I'm not sure if anyone can help on this, but before I'm go to the dealer, I figured it was worth a try. The Harmon Kardon sound system in my 2021 JCW has failed. I hear some pops (electronic sounding pops) at times, and sometimes things work for a minute or two, and then silence. I'm alone with my thoughts... Here's what I know.

1. My independent shop that knows these cars well diagnosed it as the amp having failed.
2. Another independent shop said the same, because there are also no warning sounds (seat belts unfastened, rear beeping when approaching anything while backing up, nothing).
3. No radio stations, Sirus XM, Music from my phone, blue tooth calls - nothing.
4. When it works for a brief period intermittently when I start the car, but even then, no sound comes from the drivers side rear speakers.
5. Sometimes I get the electronic popping before I even start the car upon opening the door. Nothing is on, but I get the pops.
6. There's no Apple car play available. And I can't enable it by pairing my phone. Not sure if this is related. It worked before the silence.

Based on the above I purchased the Bimmer-Tech Alpha One replacement amp for my car and installed it today. The install was very straight forward, and it appears to be a very high quality product. The price, while expensive, was about the same as the factory replacement amp. I've been wanting to do this upgrade, and I figured this was the universe telling me to get on with it. I did.

After putting everything back in place, and reconnecting the battery I started the car, and the sound was clearly much improved. And then I realized there was nothing from the drivers side rear, and then the electronic pops, and then silence. Again, I was alone with my thoughts. And they weren't good ones. Neither were my first words in my new found old silence.

What I know now is the problem isn't the amp. I have a very nice new one. The exact same problem persist. No sound, no Apple car play, and no idea of what the problem is. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

The dealer identified the problem as the head unit. The Tech said it’s almost always the amp. Nope. Mine had a bad head unit, and I paid dearly for the replacement. The good news is - it resolved the problem. I guess.