2004 E53 CD player question

Discussion in 'X5' started by Richyroos, May 13, 2018.

  1. Richyroos
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    Richyroos

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    My X5 has sat nav, and the usual cassette player in the dash when the sat nav screen folds down, my question is - is it possible to change the cassette player to a CD player? I gather that a single slot CD player was available from BMW. The car has the 6 CD disc changer in the boot, but it would be nice to have the facility to play a CD without the hassle of changing the disc in the boot!! Must be getting lazy in my old age!

    Rich
     
  2. pinewood
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    pinewood

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    I just bought this for my other car. Takes a 32GB tf card and cheaper than changing out the cassette player.
    Link: hhttp://amzn.eu/dSbiBQQ
    Sound quality is somewhere between FM radio and CD.
     
  3. Richyroos
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    Richyroos

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    Thanks for that suggestion Pinewood, but meanwhile, I came across a "pre-owned" Cd player on Ebay, for £50, which seemed a bargain, so I have bought it, and just need to fit it now......... probably not as easy as it looks, as I have satnav, which will need to be withdrawn to get at the cassette player to remove it and fit the CD player! I will let you know how I get on!
     
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  4. Richyroos
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    Richyroos

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    Disaster!! I got the satnav out of the dash, only to discover that the cassette player is part of the satnav - it isn't separate at all. Very disappointing, all the blurb on the advert for the CD player indicated that it would be compatible, 2000 - 2006 X5 E53, so all good there, no mention at all about it not being suitable for satnav equipped cars. I think that I would be correct in saying that if my car didn't have satnav, it would have fitted, as it would have slotted in above the radio, the same as it does on the E39. Pity! I think I may have to stick with the boot mounted CD changer, years ago I had loads of cassettes, but they are all long gone now.
     
  5. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    sorry to hear that your new unit will not fit

    what is the problem with the boot mounted cd player?

    do you have a six disc cassette for it and if so cant you change disc from the drivers seat
     
  6. Richyroos
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    Richyroos

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    Hi Mach One, yes I do have a 5 disc changer in the boot, and it works fine - it is simply that at times it would be nice to slot a CD into the dash player, without the need to get out of the car, open the boot, and retrieve the CD cartridge, and change the CD! That may sound very lazy, but if it was pouring with rain for example, you might agree with the CD player in the dash being much more convenient!
    In my last car, an E61, that had a single slot CD player in the dash, and a 5 CD changer in the glovebox, what I tended to do, was just use the single slot player most of the time, and load up the changer cartridge on long journeys - which was essentially what I was intending to do this time, but it would seem that the only way I can achieve that, would be to buy a complete new satnav and CD player. I have seen a few different ones on Ebay, but have not heard of the makes, they tend to be around £200 odd. The ones I have looked at, didn't make it clear whether they worked in conjunction with the satnav CD unit in the car boot or what, and as we all know, a new unit from BMW would require a small mortgage!! So I will keep looking meanwhile. I have no doubt that some of the well known Hi Fi manufacturers can supply various replacement units with adapters etc, but I would prefer that any replacement is a similar design to the BMW fascia as it is now.
     
  7. kleynie
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    kleynie WARLORD Site Supporter

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    As you now know you need to buy the complete unit with the nav screen. I looked into this when I had my E39 with Mk4 DVD Nav (which I believe is the same as the X5) and it was costly at the time.
    I would guess a breaker is your best bet.
     
  8. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    I had my E60 for around six months and didnt know it had a six disc changer in the glove box, i thought i only had one slot in the dash where the sat Nav DVD lived

    I have never really been a big one for music in the car, and my whole record collection consists of a handful of songs that are on my phone to listen to on flights within Europe
     
  9. Richyroos
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    Richyroos

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    Just for information, the Cd changer in the glovebox in the E60/E61, is an option - not a standard fit, there is usually a single slot CD player fitted, which I believe was standard, and if you have satnav, there will be the CD slot for that lower down in the dash. I personally found the glovebox changer a bit of a PITA, as it was quite awkward to get the CD cartridge out, as it is so far back. I think I would have preferred the changer to have been in the boot, as it is in the E39's.
     
  10. kleynie
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    kleynie WARLORD Site Supporter

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    That's not strictly true. There were two types of sat nav, business nav that used the same CD slot as the audio CD and professional widescreen Nav that had the extra slot for the Nav DVD. The professional Nav was usually specified as the professional media package which included a CD changer in the glovebox and a DVD changer was optional.
     
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