Missing Menus; Corrupt Software?

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eNate

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So here's a weird one for you all to diagnose.

2021 i3, showroom new with all of 20 miles on it, tech package (for what it's worth -- I don't think it's a factor in this problem I'm having).

Under the Vehicles menu, the Doors sub menu is missing (where I'd select to turn off the "beep when locked" setting, per the owner's manual)

I'm also missing the Charge Settings menu where I'd select reduced AC charging, tariff times, precondition, etc.

Also not present is the "Goodbye" screen that normally pops up upon parking, where I would select the "Activate Comfort Climate Control" option and "Change Charge Settings"

Lastly, upon exiting and locking the car, the Nav screen stays on, as does the audio, even after I lock the car. It stays on 10 or 15 minutes until the power saver kicks in.

I'm taking it in to service tomorrow. I've already talked to the BMW Genius and they're speculating I require a software reload. I spoke to my salesman prior to that, asking him to check into any service history, and he says it's a clean sheet other than the normally delivery inspection.
 
Dropped off at service this morning to resolve. I'll bet the service writer never had to write "blad tires" (they're not, not quite but getting there) on a service order for a one week old car with 1900 miles on it.
 
Well dang, service says they're keeping my car at least through Thursday, so that "the factory" can remote-in and reload my software.

It escapes me how a brand new i3 that doesn't shut down properly and is missing the charging menu (among others) got through not only production QC but also didn't catch the attention of the dealership technician who accepted it into inventory and how many sales people?

Would this be a corrupt software load or an incomplete load? What would cause this?
 
The plot thickened!

" PERFORMED PROGRAMMING OF THE CONTROL UNITS.COULD NOT PROGRAM DUE TO THE CAR SHARING MODULE NOT COMMUNICATION. SUBMITTED TC CASE. FOLLOWEDSTEPS FROM TC. PERFORMED PROGRAMMING OF THE CONTROL UNITS OK. BASED ON THE DATE REPLACE 12V BATTERY.REPLACED 12V BATTERY AND REGISTERED BATTERY EXCHANGE. CLEAR FAULT MEMORY. "

So as best I can tell, the problem was all software. No indications any modules were replaced.

But the 12 volt battery? That was surprising. The car was manufactured in January of this year. All I can figure is it sat for so long, the 12 volt was suspect? The car had 20 miles on it when I picked it up August 10th. There were no intermittent indications to make me think it was failing, just the persistent missing menus.
 
That’s crazy!

Thanks for posting. This is interesting.

When I got my 2017 preowned (18000 mi) i3 from the dealer in May the 12 volt was bad. It caused all kinds of crazy stuff to happen with the computer system. The alarm went off randomly, it changed my preferences, drained 1/4 of my battery overnight, and I had missing menus as well.

They replaced the battery and updated the software and it was like I had a brand new car.

Here’s my hypothesis: your car was sitting, got a corrupted upgrade at some point or the software got corrupted, and then it started missing upgrades. A side effect was that it did something glitchy that drained the 12v battery, causing more software glitches and lo, chaos ensued. I think the manual even says somewhere that a car sitting will eventually drain the 12 volt battery … that’s why they say to unplug the 12v if it’s sitting and then have the maintenance calibrated after it’s hooked up to drive again.

But honestly, all that should have been checked by the dealer. My dealer sold me a car with a bad key, bad 12v battery, original computer software, and rear brakes that have grooves in the rotors (the rotors were rusty when I looked at it and they swore it was fine and had just been sitting … that the rust would come off after I drove a while. Now I have visible rust grooves, squealing and stuttering … not impressed with that situation!) They gave me a CPO inspection sheet that was dated from last year. But the car data says the brakes were serviced in May just before I bought the car … hmmm. Not likely if the rotors were covered in rust. BMW was awesome about not charging me for the service and repairs ( I had the car a week!).

Still, all things considered, it’s a great vehicle and I love it!
 
All sorts of things are possible, but the salesman checked the service history and said the only entry was the PDI at delivery, then the warranty activation every on the date of sale. So I don't think any updates were installed. And they're a huge dealership — I don't think they'd play games by not logging services.

If the 12 volt was bad and caused this i would have expected any of the other typical 12 volt symptoms, but there were zero indications over my cross-country 1,900 miles.

Somebody else postulated that perhaps while it was sitting in service here at my local dealer this past week, they let the 12 volt run down during the diagnostics, so protectively changed the battery? That is the most plausible explanation so far. In fact, that even makes more sense than the tech's note, "BASED ON THE DATE REPLACE 12V BATTERY."

... because he should have written, "based on the date, the 12V should be fine."
 
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