The center gear console must be removed from the vehicle before installing Crystal Gear Selector/Crystal Gear Shift Knob and Crystal Multimedia Controller Knob. It is not necessary to disconnect the vehicle batteries before doing this. This applies to gasoline, mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars.

Pay specific attention to the position of the ribbon cable for the gear shift knob and multimedia knob! The ribbon cable must be in the exact, correct position before closing the cable lock. Gear Shift Knob: The cable tabs have to fit exactly into the connector's cutouts. Multimedia Controller Knob: The cable has to snap into position, as you push it in.

For installation of the Crystal Start/Stop Button, it's not necessary to remove the gear console from the car. The Crystal Volume Button can be installed without removing the audio panel from the car.

Disassembling the center console trim is required to remove the gear console from the car. The video for Gear Shift Knob with Ambient Light below shows how it is done in a X5. For instructions on how to do it in your car, see links below:

The level of difficulty for the installation is measured on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is very easy and 10 is difficult (10 = workshop installation required). Installation times can be lowered by installing multiple products together.

Multimedia Controller Knob

Start/Stop Button

Installation instruction (PDF)

Gear Selector

Gear Shift Knob with Ambient Light

Installation instruction (PDF)

Volume Button

Crystal Volume Button: There are two recommended methods for installation:
1. Removing trim ring with pliers and cloth (see video 1). Be very careful when you remove the ring, so you don't dent it. Use a thick piece of cloth and pliers that are not sharp. Don't press on the pliers too hard, don't pull, just wiggle back and forth until the ring snaps off. If the trim ring does not come off: check alternate methods below.
2. Removing OEM button with two screwdrivers and a piece of printer paper (see video 2). Again, be very careful so you don't dent the trim ring. Folding the printer paper double for the second screwdriver step is recommended.
Other methods: 3) Drill a hole in the OEM button, fasten a screw in  the hole and pull the button out with pliers, or insert a small Allen wrench in the hole and pull the button out. 4) Glue stick method: First heat up OEM button slightly with a hair dryer, then melt end of a glue stick and attach it to the button. Then hold the trim ring with pliers/cloth while pulling out the button. 5) Same method, but using sticky rubber.
For more info, see Bimmerpost threads on page Reviews.

Multimedia Controller Knob: Some customers prefer to unplug the ribbon cable, while others prefer not to. We recommend unplugging it to ensure a safe install. The U section on the printed circuit board can break off if the transparent ring is put in the wrong position. The ring only fits in one position, with the cutout next to the U section. When installing the ring, it is important not to use force.
The reason the instructions say to remove both the touchpad surface layer and the adhesive film under is to achieve a tight fit. If you have a leased car and are concerned about restoring the OEM iDrive controller, you may want to leave the adhesive film on the printed circuit board.

Start/Stop Button: It is recommended that you let the sticky rubber set for about 5 minutes after you have attached and formed it, before trying to pull out the original start button. This will make the material stronger. If this does not work, you can heat up the original start button slightly with a hairdryer set on Low before attaching the rubber.

Gear Shift Knob: Your BMW was shipped from the factory with the standard gear shift knob with just one light, in the P button. Although our product uses the voltage to power also the model logo (the available voltage to power the P button varies with vehicle and equipment level), it does not require any programming or coding in the car. It tricks the car into believing that a standard gear shift knob is installed. Therefore, there will be no issues caused by future software updates in conjunction with service visits.
November 2022: The mount for the gear shift knob has been redesigned, to improve stability. When installing the new version, some force needs to be applied when you push down the gear shift knob into its correct position.