Just bought my son a 2006 325i, (Sport, Prem, no nav or idrive), and the alarm doesn't set when locking the doors. Any ideas why?
Just locked the doors with the remote. According to the Owner's manual, that should set the alarm, but we don't get an audible notification, and the red light on the mirror does not start to blink. My X5 gives a single "beep" when locking and 2 "beeps" when unlocking. The 325 just locks the doors.
BMWs do not come standard with an alarm; best guess is that you don't have it installed. it's usually a $500-$600 dealer-installed option.
I thought it was a standard item, or at least included in the premuim package. Guess I'll have to check with the dealer. Thanks.
Found a great thread on E90post.com about installing the factory alarm, great DIY photos that show my car has not had the alarm installed. Looks easy enough to DIY next week.
I posed the alarm question to my dealer service rep. The answer I got was... Me: How much to activate the alarm system? SR: About a thousand dollars. Me: Why so much? SR: The car has to be reprogrammed, which takes a few hours. We usually set the car up to download overnight. Me: Reprogrammed? SR: Yes. Otherwise, the car won't know an alarm is installed and might not unlock the doors in an accident. Now, I have no idea if this is true or not. I also don't know if there is a big difference between your 06 325i and my 07 328i but am curious if there is a legit DIY option that doesn't risk problems in other areas.
The alarm system is $255 from Tischer BMW. I'm sue you can find a DIY at e90post on how to install it. You will have to have the dealer activate the system once installed. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=MorePartInfo&PartID=463826&siteid=214672&catalogid=4462
i'd find a new dealer. i agree that the dealer needs to re-program, but it doesn't take overnight. even if the download doesn't take (which is very possible), why would the dealer make you pay for their mistake?
True! All excellent points. Though the staff at the dealer are generally very pleasant, particularly the sales reps (of course!), in the service department I can't walk out the door without being offered unnecessary services... not too early to replace the tires, car detailing for $175, nitrogen tire inflation, make sure we align the wheels if you have the tires replaced somewhere else, etc. During one visit I asked the service rep flat out if he was serious. His reply, "We have to ask. You would be surprised how many people say yes." I still don't like it, but at least I know their business model.
I installed the alarm kit in my 328i. It functions correctly without dealer activation except for "chirp" and "panic". I took it to the dealer for activation and they could not activate it stating that the BMW software would only activate if I had used the latest siren. The siren in the kit was the one that would have originally come with the car in 2008. BTW a dealer should not charge more than an hour of labor for activation.
