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Phamile

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Nov 20, 2018
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We have owned a Tesla MS and a BMW I3. There are things that BMW* can adapt to make the ownership to be on par with Tesla... More frequent SW updates that add more owner/driver friendly features long after the sale/warranty-period.

Tesla does not forget customers that bought the cars, like other car makers, right after the warranty expired. The time has changed, car makers does not compete will extinct like the dinosaurs. Other wise, we will only buy Tesla. That's NOT what we want. We want all car makers to compete and we all win.

Now, if BMW is listening here are some suggestions:

For example, the rear view camera only active when the gears are in reverse; the option of having the rear view camera display on demand, it helps with driving or lane changing or moving in/out of tight spots. A safety feature that we like a lot.

Tesla has a large screen that i3 does not. How about allow the i3 to connect to a tablet /i-Pad via BT and an BMW EV App for the tablet. Who wouldn't want that?

My guess, for a few lines of code; it seems inexpensive, will BMW do it?


* Chevrolet, Nissan, and other EV makers please take notes.
 
Phamile said:
More frequent SW updates that add more owner/driver friendly features long after the sale/warranty-period.
We bought a 2014 i3 with every hardware option hoping that, like Tesla, BMW would implement new uses for this hardware via software updates. In 4 years, I can't recall a single new feature than BMW has implemented via a software update.

Because the i3's software seems to be a collection of software implemented by different vendors of the computer modules used in the i3, the software update process seems too fraught with difficulties to allow it to occur wirelessly. BMW and other traditional auto manufacturers are way behind Tesla in the software area and don't seem likely to catch up soon.

Phamile said:
For example, the rear view camera only active when the gears are in reverse; the option of having the rear view camera display on demand, it helps with driving or lane changing or moving in/out of tight spots.
This might be possible by making coding changes. If so, it should not require coding changes.

Phamile said:
Tesla has a large screen that i3 does not. How about allow the i3 to connect to a tablet /i-Pad via BT and an BMW EV App for the tablet. Who wouldn't want that?
I wouldn't want that myself. Using iDrive while driving is already too distracting, so dealing with a large touchscreen while driving would be unsafe until autonomous driving capabilities are much improved.

Phamile said:
My guess, for a few lines of code; it seems inexpensive, will BMW do it?
This just isn't in BMW's DNA. Maybe BMW's culture will gradually evolve to become more like Tesla's, but I'm not seeing much to suggest that this is happening yet.
 
Tesla is more of a software driven company that learned (slowly) how to make a reliable car...BMW is a car company that utilizes software to save costs of implementing things in hardware. Different cultures. Could they coalesce? Yes, but it will take time.

FWIW, Tesla has the highest warranty costs by a large factor than any other car company. That people put up with it is a testament of their zeal. 'Regular' car companies don't have as many fervent advocates, so their priorities are different. Since inception, car buyers had no expectation of getting new features/functions other than buying a new vehicle. Tesla broke that, but it will take awhile for that expectation and realization to happen.
 
FWIW, with 'coding' you can allow the backup camera to be used at any speed.

BMW has been releasing regular Integration-step updates (I believe the latest as of right now is I01-18-11-520). There's a whole collection of modules, and the "integration-step" is the level at which they all are at. BMW has chosen not to add features via software, though they conceivably could- they have the infrastructure in place to issue software updates already. With that, they have fixed issues, and enhanced some existing functionality.

Personally, I like iDrive, though I wish more data was duplicated between the driver display and iDrive. iDrive could also be improved by having slightly tighter integration with my phone, though I'm exploring possible coding changes for that. I've been in vehicles that have touchscreens, and while nice, I like not having to hold up my arm while I'm driving to use one. Tesla has done a really good job with their software, and made their touchscreens easy to use. With the upgraded screen as part of the technology package, I find it large enough for the car it's in, though the smaller screen that was in a car I test drove left something to be desired. In 2018, BMW did give the screen a resolution bump, and also bestowed it with a new version of iDrive. iDrive 6 adds some features, but a lot of the changes are cosmetic. I know it sounds like I'm giving BMW a pass for the software, but I really do feel like it does it's job. It's definitely not perfect, and has plenty of flaws. Is it as good as the Model S/X's software? No, but that doesn't bother me. It does its job, and it gets out of the way when I want it to.

If there is something I want BMW to change, it would be with regards to the instrument cluster. I dislike that some information is available ONLY though the instrument cluster, and some data is duplicated into iDrive. The other change I'd like them to make is to allow more customization in the instrument cluster. For example, I like to see the instantaneous power consumption/economy (mi/KWh), but also like to see the outside temperature. With the "BC" button, you can choose what is displayed on the left hand side, but there is no option to show anything on the right hand side, except for the trip meter.
 
Phamile's original message is quite old by now, but, even without coding, the rear-view camera is available at low speeds.

Press the Parking Assist button on the center console (marked with a "P", positioned rearwards from the Comfort / Eco Pro / Eco Pro + mode switch).

Once the parking menu displays, use the controller to click on the left-side icon that has an "R" superimposed on an outline of a camera. The rear-view camera is now available.

As TheMK notes, if you get into coding it's possible to have the rear-view camera available at any speed.
 
I believe , i configured the rear-view camera available at any speed by beemer code. It still detectives at speed
I got the idea , from Bolt , if you load with stuff and block the view




frictioncircle said:
Phamile's original message is quite old by now, but, even without coding, the rear-view camera is available at low speeds.

Press the Parking Assist button on the center console (marked with a "P", positioned rearwards from the Comfort / Eco Pro / Eco Pro + mode switch).

Once the parking menu displays, use the controller to click on the left-side icon that has an "R" superimposed on an outline of a camera. The rear-view camera is now available.

As TheMK notes, if you get into coding it's possible to have the rear-view camera available at any speed.
 
jadnashuanh said:
FWIW, Tesla has the highest warranty costs by a large factor than any other car company. .

Were did you get this data ?
I have not met a single tesla owner personally , not wanting to buy a tesla again. and brand loyalty is the very high , that i know of.

One thing , as a reader of EV news is that 80% of Tesla news is fake news.
Many vested interest , want it to fail and spread misinformation.- wall street shorts, big oil and big auto.
You may have read story from one person in Australia, using multiple salvaged Teslas to pump out news or rather fake news.

As a Tesla owner , I am not afraid of fake news, but vandalization , and the EV haters who go out of the way do inflict harm.
 
There are lots of articles out there if you look. One I read indicated that Tesla's average warranty cost per vehicle (this was a couple of years ago) was about $8K. Here's one article https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-warranty/high-warranty-costs-reflect-teslas-struggle-with-quality-idUSKCN0XO1M3
 
Does any car company outside of Tesla adds features via software updates? I don't think so. In fact, most of them have limited or no abilities to upgrade the software remotely. They would need to come up with compelling features to make the owners to pay for a visit to a dealer.
Tesla on other hand, pushes so many updates because according to the Agile development model it is acceptable to release a barely functioning software and fix it later. IIRC the first production Model 3 cars had no working FM radio and barely working Bluetooth.
 
That fascinating aspect of BMW i3-REx software are how many features we are finding in the software. We are tuning the car by simply enable features that improve the car's utility at the risk of having them wiped out at the dealership. The irony is if the local Dealer offered me a menu of options, I would love them and want to come back.
alohart said:
. . .
Phamile said:
My guess, for a few lines of code; it seems inexpensive, will BMW do it?
This just isn't in BMW's DNA. Maybe BMW's culture will gradually evolve to become more like Tesla's, but I'm not seeing much to suggest that this is happening yet.
The first time I saw an i8, I laughed. The curled tail fins did nothing for me but suggest somebody at BMW wanted to make sure there would never be another EV or hybrid plugin. Given what I'm reading about the different 'concepts' and buzz about cameo cars, it remains the case.

Tesla has shown that steel and aluminum can with superior batteries and motor make a high performance EV with +300 mi (+480 km) range. Although I like our carbon fiber body, Tesla is switching to stainless steel for the BFR in part because of the insane cost and scrap from carbon fiber construction. But I don't see anything similar coming from the BMW design and engineering studio.

What this means is there is no follow-up to the BMW i3-REx. It has become a fun but ultimately a dead-end ... dang it!

Bob Wilson
 
What this means is there is no follow-up to the BMW i3-REx. It has become a fun but ultimately a dead-end ... dang it!

Originally there was rumors that 2020 would be the last model year for all the i3s, but BMW has since announced that in 2021 they will have:
- BMW i3,
- Mini BEV,
- BMW iX3 (electirc X3)
- BMW i4 (electric Sports Sedan - Tesla Model 3 competition)
- BMW iNext (electric SAV sports activity vehicle)
 
Five years into BEV ownership I remain highly impressed with what BMW achieved with the i3.

The i3 was ahead of the market in 2014 (and in many ways it is, still). Understandable that BMW would take a breather and regroup.

As a very happy owner I want the model to continue. BMW AG's "on-again-off-again" stance has provided quite the rollercoaster ride over the years. I remember reading articles in 2017 that stated BMW was going to drop the i3 AND all the CFRP tech that they developed.

Aluminum + CFRP construction was the primary attraction to the i3. Mass market loves horsepower but I'd rather have more lightness. The opportunity to daily drive an RWD car weighing 2,880 lbs. (thanks local truck scale!) is a daily pleasure that I never tire of.

As MKH posts below about a 2021 i3, I've heard similar, that BMW will keep the i3 in the lineup which does make me happy. I love the compact form factor plus massive interior space, the suicide doors, and the overall oddness of the design. It still feels like driving the future!

p.s. bwilson4web... try a search for images of the iNext concept that was shown in late 2018. If you find pictures of one with the doors open you can see that the framing is still carbon-fiber, but it looks to be forged composite. This is not the same as the CRFP that our i3s are made of, but it is encouraging that composites still seem to have a place in future i cars.
 
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