[HotM3x]

Has anyone ever retrofited Nav or Voice control in an F25? I just bought a 2014 x3 28i and while I don't mind the missing NAV part, my '09 M3 has voice control which is handy for making hands free calls (cant believe it's not standard on an X3, but I digress). I saw the button on the wheel and just assumed it was active, but I guess it's not. Would like to know if anyone has tried to retrofit NAV or Voice control (or both) from Bimmertech, or just bought a separate Nav unit and display and installed it. Is there extra wiring involved or is it just plug and play (with coding, of course). I was thinking about just adding an android multimedia touchscreen to replace the current one, but unsure if the android auto app would mute the radio automatically when I ask to use it. Anyone have any experience with the android display?

[atarivers]

I haven't done it. I checked for options I needed at the time of purchase. I do have some experience along these lines with my somewhat older Mercedes convertible. I abandoned the idea after researching for a couple of months and discovering that every year installing grey market electronics gets more and more difficult because of the increasing complexity of the electronics and the wiring. Steering wheel controls appear to be the biggest challenge.

The workaround I settled on for Mercedes (2010 SLK 300) is Bluetooth voice controls of the handset via the car's microphone & speakers. I can kick off phone calls and navigation by voice. I only use it for real time traffic updates and if the car's navigation starts to give bad directions.

I just realized you already said you don't have voice controls in your X3. This workaround won't work for you. I recommend checking with manufacturers of grey market equipment. They usually have a lot of background information and user groups where you can find detailed installation information. Good luck and let us know how you make out.