Almost unbelievably, I've never had a problem with the fingerprint button start on any of the D3's I've had, and that's quite a few....

I can see it would be quite irritating if it failed though...

I do think it speaks volumes that since the D3 facelift, and in the D4 and the newer platforms etc. it is no longer available, so I guess it really was more trouble than it was worth.....

As for retrofitting, almost anything can be done. But in this case, I guess you'd have to question if you really want to... +++

Can I retrofit one that works?!?!

Agree that it's a bit of a gimmick, but it is cool to say you have it, as has been said...

I was chuffed with the thought of having it in mine, until somebody said to me that my MMI board must have been changed at some point, because they didn't do finger print recognition in the 58 plates...

I was told I should just have the silver button... anybody know if that's true or not? :Confused:

I saw a couple of 58 plates with fingerprint start. It may just be that your build date was while they were still using them.

The Feb 2009-onwards brochure mentions nothing about fingerprint memory/start.

It is not true. I have seen plenty of 58 plates with finger print start. Even late registered ones from 2009 (like mine). But someone did also tell me the same. Maybe the same person....?

Its important not to confuse the order and build date with the first registered (UK DVLA) date.

The latter could be months, or even a year or two after the first.

Prefacelift and facelift cars are built side by side at the factory for a short time as there is order overlap. There is no cut off date for producing the old ones, but there is a start date for the new ones obviously.

58 reg unfortunately could be late pre facelift, or early facelift. Highly unlikely to be 3G MMI though as that was 2009 build onwards.

If you have square fog lights, chrome start button and chrome trim around the door pockets on the car, then its a fair bet its facelift. If you have round fog lights, and either a plastic or fingerprint start button you're looking at a pre.

Sure. It is just not a hard and fast rule because some of us have "square fog lights and chrome trim around the door pockets on the car" with finger print start rather than the Chrome button.

In my case the build date is August 2008

Me too and my build is June 2008.

Here's another

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/im...142b89e77d58c4
http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/im...de8a76dc66b989
http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/im...63a5d00def26e2
http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/im...2a3b259456009f