Default Drive Mode?

I haven't found a way (and totally agree with you re personal mode.)

I was wondering if you had a word with any professional at the dealership? They might be able to help. Please share if they have a solution.

brantius said:

Has anyone figured out how to get the iX to default to Efficient mode?
Every time I start, I have to switch drive modes.
It's a little inefficient.

Also, it appears that Personal mode is absolutely not personalizable.
Another misnomer?

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As far as I can tell, the only thing you can personalize in the ‘Personal’ mode is the HUD and instrument cluster more than you can in Efficient and Sport mode. Other than that, nothing else from what I can tell.

I agree otherwise, its a no-brainer to have options to default to B-drive and either of the three driving modes

🤦‍♂️

You can't set a default driving mode in iD7 either. Perhaps iD8 will eventually be more flexible....

Not likely to be able to have it default to B mode, the dealer told us this is because the car needs to default to the EPA tested mode on every restart, same reason why ICE vehicles don't stay in sport mode on restart.

You know. I had an i3 that I was able to code to keep ECO mode after every start. I would bet at some point we will be able to code a default mode and a default to B when driving. I would love to just turn D off. Not using regenerative braking on an EV is dumb, especially when it’s driver centric. It’s almost like downshifting a manual the way you can bleed speed with it. It’s an awesome part of driving an EV once you get used to it.

alphanstein said:

Not likely to be able to have it default to B mode, the dealer told us this is because the car needs to default to the EPA tested mode on every restart, same reason why ICE vehicles don't stay in sport mode on restart.

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That is not a legal requirement. Teslas retain their various settings, including suspension and acceleration mode, across drives and reboots. This is extremely poor coding on BMW's part.

Guidance from the EPA on 40 CFR would indicate otherwise....

Paladin1 said:

Guidance from the EPA on 40 CFR would indicate otherwise....

Adobe Acrobat

acrobat.adobe.com

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I believe your conclusion may be incorrect. There is guidance for both latched and unlatched driving modes. Latching is when the selected drive mode persists across vehicle restarts. Unlatched is when the drive mode defaults to the factory setting after every vehicle start. If drive modes are latching (persistent), BMW must conduct its EPA test using only the "factory drive mode".

It is clear from this document that regardless of whether the manufacturer makes drive modes persistent, only the factory default drive mode will be tested and quoted for purposes of EPA. As I stated earlier, Tesla drive modes persist across restarts and that has caused no issues with EPA testing or certification.

I think we need to stop excusing poor software quality from BMW.

Agree with your assessment of BMW's software expertise (have yet to get the eSIM to work). As far as the default mode requirement, I haven't read through 40 CFR in its entirety, but it wouldn't surprise me based on other forums and Genius comments (and they are admittedly far from), that there is somewhere a regulatory requirement, perhaps one that BMW has not fulfilled. The EPA is an independent regulatory agency, so it's very possibly buried somewhere in the CFR. Not excusing BMW, but there may in fact be a valid reason for this, and it's also possible that BMW could easily correct it (I would use matrix lighting as an example - cars so equipped likely meet the regulatory requirements, but BMW has very apparently not applied).

Paladin1 said:

Agree with your assessment of BMW's software expertise (have yet to get the eSIM to work). As far as the default mode requirement, I haven't read through 40 CFR in its entirety, but it wouldn't surprise me based on other forums and Genius comments (and they are admittedly far from), that there is somewhere a regulatory requirement, perhaps one that BMW has not fulfilled. The EPA is an independent regulatory agency, so it's very possibly buried somewhere in the CFR. Not excusing BMW, but there may in fact be a valid reason for this, and it's also possible that BMW could easily correct it (I would use matrix lighting as an example - cars so equipped likely meet the regulatory requirements, but BMW has very apparently not applied).

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The answer is in the first few pages of the document, thanks for linking it. I would be suspect of anything a BMW "Genius" or dealership tells me. I've found that a lot of times they just tell you what makes sense based on the situation, out of a good intention to want to answer your concern, but many times the answer they provide is not correct.