Sound fading in and out

[jgprather]

I have the Premium Sound System with iPod hookup. Today, I noticed the music faded in and out (volume-wise). And the other day, I pushed the arrow on my steering wheel to skip tracks and it would either play the same track again or go backward. Seemed like it rotated through just a few songs.

Anybody have these problems before?

[dma550]

re: the volume fading, do you possibly have the speed volume adjustments on? Faster=louder?

[jgprather]

I do have that activated. But it's doing this all the time, not just when I accelerate. It's very noticeable.

[miro2296]

Make sure your IPOD cable doesn't have too much pressure on it or anything like that, because it will cut off the sound.

[maddad]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue and came to any resolution. I have my volume-speed control set to 1 so it's not based on speed of the car..it happens at idle even. It's most noticable when playing via mini jack for MP3 players(I've tried 3 ipods, sony walkman mp3, and my phone) volume just cuts out-in regardless of track and audio recording quality. I've noticed it happens as well with CDs but it's not as obvious and some CDs don't exhibit it. The toally wacky part is listening to the radio it never happens.

We all know the audio quality is sub par but this is this the most annoying aspect for me.

R.

[Jaguar66]

Originally Posted by maddad

I know this is an old thread, but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue and came to any resolution. I have my volume-speed control set to 1 so it's not based on speed of the car..it happens at idle even. It's most noticable when playing via mini jack for MP3 players(I've tried 3 ipods, sony walkman mp3, and my phone) volume just cuts out-in regardless of track and audio recording quality. I've noticed it happens as well with CDs but it's not as obvious and some CDs don't exhibit it. The toally wacky part is listening to the radio it never happens.

We all know the audio quality is sub par but this is this the most annoying aspect for me.

R.

I believe there are gremlins in the software, my Premium Sound system had an episode where only the AM/FM Satellite radio went into a tinny low volume unintelligible mode, the audio section (thumb drive) was fine. The next day it was cured. WTF?

[MadMan77]

I have had the same issues in the past. I just got my car back from replacing the HPFP and they updated the entire car to the new software. I know the radio was updated as well since my 64GB iPod Touch now works with the car. I haven't had it long enough to see if the fading is still happening but I will listen for it and report in at a later date.

[SDW335]

Same problem here and just had my car in for other service. When I asked the service advisor, he told me that was normal

After a terrible experience, I'll be using another dealership for service - mabye next time it will get addressed and fixed.

[maddad]

Just thought I'd report back some good news. I had my car in for routine annual service and mentioned to my SA the issues I have with the volume fading out/in while listening to music. I also thought the sound quality in general was pretty bad. Treble was way to bright and would hurt your ears even at moderate volume. So I describe these things to my SA and low and behold he pulls out a TSB describe everything I just mentioned. The solution wasn't new parts, it was new software, the tsb called for updating the ECU. I was a bit skeptical to be honest, but I got my car back end of the day Friday and it was immediately apparent all the issues were resolved. In fact its beyond what I hoped. The audio system is simply transformed. I use to have to turn my bass down to -2 and now I have it on +2 and the bass is much better quality. There is no more harshness to the treble and I hear instuments I didn't even hear in the music before.....seriously, it is massively transformed. I'll pull the invoice tomorrow and see if there is any useful reference info. If you have issues with the volume falling out/in and overall lack of sound quality you may want to inquire. My car is a early production 2009 so a lot of newer cars migh already have the update.

Its amazing to me updated software fixed all this..I wonder if BMW does use crossovers built into the speakers....if the handle everything via DSP in the head unit maybe bad programming was sending frequency to speakers that shouldn't have been receiving...that would explain the lack of fidelity, the harness, the poor bass relative to have 2 8" subs in the car. Just speculating because I am amazed as the difference in sound from just a software update.

PS - I have the upgrade audio system. Not sure if the TSB was limited to that or not.

R.