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New features (including iDrive 8.5) from BMW "NOT" available to iX manufactured before March 2023

18K views 81 replies 34 participants last post by  jono987654321 
#1 ·
Sigh. According to BMW's press release today (in other words, if you have an iX that was produced before March 2023, you are currently not able to get these new features or a upgrade to iDrive 8.5.

I thought I was getting their flagship EV back in 2022 where it would get exciting new features over time. Sadly, I was mistaken -->

"To coincide with the ongoing expansion of the all-electric model line-up, new functions are being made available for all BMW i7 and BMW iX variants in summer 2023 that will make enjoying locally emission-free driving pleasure even easier and more convenient.

The BMW Group is the first carmaker in the world to incorporate multi-contract functionality into this new feature. Customers are able to store their individual vehicle electricity contracts from multiple suppliers in digital form in their car, allowing them to use the charging points of these operators with the greatest of ease. The new Multi-Contract Plug & Charge function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023.

Activating the MAX RANGE function extends the range by a comfortable margin for the journey to an alternative charging point for the high-voltage battery. This is achieved by, among other things, limiting the vehicle’s top speed to 90 km/h (56 mph) at the same time as disabling features such as the climate control, seat heating and steering wheel heating. The new MAX RANGE function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023

The high-voltage battery in the BMW iX can now also be charged more efficiently thanks to the same upgraded charging software already used in the BMW i7. Here, careful control of the charging rate results in shorter charging times. The new charging software can also be imported into all BMW iX models manufactured since March 2023 via Remote Software Upgrade.

Other cars that can be updated to BMW Operating System 8.5 at a later stage via Remote Software Upgrade: BMW 7 Series from production 07/22; BMW iX from production 03/23; BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7. BMW XM, BMW X5 M, BMW X6 M from production 04/23."
 
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#3 ·
ok that's a bummer but does it really change a lot?

I don't know if you have contracts other than with ionity and BP pulse, I personally don't. And having driven EVs in UK for a while, range is never really an issue and I doubt you would ever use max range function and limit yourself to 56mph on a motorway with no AC? If you really end up with really low range, which I assume only rarely happens, it's not a big thing to turn off AC
 
#9 ·
@occam I like having the latest tech and I had hoped that the iX I got in 2022 would continue to get new tech features added through software updates over time. My point of sharing earlier is that it's becoming clear that BMW are not likely to roll out a lot of new features to older iX cars. Whether those features are trivial or really useful is another question but it would have been useful to have the ability to get every new feature that gets rolled out.
 
#19 ·
Yes, that's a fair point. Maybe they will roll "more significant" features for models older than March 2023, fingers crossed!

I received my car 2 weeks ago. Is it possible to find out when my car was built exactly so I can check if I'm getting those updates?
I believe BMW made the upgrade in conjunction with model year 24 changover. Thus, if you have a 2024 model iX, you should have iDrive 8.5.
 
#4 ·
Sigh. According to BMW's press release today (in other words, if you have an iX that was produced before March 2023, you are currently not able to get these new features or a upgrade to iDrive 8.5.

I thought I was getting their flagship EV back in 2022 where it would get exciting new features over time. Sadly, I was mistaken -->

"To coincide with the ongoing expansion of the all-electric model line-up, new functions are being made available for all BMW i7 and BMW iX variants in summer 2023 that will make enjoying locally emission-free driving pleasure even easier and more convenient.

The BMW Group is the first carmaker in the world to incorporate multi-contract functionality into this new feature. Customers are able to store their individual vehicle electricity contracts from multiple suppliers in digital form in their car, allowing them to use the charging points of these operators with the greatest of ease. The new Multi-Contract Plug & Charge function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023.

Activating the MAX RANGE function extends the range by a comfortable margin for the journey to an alternative charging point for the high-voltage battery. This is achieved by, among other things, limiting the vehicle’s top speed to 90 km/h (56 mph) at the same time as disabling features such as the climate control, seat heating and steering wheel heating. The new MAX RANGE function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023

The high-voltage battery in the BMW iX can now also be charged more efficiently thanks to the same upgraded charging software already used in the BMW i7. Here, careful control of the charging rate results in shorter charging times. The new charging software can also be imported into all BMW iX models manufactured since March 2023 via Remote Software Upgrade.

Other cars that can be updated to BMW Operating System 8.5 at a later stage via Remote Software Upgrade: BMW 7 Series from production 07/22; BMW iX from production 03/23; BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7. BMW XM, BMW X5 M, BMW X6 M from production 04/23."
A few things I wouldn’t mind having in my pre-March ‘23 but nothing I’m too excited about. Grasping at straws perhaps but I’ll take the lack of anything about Highway Assistant as a sign of remaining hope.
 
#22 ·
Sigh. According to BMW's press release today (in other words, if you have an iX that was produced before March 2023, you are currently not able to get these new features or a upgrade to iDrive 8.5.

I thought I was getting their flagship EV back in 2022 where it would get exciting new features over time. Sadly, I was mistaken -->

"To coincide with the ongoing expansion of the all-electric model line-up, new functions are being made available for all BMW i7 and BMW iX variants in summer 2023 that will make enjoying locally emission-free driving pleasure even easier and more convenient.

The BMW Group is the first carmaker in the world to incorporate multi-contract functionality into this new feature. Customers are able to store their individual vehicle electricity contracts from multiple suppliers in digital form in their car, allowing them to use the charging points of these operators with the greatest of ease. The new Multi-Contract Plug & Charge function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023.

Activating the MAX RANGE function extends the range by a comfortable margin for the journey to an alternative charging point for the high-voltage battery. This is achieved by, among other things, limiting the vehicle’s top speed to 90 km/h (56 mph) at the same time as disabling features such as the climate control, seat heating and steering wheel heating. The new MAX RANGE function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023

The high-voltage battery in the BMW iX can now also be charged more efficiently thanks to the same upgraded charging software already used in the BMW i7. Here, careful control of the charging rate results in shorter charging times. The new charging software can also be imported into all BMW iX models manufactured since March 2023 via Remote Software Upgrade.

Other cars that can be updated to BMW Operating System 8.5 at a later stage via Remote Software Upgrade: BMW 7 Series from production 07/22; BMW iX from production 03/23; BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7. BMW XM, BMW X5 M, BMW X6 M from production 04/23."
disappointing but I think we all saw this coming in the older threads about I drive 8.5 as the cars didn’t have the right hardware version. Can’t say I regret my purchase falling through. The car is still for sale at 8k gbp less than I was going to pay in march!
 
#24 ·
Coming from a 30+year IT background I find it somewhat interesting that BMW elected to basically orphan all of us who took the chance and purchased version one of their computer on wheels. I’m pleased with the M60 I’ve been driving since last September and hopefully I can start to see some stability in its operation over the next 2-3 years or perhaps longer assuming that the mechanical aspects of the car continue remain BMW Strong. In the meantime I’ll continue to look at the advances the industry makes in battery and related EV technology. I thought this might be the last car I would own (I’m 72) but now I’m not so sure and BMW will not be the only manufacturer I’d consider.
 
#31 ·
Nothing will change so long as the complaints are limited to this forum. What will effect change is creating enough noise for BMW to have egg on its face and do something for existing customers. Tesla also has had to be forced to do the right thing by its customers more than a few times, and it always happened because customers created a lot of noise.

So far the musings in this forum will not move BMW's needle one hair.

What are the chances a prominent Youtuber or influencer can take this on? ZERO! Because anyone who reviews cars relies on the generosity of the manufacturers to loan them cars to review. One doesn't get that when one criticizes the vehicle manufacturer.

There are many wealthy and connected people here who own the iX. People who can be influential if they want to be. In fact, there are probably people in this forum who either know Oliver Zipse or know how to contact him.

Fortune favors the brave.
 
#37 ·
Nothing will change so long as the complaints are limited to this forum. What will effect change is creating enough noise for BMW to have egg on its face and do something for existing customers. Tesla also has had to be forced to do the right thing by its customers more than a few times, and it always happened because customers created a lot of noise.
Dropped the tip to TheVerge: How to tip The Verge: secure email, Signal, SecureDrop, and more

I suggest doing the same and dropping an email with the news tip to your favorite news outlet. I think it won't take a lot of effort, but in the end might result in embarrassing news stories for BMW. You never know.
 
#50 ·
if BMW had disclosed like a decent actor in all of this at the time of purchase, I would have been able to make an informed decision. Instead, they withheld this info from their dealers and customers and left recent purchasers in a lurch. My first payment goes out today and “newer” cars get features that my tech-loaded iX will never be capable of. It’s not a good way to do business. They had just conquered my business from VW/Audi (had 5 previously) and I’ve never owned a BMW other than a X3 my wife leased for a couple years before the kids were born.
 
#51 ·
Very valid point made, having a brand new "dead end" product is not good and I'm guessing that as they couldnt dress this up, they decided to keep quiet and sweep it under the rug hoping to mute any negative feedback.
From their position, they only need to provide what they offered in the Sales specification and to be honest I do not believe I have read any BMW literature which makes reference to "ongoing Software support" apart from Online "Upgrade Unlocks" like heated seats etc which they can draw revenue from.

Its just very dissapointing that theyve chosen this business model / approach on such a young prestige Product!
 
#53 · (Edited)
The well-connected people in this forum have the capability to create noise and embarrassment for BMW. So far all I hear is complaining without anyone actually doing anything. If it's that problematic, escalate the issue to those who can do something about it.

A lot of noise on social media and the press could be enough to make the C-suite decide to roll out a head unit upgrade for prior owners. It is one executive decision away from happening, but not if nobody does anything and limits their outrage to this echo chamber. BMW needs to get public egg on its face in order to convince it to change course.

Don't look at me to be that person, though. I'm happy with my 2023 iX 50 w/ air suspension. I saved close to $15,000 between tax credits and discount registration that expired at the end of 2023. What's funny is that KBB values my iX at only $3k less than new.
 
#54 ·
The well-connected people in this forum have the capability to create noise and embarrassment for BMW. So far all I hear is complaining without anyone actually doing anything. If it's that problematic, escalate the issue to those who can do something about it.

A lot of noise on social media and the press could be enough to make the C-suite decide to roll out a head unit upgrade for prior owners. It is one executive decision away from happening, but not if nobody does anything and limits their outrage to this echo chamber. BMW needs to get public egg on its face in order to convince it to change course.
100% agree, and once again urge people to send tips to news websites and blogs of your choice. The story is BMW abandoning early adopters of their "forward-thinking" flagman SUV. It is a big deal, and people should notice.

I've dropped tips to 3 websites, but it takes a village to move the needle in this case. Do it, people, it takes 5 minutes to write an email.
 
#58 ·
Took delivery in January of an iX I ordered in April 2022 and was manufactured in early December. It replaced a 2007 Honda Accord that I bought new. That car did not have Bluetooth and I last updated the navigation DVD in 2009. Point is that I'm happy with the tech and features of the iX and will be for quite some time I imagine. Loving the air suspension, IAS and driver assistance pro.
 
#64 ·
Sigh. According to BMW's press release today (in other words, if you have an iX that was produced before March 2023, you are currently not able to get these new features or a upgrade to iDrive 8.5.

I thought I was getting their flagship EV back in 2022 where it would get exciting new features over time. Sadly, I was mistaken -->

"To coincide with the ongoing expansion of the all-electric model line-up, new functions are being made available for all BMW i7 and BMW iX variants in summer 2023 that will make enjoying locally emission-free driving pleasure even easier and more convenient.

The BMW Group is the first carmaker in the world to incorporate multi-contract functionality into this new feature. Customers are able to store their individual vehicle electricity contracts from multiple suppliers in digital form in their car, allowing them to use the charging points of these operators with the greatest of ease. The new Multi-Contract Plug & Charge function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023.

Activating the MAX RANGE function extends the range by a comfortable margin for the journey to an alternative charging point for the high-voltage battery. This is achieved by, among other things, limiting the vehicle’s top speed to 90 km/h (56 mph) at the same time as disabling features such as the climate control, seat heating and steering wheel heating. The new MAX RANGE function can be made available via Remote Software Upgrade for all BMW i7 models manufactured since July 2022 and all BMW iX models built since March 2023

The high-voltage battery in the BMW iX can now also be charged more efficiently thanks to the same upgraded charging software already used in the BMW i7. Here, careful control of the charging rate results in shorter charging times. The new charging software can also be imported into all BMW iX models manufactured since March 2023 via Remote Software Upgrade.

Other cars that can be updated to BMW Operating System 8.5 at a later stage via Remote Software Upgrade: BMW 7 Series from production 07/22; BMW iX from production 03/23; BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7. BMW XM, BMW X5 M, BMW X6 M from production 04/23."
Anyone have an update as to whether BMW will allow pre-March 2023 iXs to upgrade to iDrive 8.5?
 
#65 · (Edited)
BMW isn't "preventing" or "allowing" an "upgrade" to v8.5 from 8.0 - it's virtually impossible cost-effectively because of different architecture, different wiring harnesses, different coding, et al. Nothing is impossible in the automotive modification world, so sure, it could be done. Wild guess, $100k, considering other repair/replacement costs. Maybe more, maybe less. What IS certain is that BMW isn't going to do it, and buying a new 8.5-equipped iX would almost certainly be cheaper. And then there will be v9, not upgradeable from 8.5 (not even the same software, and actually a downgrade). And then v10. And then v11. Chasing "new" through some upgrade path is futile, just like Apple won't "upgrade" your iPhone 14 to 15 "for free." They will, however, "upgrade" your older iPhone to a brand new model for about $1,000, minus your trade-in value of course
 
#66 ·
Chasing "new" through some upgrade path is futile, just like Apple won't "upgrade" your iPhone 14 to 15 "for free." They will, however, "upgrade" your older iPhone to a brand new model for about $1,000, minus your trade-in value of course
While I agree with the general sentiment, and I personally made my peace with the fact, iPhone analogy doesn't work here. Until very recently I happily used iPhone 11 Pro from 4 years ago which you can still upgrade to the latest and greatest iOS version, minus a few features. The idea of the huge-ass touch screen in cars instead of physical buttons was sold as something that would allow us to get access to new features and updates without changing the car for every upgrade, at least for a few years. That's why we accepted the inconvenience of touch interfaces. With iX BMW made a conscious decision to use older head units in early production vehicles to overcome the chip shortage. And the worst thing is that they haven't suffered even a minor PR blow because of that. And they deserved to be called out on this bullshit.
 
#70 · (Edited)
You will continue to get upgrades to your 8.0 iDrive system BTW. A new one just came out last week! It'll be different than the 8.5 folks, but you'll still continue to get new releases for a while!
The idea of the huge-ass touch screen in cars instead of physical buttons was sold as something that would allow us to get access to new features and updates without changing the car for every upgrade, at least for a few years. That's why we accepted the inconvenience of touch interfaces. With iX BMW made a conscious decision to use older head units in early production vehicles to overcome the chip shortage. And the worst thing is that they haven't suffered even a minor PR blow because of that. And they deserved to be called out on this bullshit.
Total BS that BMW intentionally obsoleted a $95k+ car after I owned it 3 months. Probably my last BMW if they keep this sh*t up.
I agree with the BS camp. BMW has many precedents for a hardware upgrade path, even when they changed the wiring harnesses. They offered a pretty involved wiring harness adapter and coding path to retrofit future generation navigation and screen hardware into their first cars with nav. They offered wiring harness and coding paths to retrofit Bluetooth in cars with hardwired phones. They offered wiring harness adapters for next generation radio modules. They offered retrofit wiring harness adapters for Sirius receivers in cars that predated Sirius. Etc.

Not a total shocker that they changed the wiring in the iX (though, hard to understand why, since it is just a computer). But it is a shocker that they do not offer a coding and wiring harness retrofit path for the hardware.
 
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#73 ·
I got my M60 in September, 2022 with all the bells and whistles that were available at the time. Remember, those of you that were on this forum back then that there was a chip shortage and most of us had to accept some changes just to be able to get our cars. (mine came without the auto hatch open/close that I had ordered). I was lucky enough to get in under the wire to get the $7500 tax credit that is no longer available and after a few months of some annoying little software glitches my car has been pretty much stable and trouble free after 16K miles. So I’ll accept the inability to move to latest version of iDrive. I just hope that when BMW comes out with their NACS adapter next year it will be compatible with our cars. I’ve already seen that BMW is not going to support access to DC charging services like Shell in the My BMW app to the pre 3/23 builds and I hope that will not be the case with the NACS adapter.
 
#74 ·
My pre-3/23 iX50 has both the EA and Shell Recharge services in the app. I'm guessing that they won't be able to retrofit Plug and Charge into earlier models for NACS, but should be easily resolved by including Tesla in the app as well, or even using Tesla's app.
 
#75 ·
I'm pretty you are correct in how they are going to do this. Us '22 and '23 owners won't have Plug & Charge, but we'll be able to authenticate via the BMW app, the same way we do with Electrify America.

70% of the Tesla SuperCharging network is already open in Europe to all CCS cars, so us North Americans can look over there for how they handle everything just fine. :)
 
#76 ·
I was fortunate to be able to migrate from 8.0 to 8.5 but id there are no killer features that make it a must have.

it’s a tidy up of a few things and Apple Car play works better.
… but I certainly understand peoples frustration on such an expensive purchase.

I was hoping for Motorway Assist with 8.5 but that hasn’t been released on any IX platform to date in the U.K. be it 8.0 or 8.5??
 
#78 ·
In v8 I just rest my palm on the flat bottom part of the wheel and I have driver assistant plus/pro/whatever on any freeway, anywhere, without any nags. Shhh, don't tell BMW! It's possible that zip-tying a hot dog to the steering wheel may accomplish the same and allow for truly hands-free everywhere, plus a snack when you get hungry :p
 
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