CD slot mount - broken head unit

[Timmyboybunter]

Sigh.

Bought a CD slot mount, after reading good reviews and even recommendations on here:

https://www.cdslotmount.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

Fitted today, could not get anything like a snug fit, gave up after some wiggling, now the head unit won't accept any discs - they just get spat out as soon as the unit should normally grab and pull them in.

God knows how I managed it, but it's now knackered my upgraded MP3 head unit that I retrofitted so I'm grumpy

Would not recommend this product.

 

[bz4kev]

Was looking at them good job I never got it gutted for you expensive mistake can you not challenge the seller

 

[Timmyboybunter]

I will be sending them an email yes - I posted on their Facebook page but they removed it

I paid with PayPal so I imagine I'll get my money back, but that won't help my fecked CD player, grrrr.

 

[Sidewaze Samm]

I will be sending them an email yes - I posted on their Facebook page but they removed it

I paid with PayPal so I imagine I'll get my money back, but that won't help my fecked CD player, grrrr.

I feel your pain, from experience...
About five years ago, I bought one of these mounts for my CLK - it had phone connectivity but no satnav. The mount worked like a dream; held my TomTom in place and didn't interfere with playing CDs. I couldn't ask for more - so when my son got his first car, a Suzuki Swift, I bought another for him. Again, perfect playing of CDs and a firm mount for his satnav/phone.
He then changed his car for a Zed, which I was driving on a journey to unknown territory so needed satnav...
I used the mount, but it was a bit of a loose fit so I just pushed it in a little more firmly. All was fine until I came to change the CD...
CD ejected fine - but the new CD wouldn't go in. I could push it in forcefully, but it wouldn't play. Though at least the unit still ejected the CD. I took the head unit out and fiddled with it a bit but couldn't figure how to fix it. Oh well, buy one off ebay for £25... but that's the wrong one and doesn't fit (and now available for free from the marketplace https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=105562) The correct ones are all subject to Zed Tax and come in around £100+ if I remember correctly - I did wonder about cannibalising the two units but just fitted a £100 Kenwood (with bluetooth and DAB) instead; in which the mount again works perfectly
Then I bought myself a weekend Zed also fitted with Business CD unit, and have discovered that although the mount will work without causing damage if there is no CD in the player at the time, it is still a bit loose fitting, not at all secure for any length of time and basically not useable.
So in my opinion, the mounts shouldn't be written off completely but take care, as they don't work with all CD players and clearly don't work well with the BMW units in Zeds.

 

[nick_l]

I’ve a spare business head unit you can have for the cost of postage if you need it.

Edit: Just read yours is an upgraded head unit....

 

[Timmyboybunter]

I used the mount, but it was a bit of a loose fit so I just pushed it in a little more firmly. All was fine until I came to change the CD...
CD ejected fine - but the new CD wouldn't go in. I could push it in forcefully, but it wouldn't play. Though at least the unit still ejected the CD.

That's basically exactly what I did and exactly how mine has ended up. Obviously a small amount of force internally is enough to damage the mechanism. Chalking this one up to experience.

I’ve a spare business head unit you can have for the cost of postage if you need it.
Edit: Just read yours is an upgraded head unit....

Appreciate the offer, thanks - mine is the nav unit with no display on the head unit, so I'll need to replace like for like (I do have the original one from the car in the loft, just not mp3 compatible).

I'm not too bothered, as I've just bought a cigarette socket FM Transmitter thingy and it works really well for Google maps, tune in radio and Amazon music etc. but ideally I'd have the screen close in front of me which is why I bought the mount in the first place.

More the principle really - the more I read, clearly this product has knackered many people's head units despite the glowing reviews.

 

[Sidewaze Samm]

mine is the nav unit with no display on the head unit, so I'll need to replace like for like

I bet they're hard to find - must be as rare as rocking horse...

 

[Timmyboybunter]

They do come up fairly frequently, but they are quite pricey - the E83 X3 version can be used too which generally sell for less than the Z4 versions but are basically identical except for some missing white writing on the front.

Here's a quote from the CD Mount website as I still have it on my clipboard from the email I just sent them:

"Is it safe to push something inside my CD Slot?
Only our official phone mount product! We have extensively tested the CD Slot Mount device and are confident to market this with full knowledge that normal use in a standard single disc-loading slot will not cause damage to your CD Player."

 

[Timmyboybunter]

Well, I had a call from Gary Smith who is the inventor of this device - the call itself was a nice touch, good to see people standing up and defending their products.

I also mentioned this thread in my original email to them so he may be monitoring for replies - hopefully he'll agree this update truthfully represents our conversation.

Gary confirmed that there is some kind of white mechanical arm which gets in the way on the nav model in the Z4 (having checked one his friend owns) - but not on the other models. He went to great lengths to re-iterate that the device is not suitable for 'nav' units - I don't fully understand how this could be the case, seeing as it's just a plain old CD mechanism in my head unit, the sat nav disc as I'm sure you're aware lives in a separate DVD drive in the center storage area.

He also stated that the fact that it is not compatible with Nav units is very clear, both on the website and the packaging. I've re-traced my steps on the website, both on the link I posted at the beginning of this thread but also going to the main landing page https://www.cdslotmount.com and this simply is not the case - there is no mention of nav units anywhere in a normal "I want to buy something" route through to purchase. There is the following paragraph in the FAQ section:

"Can I use it in a Multi-disc CD Player?
No. Multi-disc & autochanger CD Players DVD or navigation player are not compatible. Please do not attempt use of the CD Slot Mount in any player other than a standard in-car single disc type. "

Again - I did not use it in the DVD player for the Nav, but in the CD slot in the head unit.

I can't comment on whether the packaging makes this obvious as I chucked it in the bin prior to realising I'd want to look at it again but I suspect any warning I would find is worded similarly to the above - mentioning nav DVD drives only.

Personally, I think this is clearly an issue that has been run into before and there should be an obvious warning front and centre on the product page advising caution to be used - and now they're aware E85 Nav equipped Z4s are 100% NOT compatible, I wonder if there will be a message to that effect

I've sent it back and true to their word, I have received a refund for the full original purchase amount including postage PLUS the £4 it cost me to send back to them. Gary also said they are awaiting the patent on a new design which does not use the CD slot, and that he would send one out FOC when it becomes available - will be interesting to see if that arrives.

Ultimately, I bought it and stuck it in my head unit and broke it - so it's my fault, and I'm not trying to bash a product that obviously works for other models and has achieved great success. Just leaves a bad taste though.

 

[Kevoz4]

Hi
Reading through your posts and sorry you’ve had all this trouble.
It reminded me that I had one of these CD Slotmounts, it worked fine in my Son’s Mini Cooper S and also fits in the ordinary CD players I have had in my TR6 and my Lancia Beta, so this morning I tried it in my Zed and there seemed to be something stopping going in far enough to make stable. It’s a standard 2005 business CD. I also tried it in my wife’s 2013 120 sport and it’s the same as the Zed.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

this morning I tried it in my Zed and there seemed to be something stopping going in far enough to make stable. It’s a standard 2005 business CD.

Go careful - truly I didn't put much pressure at all on mine when I tried to fit it, so it really doesn't take much pressure to do some lasting damaged. I do have an update however....

I was annoyed/bored earlier on so I took my head unit out and opened it up - the photo below shows what the internal mechanism looks like when a CD is inserted - note the 2 red circles show a pair of plastic guards which pop up when a CD is inserted, then pop down again when it is ejected. So with 100% certainty I can tell you the slot mount is not suitable when a CD is inserted - as there are 2 physical barriers in the way which will stop it being pushed home.



So when I tried to insert it - which I did with the CD in place - I would have put pressure on these 2 plastic barriers, which would then themselves have pushed onto the edge of the disc and transferred that pressure elsewhere. I did have a good poke around and couldn't see anything broken or bent, but I couldn't get it to work - still refuses to load the disc.

The good news is I should be able to get away with just fitting a new loading mechanism - so I need to get hold of one of these:



The internet suggests the 'CDM-M5 4.4/2' model will fit too (as opposed to mine, a 'CDM-M6 4.4/5') and indeed is the unit fitted to the later (black, MP3 compatible) Business head unit. I've pinged Synthedup a reply in a thread where he has one available, hopefully I can persuade him to take the 4 torx screws out and see what model it hold (2 min job).

Alternatively Aliexpress have them for around $28 posted but without any of the electric bits/PCBs etc so I'd need to swap everything over.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

(that last photo is confusing it shows the CD loading mechanism, taken out of my broken head unit, but then sitting on top of the head unit itself)