Thread: BMW Garmin 3760T Problem

In addition the following info on the subject is from some BMW owners forum I've just found:

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Excerpts:

My nuvi 3790 crapped out and the dealer had me go through Garmin for replacement. Not a problem, except that the new unit I received was not the BMW version of the 3790. Initially I didn't think it would be an issue, except that the non-BMW version won't output the audio over the car speakers. It also doesn't have the BMW splash screen, nor the BMW dealer POIs category, nor the BMW icons. These latter features weren't a deal-breaker for me, but the lack on audio integration was.

Long story short, I called Garmin to address the issue and the rep I talked to basically told me I was crazy and that obviously the dealer had custom-wired the GPS unit because Garmin doesn't make any portable GPS units that integrate with the car's audio over a hardwire connection. He basically said that the only difference between the BWM version and the regular retail version is that the BMW version has the aforementioned graphics and POI information. After some very persistent arguing with the rep, he finally agreed to talk to a supervisor to see if what I was saying was legit. Only a couple minutes later he came back on the phone and guess what, he acknowledged that I was right and the BMW version does integrate with the car's speakers. Duh!!

So, the replacement unit is on its way back to Garmin and a new BMW-specific version of the 3790 will be on its way. Hopefully this will straighten it out!!

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I would have guessed that putting a 3790 into your cradle would have worked fine. The splash screeen, POIs and pictures are almost certainly files in the flash memory of the BMW unit. You should back up your new unit to your hard drive anyway - always a good practice - and then you would have those files if you ever need them. They are things you could easily take care of yourself. The audio issue suggests different programming for the BMW 3790. That is not great unless BMW updates it every time they update the "plain" 3790.

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The BMW cradle has a built-in speaker and so does the GPS itself. Putting the regular 3790 into the cradle activated the cradle speaker, but no audio could be heard over the car speakers and the "navigation announcement" notification on the radio display wasn't present, either. The BMW version of the 3790 has an option in the volume settings that determines where you want the audio output, the car speakers or the GPS unit. The regular 3790 doesn't have this option. So, I'm sure it's a combination of firmware and software between the BMW and regular versions that allow for the different functionality.

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Received the new GPS yesterday. And by new I mean brand new, as in Garmin sent me the BMW GPS kit, including the cradle and attached BMW wiring harness that can't be sourced separately.

If anyone is interested, and willing to pay shipping, the cradle and wiring harness are yours for the nominal fee of, "thank you." This way, you could take a normal nüvi 3790 and use the cradle for power and the integrated speaker. Unfortunately, I think you might need the BMW-specific version of the 3790 to get the car speakers integration. But, then again, perhaps Jim could teach me how to pull the BMW firmware