Anybody on the forum work for BMW Parts/Service?

[saluki540i]

Guys, I've got a buddy here in the Aviation Dept. at SIU who has a 97 318is. He had a battery put in and you guessed it- the radio won't take the code. I took a crack at it this morning, and found out he has 2 different radio codes -neither of which work, following the normal protocol. I'm looking for someone to verify his VIN & radio serial number without having to drive the car 2 hours each way and get popped for a frivolous couple hours of labor.

Thanks all,
Christophe Maskell

[yaofeng]

You can call the dealer up and fax your vehicle registration with the radio SN to get the code. Email works even better if you know the email address of the guy in the dealership parts department. Try,

http://www.bmw-auto-parts-dealer.com/

or

http://www.circlebmw.com/parts/parts.htm

[BMWCCA1]

Of course if you have the original code cards, you could just match up the serial number on the back of the radio with the correct code card. Or you might try leaving the radio powered-up for an hour (minimum 61 minutes) and then try first one code and, if that doesn't work, then the next. Don't blow it; I think you only get three failures before needing to leave it on for another hour.

[saluki540i]

Good to know. Luckily, I was able to get a hold of a friendly parts manager who knows me & I was able to get the proper code. I'm still mystified at how he ended up with two codes, of which neither were correct. Either way problem solved. Thanks again.