[Gator328i]

Has anyone successfully re-activated BMW Assist after buying a used BMW with this capability. I am getting the run-around from BMW and my dealer about this. Apparently, it's a giant cluster (word that rhymes with duck).

I'd really appreciate some feedback from others who have successfully managed to do this.

[alex2364]

The dealer's sales department should be able to help you out. I bought mine used from a non-BMW dealer and was referred to a sales person after talking to the service department. They were able to do it in 5 minutes over the phone.

[Grail05]

Originally Posted by alex2364

The dealer's sales department should be able to help you out. I bought mine used from a non-BMW dealer and was referred to a sales person after talking to the service department. They were able to do it in 5 minutes over the phone.

nope i talked to 5 dealers and had no clue on what to do...

so i called BMW ASSIST directly all they needed was to fax my insurance card with my name on it... and provide the current address.... They just want proof that its now your car. so i fax my insurance statement and the card to make sure that they see it legit... but they only ask me the insurance card.

also they will offer you and available anytime you own the car the bmw ASSIST extended service... didnt bother although it was so cheap for a year subscription

... it took 5 minutes

[Magic-Man]

So what exactly do you get w/BMW assist, outside of pushing the assist button instead of using your phone vs having BMW roadside assistance when you buy a CPO car?

[ErvGotti]

Originally Posted by Sean05

nope i talked to 5 dealers and had no clue on what to do...

so i called BMW ASSIST directly all they needed was to fax my insurance card with my name on it... and provide the current address.... They just want proof that its now your car. so i fax my insurance statement and the card to make sure that they see it legit... but they only ask me the insurance card.

also they will offer you and available anytime you own the car the bmw ASSIST extended service... didnt bother although it was so cheap for a year subscription

... it took 5 minutes

Your dealers are incompetent. I had to activate mine when I came back to the U.S from spain. Took it to my dealerships service department and they had acess to the system from their computer. Took 5 minutes to fill out my info online and they had it up in running in 30.

[ErvGotti]

Originally Posted by Magic-Man

So what exactly do you get w/BMW assist, outside of pushing the assist button instead of using your phone vs having BMW roadside assistance when you buy a CPO car?

They also have trip interuption/reimbursement. Not sure how much because I never had to use it.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Magic-Man

So what exactly do you get w/BMW assist, outside of pushing the assist button instead of using your phone vs having BMW roadside assistance when you buy a CPO car?

All of the information about BMW Assist is on the BMW website.

[Gator328i]

Does the service department have to re-activate any module or re-program anything?

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by Magic-Man

So what exactly do you get w/BMW assist, outside of pushing the assist button instead of using your phone vs having BMW roadside assistance when you buy a CPO car?

Well, if you are unconscious after an accident, it calls for help on its own, for starters!

[chromisdesigns]

Contact a dealership and get them to put you in the system through their computer, takes about 10 minutes to 20 minutes after for the assist center to be sure of getting the updates.

Then, go out to your car, push the button, and complete the registration with the service online.

This is what we did, worked fine. Had to do it again once after car s/w reloaded and crashed the assist setup.

But the process works.

[Battlefrog]

I bought my e93 used also, and it was fairly simple to switch the account over to my name. All you have to do is:

1) email (customercare@bmwassist.com) with you contact info and a scan of a document as evidence. Either your insurance doc or the bill of sale will work. All they need to see is the VIN, sale date, and your address.
2) They will reply to your email with a soft copy of the BMW Assist agreement, all filled out with your information.
3) Sign the doc and email or fax back to them. Voila. The entire thing took 3 email exchanges over a 24 hour period. Easy.

[Gator328i]

I was finally able to get it set up. Apparently, there was some kind of problem on BMW's end with uploading the data sent from the dealer. After calling them a few times they were able to get it taken care of. My only surprise was that you have to pay extra for all the cool features like nav assistance, concierge, etc. Well worth it though in my opinion.

[tcopmann]

[tcopmann]

I let me BMW assist subscription lapse by one month because of a better offer by the BMW Car Club of America. When I went to reup my BMW assist subscription, I was told my telecomminucations module had been deactivated. The service manager at my local dealership informed me it would cost $500 to reprogram the module! The assist module works on the cellular network and is deactivated if not used.
Unfortunately, the bluetooth is also affected since it uses this module.
I could not find any warning of this deactivation in any of the letters or conversations with BMW. Needless to say I was livid!

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by Gator328i

Does the service department have to re-activate any module or re-program anything?

No -- they just enter some info into the computer system. You wait a few minutes, half an hour maybe, the press the button in the car. The central service takes it from there, asks you a few questions, and you are good to go.

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by tcopmann

I let me BMW assist subscription lapse by one month because of a better offer by the BMW Car Club of America. When I went to reup my BMW assist subscription, I was told my telecomminucations module had been deactivated. The service manager at my local dealership informed me it would cost $500 to reprogram the module! The assist module works on the cellular network and is deactivated if not used.
Unfortunately, the bluetooth is also affected since it uses this module.
I could not find any warning of this deactivation in any of the letters or conversations with BMW. Needless to say I was livid!

That's BS -- it's never deactivated, you can even press the button and get emergency dispatch after your subscription lapses, from what I understand, you just don't get all the rest of the stuff, including free towing.

[techwhiz]

Cellular only deactivates at the head end.
Once a cell module is on in the USA, you can always dial 911 in an emergency.
They only need to activate the ESN, etc in their database.

[tcopmann]

I have contacted the following persons at BWM service:
Emily Gallagher
Customer Relations and Service
Representative

Jackie Miller
Customer Relations and Services

Jodie at 1-800-831-1117, extension 7697

They confirm that to use any telecommunication in the 328 series, including blue tooth, the module must be reprogrammed once BMW assist lapses. They claim to understand my fustration, but insist I must pay from reprogramming even though they are the ones who deactivated the telecommunications module. THIS IS BMW POLICY!

Another dealer confirms it takes 2+ hours of labor and around $500 to reprogram.

I am making good on my promise to BMW costumer service to let as broad an audience know of this Ponzi scheme.

[nichojo]

Originally Posted by Sean05

nope i talked to 5 dealers and had no clue on what to do...

so i called BMW ASSIST directly all they needed was to fax my insurance card with my name on it... and provide the current address.... They just want proof that its now your car. so i fax my insurance statement and the card to make sure that they see it legit... but they only ask me the insurance card.

also they will offer you and available anytime you own the car the bmw ASSIST extended service... didnt bother although it was so cheap for a year subscription

... it took 5 minutes

This. It couldn't be easier.

[TMR]

Yes i have. Just called BMW assist and they change it over.

888-333-6118

[Klipspringer]

I'm having the exact same problem with activating BMW Assist. The dealer tried to activate it but received a TCU communication error that popped up on their computer screen. I scheduled a service appointment and they had the car for half a day. They didn't really say what they did, except that when I got the car back they said it still doesn't work and, "might start working tomorrow."

OK ...

Didn't work so I phoned up BMW Assist directly and had a nice chat with them. They still see the service registered in the previous owner's name and they see a bunch of recent correspondence between the dealer and BMW Assist concerning my problem.

They suggested that I ask the CA to resubmit the application. I phoned the dealer up again and they tried to resubmit the application and the same error popped back up.

Pretty frustrating experience so far with this minor thing. Otherwise, it's a great car.

Update: Working. Seems like the fix was similar to Gatror328i's. They had to program some new numbers into the TCU which the SA did, but the business system at the dealership wasn't able to automatically send that updated info to BMW Assist. The dealer was able to do this manually, and the car was able to communicate!

[fazman]

When I went thru this in Feb 2012 with my 2008 e90, I had the same issue and this is what i learned in the process. You have up to 45 days after your 4 year factory warrenty expires to keep your BMW Assist subscription active. If you don't then they send a POC (Power Off Command) which changes your MDN / MIN numbers (basically the two different 10-digit phone numbers) to all X's.

Now in my case, I went back to a dealership for them to re-activiate my BMW assist for $150, they put in the old numbers for the MDN / MIN and my SOS button works, BUT, they also blew away all the 5 digit quick dial numbers in the radio under assist, so now I'm not sure if the car will call for help when there is an accident. Also I tested out on my own the remote door unlock feature (which no longer works). So make sure you test out ALL the services on your own as well.

One big gotcha I noticed is, once they send the POC for the BMW Assist, I noticed that my bluetooth phone mic that is built into the car is now catching tons of wind noise at freeway speeds (which was never an issue before).

BMW really needs a better way to configure these cars, maybe allowing remote data coding of features? It would be really nice if we can save all the coding features online and then have a history of what settings we had changed so we can go back/forth at will. Plus this would make it easier for data transmission safely. For example, let's say the manufacturer needs to push out a s/w update, the car can slowly download the updates and once it has a full download... it can ask the driver at shut down (hey your car needs an update and you will not be able to use it for x minutes/hours). The driver can choose if it's a good/safe time to do this or pass on it till a future time when it's safe. I know that the battery issue during hours of coding is also a concern, but the car can code a couple modules at a time based on battery levels.

If anyone has an '07 or '08 e90, can you give me the 5 digit numbers in your BMW assist radio functions (Concierge, RD Assist, Customer service, etc..). Because the dealership blew mine away and I have no idea what it was prior to dropping it off.

- Faz