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Oh god. I got rid of my BMW less than a year after buying it in part because of the horrible "iDrive" central console interface. It was absolutely terrible! Exa

Oh god. I got rid of my BMW less than a year after buying it in part because of the horrible "iDrive" central console interface. It was absolutely terrible! Examples: Putting the car into drive would pass by reverse, so the reverse camera would come up, then not go away for 20 seconds or so. Notifications would pop up for gas at 1/8th of a tank with an alert sound like the scene change music to Law & Order. Unkillable notifications for unneeded oil changes. Deep menus for common functionality like sound adjustments. The audio didn't stop when you turned off the car, only when you opened and shut the door (letting everyone in the parking lot hear a snippet of your music first). The nav system took a minute or so to start up, so you can't begin to enter an address until it's ready. Where were the physical play/pause buttons? There are none. There's a reason why California companies lead the world in UI design: We actually care about the user experience. The hostility of a BMW UX is on a level that I honestly didn't think was possible. It wasn't just moronic, it was straight up belligerent. Thank goodness the car had a major safety recall and I had an excuse to get rid of it. My first and last BMW ever.

tooop 7y ago
Which special BMW did you have when every newish BMW has Reverse at the top and Drive at the bottom (no way of passing Reverse when putting in Drive)? EDIT: Seems that you are talking about 10+ year old BMW and telling that CA car UX is amazing - cars with no buttons and clicking (touching) through submenus to get the AC blasting... How do you define "unneeded" oil changes. If the oil change wasn't reset that is up to your service.
- pokepim 7y ago
  Agreed, newer iDrive interfaces is one of the best if not the best car interfaces you can use. Lexus NX on the other hand, well thats what a crappy UX is.
- NullPrefix 7y ago
  >How do you define "unneeded" oil changes. If the oil change wasn't reset that is up to your service. Those pesky updates.
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  You pass by reverse on the way to drive on a lot of BMW automatic shift knobs. Drive is on the bottom, but before that is neutral, then reverse, then park. To go from park to drive you have to pass reverse. I have not had the problem that the other user complained about, of the reverse camera and sensors coming on when changing gears. Perhaps they shift much slower than the manufacturer anticipated, or they aren't depressing the button on the knob.
  - ryanlol 7y ago
    > on a lot of BMW automatic shift knobs Isn’t that only with a couple of weird models built on the Mini UKL platform (and not even all of those)? Hardly what I’d call “a lot”. Pretty sure literally all other models use a button for park.
- russellbeattie 7y ago
  Unlike you, I'm not an anonymous internet asshole making baseless accusations from their mom's basement, so what I wrote is actually the truth - it was a 2018 BMW X1.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - ryanlol 7y ago
    I don’t think it’s exactly unfair to describe the Aisin X1 as a “special BMW” :) It’s definitely a weird exception, and the kind of car you’d expect to suck. Sort of like the Mercedes CLA.
    - ilikehurdles 7y ago
      I totally get why BMW snobs say the X1 and X2 are weird (but wait until you see the new 1-series). But they're hardly 10 year old models. For people cross-shopping in that segment of vehicles, its sales indicate that it comes out on top of the competition. The iDrive system that the user was complaining about is pretty much interchangeable with every other bimmer of that generation, so you're going to find mostly the same features and quirks throughout that lineup. If they didn't like that UX, they're pretty much going dislike any iDrive. Personally, I think BMW makes a way better infotainment than most other manufacturers.
  - pokepim 7y ago
    I'm not sure if you are replying to my comment but I actually owned w BMW X6, so I'm used to iDrive. Not sure if X1 had something different, it may be the case as it is much smaller car.
ryanlol 7y ago
> Unkillable notifications for unneeded oil changes. “Unkillable”? You just go into the service menu and reset the oil change interval, this isn’t hard stuff. Just google “e65 reset oil change” or whatever model you had.
antiterra 7y ago
How is the radio staying on belligerent? I love that feature. It just takes another tap of the stop/start or the volume knob to shut it of. Plenty of people idle to finish hearing what they are listening to when they reach their destination, and a straightforward way to do that without burning fuel is nice.
- ryanlol 7y ago
  >It just takes another tap of the stop/start or the volume knob to shut it of. Not even that, just getting out of the car and locking it will do the trick. I guess that won’t work if you’re terribly insecure about your music choices though?

tooop 7y ago

Which special BMW did you have when every newish BMW has Reverse at the top and Drive at the bottom (no way of passing Reverse when putting in Drive)? EDIT: Seems that you are talking about 10+ year old BMW and telling that CA car UX is amazing - cars with no buttons and clicking (touching) through submenus to get the AC blasting... How do you define "unneeded" oil changes. If the oil change wasn't reset that is up to your service.

pokepim 7y ago
Agreed, newer iDrive interfaces is one of the best if not the best car interfaces you can use. Lexus NX on the other hand, well thats what a crappy UX is.
NullPrefix 7y ago
>How do you define "unneeded" oil changes. If the oil change wasn't reset that is up to your service. Those pesky updates.
ilikehurdles 7y ago
You pass by reverse on the way to drive on a lot of BMW automatic shift knobs. Drive is on the bottom, but before that is neutral, then reverse, then park. To go from park to drive you have to pass reverse. I have not had the problem that the other user complained about, of the reverse camera and sensors coming on when changing gears. Perhaps they shift much slower than the manufacturer anticipated, or they aren't depressing the button on the knob.
- ryanlol 7y ago
  > on a lot of BMW automatic shift knobs Isn’t that only with a couple of weird models built on the Mini UKL platform (and not even all of those)? Hardly what I’d call “a lot”. Pretty sure literally all other models use a button for park.
russellbeattie 7y ago
Unlike you, I'm not an anonymous internet asshole making baseless accusations from their mom's basement, so what I wrote is actually the truth - it was a 2018 BMW X1.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- ryanlol 7y ago
  I don’t think it’s exactly unfair to describe the Aisin X1 as a “special BMW” :) It’s definitely a weird exception, and the kind of car you’d expect to suck. Sort of like the Mercedes CLA.
  - ilikehurdles 7y ago
    I totally get why BMW snobs say the X1 and X2 are weird (but wait until you see the new 1-series). But they're hardly 10 year old models. For people cross-shopping in that segment of vehicles, its sales indicate that it comes out on top of the competition. The iDrive system that the user was complaining about is pretty much interchangeable with every other bimmer of that generation, so you're going to find mostly the same features and quirks throughout that lineup. If they didn't like that UX, they're pretty much going dislike any iDrive. Personally, I think BMW makes a way better infotainment than most other manufacturers.
- pokepim 7y ago
  I'm not sure if you are replying to my comment but I actually owned w BMW X6, so I'm used to iDrive. Not sure if X1 had something different, it may be the case as it is much smaller car.

ryanlol 7y ago

> Unkillable notifications for unneeded oil changes. “Unkillable”? You just go into the service menu and reset the oil change interval, this isn’t hard stuff. Just google “e65 reset oil change” or whatever model you had.

antiterra 7y ago

How is the radio staying on belligerent? I love that feature. It just takes another tap of the stop/start or the volume knob to shut it of. Plenty of people idle to finish hearing what they are listening to when they reach their destination, and a straightforward way to do that without burning fuel is nice.

ryanlol 7y ago
>It just takes another tap of the stop/start or the volume knob to shut it of. Not even that, just getting out of the car and locking it will do the trick. I guess that won’t work if you’re terribly insecure about your music choices though?