The BMW Thread

[Cmaier]

Welp, my car is in service for the silly left turn signal thing. Turns out they didn’t have a loaner, so they offered me “valet service.” They showed up at my house and drove the car to the dealership (at least I hope it was them!) Works out fine because we still have the 2017 x3 that will be my daughter’s car if she gets cranking on driving practice now that she has her permit.

The only hiccup so far was the people who came didn’t know about the “service card” that works as a key for them and sits in my glovebox (you activate it on the center screen when you want to allow it to be used) so they had to call in to see if they needed the fob or not.

 

[diamond.g]

Welp, my car is in service for the silly left turn signal thing. Turns out they didn’t have a loaner, so they offered me “valet service.” They showed up at my house and drove the car to the dealership (at least I hope it was them!) Works out fine because we still have the 2017 x3 that will be my daughter’s car if she gets cranking on driving practice now that she has her permit.

The only hiccup so far was the people who came didn’t know about the “service card” that works as a key for them and sits in my glovebox (you activate it on the center screen when you want to allow it to be used) so they had to call in to see if they needed the fob or not.

You use your turn signals?
BMW should admonish you for your slight upon their brand.

 

[Eric]

The only hiccup so far was the people who came didn’t know about the “service card” that works as a key for them and sits in my glovebox (you activate it on the center screen when you want to allow it to be used) so they had to call in to see if they needed the fob or not.

As much as I love this car their electronic key system is pretty much the worst I've ever seen. In the 2026 X5 the touch to unlock feature works maybe half of the time, for some reason it gets confused as to its current state and thinks it's locking instead of unlocking, I've resigned myself to just using the key fob every time instead.

It cannot handle more than one driver as it gets confused, this happens with all models I've ever used so we have to leave one key at home for the person not driving.

On the X5 key fob the lock/unlock buttons are on the side and hard to access without pulling them out of the pocket to see what's what. The older fobs were really simple with big buttons.

A standard old school key would be far easier TBH, they over complicate things unnecessarily.

 

[Cmaier]

As much as I love this car their electronic key system is pretty much the worst I've ever seen. In the 2026 X5 the touch to unlock feature works maybe half of the time, for some reason it gets confused as to its current state and thinks it's locking instead of unlocking, I've resigned myself to just using the key fob every time instead.

It cannot handle more than one driver as it gets confused, this happens with all models I've ever used so we have to leave one key at home for the person not driving.

On the X5 key fob the lock/unlock buttons are on the side and hard to access without pulling them out of the pocket to see what's what. The older fobs were really simple with big buttons.

A standard old school key would be far easier TBH, they over complicate things unnecessarily.

I’ve never used the key fob or the key card with my ix. Only Apple’s car key - i walk up to the car and it unlocks before I get there. Never had a problem, but, then, we rarely have more than one “key” around (unless you count my iPhone and apple watch separately). The iX key fob sounds the same as the X5 one - buttons on the side.

 

[Yoused]

My car unlocks so smoothly. It has non-magic-disappearing door handles, they are simple extended arch things – pretty traditional, really. The inside of the handle has a cap-sense surface, so all I have to do is reach naturally to open and it unlocks. I had it set for walk-away lock, but then it was pointed out to me that there is a grooved cap-sense surface on the outside that locks the doors (which I had unwittingly touched and locked the car on various occasions). The whole arrangement is clean, ergonomic and reliable (so far).

 

[Eric]

For me it's the attempts at inserting logic into something that simply doesn't need it that causes things to not to function properly. A basic lock/unlock button on the fob is all that's needed, the same goes for garage door openers and that whole debacle, all I need is the manufacturers opener in my visor the same it's been for the last 50 years and have zero issues with it.

 

[DT]

I’ve never used the key fob or the key card with my ix. Only Apple’s car key - i walk up to the car and it unlocks before I get there. Never had a problem, but, then, we rarely have more than one “key” around (unless you count my iPhone and apple watch separately). The iX key fob sounds the same as the X5 one - buttons on the side.

Same. Works with (just) an Apple Watch too, walk up, enter, drive away. AW also provides a few remote functions via the Car Key.

I do keep a keycard on me / in my wallet, since I'm carrying a wallet anyway. Backup and what I hand to valet parking.

 

[Cmaier]

 

[Eric]

View attachment 37544

I got no such notification, probably because I drive the pleb model.

 

[Cmaier]

I got no such notification, probably because I drive the pleb model.

Well, I just got this - my car is still in the shop fwiw, so a bit annoying they didn’t update it while it’s there (they are valeting it back to me shortly)

 

[DT]

FYI, BMW in their official NACS video and email actually said, buy this:

Lectron Vortex Plus for BMW | Charge at Tesla Superchargers Safely

Experience BMW-level precision with the Lectron Vortex Plus. UL 2252 certified and BMW-approved, enabling fast, safe DC charging at 25,000+ Tesla Superchargers across North America.

ev-lectron.com

I guess the "official" product hasn't the hit the market, but this is just as good since it's authorized (so no concerns).

Oh, and I got the email too, except with 2024, I'm ready to go today.

And by today, I actually mean when I get this RSU thing fixed

 

[Cmaier]

FYI, BMW in their official NACS video and email actually said, buy this:

Lectron Vortex Plus for BMW | Charge at Tesla Superchargers Safely

Experience BMW-level precision with the Lectron Vortex Plus. UL 2252 certified and BMW-approved, enabling fast, safe DC charging at 25,000+ Tesla Superchargers across North America.

ev-lectron.com

I guess the "official" product hasn't the hit the market, but this is just as good since it's authorized (so no concerns).

Oh, and I got the email too, except with 2024, I'm ready to go today.

And by today, I actually mean when I get this RSU thing fixed

Glad I bought that, then.

I have the update that claims to enable it sitting on the car, ready to be installed when I get home tonight. Though I don’t know how to square the update notes with the email that tells me spring 2026.

 

[DT]

Glad I bought that, then.

I have the update that claims to enable it sitting on the car, ready to be installed when I get home tonight. Though I don’t know how to square the update notes with the email that tells me spring 2026.

Over on the BMW i-forums, people are saying that '26 vehicles have a different update requirement and won't be part of this most recent update.

But I believe that's only for P&C, manually activation via the Tesla app + adapter has been working for people for a few weeks now.

 

[Cmaier]

Over on the BMW i-forums, people are saying that '26 vehicles have a different update requirement and won't be part of this most recent update.

But I believe that's only for P&C, manually activation via the Tesla app + adapter has been working for people for a few weeks now.

Would be nice if BMW would send a clearer email

I will likely give it a try this weekend with the shiny brand new bank of superchargers that just got installed a mile from my house, just to see what’s what.

 

[DT]

For comparison, this is the email I received

 

[Cmaier]

For comparison, this is the email I received

View attachment 37554

Interesting. Charging > Adapters doesn’t exist for me.