# Here we go again...



## Secret Squirrel (Sep 12, 2016)

After getting no joy from BMW on my loss of communication for connected drive, etc. for my 2011 BMW X-5 (it was deemed too old for them to develop a retrofit communication module for upgrading to digital communications), it appears BMW is doing it again. I attempted to renew my connected drive, real time traffic and concierge services on 1 March for my 2014 BMW X-3 and was told that I could NOT renew because BMW corporate would not allow it since they are going to 4G communications technology for those services within a year and my subscription would not be valid for the entire period since my vehicle has 3G communications module. 

Obviously they are trying to avoid a repeat of the suits for communication packages under contract. As expected, my local dealer has not been advised and BMW Customer Service is less than helpful (We haven't heard that, but we're sure BMW will do something to address this.)

Maybe I'm alone here, but I have always considered these electronic communications systems, especially the accident detection to be safety issues for the "Ultimate Driving Machine", but I guess that if you want stuff you purchased to continue to work you need to buy new vehicles.

Standby, bend over, here it comes again...


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## octobermorn (Jun 12, 2020)

You’re not alone in your frustration regarding this. My 2016 535d Xdrive MSport is only on its fifth year and it is incredibly disappointing to me that BMW would not support an upgrade to 4 or 5G. I just shake my head every time I start my car and the first thing the screen shows is “BMW Connected Drive”.... uh.... NOPE! When I waited on hold for an hour with BMW customer service, because not even the non-subscription functions were working with my iphone ‘BMW Connected” App anymore, they said that all affected owners would be receiving a letter in the next few weeks from BMW explaining the situation..... still haven’t received my letter. Not that I have much hope that it will saying anything but, “We’re sorry, none of our extremely intelligent engineers imagined in their wildest dreams that 3G would ever progress to 4G, and perhaps we should prepare.... too bad, and please be sure to check out our new models!


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## 428iSoCal (Jun 21, 2017)

octobermorn said:


> Not that I have much hope that it will saying anything but, “We’re sorry, none of our extremely intelligent engineers imagined in their wildest dreams that 3G would ever progress to 4G, and perhaps we should prepare.... too bad, and please be sure to check out our new models!


What really gets me mad is that 4G was introduced in 2010 but was not put into BMW vehicles until MY 2015 - 2016? I don't get it. All I want is an upgrade path so I can continue to have SOS E-Call and a couple of other conveniences on my 6 year old 428i. Oh and of course I have to work on getting my TC replaced so my N20 engine does not grenade. 👎


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## Coi (Apr 19, 2021)

So the SOS/connected functionality on my 2013 BMW E93 w/iDrive was cancelled some time I believe in 2017 and BMW gave me a $200 gift card as compensation. I think that was because the car had a 2G connection and they were switching to 3G only. I never paid for it but I guess it was still on the original four-year trial membership (which was about to expire).

With that being the precedent, I don't think it would be uncalled for if you all, as a continual subscribers, got a small amount as compensation for having that functionality disabled. I doubt this will happen, but would be fair.


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## ghpstock (Dec 9, 2010)

I just received an email from BMW North America yesterday. This really makes me mad! This is the second time it has happened. I believe BMW doesn't want to upgrade the software because they're afraid their new car sales will suffer. Regardless, this is unacceptable. My car is only 5 years old. I can understand if the software was 10 + years but this is ridiculous. I travel a lot solo, much of the time in rural areas where cell service is not available or dependable. Safety is a concern now that I'll no longer have BMW Assist. THIS WILL BE MY LAST BMW PERIOD!!!


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## targaone (May 10, 2018)

Bmw does not consider a 5 year old car or customer to have any value. Be sure to pay based on this theory. So a 5 year old lease car cant even be expected to function with the electronics they sell so hard. 
The massive electronics and screens and nav and auto braking and lane assist will be useless junk in new cars. So be careful what you want. I want zero of that stuff on my cars.


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## twka90 (Aug 2, 2021)

Coi said:


> I think that was because the car had a 2G connection and they were switching to 3G only. I never paid for it but I guess it was still on the original four-year trial membership (which was about to expire).


I am pretty sure BMW was lying -- they don't operate the cell network. AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile does. BMW going to new modems, and deciding to cut off the previous generation is purely BMW decision, has nothing to do with what the actual network supports. Yes, of course, cell carriers do retire old towers too (and there's nothing any of us can do about that), but I think it happens much later than BMW stops support. It would, of course, be nice if the "connectivity module" was a plug-and-play upgradeable, but that would require much, much more up-front thought and engineering, which auto manufacturers are not willing to invest (it's not just BMW). I think it's only Tesla that cares to deliver any meaningful software upgrades to their existing cars.


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## octobermorn (Jun 12, 2020)

I was at the dealership (BMW of Murray, Utah) yesterday for an oil change, and chatted with the associate who sold me my 535D XDrive. I told him that I still absolutely love the car, highway/canyon cruising, as well as the 'torque-yness' the diesel provides around town..... but I still get upset with seeing the 'Connected Drive' logo show up when starting the car... knowing I'm not 'Connected'. He apologized, and to his credit, did not suggest that I look at buying a new BMW. Interestingly, he did say that when BMW did this several years ago, and offered an upgrade path, their dealership did not have even one customer take advantage of it. (they are the only dealer in Utah) However, he said that this time around he has received several complaints, especially from 5 series owners, and believes it is because there were many more functions and features that were lost, which was not the case previously. I'm not a fan of leasing, and typically keep my cars for 7 - 10 years, and this experience, and a repair issue for a cracked 'guibo / flex-disc' at only 40K miles that BMW didn't cover, has soured me on their commitment to owners and pride in their product. I'm not sure any major manufacturer is any different though.


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## Secret Squirrel (Sep 12, 2016)

octobermorn said:


> I was at the dealership (BMW of Murray, Utah) yesterday for an oil change, and chatted with the associate who sold me my 535D XDrive. I told him that I still absolutely love the car, highway/canyon cruising, as well as the 'torque-yness' the diesel provides around town..... but I still get upset with seeing the 'Connected Drive' logo show up when starting the car... knowing I'm not 'Connected'. He apologized, and to his credit, did not suggest that I look at buying a new BMW. Interestingly, he did say that when BMW did this several years ago, and offered an upgrade path, their dealership did not have even one customer take advantage of it. (they are the only dealer in Utah) However, he said that this time around he has received several complaints, especially from 5 series owners, and believes it is because there were many more functions and features that were lost, which was not the case previously. I'm not a fan of leasing, and typically keep my cars for 7 - 10 years, and this experience, and a repair issue for a cracked 'guibo / flex-disc' at only 40K miles that BMW didn't cover, has soured me on their commitment to owners and pride in their product. I'm not sure any major manufacturer is any different though.


I have been trying to work through this issue with my BMW dealership, but I am SOL on this one. There IS a retrofit module for the upgrade to 4G, however, there were two different 3G modules used in the BMWs and there is NO rhyme or reason as to which vehicle has which module. The dealership ordered the "correct" module for me the day it showed up in the parts catalogue, but when it came in there was no way it was compatible with my current module and its associated wiring, so it was a no-go for me. SCREWED AGAIN! In the mean time, I am replacing parts left, right, and center on a 2014 BMW X3 with only 79,000 miles. Last repair was for a steering rack - over $4,000+ Going back in for a mystery problem next Wednesday...


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## twka90 (Aug 2, 2021)

octobermorn said:


> However, he said that this time around he has received several complaints, especially from 5 series owners, and believes it is because there were many more functions and features that were lost, which was not the case previously. I'm not a fan of leasing, and typically keep my cars for 7 - 10 years, and this experience, and a repair issue for a cracked 'guibo / flex-disc' at only 40K miles that BMW didn't cover, has soured me on their commitment to owners and pride in their product. I'm not sure any major manufacturer is any different though.


The whole "your car is a computer on wheels that talks to some servers in the cloud that have to be running for the car to work" notion is still new, historically speaking. And not enough folks are asking "hm, I wonder whether the manufacturer is going to keep those servers running in 10 years?". I suspect manufacturers themselves are not really asking this question.  As somebody who works on providing a cloud service, I can tell you that the normal answer is "haha! funny of you to ask. of course not, not unless you make nontrivial money available to do it in 10 years". I think by law in US auto manufacturer must supply parts for 15 years after they stop making the car. I suppose it would be nice to have a similar law with regards to cloud infrastructure those cars rely on...


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## ColoradoBreeze (Jul 11, 2020)

octobermorn said:


> I...soured me on their commitment to owners and pride in their product. I'm not sure any major manufacturer is any different though.


Except that in my experience, other manufacturers don't oversell their technology (although many now have similar things) to separate themselves from the pack.


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## guyinacar (Jun 26, 2016)

X5 Forum thread on similar issue


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## SteveinArizona (Sep 12, 2016)

I play golf in the summer in hot Arizona and use the climatize now feature to cool off the car before I get to it. I would be very, very upset if BMW cut off my connected drive and it would be my last BMW if they did that to me.


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## BMWinFLA (Apr 21, 2017)

SteveinArizona said:


> I play golf in the summer in hot Arizona and use the climatize now feature to cool off the car before I get to it. I would be very, very upset if BMW cut off my connected drive and it would be my last BMW if they did that to me.


Funny as BMW is retrofitting 2016+ cars, while Audi, Lexus, Mercedes and Infiniti et al have no retrofits regardless of year. And they actually have some early 2019 models going dead.

on those other forums, owners are swearing they will never buy again and are going to BMW.


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