[CorLeonis]

I'm taking car into service on Weds, but figured I would throw this out to the crowd and see if anyone has experienced something similar. As we all know, the SAs don't always know everything…or anything.

I have a 2014 535 xdrive m sport.

Upon starting the car, the nav screen will dim and then brighten and then dim and brighten, etc. after sitting in the sun/heat for an extended period of time. Once cooled down, after driving a little, it stops. Any similar experiences or ideas of what it could be?

[ezmaass]

I haven't experienced that on my current BMW or any previous ones (all with navigation). It may be defective. I have, however, noticed that in extreme COLD, all of my previous navigation screens would take a few seconds to reach full brightness - but then they'd stay there.

[x5mannn]

I have had the same thing happen on my x5
They replaced the screen

[CorLeonis]

Originally Posted by x5mannn

I have had the same thing happen on my x5
They replaced the screen

I hope it's as simple as that. I took it in before for the same issue and they restarted the electrical system, which did nothing. They claimed it was a software issue, which makes no sense to me.

[MoBMWs]

Yep I have the same issue with the nav screen. i have a 2014 5 Series as well, when the temps first went from freezing to above 70F few months ago, the nav screen would dim in and out for lengthy periods of time. With or w/o the AC On, and occurs randomly esp when the temps are warm. Just surprised the issue didn't occur during the cold winter months...my dealer is about an hour away so i was going to have them take a look at the nav screen & the crying headlights issue when i went in for the annual scheduled maintenance 4th Qt this year.
if you do get any concrete answer/resolution from your dealership please share.
Thank, Mo

[Vinfast]

I had the same issue. It would only happen about 85 degrees or above when sitting in the sun -- not upon starting from sitting the garage. They replaced the whole unit and no problems since. Mine is a '14 550i.

[ColJC]

I had the same issue. They reprogrammed it, which did nothing, then they switched out a part. Haven't had any extreme hot temperatures to be able to test it, but it seems to be working now in moderate heat.

[CorLeonis]

Glad to see this isn't totally a-typical and apparently an easy fix.

[CorLeonis]

SA is now saying the issue is because my phone has contacts that contain symbols like "@" and such. Doesn't seen to make any sense to me. Not sure how that would be affected only by hot weather.

[BossBeamer]

Uh

[MELLOWYELLOW06]

Does the SA hâvë ăńý přőöf tô b@çķ ůp his symbol comment? they seem to say anything that comes to their mind even though it makes no sense. I find it hard to believe the symbol Can throw off the brightness of the screen. It sounds to me to be a bad screen.
Are they going to put a disclaimer in owners manual to remove symbol from your contacts as your screen may fail?

[CorLeonis]

Originally Posted by MELLOWYELLOW06

Does the SA hâvë ăńý přőöf tô b@çķ ůp his symbol comment? they seem to say anything that comes to their mind even though it makes no sense. I find it hard to believe the symbol Can throw off the brightness of the screen. It sounds to me to be a bad screen.
Are they going to put a disclaimer in owners manual to remove symbol from your contacts as your screen may fail?

My thoughts exactly. When I called back and spoke with him, he said the company foreman was the last word on everything and "knew more than him". That said, I argued the lack of common sense here and he agreed. It seems like they don't feel like being bothered to replace the hardware.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by CorLeonis

SA is now saying the issue is because my phone has contacts that contain symbols like "@" and such. Doesn't seen to make any sense to me. Not sure how that would be affected only by hot weather.

An old Belgium SA guy at my past dealer would say things like this... "your car is broken because you parked too close to a Ford." I think he was serious.

[CorLeonis]

I removed all contacts with any "@" or similar symbols, and also did not link my phone to the car for a few days, per SA's suggestion. No surprise, it didn't work, and if anything, the problem has worsened.

I'm going to a different dealership now to see if they can solve the issue, clearly the folks at the first one are buying their own BS.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by CorLeonis

I removed all contacts with any "@" or similar symbols, and also did not link my phone to the car for a few days, per SA's suggestion. No surprise, it didn't work, and if anything, the problem has worsened.

I'm going to a different dealership now to see if they can solve the issue, clearly the folks at the first one are buying their own BS.

I'd ask them to put their explanation in writing for you - something to the tune of, "Client states navigation screen dimming in and out. Explained to client they need to remove all @ symbols from their phone's contact list to correct the problem."

They obviously won't do it if they think it's BS. And if they did, I'd take it and send a copy to BMW NA. If the dealer is giving you a BS explanation, just get them to put it in writing.

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

An old Belgium SA guy at my past dealer would say things like this... "your car is broken because you parked too close to a Ford." I think he was serious.

LOL ... I like that guy .... could very well be the case!

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by CorLeonis

I removed all contacts with any "@" or similar symbols, and also did not link my phone to the car for a few days, per SA's suggestion. No surprise, it didn't work, and if anything, the problem has worsened.

I'm going to a different dealership now to see if they can solve the issue, clearly the folks at the first one are buying their own BS.

I'm sorry ... that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of! Speak to the Service Manager ... or find a dealership that doesn't suck ... it took me a few tries ... but I love my current dealership ... these guys know their shit, and actually care about the concerns you bring in. Most of the guys there are BMW enthusiasts and will check-in with me to see if I am having any issues that they find with other client's cars. The loaners often leave something to be desired (320s, X1 28is, etc with base audio and no Navi) ... but I'll give up the X5, X6, 5 series loaners my previous dealer would provide for good service. Thankfully I have never had a major issue with my car where I would have it in for more than 24 hours

Circle BMW in Eatontown, NJ ... good guys!

[CorLeonis]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

I'd ask them to put their explanation in writing for you - something to the tune of, "Client states navigation screen dimming in and out. Explained to client they need to remove all @ symbols from their phone's contact list to correct the problem."

They obviously won't do it if they think it's BS. And if they did, I'd take it and send a copy to BMW NA. If the dealer is giving you a BS explanation, just get them to put it in writing.

I think they actually believed that was the issue. They have an SA there who had "similar" problems according to him, and that was the fix. That said, he never had any issues with hot temperatures, and it seems their solutions conveniently leave out that major part of the issue.

I spoke with a different SA at another dealership (farther from home), and she's already been incredibly pro-active, doing research without prompts. She still is unsure of the issue and has never encountered the problem before.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by pillpusher84

LOL ... I like that guy .... could very well be the case!

He was a hoot. I really did like him, though. He was very passionate about the cars - had worked for BMW for 30+ years and had immense knowledge. But he certainly had a "grumpy old man" side to him.

Whenever I'd go in, and I'd describe a problem and dare suggest what I thought the cause may be, he'd quiz me on the mechanics of cars like I was one of his apprentices. Literally, one time I went in there and suggested that I thought my shocks had to be replaced. He asked me to explain to him how shocks worked! I kid you not. I had to explain to him how shocks worked. Once he was satisfied with my answer, he agreed with my assessment (without even looking at the car, mind you).

I learned to go in there with ALL the facts and do my research prior... and in time he learned to also respect the fact that I DID my homework prior to coming in - I actually cared to understand what was going on. As a result, we had a great relationship, lots of mutual respect, and it was always a pleasure working with him. But it was damn near brutal watching him interact with people who would come in and say, "I think X is broken." They'd get, "Yah? Vhy exactly you think this?!" (with a heavy Belgian accent). And that would be the end of it... the customer would be lectured and shuttering in the corner by the end of the conversation. You could say he was a bit like Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" of automobiles - knew tons, didn't think twice about lurching at people, and then would tell them ridiculous things when they upset him.

Thinking back, I'm not sure how the dealer survived allowing him to interact with people... but if you knew how to work with him, he was just a wealth of knowledge and would always get to the bottom of the issue. He retired around 2005, and shortly thereafter I ended up moving anyway and now have a new dealer. Shame - I think more dealers could use a service manager like him.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by CorLeonis

I think they actually believed that was the issue. They have an SA there who had "similar" problems according to him, and that was the fix. That said, he never had any issues with hot temperatures, and it seems their solutions conveniently leave out that major part of the issue.

I spoke with a different SA at another dealership (farther from home), and she's already been incredibly pro-active, doing research without prompts. She still is unsure of the issue and has never encountered the problem before.

That's good - I agree with Pillpusher - just take it somewhere else and don't look back. Their suggested fix reminds me of a prank call that I heard on the Click and Clack show (if you've ever listened to it)... where they called a girl pretending to be the dealer where she dropped off her car for service. They told her that there were tons of things that needed to be fixed, including changing the headlight fluid, one of her two transmissions was broken, and a bunch of other nonsense. Hysterical to listen to, actually... but to hear a real dealership suggest that your phone book entries would somehow affect the hardware of your iDrive unit... scary!

Sounds like others have had this and the unit was replaced - so hopefully another dealer could get to the bottom of it.

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

He was a hoot. I really did like him, though. He was very passionate about the cars - had worked for BMW for 30+ years and had immense knowledge. But he certainly had a "grumpy old man" side to him.

Whenever I'd go in, and I'd describe a problem and dare suggest what I thought the cause may be, he'd quiz me on the mechanics of cars like I was one of his apprentices. Literally, one time I went in there and suggested that I thought my shocks had to be replaced. He asked me to explain to him how shocks worked! I kid you not. I had to explain to him how shocks worked. Once he was satisfied with my answer, he agreed with my assessment (without even looking at the car, mind you).

I learned to go in there with ALL the facts and do my research prior... and in time he learned to also respect the fact that I DID my homework prior to coming in - I actually cared to understand what was going on. As a result, we had a great relationship, lots of mutual respect, and it was always a pleasure working with him. But it was damn near brutal watching him interact with people who would come in and say, "I think X is broken." They'd get, "Yah? Vhy exactly you think this?!" (with a heavy Belgian accent). And that would be the end of it... the customer would be lectured and shuttering in the corner by the end of the conversation. You could say he was a bit like Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" of automobiles - knew tons, didn't think twice about lurching at people, and then would tell them ridiculous things when they upset him.

Thinking back, I'm not sure how the dealer survived allowing him to interact with people... but if you knew how to work with him, he was just a wealth of knowledge and would always get to the bottom of the issue. He retired around 2005, and shortly thereafter I ended up moving anyway and now have a new dealer. Shame - I think more dealers could use a service manager like him.

I love it .... I almost feel like I was there to witness these events from the details of your post

But he sounds like someone who I would appreciate personally and get along quite well with ... however I would have to put him in the back of the shop, and never let him interact with the human race if he worked for me

[CorLeonis]

Just picked the car up from the third attempt to fix it, and still not resolved. They replaced an interior mechanism (I believe the head unit?) per BMW's recommendation and now they will have to replace the entire screen. No one seems to have encountered this issue before. This will be the 4th trip for this issue, it's getting slightly old.