Finding A Bmw Business Cd53 Radio That Plays Mp3 Data Cds Pictorial Guide Diy!

[delmarco]

I saw this answer somewhere but can't for the life of me find it again: what model year or manufacturing date started getting the latest version of the Business CD head that could read mp3s? (Trying to find one on ebay.)

9/04+ models (Business CD) are MP3/WMA compatible.

This is WRONG info! The prodution date has little to do with anything when it comes to buying a quality unit. I spent the last 9 months researching for a new MP3 capable unit for my own car and the information below is what I found out.

Here is the complete list of all the BMW Business CD53 Units manufactured and dispatched for the E46 cars from 1998 to 2007:

Prefacelifted E46 Cars

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 883

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 882

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 902 661

Part Number 6512-6 921 963

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-8 371 342

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-8 368 248

Becker, Part Number 65.12-8 387 507 (Mar 2001)

Facelifted E46 Cars including the M3

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 916 241 (July 2001)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 915 711 (Sep 2001)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 919 072 (Dec 2001-Jun 2002)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 921 963 (July 2002-Jan 2003)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 927 902 (Feb 2003-Aug 2003)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 505 (Jan 2004)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 (Oct 2004) MP3 Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 961 215 (Dec 2005-May 2006) MP3 Capable

Philips(?), Part Number 6512 6916047-02 (Feb 2003)

Philips(?), Part Number 6512 6935627-01 (Mar 2003)

Philips(?), Part Number 6512 6932430-01 (Nov 2003-Dec 2003)

Philips(?), Part Number 6512 6939660-01 (Mar 2004-Nov 2005)

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6943435-02 (Apr 2005) MP3 Capable

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6976885-01 (Sep 2005) MP3 Capable

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6976886-03 (Jun 2006) MP3 Capable

NOTE: If you find any BMW Business CD53 Radio Unit with a production year date sticker on it that is later than these production dates corresponding to each part number unit (IE. a year date that is 05, 06, 07, 08) it is most certain that those units are re-manufactured/refurbished under warranty and re-labeled to reflect the date of re-manufacture. This is especially true for the factory recalled MP3-capable BMW Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 unit which is always re-labeled to become BMW Part Number 65. 12-6 943 430 after refurbishment.

From that information we see that only five BMW Business CD53 Radio Parts Number for the E46 cars has MP3 playback (along with Sirius and Aux dual Datalink inputs.)

These first three I know nothing about as they are Parts Number specific to Eastern and Western European BMW E46

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6943435-02 (Apr 2005)

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6976885-01 (Sep 2005)

VDO(?), Part Number 6512 6976886-03 (Jun 2006)

The remaining two are USA/UK Alpine units...

Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 (and it's Re-manufactured/Refurbished counterpart CD53 units with Part Number 65.12-6 943 430). The BMW Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 CD53s were plagued with many many many problems and there was even a factory recall of these units at one point of their hectic production lifespan hence why you come across many BMW Part Number: 65.12-6 943 430 CD53s on eBay today. These are Re-manufactured/Refurbished versions of the original Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 Business CD53 Radios even though the sellers of these units won't mention that to you.

AND

Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 will also give your car MP3 playback ability. These were superior post stock original production units that were made on the last production E46 coupes, convertibles and M3 cars from late 2005 until late 2006/ 2007. If you come across one of these on eBay for under $300 then immediately buy it! These will give you the full capacity and digital function of all the previous CD53 Radios including MP3 playback and it lacks the refurbished and buggy history that the Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 units come with.

NOTE:

They are lots of sellers that try to bump up the price of their Re-manufactured/Re-furbished Part Number: 65.12-6 943 430 units because they will tell you it has a late production date like NOV 05 or something like JAN 07 and the quality or newness is better. This is to pretty much scam you into buying a refurbished unit for more money than those units are actually worth relative to the original Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 units (which can come with bugs and can be pretty much something you may want to avoid). I would try to seek out a Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 unit where ever you decide to buy your unit from. Even if it a BMW Dealership make sure you ask for the Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 unit since they may charge you the same price as a 65.12-6 943 430 unit of over $1,000 for it.

Here are some pictures of the superior CD53 Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 Radio and their respective labels;

I just bought this unit on eBay for my car with this sticker on the bottom. (I was lucky to find it for $200 BUY IT NOW) :

Here is another pristine unit made in May 06 that is on eBay right now for $298:

In these pictures below you will see how this slick eBay seller tries to peel away the Remanufactured Parts# sticker to reveal the original Parts# beneath so that he can bump up the price. He is selling his units for $309 and $319 based on the prod dates of NOV 04 and FEB 05 respectively claiming the later build date deserves the price increase when both of these units are most likely refurbished versions of their bug ridden/factory recalled Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 original units.

A general rule of thumb for visually inspecting if the unit has MP3 digital capabilities is that the Business CD53 Radio that play MP3 files usually has the black trim along the same side as the pin17 connectior-input that is in the back.

And it should ALWAYS be an Alpine-made unit that has the MODE button in the place of the older Blaupunkt CD button under the AM/FM buttons.

[mit]

Wow man, you're really thorough!

I am sure this thread has answered many peoples' questions on which units play MP3s!

[duffman]

excellent mate

[delmarco]

Wow man, you're really thorough!

I am sure this thread has answered many peoples' questions on which units play MP3s!

Thanks Mates,

Yeah I had many questions myself for all those 9 months I did my endless search and there was, until now, virtually no place online that had this information.

And where ever I did find information there was usually a Sponsor or Re-seller trying to get me to buy some sort of unit from them so they only advised me based on the equipment they were selling.

In the end I got my most of answers from trial and error, my local BMW Dealership and a very very vague amateur German/Austrian or Latvian forum website oddly dedicated just to BMW Radios and this website in the UK http://www.intravention.co.uk/index.php?op...3&Itemid=32

.

What's funny is that these units have been around for 5 years and the E46 has been around for 11 years an after all this time there is 1 thread and 1 post to simply explain this unnecessary

mystery.

[Keith]

Good work - that's a definitive answer right there!

Well done mate

[delmarco]

Dear Santiago and Bimmerfest forum-

I have MY2002 330xi which came with HK audio.

Recently the business CD player died, and dealer replaced with

65-12-6-961-215 RMFD radio.

Doesn't sound nearly as good as original unit.

Just wondering if anyone can answer if the business CD head units are the same for the HK and regular audio systems?

I know HK has different amp, subwoofer, and perhaps speakers but can't tell about head unit itself. Was there perhaps a change of Manufacturer of these head units since early 2002 to now? Or perhaps it just doesn't match up as well with the amp and speakers from MY 2002 as it's a (newer?) head unit?

I have about 2 weeks left on parts warranty for this car....

thanks v. much

I know this reply is about 5 years later. But I found this thread from a basic Google search seeking information on resetting my 65-12-6-961-215 unit for the USA region that I bought on eBay .

HOW TO RESET and CALIBRATE YOUR BMW BUSINESS CD53 RADIO: With the engine/car off and key in position 1, turn your Radio on and hold down the M button until some funny numbers show up with - + in the RDS/PTY screen area. Use the buttons you would normally press for RDS and PTY to scroll thru the various settings and information.

Some of the information you will scroll thru are S/N serial number, build date of unit, parts number, SW number and the rest are basically settings that you can change. You will see one for REGION (I think USA or EUROPE come up) and you can properly select your REGION. Also one of the settings seem to be for adjusting your Radio's antenna's AM/FM frequency. I think this was labeled V or something and it allows you to increase or decrease the antenna sensitivity.

They are a bunch more settings that I haven't explored. But setting my REGION correctly and calibrating my Antenna sensitivity made everything better for my 65-12-6-961-215 unit and yes it does play MP3 Data CDs.

Also 65-12-6-961-215 is not a designated Re-manufactured parts. On the dealership computer that number comes up as an original manufacture part.

The way the parts number work is that when a said unit gets re-manufactured or refurbished BMW changed the parts number of the said unit to a new number relevant to the original number so

say if my parts number unit 65-12-6-943-429 got sent back to the dealership and got refurbished. BMW would restock the same said unit after refurbishment with a parts number of 65-12-6-943-430.

The parts number ending three digits increases by 1. So 429 becomes 430.

or a 65. 12-6 941 505 would now become 65. 12-6 941 506 after refurbishment. Which is why when you browse REALOEM you see a lot of strange yet familiar looking parts number.

Here is a list of ALL original parts number for the USA BMW Business CD53 Radios you may come across on eBay;

1998 to 2001 E46 Cars

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 883

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 882

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 902 661

2001 to 2007 E46 Cars including the M3

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 916 241 (July 2001)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 915 711 (Sep 2001)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 919 072 (Dec 2001-Jun 2002)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 921 963 (July 2002-Jan 2003)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 927 902 (Feb 2003-Aug 2003)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 505 (Jan 2004)

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 (Oct 2004) MP3 Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 961 215 (Dec 2005-May 2006) MP3 Capable

[Fahim-mo]

Dude !!

Thanks so much for this info. I am now gonna buy my MP3 compatible OEM CD player from ebay USA and when I get it I will now be able to reset it to the correct region - FANTASTIC!

[Stan 24v]

Now heres your next mission, should you choose to accept it Does the cd changer have anything similar??

[thesanchez]

I just wanted to add to this topic. With the help of RoryW I got hold of a CD player from eBay which I needed to be compatible with a CD changer and aux input. It was manufactured June 2005 but the model number was not one that I could find much information on, certainly nothing concrete. So I decided to post in here as someone might find the info useful in future. I wasn't actually bothered about MP3 compatibility so it was a bonus when I found out that mine will play MP3s without an issue. Anyway, to the point.....It's a Siemens VDO unit. Model number 6512415933-01 and these units definitely play MP3 discs. It's not in the list above or mentioned on any other forums that I could find. Hopefully someone will find this useful when searching for this particular model. I was pleased to get it for only £55 too!

[marc l]

Nice. I've got one in mine too.... With an aux lead

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thesanchez]

I don't expect I will ever use it but I know some people like these so it would help someone find a suitable model (and hopefully at a decent price if people don't really know about them) I just need to get an aux lead now!

[Chimp Choker]

Here you go

BMW Business CD53 Units manufactured and dispatched for the USA E46 cars from 1998 to 2007 with their respective Part Number, Production Period, and what each unit is capable of :

1998 to 2001 E46 3 Series vehicles

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 883 iPod Data Capable

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 882 iPod Data Capable

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 902 661 iPod Data Capable

NOTE: iPod Data Capable is ONLY if the car is Prewired in the trunk for the CD Changer - You can also add Aux Input ONLY thru an iPod Data Kit like the USA Spec PA12 or the DICE iPod kits

2001 to 2007 E46 3 Series vehicles including the E46 M3

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 916 241 (July 2001) iPod Data Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 915 711 (Sep 2001) Ipod Data Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 919 072 (Dec 2001-Jun 2002)iPod Data, Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 921 963 (July 2002-Jan 2003)iPod Data, Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 927 902 (Feb 2003-Aug 2003)iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 10-6 927 903 (RMFD thru Dec 2006) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 505 (Jan 2004 - Sept 2004) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 506 (RMFD thru Dec 2007) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 (Oct 2004 -Sept 2005) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 430 (RMFD thru 2008) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 961 215 (Dec 2005-May 2006) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable

[thesanchez]

I had seen all that info, CC. I was trying to say that the model I bought isn't on that 'definative' list and it was my post was for anyone searching in future to verify if the CD53 they're looking at (with a model number that matches mine) is MP3 compatible.

[e46-ee]

Hi everyone, 

My father has an E46 5/2001 (according to VIN) with Reverse Radio Unit. I want to upgrade this unit with CD53 MP3/AUX capable and I have to questions:

1) Do we know if MP3 capable CD53 Radios are also AUX capable?

2) Because the car is far away, is there a way to check if it is equiped with one (NG Radio) or two aerial inputs (ΟG Radio)? According to realoem.com the cars from 3/2001 have NG Radio (one input). However, is any way to confirm it? 

Thank you! 

Edited September 9, 2017 by e46-ee