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      05-01-2011, 08:07 AM   #1
kernelkraut
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X1 xDrive20d I-Drive retrofit

Hi Guys,

It's been a while since my last post.. I've finally completed my I-Drive retrofit :-) I thought I'd share some photos and info with you all...

Firstly I have to send out a massive thanks to Partyk for supplying all the necessary parts and for his excellent service! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to all of my friends! Thanks also to Steven and the guys from Lyndhurst BMW in Johannesburg for your help with the project!

First off here are the parts you need if you are wanting to do this retrofit (From BMW Professional Radio with no I-Drive, to I-Drive with Nav etc):
  • New Dashboard (Unfortunately you cannot just remove the storage bin in the dash)
  • Navigation Unit (In this case CIC HIGH)
  • LCD Display incl. mounting bracket (In this case 8" Professional Display)
  • I-Drive Controller
  • LCD Display Surround (Do not confuse with LCD Bracket)
  • New A/C Trim and CIC Trim
  • USB Connector (For glove box)
  • FAKRA GPS Antenna (Recommend Magnetic one)
  • I-Drive controller bracket
  • Cables (USB to CIC, CIC to LCD, Controller to LCD and CIC)
  • FSC Activation codes
  • Owners Manual (If you are pedantic like me...)
  • Set of TORX screwdrivers (Medium sizes all the way through to Large)

NOTE: If you have PDC and want to see the PDC on your new LCD you will need to replace your PDC module as well - Your PDC will still work if you don't but you wont get the visual guide on your LCD if you don't replace the module.

If you would like part numbers etc feel free to PM me or contact Patryk directly. The best way to make sure that you get the right parts is to give him you VIN - That way you can make sure you get exactly what you need.

In total you will need around 4 hours time to remove all the parts and install the new ones, plus around 1-2 hours for all the coding.

Once you have all your parts ready, I would suggest enlisting the help of at least 1 friend (technically minded) to assist.

REMEMBER TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE STARTING!

You will have to remove the centre console in order to easily get the dash out (Remove the Gear lever / Shifter to make access easier). Once you have the centre console out you can start to remove the trim around the A/C. That lets you access to two screws holding in the radio. Once thats out too start removing the Dash trim. Start from the passenger side closest to the passenger door - I would suggest using a proper removal tool as you don't want to scratch you trim pieces :-)

Next remove the glove box and steering wheel completely. You will need to disconnect the passenger and steering wheel AIRBAGS - Try to handle them VERY CAREFULLY :-) Continue with removing the trim around the steering column and then disconnect and remove the instrument cluster. You should now be able to remove the instrument cluster cover. Continue with removing the key holder and then lastly remove the covers over the A-Pillars (Here's where you will need your largest TORX screwdriver) Be careful when removing the A-Pillar covers as there are curtain AIRBAG's behind the covers - Don't worry, you don't need to remover these AIRBAG's... I would also recommend wearing clean gloves to make sure you dont mess up the A-Pillar covers.

You should now be able to remove the entire dash - It is held in place by 4 screws only. This is where a second person comes in helpful :-) With the New Dash in place replace the A-Pillar covers and start installing the LCD Monitor. Connect all the cables to the LCD Monitor and start running them into the dash before installing to make the work easier. Run all the cables to the CIC and install the new CIC. The cable for the controller can be run neatly and there are pre-fitted cable holders to run your cables through (underneath the centre console which should still be removed.)

From there you should be able to replace all the parts in the reverse order.

NOTE: Only install the LCD Surround cover once you have completed the entire install and reconnected the battery to test the unit - the LCD Surround is made from soft plastic (almost like soft rubber) and will not like to be installed and removed too many times.

Hope this helps anyone wanting to do the install - Below are some photos of my install. I would love to hear your comments!

Starting to remove the Steering Wheel:



Radio, Steering Wheel, Glove box, Centre Console and Dash Trim removed:



Dash Storage Compartment removed:



Centre Console Removed (Look at the top right corner you will see a black plastic holder with E84 written on it. Use that to run your controller cable through):



Complete Dash removed (In the right top corner you may notice a flat piece of metal - just to the right of the steering column. This is the perfect place to mount your magnetic GPS antenna - It's flat, its unobstructed and when the install is complete there is nothing in the way not even the instrument cluster):



Another shot of the Dash removed (I suggest also using a nice big box for all your screws etc):



New dash installed (You will notice the A/C trim is now on top instead of under the radio as it was before):



Controller installed (Probably the easiest bit - Just unscrew the small storage bin from underneath and replace with the controller bracket. Then clip in the controller):



Programming the car with Patryk:

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      05-02-2011, 05:14 AM   #2
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Impressive work!

Thanks for your kind words
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      05-02-2011, 06:32 AM   #3
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Next up is the Bluetooth and ConnectedDrive / Apps Install :-)
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      05-02-2011, 10:44 AM   #4
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Congrats on your CIC install, dashboard removal can be quite a daunting job, but only 4 screws makes it easier
Sent you a message about the iDrive dashboard, I am just about to do this install on an X1 also.
Cheers !
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      05-02-2011, 11:35 AM   #5
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Dashboard

Quote:
Originally Posted by Simonbkk View Post
Congrats on your CIC install, dashboard removal can be quite a daunting job, but only 4 screws makes it easier
Sent you a message about the iDrive dashboard, I am just about to do this install on an X1 also.
Cheers !
Hi Simon,

As far as the dash is concerned, unfortunately it is not quite the same as the one you need to fit the I-Drive. In fact it is all down to the bottom bracket that holds the radio and a/c unit in place: Unfortunately the plastic is moulded into a single DIN size to hold the radio in place. This makes it impossible to install the CIC unless you are prepared to do a LOT of modifying...

Even if you cut the "offending" piece of plastic out, you would still have to create the 4 grooves which normally hold the CIC in place. It's quite a lot of work. The dash also doesn't have slots in the right place to correctly install all the CIC and A/C trim pieces. I would recommend installing a new dash

Here is a photo of the Dash without I-Drive (You'll notice the slot is only large enough for a single DIN unit and there are no grooves on the sides for the CIC):



Here is a picture of the new Dash (The picture isn't too great but you can see the bracket at the bottom of the dash is completely open and is over double-DIN in size with the grooves to properly mount the CIC):

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      05-02-2011, 05:31 PM   #6
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excellent job, please tell me how can i buy it from here, Colombia????
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      05-03-2011, 05:05 AM   #7
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kernelkraut - thanks for this info, very interesting. But something tells me this retrofit, with all the parts required, would be more expensive than the factory-fitted option. How much did it all cost?

BTW I'm in Johannesburg and drive an X1 sDrive18i, as you can see from my profile.
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      05-03-2011, 07:05 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by manicm View Post
kernelkraut - thanks for this info, very interesting. But something tells me this retrofit, with all the parts required, would be more expensive than the factory-fitted option. How much did it all cost?

BTW I'm in Johannesburg and drive an X1 sDrive18i, as you can see from my profile.
Hi there! Nice to hear from someone else in South Africa :-) Unfortunately yes, the cost of the entire install was more than having it ordered with the car. In total mine cost me €4000,00 but it depends on what exact parts you need.

If you are in Jhb and want to check mine out you are more than welcome. Perhaps you can decide if it's worth it to you or not.

Marcus
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      05-03-2011, 07:08 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmunozj View Post
excellent job, please tell me how can i buy it from here, Colombia????
I would suggest contacting Patryk with your VIN number if you are interested. Not sure what the shipping to Columbia would cost though...

Email him on: info@modyfikacjebmw.pl

Marcus
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      05-03-2011, 09:57 AM   #10
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kernelkraut,
Thanks a lot for this info, I was thinking the problem was with the hole for the screen but that is ok right ?
How much did you pay for the new dashboard, I am seriously considering trying to modify the hole for CIC & AC, due to the fact that even if the cost of the dash is reasonable, the shipping to Thailand will probably kill me.
My friend who has this X1 is a metalworker so he might be able to design a bracket insert.
Cheers.
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      05-03-2011, 03:19 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simonbkk View Post
kernelkraut,
Thanks a lot for this info, I was thinking the problem was with the hole for the screen but that is ok right ?
How much did you pay for the new dashboard, I am seriously considering trying to modify the hole for CIC & AC, due to the fact that even if the cost of the dash is reasonable, the shipping to Thailand will probably kill me.
My friend who has this X1 is a metalworker so he might be able to design a bracket insert.
Cheers.
Hi Simon,

The dash cost me ZAR 9500,00 (about €950,00) - That was after the cash discount I got from my BMW dealer... But at least that included the shipping and I had it in under 2 weeks from Germany. You would probably get a better price looking for parts from a BMW parts specialist (perhaps from a written off car) and that will probably be cheaper. But yes, the shipping will be very expensive and you'll probably end up paying exactly what I did. Patryk did offer but I had already ordered the dash from my dealer - perhaps you could try him - his pricing is very good and he has a better chance of getting a used one as the market is bigger in Europe.

If you do manage to modify yours I would love to see some pictures. As far as I could tell the hole where the storage compartment goes seems to be the same, but I wouldn't take my word for it - to be honest, once I realized the CIC doesn't fit, I didn't bother with removing the storage compartment - I just went and ordered the correct dash...

And if you do completely wreck the dash remember: I do have a spare one lying around...

Marcus
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      05-07-2011, 11:07 AM   #12
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Wow, what a big mod!

If you are feeling bored now that it's all finished, you can help that guy from India that was asking about turning an S drive into an X drive. LOL.
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      05-12-2011, 09:25 AM   #13
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Nice conversion. Does this process affect the passenger air bag?
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      05-15-2011, 12:38 AM   #14
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oh my god, i just fainted, awesome job buddy, wow, did you do that all your self?
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      05-21-2011, 11:24 AM   #15
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Nice work! Definitely not for the faint hearted!
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      05-22-2011, 09:59 AM   #16
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Brave!

Well done, I bet you had a few hairy moments.
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      05-26-2011, 12:07 PM   #17
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wow!!! incredible might have to try that as this is by first BMW and would love to fix an iDrive on it...
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      05-29-2011, 05:34 AM   #18
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Hi guys!

I'm sorry i haven't replied for a while :-(

@Farocan - Yeah, you have to remove both passenger and driver airbags. The curtain airbags can stay but you do need to remove the A-Pillar covers.

@abhay - I had a friend of mine from BMW help - But yeah we did all of it ourselves. Patryk did all of the programming for me remotely via the internet :-)

@BimmerUK76 - Absolutely! Nothing scarier than when someone hands you an Airbag and then proceeds to tell you how often they randomly deploy in the BMW workshop....
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      05-30-2011, 02:24 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kernelkraut View Post
@BimmerUK76 - Absolutely! Nothing scarier than when someone hands you an Airbag and then proceeds to tell you how often they randomly deploy in the BMW workshop....
Its like a bomb, not for the fainthearted
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      06-02-2011, 09:10 AM   #20
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Just amazing! How many hours/days did you spent with that one? I'm sure it was worth it!
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      06-09-2011, 12:21 PM   #21
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@ JaakkoA

The install of the new dash and all the components took about 4 hours. (But remember I has two trained BMW guys helping me)

Patryk's programming took about 1 hour (According to the guys from BMW that is very good)
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      07-19-2011, 07:37 AM   #22
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Hello! great job! I came to my one without CIC and I naturally want to retrofit it ... Could you paint by numbers that book except for the CIC, monitor and a joystick idrive, and most importantly whether it is necessary to change the instrument panel if the ETC is like under a number of 51 452 991 241. Thank you!
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