Tips & Tricks

[vivalaReagan]

didn't see a similar thread after doing a search, so i thought i'd start one for the f15. what cool tips/tricks have you learned about the f15 that might benefit other owners? these don't have to be hidden functions not detailed in the owner's manual (please refrain from the "rtfm" response). honestly, the manual is hundreds of pages & not everyone has the time and/or patience to suffer all the way through it.

i'll get it started with two that i've "discovered" as solutions to frustrating problems i've encountered early in my tenure with the f15. these might be obvious to some but here you go anyway:

• i have comfort access set to open only the driver door for safety since my wife is the primary driver. when she takes the kids on an errand or i drive the family somewhere over the weekend in the x5, i don't want to change the setting in idrive each time. i also don't prefer to open the driver's door & press the interior unlock button each time or pull the key fob out of my pocket or the wife's purse (i know, first world problems). the simple solution i discovered is to grab the rear door handle before i open the driver's door, which unlocks all four doors.

• i set the interior ambiance lighting for my profile & my wife's profile to be different colors so i notice which profile is currently set before i mistakenly attempt to quickly climb into the driver's seat with my wife's seat setting.

ok, these might be pretty obvious...whatcha got???

[vivalaReagan]

after much searching, i finally found the perfect spot to house the rear seat professional entertainment remote when not in use (allowing the kids to keep it in the backseat was not going to happen). the small, covered storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel (left drive vehicle) is the perfect size to hide the remote out of site. you must place the remote at a diagonal in order to close the compartment door but it fits nicely & i always know where to find it.

[chrisny]

This thread is paying off already.. I never even noticed that little compartment.

I do use the first 2 tricks you mentioned though. Unfortunately, half the time I use my key, the seat doesn't move to my position even though it does have my profile though. Will still have my accent light, steering wheel position, etc.., but the seat remains in my wife's position.

[PepperJack]

Originally Posted by chrisny

This thread is paying off already.. I never even noticed that little compartment.

I do use the first 2 tricks you mentioned though. Unfortunately, half the time I use my key, the seat doesn't move to my position even though it does have my profile though. Will still have my accent light, steering wheel position, etc.., but the seat remains in my wife's position.

Lock the door when exiting the car, even in the garage. When the second driver opens the driver's door it will reset to their setting.

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by PepperJack

Lock the door when exiting the car, even in the garage. When the second driver opens the driver's door it will reset to their setting.

I always do. My wife sometimes doesn't.... It eventually locks itself though, so to me it should still reset when I unlock with my key. It does switch to my profile, but it's probably 50/50 on whether it changes the seat.

[MattBianco]

Not a true hack, but with a $5 app for Mac (windows version linked), I added a 64GB USB stick with over 6000, preserving iTunes playlists, song order and artist>album>song directories. http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...light=playlist

[MattBianco]

hack -or specifically feature- learned from the "genius" rep at the dealer today.

If you maintain multi drive profiles, you can name them, and assign them to buttons 1 though 8 to the right of the volume knob. When I get in the car, I push 8 and it goes to my profile, regardless of key fob used.

Buttons can be programmed to be radio stations, or to provide shortcuts for anything in iDrive.

[Malakas]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

hack -or specifically feature- learned from the "genius" rep at the dealer today.

If you maintain multi drive profiles, you can name them, and assign them to buttons 1 though 8 to the right of the volume knob. When I get in the car, I push 8 and it goes to my profile, regardless of key fob used.

Buttons can be programmed to be radio stations, or to provide shortcuts for anything in iDrive.

yes I love that. I have mine programmed to find diesel gas, show fuel economy etc...

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by Malakas

yes I love that. I have mine programmed to find diesel gas, show fuel economy etc...

"find diesel"....step by step please. that is useful.

[Zipforia]

I got one for ya....this is very low tech, but since this is my first Bimmer, I didn't realize Bimmer did this.

If you yank the sun visor out on its length, it pulls out to move the sun visor.

Z.

[hyde]

Originally Posted by Zipforia

I got one for ya....this is very low tech, but since this is my first Bimmer, I didn't realize Bimmer did this.

If you yank the sun visor out on its length, it pulls out to move the sun visor.

Z.

Wait, is this for real. I hated not having this on my E70, especially when I had it in my Jeep back in 2003. So they are finally telescopic visors, this means if we move it to the side against the door, we can slide it out further to the back?

[hyde]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

Not a true hack, but with a $5 app for Mac (windows version linked), I added a 64GB USB stick with over 6000, preserving iTunes playlists, song order and artist>album>song directories. http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...light=playlist

Did you try this before buying the album?
http://www.wikihow.com/Export-an-iTunes-Playlist
I use PLS instead but they both work on older iDrive just fine, although I like to keep my music archive folderized.

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by hyde

Did you try this before buying the album?
http://www.wikihow.com/Export-an-iTunes-Playlist
I use PLS instead but they both work on older iDrive just fine, although I like to keep my music archive folderized.

I did try that. I could export the playlist, but not the associated music files for that list.

The software I got even unlocks your DRM protected files (music purchased from iTunes), provided your computer is authorized and the files are already unlocked on your computer, and transfers them to the USB. And, you can save profiles, modify your lists, re sync, without doubling up on files. Pretty much like iTunes itself. I add other music manually, or by dumping full albums in a playlist for which I later delete the M3U file on the USB -music stays. Quite happy with it.

Publisher claims works on Windows too.

[hyde]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

The software I got even unlocks your DRM protected files (music purchased from iTunes), provided your computer is authorized and the files are already unlocked on your computer..

This alone is worth the money. Then it's a great tool!

[LatinBimmer]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

Not a true hack, but with a $5 app for Mac (windows version linked), I added a 64GB USB stick with over 6000, preserving iTunes playlists, song order and artist>album>song directories. http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...light=playlist

Hi, I am confused about why you have to buy the $5 app in order to get your m3u playlists... You can export all your playlists directly with iTunes>>Playlists>>Export Playlist and select the name and desired format (xlm, m3u, etc)

[LatinBimmer]

Originally Posted by hyde

This alone is worth the money. Then it's a great tool!

Now I got it... Great feature! Do you know if usb music files shows album covers in idrive?

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by LatinBimmer

Now I got it... Great feature! Do you know if usb music files shows album covers in idrive?

Yes. If you see the photos in the thread, I show the cover picture for one track. The only exception is ACC files, as they store the cover art in a separate directory, and don't store them in music files. As long as you are MP3, you are golden with covers.

[MattBianco]

If you have HUD, when the car is off and you are using the stereo, you can get station and music title information and position in the analog dash cluster. This was new to me. Just use the scroll on the right side of the steering as you would to get the same info when HUD is on.

[xweb10]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

"find diesel"....step by step please. that is useful.

Agreed. This would be useful.

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by xweb10

Agreed. This would be useful.

Malakas has stated this has been programmed. I don't know how and would love a step by step.