CIC to NBT upgrade

[Henkan]

Has anybody with the CIC HU done the NBT upgrade? Did you follow a guide? Is it a big undertaking or can it be done reasonably simple? Any pointers?

[Opie55]

There is a user here named HugoNZ who is the guru on this topic. He recently sold his 650 but still participates, and will probably respond. If he doesn't, try sending him a PM. In the meantime, run some searches and read his posts.

[hugo_nz]

Here I am, and here you go

[Henkan]

Originally Posted by hugo_nz

Here I am, and here you go

OMG! Quite a feat. Not sure if I would be up to this. Doing the actual hardware replacement and cable routing would be ok but the coding is Swahili to me unfortunately.

Suppose I could get someone doing the coding, what version of the NBT would you recommend getting, provided I want CarPlay? Touch iDrive dial is not needed. I have a 2012 F12 650i convertible.

Would a "normal" shop experience problems servicing the car afterwards? Meaning fault codes will pop up erratically for random things…

[hugo_nz]

This retrofit on a ‘12 650i is tricky due to some hardware novelties. The interface modules by bimmer retrofit etc don’t work well, and to do it entirely oem you need to flash the gateway module with new firmware. And then there’s all the wiring changes.

Honestly if Carplay is all you’re after just buy a $200 mmi and save yourself the hassle. Its easier to install by quite a margin and once you have Carplay you will spend basically no time in iDrive anyway.

[Henkan]

Originally Posted by hugo_nz

This retrofit on a ‘12 650i is tricky due to some hardware novelties. The interface modules by bimmer retrofit etc don’t work well, and to do it entirely oem you need to flash the gateway module with new firmware. And then there’s all the wiring changes.

Honestly if Carplay is all you’re after just buy a $200 mmi and save yourself the hassle. Its easier to install by quite a margin and once you have Carplay you will spend basically no time in iDrive anyway.

Thanks, might just go the mmi route. Thing is I have an NBT screen laying around and thought I might as well upgrade the whole system and get Carplay too, as a bonus.

I actually did an mmi installation this fall but ended up ripping it all from the car in a rage in the end (after about at least 10 full trim/console/panel removals) as the version I got was so buggy it could not be used. Can you recommend what mmi works best?

[vaio23]

I just did a hifinavigation carplay kit for my 2013 cic unit. Install was straight forward and everything works, even hooked up a front cam and can wirelessly mirror my phone.

https://hifimaxnavi.com/products/app...x1-x3-x4-x5-x6

[hugo_nz]

Originally Posted by Henkan

Thanks, might just go the mmi route. Thing is I have an NBT screen laying around and thought I might as well upgrade the whole system and get Carplay too, as a bonus.

I actually did an mmi installation this fall but ended up ripping it all from the car in a rage in the end (after about at least 10 full trim/console/panel removals) as the version I got was so buggy it could not be used. Can you recommend what mmi works best?

For OEM CarPlay you have to go NBT-EVO, which is even more complicated to retrofit since you need to replace the antenna modules and possibly your sound system amp.

I installed 2 generic MMIs from AliExpress in our X5 and 6er and they worked flawlessly since day one.