BMW 5 Series: Complete CCC System Failure Solutions

Hey there! I have some experience working on cars as a hobby mechanic. Had a similar issue with my 2018 BMW 3 Series Hybrid last year. The whole infotainment system went dark, just like yours. Everyone kept telling me it was the CAN-BUS, but turned out it was just a faulty control module that needed resetting and updating. Took it to my workshop and they initially wanted to replace the whole CAN-BUS system. I got a second opinion, and the other mechanic found that a simple software update and module reset did the trick. Saved me a lot of money, paid 235 Euro instead of what could have been a much bigger bill. Before I can offer more specific advice, could you share: Have you had any recent battery issues? Did this happen suddenly or gradually? Any warning lights on the dashboard? Feel free to share more details. Different model years can have different quirks, even within the same series.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've got 30337 KM on my car since the latest service, and I've been facing this issue quite suddenly. No battery problems before this, and interestingly, no warning lights on the dashboard either. That's what makes it extra confusing. Your solution with the software update sounds promising and definitely cheaper than a full system replacement. Did your mechanic mention how long the reset and update process took? I'm hoping it might be something similarly straightforward for my case too.

Yeah, absolutely! Since you asked about the timing, when I had my 2018 3 Series fixed, the whole process took about 2.5 hours. The actual software update and reset was maybe 45 minutes, but they had to run diagnostics first to make sure they weren't missing anything else. What's interesting is that your symptoms sound exactly like mine, the sudden shutdown without any warning lights is pretty much identical. I remember being really worried when it first happened, thinking it was going to be some major electrical system failure. One thing I forgot to mention earlier, before they did the update, they actually had to disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes to do a complete system reset. This helps clear any stored error codes that might be causing the system to stay in a fault state. Since you're at 30337 KM since your last service, it might be worth getting a full diagnostic check while they're at it. When they did mine, they found a couple of minor updates that needed to be done anyway. Quick tip: make sure you have your radio code handy before they do the reset. I didn't, and it was a bit of a hassle getting it sorted afterward. Let me know how it goes, curious to see if it's the same fix for yours!

Thanks so much for all the detailed info! That's really helpful to know about the timing, 2.5 hours isn't too bad at all. I'll definitely make sure to dig out my radio code before heading to the workshop. Can't believe I almost forgot about that, would've been a real pain to sort out afterward! Your experience is giving me hope that this won't be as expensive as I initially feared. I'll schedule an appointment with my regular workshop tomorrow and specifically mention the software update and module reset possibility. You've probably saved me from unnecessarily replacing the whole CAN-BUS system! I think I'll take your advice about the full diagnostic check too, since I'm due for a service soon anyway. It makes sense to get everything checked while they're already working on it. Really appreciate you taking the time to share all this info. I'll update the forum once I get it sorted, might help someone else with the same issue down the line!