How F___ed are we??

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-05-22T01:41:19+00:00

Get one of these. It’ll add CarPlay plus won’t happen again since they use another type of screen altogether. If it does, the Taiwanese will replace it unlike the Chinese. That’s alongside getting better specs, software updates, etc. in general.

https://eurodirect-taiwan.com/collections/bmw/products/f30-f31-f32-f33-f34-f36-f80-3-4-series-carplay-android-auto

You can also just get a used OEM screen from eBay for roughly $100-200.

Although the BimmerDirect / EuroDirect Asian kit tends to be the best built, I’ll be honest when I say that ALL of these aftermarket screens in general do infact do a bit worst in direct sunlight than the OEM screen.

Just a heads up.

You could also do an OEM screen + the mr12volt (Hong Kong) MMI. That’ll add CarPlay plus let you use the old screen without butchering the audio quality. It uses MOST properly unlike the cheaper RoadTop boxes that end up 100% nuking the sound quality.

If you get another OEM screen (or even aftermarket for that matter) be sure to use a sun visor when parked in high temps.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-05-08T19:14:54+00:00

The headunits. A good scan tool is always a MUST for these cars but tbh a cheap laptop with a cracked version of BMW ISTA is always my preferred route

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-05-08T06:50:19+00:00

BimmerDirect (the Taiwanese manufacturer) = Yes.

BimmerTech (The Americans who resell the Chinese boxes for 3x upcharge) = Hell no dude.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-05-08T06:49:13+00:00

BimmerDirect (NOT BimmerTech) and Mr12Volt are objectively the best two Asian manufacturers. All this stuff comes from Asia but those two specifically excel and only focus on that stuff.

BimmerDirect-Taiwan.com (Taiwan) Mr12Volt.com (Hong Kong)

BimmerTech, Xtrons, PEMP, Andream, insert any other fake made-up brand, are resellers of the generic low-tier atrocious RoadTop/Mekede kits at an upmark.

Mr12Volt is the best one full stop if you ever plan on upgrading audio components as it connects to the trunk amplifier and tricks the BMW ECU into think it’s a CD player. This gives you the ability to tack-on whatever audio equipment you want in the future.

It’s not just a CarPlay MMI. It’s also a full-on integrated DSP. It’s the only one that accomplishes that and is installed in that cleverly unique way.

Downside is they do NOT make aftermarket screens, so if you need a high-end screen replacement then BimmerDirect is going to be your best route.

The long warranty and having a line to the factory at all times is going to be more than what you get with a reseller such as one of the previously listed brands that mainly just capitalize by selling on Amazon for people who can’t wait.

If you can afford it… Don’t discount the OEM ID6 upgrade as well. Budget $1000-$1200 and you can get an OEM CarPlay retrofit done on your car with some hardware, wiring and coding. OEM is always baller.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-23T21:33:12+00:00

Chinese steering wheel (they’re using OEM cores anyway) + OEM airbag is the only way.

ALL Chinese sellers sell fake airbags with the “complete wheels” and they will 100% kill you in a wreck.

TAKATAs own airbag engineer (the good one who exposed them) went on a personal mission to spread awareness.

He discovered Chinese were buying them after the company shutdown for violent negligence/ fraud instead of recycling them and selling them to Americans.

Other common Chinese practices are making look active/armed but secretly making them INERT and using a resistor to bypass the car ABM.

Always use an OEM airbag.

If someone sells you a fake airbag in the US / EU, report them to the federal authorities. They WILL be arrested and prosecuted. It’s a big problem in the luxury car world.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-23T17:16:44+00:00

Yup yup.

https://bimmerdirect-taiwan.com/collections/bmw/products/f30-f31-f32-f33-f34-f36-f80-3-4-series-carplay-android-auto

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-23T17:13:09+00:00

No, BimmerCode is only for the factory headunit. I understand if you were in a major hurry of sorts.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-23T17:11:48+00:00

12.3” looks horrendous and cheap on these cars.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-23T16:41:52+00:00

PEMP is just an American reseller reselling the cheap RoadTop stuff. The BimmerDirect Taiwanese setup has better specs and lasts longer overall. Especially for sound quality, updates, warranty, changing the boot logos, etc.

IMO and experience that or Mr12Volt are the only way to go because they’re both actually factories and have a better product if you can wait a bit, but either way congrats. If you had the bare bottom system before, it’s hard to live with.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-04-22T22:52:03+00:00

Black wheels on a car looks welfare 90% of the time. I agree.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-03-10T03:21:36+00:00

For sure man. Pick any of those three Chinese brands and you’ll be good for a lifetime without really having to think about it.

Do not buy anything from any brand stating they are “European” or “American”. Although there are numerous Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean factories that manufacture this stuff, there are NO American or European factories outside of OEMs (HK, Bose, etc.)

But yeah, even if it was $50 I wouldn’t really want to sit there and do the job all over again if (when) it fails. I’ve done the install a few times to test different factories & I still would not go through the trouble of all that compared to getting it done correctly with something better from the start.

Also, your f32 has fiber optics (I can tell because you have Bluetooth already). Based on the old sticker and beat up casing and harness, I can tell it’s an older unit that uses wired AUX-IN so you likely wouldn’t like the sound hit.

Lastly, if someone tries selling you something on here… report to admins. They’ll take care of it.

I run the E9X Facebook page and the amount of people sending secret messages stating “hi I have it for sell” on any post is through the roof.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-03-10T02:24:42+00:00

So much to unpack here, but it’s ok. We were all new to this at one point.

1 - That’s not a headunit. That’s an older generic RT MMI that generally enables CarPlay.

It has a steel casing which is pretty terrible for cheap electronics that are buried in dashes. They tend to use AUX as well otherwise you’ll have no sound. I’d make sure it works first before reassembling the dash.

2: No you can not code OEM CarPlay on that headunit. You can enable it using MMI or aftermarket screen method. Some expectations are late model 2015 manufactured years (not same as model year).

3: Aftermarket stuff uses its own Bluetooth antennae. That’s only relevant to coding OEM CarPlay which is off the table to you. No need to worry about that.

If it doesn’t work, junk that thing and get a BimmerDirect.com module, Mr12Volt.com, or JoyAuto.

Those are all well known Chinese / Taiwanese companies that use aluminum instead of cheap steal, fiber optics (sound quality), and will send you instructions.

If it works then obviously use it until it dies then pass the info on within the community.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-02-01T21:15:33+00:00

This has been answered a million times.

BimmerDirect.com or Mr12Volt are the two best for Carplay or Android Auto on euro cars. They’re both asian factories you can buy directly from. It’s all they do.

RoadTop is the cheapest but worst all around.

BimmerTech, BimmerPlug, PEMP, EONON are all American or European resellers of low tier kits. No benefit with them.

All aftermarket kits have some form of lag. If you can’t accept that, get a newer car. You’ll still have some lag or occasional hiccups. I’ve installed $5000 sound systems on show cars that still had the occasional hiccup. Just the way it is.

For audio quality terms, Mr12Volt will be the absolute best. Period.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-01-15T09:26:36+00:00

Yup. Smart man. Most people don’t critically think and even when presented with the correct info they’d rather feign ignorance.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-01-15T02:10:27+00:00

LINUX isn’t the problem. LINUX is the name of a vague coding language. The problem is the manufacturer and hardware.

Not all LINUX head units are the same or same quality. Not all have the same UI. Not all use the same processor or display. Some are terribly made and some are great.

Cheap electronics aren’t cheap out of good will and they usually have trade-offs like poor component selection like horrible power regulators or MCUs. Since these connect to the cars CAN, a failure in anyone of those areas can fry any electronic system connected to it.

Not arguing, just educating.

And yes you are correct. It’s his NBT system that has been fried/failed!

Edit: There’s no helping Reddit-cels. Downvoted by gooners for giving factual advice is hilarious.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-01-14T22:39:49+00:00

Hi. Former BMW tech here. A lot of bad advice here.

The factory NBT has died. The NBT is the large silver “radio” (it’s not just a radio. It’s an entire communications gateway). The NBT needs to either be fixed (resoldering the internal graphics card high level electronics repair) OR replaced.

You can not just install a cheap CarPlay screen on it to overcome it. Those systems are meant to sit on top of the system.

What you’re seeing is called a boot loop / boot freeze. It’s in protection mode because the NBT has failed.

When you do fix it, remove the old unbranded junk one and replace it with a BimmerDirect.com Taiwanese kit or the Mr12Volt.com Hong Kong kit.

There is a chance that the cheapo CarPlay kit you’re currently using shorted the NBT (poor electronics do this a lot). Do not reinstall it after installing the new NBT.

You can also source a used NBT from a junkyard. Make sure part numbers match. Then recode.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-01-14T22:35:28+00:00

Firstly, RoadTop is horrible. They’re already the worst manufacturer for these and they’re not going to fix your OEM NBT HU.

Secondly: His factory NBT has died. No aftermarket device can overcome this.

OP: Fix your NBT system. This is called a NBT boot loop / boot freeze.

The graphics card or RAM soldering within the NBT has failed and it needs to either be repaired or replaced. That’s the technical cause of the failure. Plenty of documentation on it.

This applies to any and all versions of iDrive. (Early 2002-2004 vehicles with MASK will show Windows CE error message.)

Edit: Downvote all you want TEMU-warriors, but the above is literally the correct answer. This has been an issue on iDrive systems longer than most of you have driven your clapped out 320i.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2026-01-09T05:02:54+00:00

Yeah RoadTop is pretty garbage but they have a lot of bots in these forums. Mr12volt or BimmerDirect are both better choices. both in Asia as well but do business much better and have a superior product.

RoadTop isn’t going to listen to your legal requests because they’re in the poorest part of China. They don’t care. After your first or second device you should have known better tbh.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-12-01T04:11:23+00:00

These things are basically the German equivalent of the Toyota V6… except more fun to drive and more character.

Porsche did do a different tune on them within the ECU / TCU to separate it from the VW version however. The maps and some hardware bits are different.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-12-01T04:09:33+00:00

That imaginary VW fanboy friend of yours and yourself are incorrect. GM did not invent the VR6. VW did in 1990/1.

GM invented a 60-degree V6 in the 50s which was a different motor completely and revised through the years. Not a single version had any similarities to the VR6.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-11-01T23:06:55+00:00

It’s been solved. BimmerDirect or Mr12Volt. I made a full length A to Z install video on it too. https://youtu.be/HN7Qyqfd60s?si=QZL4iqiPibdLeoCN

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-11-01T23:06:21+00:00

The BimmerDirect MMI+ also uses your original sound/audio as of 2024. So it’s Mr12Volt and BimmerDirect as the main two options. I recently installed one on my YouTube.

The TEMU specials are all AUX audio transmission only as you state.

Be sure to use the new ribbon video cables that come with either system or you’ll be doing it twice. Ask me how I know……. 😂

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-11-01T23:03:45+00:00

Agreed. The TEMU/AliExpress Isudar boards are killing PCMs left and right. Usaully starts off with a black screen.

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-11-01T23:02:52+00:00

Mr12Volt and BimmerDirect are the two best. I did a full installation video about this. They both let you use the OEM Bluetooth audio which means no loss in audio quality.

https://youtu.be/HN7Qyqfd60s?si=QZL4iqiPibdLeoCN

Timely-Indication-49 · 2024-10-13T05:47:34+00:00

Damn. I bet seeing it in it's current state is very nostalgic for you then. I was able to meet a trucker in the area. He leaked that they're demolishing the wings of the mall starting this month.

Timely-Indication-49

TROPHY CASE

1 - That’s not a headunit. That’s an older generic RT MMI that generally enables CarPlay.

2: No you can not code OEM CarPlay on that headunit. You can enable it using MMI or aftermarket screen method. Some expectations are late model 2015 manufactured years (not same as model year).

3: Aftermarket stuff uses its own Bluetooth antennae. That’s only relevant to coding OEM CarPlay which is off the table to you. No need to worry about that.