I just purchased a used 2009 335i and found the original sticker that listed the options. The sticker shows satellite readio with 1 year subscription. When I look at my drive display, however, I don't see satellite listed. Where would I see this? Should it be on the main menu or should it be on a sub-menu? Seems like a dumb question but I want my satellite radio! Thanks for any tips!
Congrats on the car & welcome to the forums. I don't have an answer for you, but hopefully somebody here familiar with your car's type of radio & I-Drive will. All I could suggest is dig through I-Drive options, and if you got a manual with your car, see if it's covered in there. I don't know if there's a separate radio manual or not, but if there is, hopefully it stayed with your car.
My guess is that you don't see it because it is no longer activated. Read the manual to find out your car radio's Satellite radio ID #, then you can call to have it activated. But, that's only a guess.... Good luck!
there's your problem, the last owner probably didn't renew the subscription since they knew they'd be trading the car in
You should find it listed on the "Radio" menu as "Satellite radio." From there you should find a teaser channel or two and the selections to activate your subscription, including one to display the ESN of the radio. You'll need that whether you sign up over the phone or via the Web, it uniquely identifies the car's radio.
When I traded my Z4 in on my 135i, the sat radio had stopped responding and did not show up when I scrolled through the modes. From what I got at the dealer, this is not an uncommon problem but not a significant problem with BMW Sat radios. Even if the service is not active, it will still show up in the menu and will play one or two channels. Trip to the dealer is in your future.
Thanks for the tips! First of all, thanks to some great posts out there I was able to locate my satellite unit in the trunk. I took it into the closest dealership and they found that the last time the car was taken in for repair the satellite radio was not programmed back into the iDrive. I'm taking it in Monday morning to the repair dealership to have it programmed back in for no charge. Fingers crossed the unit is functioning!
