CD Stuck in dashboard drive? This might help

Stuart Truman · 08-25-2011, 12:11 PM

So, being the tinkerer and inquisitive person that I am, I was wondering if my CD Player or Autochanger supported MP3 disks. 2004 car and my similar vintage company 3 series did and with no aux port or ipod kit, I thought "let's burn a CD and put it in the drive(s) and test them, what's the worst that could happen?" Well, now I know.

So first piece of advice is THEY DON'T PLAY! (I know, I know, a million people on this board would have told me if I'd asked, but I'm an engineer and male, we don't ask directions or advice)

The second piece of advice, the CD Player will ENDLESSLY retry if it sees a disk it can't read and the end result, it starts sulking and WILL NOT EJECT. (see first piece of advice, don't try this, trust me)

At this point I am not a happy bunny and start researching on this forum and others looking for advice which seems to be threefold (other than you're buggered, take it to a dealer and beg):
a) disconnect the battery which will reset it and then (with a friend handy) reconnect it and press eject before the car's ibus wakes up and starts the whole blessed cycle of trying to read it again
b) get in the car with everything off for 15 minutes until the ibus goes to sleep, then when it's asleep, put the key in the ignition at position 1 and hit eject before the system wakes up. I reckon I hit it near simultaneously and I was too late
c) take the radio out (having researched thoroughly how to take the airvents out safely) and lift the lid and remove it that way.

I got to option C and had the radio out, lid off (it's a nav head unit and I was sh1tting myself in case I broke it) but however, I am a male engineer and a 50p CDR in my nice car is going to piss me off forever if I can't shift it. I discovered that with a CD stuck in the drive you can't easily get at it as it protrudes from the mechanism and interferes with the case. Now, being an engineer I know very well that if it doesn't move easily DO NOT FORCE IT. (I didn't, don't panic or laugh). You can remove the two TOR-X screws and gently lift the mechanism out of the case, but don't as you cannot easily get the CD out. I could not see a mechanical eject so I put it all back together and started thinking logically.

Now on the back of the unit is the ibus connector and if you remove it, reconnect the multi-plug and power on and press eject it ejects! FIRST TIME! YAY! Then reconnect, pray you didn't break anything and breathe a huge sigh of relief when it all works.

I guess I should have worked all this out before I started dismantling an expensive head unit, but I repeat, man, engineer, tinkerer...

So long story short, if you get a CD stuck in the drive and it's not a mechanical problem but a read error (you'll hear the drive spinning and stopping, spinning and stopping) try pulling the radio out and disconnecting the i-bus cable then powering it on and pressing eject. I hope it works for you!

TTFN, I'm off to buy an aux port retrofit kit and use my ipod. At least I know how to get the air-vent out to access the radio! :-)

esqu1re · 08-25-2011, 12:43 PM

Wow. You'd think it would just spit it out.

Flying Scotsman · 08-25-2011, 02:42 PM

When i bought mine, i tried a burnt cd and it never played (found out later it was because i had a grey head unit), but it ejected with no problem first time!!!

psygnosis · 08-25-2011, 03:26 PM

the gray CD player found in 2003-2004 cars wont do MP3 CDs, I play burned audio CDs in mine all the the time though.

MP3 playback didn't happen till the minifacelift in 2005 when the interior plastics changed to black.

jcutrell · 08-25-2011, 07:10 PM

The head unit on the Z4 (w/o nav) is identical to the head unit on the BMW X3. I found a used head unit from a wrecked 2008 X3 on eBay and did a swap (after swapping my original grey faceplate for the black on the X3 unit). I also added the aux cable. Now I have it all on my 2003 Z4. I find that I use mp3's on burned CD's more than the aux.

Mirko · 08-25-2011, 07:15 PM

I had a CD stuck in my player as well cause it couldn't read the disc. Shut off the car and turned back on pressed eject. It came out without any fuss. Just let it finish trying to read, shut down and turn on and eject. I might have changed to radio and then shut down and pressed eject while on that setting. Can't remember but it worked.

08-25-2011, 12:11 PM	#1
Stuart Truman Registered 1 Rep 1 Posts Drives: Alpina Roadster S Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	CD Stuck in dashboard drive? This might help So, being the tinkerer and inquisitive person that I am, I was wondering if my CD Player or Autochanger supported MP3 disks. 2004 car and my similar vintage company 3 series did and with no aux port or ipod kit, I thought "let's burn a CD and put it in the drive(s) and test them, what's the worst that could happen?" Well, now I know. So first piece of advice is THEY DON'T PLAY! (I know, I know, a million people on this board would have told me if I'd asked, but I'm an engineer and male, we don't ask directions or advice) The second piece of advice, the CD Player will ENDLESSLY retry if it sees a disk it can't read and the end result, it starts sulking and WILL NOT EJECT. (see first piece of advice, don't try this, trust me) At this point I am not a happy bunny and start researching on this forum and others looking for advice which seems to be threefold (other than you're buggered, take it to a dealer and beg): a) disconnect the battery which will reset it and then (with a friend handy) reconnect it and press eject before the car's ibus wakes up and starts the whole blessed cycle of trying to read it again b) get in the car with everything off for 15 minutes until the ibus goes to sleep, then when it's asleep, put the key in the ignition at position 1 and hit eject before the system wakes up. I reckon I hit it near simultaneously and I was too late c) take the radio out (having researched thoroughly how to take the airvents out safely) and lift the lid and remove it that way. I got to option C and had the radio out, lid off (it's a nav head unit and I was sh1tting myself in case I broke it) but however, I am a male engineer and a 50p CDR in my nice car is going to piss me off forever if I can't shift it. I discovered that with a CD stuck in the drive you can't easily get at it as it protrudes from the mechanism and interferes with the case. Now, being an engineer I know very well that if it doesn't move easily DO NOT FORCE IT. (I didn't, don't panic or laugh). You can remove the two TOR-X screws and gently lift the mechanism out of the case, but don't as you cannot easily get the CD out. I could not see a mechanical eject so I put it all back together and started thinking logically. Now on the back of the unit is the ibus connector and if you remove it, reconnect the multi-plug and power on and press eject it ejects! FIRST TIME! YAY! Then reconnect, pray you didn't break anything and breathe a huge sigh of relief when it all works. I guess I should have worked all this out before I started dismantling an expensive head unit, but I repeat, man, engineer, tinkerer... So long story short, if you get a CD stuck in the drive and it's not a mechanical problem but a read error (you'll hear the drive spinning and stopping, spinning and stopping) try pulling the radio out and disconnecting the i-bus cable then powering it on and pressing eject. I hope it works for you! TTFN, I'm off to buy an aux port retrofit kit and use my ipod. At least I know how to get the air-vent out to access the radio! :-)
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08-25-2011, 12:43 PM	#2
esqu1re Lieutenant Colonel 44 Rep 1,855 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: East Coast iTrader: (0)	Wow. You'd think it would just spit it out. __________________ ///M Coupe: RPI Scoop, OE Strut, CDV, Volk RE30, SS Brake Lines, Stromung Exhaust
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08-25-2011, 02:42 PM	#3
Flying Scotsman Private First Class 3 Rep 146 Posts Drives: BMW Z4 2.5L Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Long Island N.Y. iTrader: (0)	When i bought mine, i tried a burnt cd and it never played (found out later it was because i had a grey head unit), but it ejected with no problem first time!!!
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08-25-2011, 03:26 PM	#4
psygnosis Major 23 Rep 1,034 Posts Drives: '04 Z4 3.0i Sport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: WA iTrader: (0)	the gray CD player found in 2003-2004 cars wont do MP3 CDs, I play burned audio CDs in mine all the the time though. MP3 playback didn't happen till the minifacelift in 2005 when the interior plastics changed to black. __________________ Straightaways are for fast cars, Corners are for fast drivers.
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08-25-2011, 07:10 PM	#5
jcutrell New Member 0 Rep 20 Posts Drives: 2003 Z4 2.5i Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Georgetown, Ohio iTrader: (0)	The head unit on the Z4 (w/o nav) is identical to the head unit on the BMW X3. I found a used head unit from a wrecked 2008 X3 on eBay and did a swap (after swapping my original grey faceplate for the black on the X3 unit). I also added the aux cable. Now I have it all on my 2003 Z4. I find that I use mp3's on burned CD's more than the aux.
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08-25-2011, 07:15 PM	#6
Mirko Major 182 Rep 1,031 Posts Drives: E86 Z4M, E90 328i, E84 X1 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Toronto iTrader: (2)	I had a CD stuck in my player as well cause it couldn't read the disc. Shut off the car and turned back on pressed eject. It came out without any fuss. Just let it finish trying to read, shut down and turn on and eject. I might have changed to radio and then shut down and pressed eject while on that setting. Can't remember but it worked.
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