't work.
It won't even get to the point where it asks me for the code.

[jfoj]

Pull the 2 radio fuses for about 30 seconds and see what happens. Just in case you do not know where the fuse box it, it is in the upper portion of the glove box. There should be a white card with a fuse legend.n

The bluetooth modules are easy to get locked up if you do something in the wrong order.

Most of the BMW documentation is not so accurate from what I have seen. My '06 vert does not need buttons pushed to pair. Just pair in the first 2 minutes that the key is on.

Also make sure your phone is in discoverable mode. Most bluetooth defaults the phone cannot be seen.

If you scan on your phone and you find the BMW bluetooth, you are probably over half way there.

If you phone does not find anything, then try following the pairing info you find around on the net, but I would expect that your phone should at least pick up the BMW bluetooth if you pull the fuses for about 30 seconds with the car off, then put the fuses back in and turn the key on so the radio works.

Good luck, I about pulled my hair out after 4 hours, then when the 2nd phone could not connect, I knew the problem was the car. Once fuses pulled, was back in business.

jfoj

[G. P. Burdell]

Oh..and a few of the sales guys at work are major enthusiasts..more so than the parts guys..that's why I went to them first.

Yes, but the Bluetooth kits pass through the parts guys' hands all the time.

I have the passkey in my owners manual...it just doesn't work.

If the dealer that sold you the car keeps owners' manuals for used cars in a central location, then it's very likely that you have the wrong passkey. I know someone who bought a used car recently from a dealer that keeps all of the used car owners' manuals in a big drawer. He found a card with the wrong passkey in the owner's manual folder. He had to remove a side panel in the trunk to expose the TCU and read the correct passkey off of its label. As roverT604 said, the only way to verify the passkey for your Bluetooth system is to get it from the label on the Bluetooth control unit in the trunk.

Also make sure that you are following the pairing procedure correctly. The parts or service guys should be able to print the pairing instructions for you.

[not2quick]

Voice recognition for Kit.
Micheal, there are 2 men in the alley. Micheal, we're outnumbered Micheal, success is highly unlikely.

[dreaminE46]

Pull the 2 radio fuses for about 30 seconds and see what happens. Just in case you do not know where the fuse box it, it is in the upper portion of the glove box. There should be a white card with a fuse legend.n

The bluetooth modules are easy to get locked up if you do something in the wrong order.

Most of the BMW documentation is not so accurate from what I have seen. My '06 vert does not need buttons pushed to pair. Just pair in the first 2 minutes that the key is on.

Also make sure your phone is in discoverable mode. Most bluetooth defaults the phone cannot be seen.

If you scan on your phone and you find the BMW bluetooth, you are probably over half way there.

If you phone does not find anything, then try following the pairing info you find around on the net, but I would expect that your phone should at least pick up the BMW bluetooth if you pull the fuses for about 30 seconds with the car off, then put the fuses back in and turn the key on so the radio works.

Good luck, I about pulled my hair out after 4 hours, then when the 2nd phone could not connect, I knew the problem was the car. Once fuses pulled, was back in business.

jfoj

Thanks for that advice..I'll go try that. I can pair my phone with an E90 system in a matter of seconds so I know the problem is my car...lol
My phone never picks up the signal from my car like it does other cars..so I'll try the fuse thing and see what happens.

[02325]

i got an idea, maybe a bad TCU. the are notorious for that.

[GunnerNell]

So I work at a BMW dealership and my car has this button under the center armrest.

'06 325 Ci Cabrio. Do I have this button under the armrest? Nope, nada.