iDrive Updates

[leonardo]

Same thing happened to me today, I had just left the dealer to drop off some papers and the as I drove off the iDrive screen blinked once and then went black. :censored: I stopped on the side of the road, switched off then on again but still black. Went back to the dealer to show them (thank god still black). They booked me in for next week to check the CCC. This afternoon on my way back it all worked perfectly again, very strange! I did get an update last week, not sure if that may have caused it. i'll keep you updated.

[BHR4CE1]

Same thing happened to me today, I had just left the dealer to drop off some papers and the as I drove off the iDrive screen blinked once and then went black. :censored: I stopped on the side of the road, switched off then on again but still black. Went back to the dealer to show them (thank god still black). They booked me in for next week to check the CCC. This afternoon on my way back it all worked perfectly again, very strange! I did get an update last week, not sure if that may have caused it. i'll keep you updated.


Interesting. Sounds like my problem almost to a tee! Keep me posted please.

Same thing happened to me today, I had just left the dealer to drop off some papers and the as I drove off the iDrive screen blinked once and then went black. :censored: I stopped on the side of the road, switched off then on again but still black. Went back to the dealer to show them (thank god still black). They booked me in for next week to check the CCC. This afternoon on my way back it all worked perfectly again, very strange! I did get an update last week, not sure if that may have caused it. i'll keep you updated.


Interesting. Sounds like my problem almost to a tee! Keep me posted please.

It happened to me only once before (my iDrive works flawlessly in general). During that single occassion, I switched on my car and drove off instantly because I was at a super-hurry. The iDrive sort of froze/went blank: the Controller could be rotated freely, the screen was stuck at the lawyer's disclaimer and the time/date showed " - - - ". I think we might have shocked the computer with super fast drive offs. When I switched the car off (upon arrival at where I was heading to in a hurry), and let it go to sleep during its 20 minute interval, iDrive went back to normal again upon re-ignition. That was my only iDrive abnormality, otherwise smooth running in general. The computer goes to "sleep" after about 20 minutes when you turn her off.

[Gran Turismo]

the screen was stuck at the lawyer's disclaimer and the time/date showed " - - - ".

So you have that lawyer disclaimer too Down Under?
What does it say... "Keep Left"? Or "Slip, Slap, Slop" if you have a vert or sunroof? :mrgreen:

Anyway I've once noticed a quite similar thing with mine... drove off (without hurry) from a petrol station and noticed that it took the perspective map about one minute to appear. Mine was stuck on the "BMW" screen for a while, the same appearing when you start the car or after you've removed the key fob... so obviously it had rebooted itself. But just one single occasion here as well.

However what iDrive (NAV) obviously really hates is if you start the engine while it's calculating the optimum route to your destination. The result was an "offset" of the current car position in relation to the map - the system thought that I wasn't driving on the road, but following it off-road about 200ft away... :-o Deactivating and reactivating the destination solved that one.

Adventures with Microsoft.

[Spyder]

Here's a heads up on what you may expect when you bring your car in for an iDrive problem/update if you have paired a non-approved phone. Let's begin with my wife's ED 535, build date first week in June '07.

After a flawless infancy, the iDrive screen froze on the 4-spoke image. The iPod continued playing, but the controller and volume control were inoperative; the car drove normally otherwise. Turning off the engine and restarting didn't help, but waiting for the car to reboot (I was told it takes 28 min) returned the iDrive to normal operation. I reported this to the SA who recommended the car be checked, and the iDrive updated, since he felt that an update would likely prevent the problem from recurring.

When picking up the car, I was disappointed to find out serendipitously in a conversation with the shop foreman that the iDrive was not updated, even though they had the car for several days (a new BMW loaner was supplied). Instead, attention was focused on my wife's non-approved ATT Blackberry 8800, even though this phone has paired perfectly with the car, wasn't in use when the lock-up occurred, and the two previous Blackberries (8700 and Pearl) are approved ATT phones, ie, the 8800 will most likely be approved shortly. I came away with the impression that BMW is using the non-paired phone as an excuse not to perform an update that may remedy a problem, as, in this case, the SA suggested it would. This otherwise excellent dealer is over 40 mi from my home (in the wrong direction), so I was kind of pissed that no work was done to correct the problem. I could have given the requested Blackberry s/w and f/w details over the phone and saved a trip.

Turning to my '07 ED 650, build Sept '06, the story gets more interesting. I dropped off the 650 for a free oil change (prompted by time not miles) when picking up the 535. I took the opportunity to have the iDrive inspected/updated due to an odd set of occurrences several months ago: the alarm/horn went off while the car was being driven, and, on two separate occasions, the iDrive screen seemed to jump about randomly while my iPod played on. The problems never recurred, so I decided to wait util the one-year anniverary oil change before having them addressed.

Again, no update was made to the iDrive on the 650. Rather, focus turned to my non-approved Treo 680, despite my repeatedly noting that the 680 was just recently paired to the car, so could not have caused the iDrive problems that occurred several months ago. The ground-strap recall was performed, and it was suggested that this may have caused the iDrive problem. But this recall has to do with engine malfunctions in freezing weather, somethng my 650 has never experienced in Southern California. Once again, I was left with the impression that iDrive problems are being attributed to non-approved phones despite scarce, or no, evidence.

It'd be one thing if owners were warned that non-approved phones limit or void warranties. That might have affected phone purchases, or in some cases, the decision to buy a BMW in the first place. But I believe that those with non-approved phones just accept the fact they may loose some, or all, of the functions of their phones when paired with the car (eg, my Treo doesn't xfer my entire contact list, just the quick-dial list), not that other aspects of the cars electronics would be compromised.

Spyder

the screen was stuck at the lawyer's disclaimer and the time/date showed " - - - ".

So you have that lawyer disclaimer too Down Under?
What does it say... "Keep Left"? Or "Slip, Slap, Slop" if you have a vert or sunroof? :mrgreen:

Anyway I've once noticed a quite similar thing with mine... drove off (without hurry) from a petrol station and noticed that it took the perspective map about one minute to appear. Mine was stuck on the "BMW" screen for a while, the same appearing when you start the car or after you've removed the key fob... so obviously it had rebooted itself. But just one single occasion here as well.

However what iDrive (NAV) obviously really hates is if you start the engine while it's calculating the optimum route to your destination. The result was an "offset" of the current car position in relation to the map - the system thought that I wasn't driving on the road, but following it off-road about 200ft away... :-o Deactivating and reactivating the destination solved that one.

Yes, we have the lawyer's disclaimer screen here. Mine stays on the disclaimer screen until you hit the Controller. (I don't know which version of the software I have; actually I don't really care to know because it works well in general). Hmmm, it seems our computer has small "capacity" - can't work under increased workloads during drive off, start up, navigation etc. all at once.

(I was told it takes 28 min)

Does anybody on this Board here knows why it takes more than 20 minutes? I guess BMW programmed it that way in case if the driver is still in the car and wants to re-start and assumed that most re-starts take place within 20 minutes? :dunno: Or is our computer a super-gigantic mother of a machine that it actually requires 20 minutes to do all its summary statistics, checks etc. prior to shut down?

[Gran Turismo]

I think it's quite common that cars nowadays shut the power off (and previously shutdown any computers) after 15-30 minutes, probably for battery protection reasons. Alarm systems are excepted here of course.
My previous car did this too - it was not possible to listen to the radio/CD for more than 20 minutes after the engine was shut off. Suddenly everything went dark with some massive relay 'clunk' and you had to switch the ignition key to off and back to aux/on again for another 20 minutes of power.

[Spyder]

(I was told it takes 28 min)

Does anybody on this Board here knows why it takes more than 20 minutes? I guess BMW programmed it that way in case if the driver is still in the car and wants to re-start and assumed that most re-starts take place within 20 minutes? :dunno: Or is our computer a super-gigantic mother of a machine that it actually requires 20 minutes to do all its summary statistics, checks etc. prior to shut down?

The reason for the 28 min shut-down sequence is to allow the driver to maintain certain functions should the car be restarted before the reboot (eg, NAV asking "continue guidance?" before you drive off after refueling) . Ultimately, the car must be be reach a minimal current draw state to avoid battery drain.

Interestingly, a similar process occurs when a modern car has a malfunction in the charging circuit, ie, the alternator fails to charge the battery. Various electronics are shut down in sequence as the battery drains to the point where it can no longer fire plugs. First you loose convenience features like the radio, then non-critical features like climate control, so that the car can be driven as long as possible without a functioning charging circuit. This is analogous to how your body shuts down during hypothermia, ie, blood flow is restricted to the extremities first while vital organs in the thoracic cavity are kept viable.

Re: Non-approved phones. I just got off the phone with BMWNA (their nickel as follow-up to the dealer service survey). They agreed with me that iDrive updates should not be held hostage to use of a non-approved phone until it can be specifically demonstarted that the phone pairing caused the problem warranting the update.

Spyder

[leonardo]

Same thing happened to me today, I had just left the dealer to drop off some papers and the as I drove off the iDrive screen blinked once and then went black. :censored: I stopped on the side of the road, switched off then on again but still black. Went back to the dealer to show them (thank god still black). They booked me in for next week to check the CCC. This afternoon on my way back it all worked perfectly again, very strange! I did get an update last week, not sure if that may have caused it. i'll keep you updated.


Interesting. Sounds like my problem almost to a tee! Keep me posted please.

They checked the iDrive and even though it's working again, they decided to replace the CCC for me. It's on order so I'll have to bring the car in another time. Quite cool that they replace so easily. We have what they call "Motorplan" which a maintenance system included with all new BMW's. 5 years or 100,000km, they pay for everything except tyres and oil fill-up between oil changes. It stays with the car, so if you buy second hand then it get's transferred to the new owner.