DIY: E92 M3: OEM Alarm Install

I have only installed the motion sensor for that reason (don't want the siren to go off for no reason), and the other day my flashers went off when at a meetup and an old Aston cranked up. I had locked the car to go for brunch, and came back with the hazards on. Not sure whether it was the exhaust or someone touched the car, but they turned off when I hit the comfort access.

I JUST my alarm coded since I wrote this up. Haha. Works like a charm.

I'm uploading a pic of the hood switch for Thinker23 who wanted to see where it's supposed to go ...

MDCTFTW wrote

I'm uploading a pic of the hood switch for Thinker23 who wanted to see where it's supposed to go ...

Didn't your car come with the hood switch already installed? Mine did.

GregW / Oregon wrote

Didn't your car come with the hood switch already installed? Mine did.

Oh mine did come with it installed, but Thinker has an 09 build that doesn't come pre-wired for the oem alarm. He was wondering where it's supposed to go so he could check.

My dealership wants $185 for the activation and they say it's a half day job...is that true?

endofanera7 wrote

My dealership wants $185 for the activation and they say it's a half day job...is that true?

Damn that's a lot. I'm not sure, but I think it runs at least $100. I got mine hooked up while getting some work done on the car.

endofanera7 wrote

My dealership wants $185 for the activation and they say it's a half day job...is that true?

My dealership charged me 1 hour of labor which was $130. I was told it would take some time as there were other cars to be programmed so they gave me a loaner. I got a phone call about 3 hours later and the car was finished. Good luck!

I paid $130 also. It took all day but they work on other cars while yours is "downloading" the software. Apparently, the car uses some old fashioned ISA modem to get its updates.....or why else would it take all day?

JuniorDee wrote

I paid $130 also. It took all day but they work on other cars while yours is "downloading" the software. Apparently, the car uses some old fashioned ISA modem to get its updates.....or why else would it take all day?

Apparently all the modules need to be reprorammed, not just the alarm. Mine ended up taking overnight.

Like Greg, mine took a while. I've got an '08 purchased 04/09, and apparently there were 2-3 hours of updates that were needed. To further complicate things, the BMW center computer they connected to went down, and apparently it doesn't error out or give any message on the dealer's end. They noticed it had showed 2.5 hours remaining for over an hour and restarted. Thank God they had shuttled me home by then.

Only settings I lost with the full software update were seats and radio presets.

Just installed mine, very easy. A note to the OP, it's 10mm & 8mm sockets you need, not 6mm.

Question, after installing the alarm and reconnecting the negative cable to the battery, are there any codes you have to re-enter for the radio..etc?:confused:

exssive wrote

Question, after installing the alarm and reconnecting the negative cable to the battery, are there any codes you have to re-enter for the radio..etc?:confused:

Don't know - I skipped disconnecting the battery, though that's not the right thing to do. They make a little cigarette lighter adapter that accepts a 9V battery for maintaining radio codes. Not sure if it's required to do that on our cars. Unlike the E46, I don't think I got radio codes with this car.

I remember the official service bulletin saying 1.5 hours should be charged for the install and programming. Unfortunately, my dealer charged 2 hours.

It's not really worth installing yourself since you're really only saving 30 minutes labor and there have been reports of the dealer saying they couldn't program it because it wasn't installed right, so they charged for install anyway.

This DIY is great! I installed mine by memory after studying this post. My M3 was in for service and I had them code the alarm, I got a call telling me they were having a problem and was it installed on a car previously. After installing the updates it was fine and I didn't lose any of my stereo, i-drive settings.

I used this DIY to install the alarm over the weekend. The whole process was straightforward, and the only hassle I ran into was removing the fender liner.

By the way, I noticed a little bit of rust on my wheel hub when I removed the driver side rear wheel. Is that normal? Did anyone else notice that?

aajami wrote

By the way, I noticed a little bit of rust on my wheel hub when I removed the driver side rear wheel. Is that normal? Did anyone else notice that?

Yes, rust there is pretty normal.

aajami wrote

By the way, I noticed a little bit of rust on my wheel hub when I removed the driver side rear wheel. Is that normal? Did anyone else notice that?

Yes, rust there is pretty normal. See photo #7 in the OP.

Noted. Thanks!

Installed my alarm had it activiated, but no motion sensor? why?

how are you trying to check that it works?

I'm not sure it's a motion sensor. I think it may be a glass breakage detector.

That, I wouldn't test BTW!