What is a BMW CCC unit ?

The BMW CCC unit is a head unit model fitted on BMW cars produced between 2003 and 2010. This Professional Navigation comes with an 8.8″ wide-screen display and both the BMW CCC unit and the display are located in the dash board. The BMW CCC unit is prone to several faults, all of them totally repairable (despite of what most greedy BMW dealerships will tell their customers).

This article will help you understand:

• what your dealer / mechanic means when talking about the CCC iDrive
• what is the difference between a BMW CCC unit and a BMW CIC or a M-ASK unit

When does it matter what iDrive unit model you have on your BMW ?
Here’s when you’ll most likely need to know whether your BMW has a CCC unit, a CIC unit or some other model of iDrive navigation computer:

• when you are experiencing malfunctions in the infotainment system (sound problems, navigation reset, bluetooth disconnecting etc) – in order to identify the cause, you need to work your way up from the iDrive model
• when you want to upgrade your iDrive. Your current iDrive model will inform what other modules you need to upgrade (like the iDrive joystick controller or the display in the dash)

We know the terminology of automotive infotainment modules is terribly confusing. Don’t worry, we all feel this frustration. This is why we have created this article, so we can use our knowledge to help others.

CCC stands for Car Communication Computer. iDrive is a collection of hardware and software which has the role of controlling the entertainment and communication modules in BMW cars produced from 2001 onwards. The BMW CCC unit is one particular model of the BMW iDrive system.

The CCC iDrive system and the BMW CCC unit

The CCC iDrive system is composed of three main modules: an LCD display in the dashboard, an iDrive controller (or joystick) between the front seats and the actual BMW CCC unit (also referred to as iDrive navigation) (see figure 1).

The CCC display is always a 16:9 ratio display. See image 2 below. On the left, we show a 4:3 ratio display specific to a M-ASK iDrive and on the right there is a 16:9 display from a CCC iDrive.

There are 3 CCC iDrive controller models (see figure 3, 4 and 5 below). The third one (image 5) is also compatible with CIC iDrive units, so if you see this one in your car, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a CCC.

The CCC iDrive module is located in the dashboard, as we mentioned before. In figure 1, this module is marked as iDrive navigation. You only have access to the control buttons and the CD and the DVD slots. But if you remove the black plastic mask that covers the unit, you can remove the CCC module from the dash and you will notice it looks like in the figure 6 below.

What do people mean by ‘CCC unit’ ?

When you hear someone talking about the BMW CCC unit or CCC iDrive, most likely they are referring to the CCC module itself (iDrive navigation), not to the whole system. Sometimes, people use the short form ‘iDrive’ to refer to the CCC iDrive, which creates multiple confusions:

• There are several generations / models of iDrive units (CCC, CIC, NBT, M-ASK and more). When people talk about iDrive defects, it makes a huge difference whether their iDrive is CCC or CIC, for example. When we say ‘my iDrive is constantly rebooting’, the repair price and the repair procedure will be different for a NBT iDrive than for a CCC iDrive.
• Occasionally, people use the term iDrive to refer to the controller (joystick) located between the front seats. For example, you may hear someone say “my iDrive spins freely”. When you read about iDrive, depending on the context, you have to interpret it as iDrive module or iDrive controller.

The iDrive Generations

This iDrive complex system went through various iterations over the years. BMW likes to call these iterations ‘generations’. The CCC is part of the second generation of iDrive.

In total, there are 6 iDrive generations:

• iDrive 1st generation:
  • NAV01
  • NAV02
  • NAV03
• iDrive 2nd generation
  • MASK / MASKII (Navigation System Business)
  • CCC (Navigation System Professional)
  • CHAMP
  • radio professional CD
• iDrive 3rd generation
  • CIC (Navigation System Professional)
  • CIC MID (Navigation System Business)
  • Alpine with navigation function (Navigation System Business)
  • Alpine without navigation function (BMW Professional Radio)
  • CHAMP 2 (also named HU_ENTRY or BMW Professional Radio)
• iDrive 4th generation
  • NBT (also called CIC HIGH or Navigation System Professional)
  • NBT MID (Navigation System Business)
  • Alpine with navigation function (Navigation System Professional)
  • Alpine without navigation function (BMW Professional Radio)
  • HU_ENTRY NAV (Navigation System Business)
• iDrive 5th generation
  • NBT EVO ID 4 (Navigation System Professional)
  • HU_ENTRY NAV2 (Navigation System Business)
• iDrive 6th generation
  • NBT EVO ID 5 (Navigation System Professional)
  • NBT EVO ID 6 (Navigation System Professional)

CCC iDrive and compatible BMW models

The CCC iDrive module can be found on the following BMW models:

• BMW 1 Series 2004 – 2008 (E81, E82, E87, E88)
• BMW 3 Series 2004 – 2008 (E90, E91, E92, E93, M3)
• BMW 5 Series 2004 – 2009 (E60, E61, M5)
• BMW 6 Series 2003 – 2009 (E63, E64, M6)
• BMW X5 E70 2006 – 2010, BMW X6 E71

CCC iDrive or M-ASK iDrive

CCC and M-ASK are two different versions of iDrive modules (or iDrive computer) from the second generation of iDrive. The CCC is also called Navigation System Professional and the M-ASK is referred to as a Navigation System Business.

There are two more versions in the second generation iDrive, the CHAMP and the radio professional CD, which are less popular than the CCC and the M-ASK.

People often confuse the M-ASK and the CCC. In figure 2 above, we show a M-ASK system on the left and a CCC system on the right. Here are the most notable differences:

• the display size and aspect ratio: M-ASK display is smaller and has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes it look more square (figure 2, left-hand side) and CCC display is larger and has a 16:9 aspect ratio (right-hand side)
• the M-ASK (left) has only one disk slot, while the CCC (right) has two disk slots (one for CD and one for DVD).

CCC iDrive or CIC iDrive

The CIC iDrive is part of the next generation of iDrive, the 3rd generation. There are two versions of the CIC: one is simply called CIC (or Navigation System Professional) and the second one is called CIC MID (or Navigation System Business).

The CIC iDrive can be retrofitted on BMW models that came with the CCC iDrive model from factory.

People confuse the CIC iDrive and the CCC iDrive too. The easiest way to make the difference between the two is by looking at the menu. In figure 7 below, we show a CCC menu and in figure 8 you can see a CIC menu.

Wrapping it up

We hope you found our article helpful for understanding what is the CCC iDrive. The information here should also enable you to tell whether you have a CCC iDrive on your car or a M-ASK or CIC iDrive module.

If you have questions about the iDrive system and different models that were not answered by this article, have a look our other articles, maybe they help answer your questions:

• Do I have a M-ASK, CCC, CIC or NBT iDrive navigation ?
• Get help with the CCC iDrive Repair – the full guide
• BMW CCC repair : the correct diagnosis
• What causes a dead battery on your BMW ?

• our CCC repair page
• our MULF / MULF 2 bluetooth repair page
• our Logic 7 amplifier repair page
• our CIC iDrive repair page, if you have the CIC version of the iDrive navigation

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