2014+ NBT in MY2013 vehicle

[Dracon]

Just curious if anyone has attempted to install a 2014+ M5 NBT in a MY2013 M5 to replace the 2013 NBT for getting Sirius station art, etc?

Been thinking about doing it since I can get an NBT from a MY2015 vehicle on the cheap and was curious if anyone else has tried it before.

[JNoSol]

Should should consult with these guys:
http://www.bimmerretrofit.com/store/...ry&path=78_122

[v3n0m]

I was under the impression that the hardware was the same.

Aren't most of the feature difference coding enabled? I'm able to VO code my 2013 nbt with 2014 settings just fine.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by v3n0m

I was under the impression that the hardware was the same.

Aren't most of the feature difference coding enabled? I'm able to VO code my 2013 nbt with 2014 settings just fine.

Sirius station art and some other things aren't codeable because of hardware changes like a different SiriusXM tuner.

[ur20v]

I am interested as well...

Jay

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by ur20v

I am interested as well...

Jay

I'll let you know. I have a NBT unit from a 2014 sitting on my desk. Gonna try swapping it out next week when I'm back home.

[BIGW0RM]

Originally Posted by Dracon

I'll let you know. I have a NBT unit from a 2014 sitting on my desk. Gonna try swapping it out next week when I'm back home.

update?

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by BIGW0RM

update?

I did the swap today. I'm just sorting through a couple coding items but it was largely successful. I have all the major items working like BMW Assist, BMW Apps, etc etc.

I now have Sirius station art when on Satellite radio as well.

I had to go through two NBT units in order to get the right one for my vehicle. If you have Rear Seat Entertainment you need a special variant of the NBT hardware otherwise your RSE will be dead.

I'll do a write up in this thread tomorrow with pictures of the differences and what I learned.

[ur20v]

Awesome news. Please detail the differences/upgrades

[Dracon]

Ok, so here's what I learned as part of my little project.

Apparently, there's two major variants of the NBT hardware itself in respect to the ports on the back for North America.

One of them has an additional 12pin connector above the quad lock and a Bright Orange ethernet port (direct ethernet connection to the RSE). These are for connecting to the RSE system if the vehicle is so equipped (like mine). The 12 pin connector carries video signal to the RSE module and the Bright Orange ethernet port connects the NBT to the RSE for communications.

Here's the back of the first unit I purchased which was from a 2014 M6



And the unit I purchased which was from a 2014 328i (which didn't have Rear Seat Entertainment). Note the additional connector and USB port.



So after I got the right unit, the swap out was pretty simple in terms of hardware. Amazingly, it's very quick and easy to access the NBT on the 5-series. It only requires removal of the main dash trim and the front control panel.

Once the new NBT was installed, I had to change the VIN to my VIN, clear out all the previous vehicle's FSC codes and load in the FSC codes for my VIN in order to get all the features re-activated (Navigation, SiriusXM, BMW Apps, etc, etc).

Surprisingly enough, ISTA/P didn't seem to care that the 2014+ NBT was installed in the vehicle as even the 2014+ models are valid part numbers for the 2013 model of the 5-series. ISTA/P only complained about the fact I retrofitted the Touchbox module and the Touch iDrive controller, which was easily fixed in Expert Mode to reflash and recode the NBT to my VO.

After that, it was a matter to comparing the coding between a 2014 model and a 2013 model to see what the differences are. If I changed my VO to 2014 and VO coded the module, mostly everything worked except for a new screens which didn't apply to 2013 model vehicles (like 2013 model vehicles can't control their ambient lighting brightness and style via the iDrive). So I weeded out the parameters I needed and left out the ones that didn't apply to me and recoded the new NBT with my new custom parameters and everything worked just fine.

So now I have Sirius station art on my navigation display. Also making a couple adjustments to my coding on the Rear Seat Entertainment allows it to display the album art on the rear screens as well. I don't know if the newer hardware revisions have any other advantages except an updated SiriusXM tuner with displays the channel art. Something like this probably wouldn't make sense for anyone outside North America since SiriusXM isn't offered elsewhere.

Here's after everything was swapped out and installed and coded:

Main display in the front



and SiriusXM channel art on the rear screens

[evilb]

All that work, and Sirius still sucks. Audio quality worse than radio. Surprised artwork was that important to you.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by evilb

All that work, and Sirius still sucks. Audio quality worse than radio. Surprised artwork was that important to you.

Wasn't just the artwork, but it does prove that there are some updated components in the newer NBT units.

It really wasn't a lot of work anyway, takes less than 30 minutes to swap the NBTs around, if that.

And I already had the knowledge to make the used NBT a virgin so I can program it with my VIN and load my FSC codes into the unit. Coding was simple as well.

Plus I can usually find NBT units pretty cheaply and I could always viriginize and sell my old NBT to some who wants to retrofit.

The newer unit does seem to respond faster than before, plus I don't have a lag in the bluetooth picking up the phone like I did with my original one.

I also wanted to see if installing a 2014+ unit would trigger any issues with the ISTA/P dealership system as an unapproved part, but was surprised to see that the newer 2014 part was accepted by ISTA/P as a valid part for the vehicle and had no problems with it.

Also gives a little credence to my personal theory about what BMW is going to do about 2013 model 5-series vehicles and BMW Assist in terms of ConnectedDrive since as it stands, 2013 model 5-series vehicles won't be supported after the end of this year but BMW claims to be working on a technical upgrade for those vehicles.

[evilb]

It's a really informative post, don't get me wrong. I just have a deep rooted hatred for Sirius because I'm an audiophile

How much was the unit if you don't mind me asking?

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by evilb

It's a really informative post, don't get me wrong. I just have a deep rooted hatred for Sirius because I'm an audiophile

How much was the unit if you don't mind me asking?

My next door neighbor works for LKQ and managed to find the one I needed (since I had to have the Orange ethernet port and the 12-pin video connector for my RSE) for around $400.

[Dracon]

Also, heres a PDF with a bunch of high quality pictures of the internals of an NBT unit.

This is a European variant with DAB radio instead of Sirius radio (it has the Green and Curry colored connectors instead of the Pink connector).

So there's two primary configurations, with the RSE connectors and without.

Outside of that, there's a few different radio boards depending on region, the black and white connectors for FM radio and blue connector for GPS are always present, each radio board just has different top connectors for various special radio services such as:

1) Pink connector for SiriusXM in North America
2) Green and curry connector for DAB in Europe
3) Black 3-pin connector and Grey connector for VICS in Japan
4) No top connectors at all

There's also no rhyme or reason to why vehicles that never came with RSE from the factory have the RSE variant of the NBT, but it's fortunate in my case because it made mine much easier to find.

Also, I misspoke when talking about the Bright Orange connector, it's not USB it's a direct Ethernet connection to the Rear Seat Entertainment module, which is basically a mini-NBT in itself. It has a different CAFD assignment in E-Sys, but all the coding parameters are the same.

[evilb]

Have you replaced the idrive controller yet as part of your upgrades?

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by evilb

Have you replaced the idrive controller yet as part of your upgrades?

Yeah, I did that before I replaced the NBT. Installed a TBX module and touch controller.

[DATM3]

I have a 2015 M3 and the navigation has the Google style traffic indicators (green and red lines) and on my 2013 M6 the traffic uses the gray arrows. Is it required to replaced the NBT unit to change this or is it just a map upgrade?

Thanks,

D

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by DATM3

I have a 2015 M3 and the navigation has the Google style traffic indicators (green and red lines) and on my 2013 M6 the traffic uses the gray arrows. Is it required to replaced the NBT unit to change this or is it just a map upgrade?

Thanks,

D

It's two things actually. Updating the maps helps, the other is how the vehicle acquires traffic data.

If your BMW Assist subscription has expired on your M6 then you aren't getting the Advanced RTTI services and just getting the standard TMC from the local radio stations.

[Xx 335Mangaki xX]

Hey Dracon,

Did you notice a difference in screen resolution and picture quality? I also have a 13 M5 and think the nbt screen isn't of the best quality.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by Xx 335Mangaki xX

Hey Dracon,

Did you notice a difference in screen resolution and picture quality? I also have a 13 M5 and think the nbt screen isn't of the best quality.

The screens are the same between the 2013 and the 2014+ models. Same resolution and such.

[Xx 335Mangaki xX]

Gotcha, so Im guessing its just the trim bezel that is different? the reason why I asked and thank you for your response is I was recently in a 2015 & 2016 loaner 528 and the screens looked much more vibrant and sharper then the one I have. Thanks again.......