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i'm taping my iphone to the dash of my next BMW

7K views 118 replies 42 participants last post by  anu 
#1 ·
BMW nav sucks. hard. and you know it.

it's embarrassingly bad.


i just got a ride from someone who paid 19,000 for a 2008 honda civic and the nav system was geometrically better than my BMW system.



thank you for reading my rant.
 
#76 ·
I don't think that BMW's software issues are confined to the iDrive. We didn't order it on our 2008. The iPod interface is equally poor and not close to being intuitive. If you want to select an artist (for instance) you have to scroll through every artist on the menu. How hard would it have been to at least be able to pick the letter of the alphabet as a place to begin. I need to have the manual to check the oil because it's just not sticking in my brain. There is virtually no way to check the engine temperature. We were driving home from the north country last weekend. I downshifted to fourth to pull over and pass the vehicle in front of me when suddenly the car felt like it had a blown tire it was thumping so badly. The service engine light soon came on so I became suspicious it was an engine "miss". Pulled over to the side of the road...turned off the engine...restarted. Sure enough, the code cleared and the car drove fine all the way home and hasn't misbehaved since. It appears that BMW has turned the operation of the engine over to the computer even if it just stumbles with an air/fuel mixture or some other innocuous event.

Just in case anyone from BMW tracks this board I would like to place my vote for bringing back gauges for oil pressure, engine temp., and battery charging. If you could throw in some rotary dials for cabin fan speed I'd be tickled. I may be in the minority here but I don't buy BMW's for their electronic sophistication (or lack there of). I buy them for the six, the stick, and the handling package.
 
#88 ·
Bottom line for me is that the 2008 iDrive interface and smoothness of the operating system, sucks. No wonder BMW went with a new company for the 2009s.
Does it get me where I'm going....um sure, or else I doubt the system would ever get approved.

Just because the iDrive 'does the job' like other people like to say, it doesn't mean it does the job well. And Pretty. Its like a contractor or worker who has done his job but a sloppy job in doing so. In the same token, You could think he did a decent job until you view your neighbor's job in a dramatic revelation. Hence: Acura, Lincoln, Ford Navi.
 
#96 ·
Perhaps BMW should consider the Microsoft Sync System in Fords since the exclusive deal with Ford ends this year and other makes are looking to integrate the system -- having the system in the last two rental cars I have had to use on business almost makes me want to buy a Ford -- that system is very well done! especially on the Edge.

Audi's new MMI system will leap above them all when it is released later this year.
 
#98 ·
What really irritates me though is that to gain any fixes or benefits you have to get a new car! I mean all software has some growing pains, developers expect that and they provide updates to resolve issues. When I buy a new Garmin it has problems but within 6 months there are 5 firmware updates which fix things. No such luck here, they could do a lot of good will just by providing some way of doing some updates to improve usability. I would even pay for it.
 
#101 ·
Could we please have a thread on the plus/minuses of iDRIVE/Nav without you guys ruining with your snitty insults? Why don't you guys take it to PM and let the rest of us talk about the actual car.
 
#102 ·
well, i was talking about the actual car; more specifically the crappy nav system, but some posters here apparently have weak ego strength and got personally offended by the idea that a decision they made was probably a poor decision, everything else being equal.

the system, at least the in my car, is horribly thought out.

the screen is too small, the functionality stinks and lacks any sort intuitiveness.

i support my claim by citing that the automotive industry agrees with me, and a couple of lame-o's just stick their e tiunges out at me, like petulant children.
 
#111 ·
have you ever had a touch screen system in your car?

I had a touchscreen in my Acura. Much easier to use then the Idrive Dial. Instead of clicking and dragging it was a quick press on the screen. As a result, it was less disruptive to my driving in terms of taking attention away.

I like Idrive OK, but the touchscreen Acura system was much easier to use.
 
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