Hey guys I bought my Mini from the US auto sales here in Stuttgart with a the indash Navigation unit. I was told that the Germans lock us out of getting traffic info because we do not pay taxes for our cars here. Does anyone know how to unlock this?

 

Guten Tag!

This is the first I ever heard about the taxes to be honest, I'm not sure I am buying that as you can buy a portable that gets TMC.

On my 06 it was as simple as swapping the HU (Alpine Boost to Siemens Boost) and recoding the NAV to allow TMC when I lived there.

Looking at realOEM it seems to be the same radio. The radio is what will receive the TMC and decode it. Your radio is likely in USA mode (you probably don't pick up a lot of German radio stations either as they use all frequencies where we only use odd). I have not had the pleasure of playing with the new radio but on the old one we are able access a service menu and make changes to the mode of operation. There might be something like this on your radio. The old one is accessed by holding the "M" button down when you first turn on the car. I know, it is of no help but I would try various button combinations. If this doesn't work, you might have to have the thing recoded for Europe.

The other option is to get to know the German dealership very well and see if they might be willing to help.

 

Where are you located in Germany?

 

Stuttgart

 

I would reccomend going to your local BMW dealer (not military sales) and see what they say. I know the older mini's like mine work, and I got my '05 from military sales.

 

If he has an Alpine boost (small ****) the radio does not have the capability of receiving and decoding TMC. He would have to buy the OEM radio that is made by Siemens VDO (large flat volume ****) in order to do this. I had to do this when I got my MINI.

 

The German BMW dealer told me I would have to install a german spec radio and Nav unit in the car to get the TMC. FAIL!

 

Yep, he is wrong...

You will need to install the radio that I mentioned (SIemens VDO version) and recode the NAV for Europe which will give you the traffic option on the NAV.

In their defense, they really don't know how it is all hooked together. I spoke with the dealer in Mannheim (they are owned by BMW) and only one guy there understood what really needed to be done. That being said, I got it done on my own.

 

Crap, I may have taken you down a rabbit hole as I just noticed you have an 09! I would imagine that there are some way to recode the system, but getting it done may be difficult. You may also need a new radio and nav system. The best way to research this is to use RealOEM to see if there are multiple part numbers for a european version radios and navs. If they are the same as the US model then it is all in coding and that is where it becomes difficult.

 

To be honest, this is all way above my head!

 

If we are talking about the R56 with CCC navigation, then I would assume you would need to recode the unit with NCSExpert. Check out the electrical section of this forum. No need to install different hardware.

Officially, BMW may not do it, because in Germany reception of air-frequencies is indeed taxable. If you own a radio or television or even have an internet connection, you must pay tax for it. The tax is used to finance the state-owned broadcasters.