BMW and M Power Owners

Commissario
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Does Tidal app on car play work ok without a touch screen ( I subscribe to Tidal for the higher res recordings )
Can't comment on the touch screen, but are you using it via bluetooth? If so, I suspect you'll be limiting the quality depending on which bluetooth version your phone and the car uses (eg. my Bose headphones only support Bluetooth v5, which has a max quality of ~900kbps from memory)
 
Soldato
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Can't comment on the touch screen, but are you using it via bluetooth? If so, I suspect you'll be limiting the quality depending on which bluetooth version your phone and the car uses (eg. my Bose headphones only support Bluetooth v5, which has a max quality of ~900kbps from memory)

CarPlay is WiFi I thought :)

The initial link is done via Bluetooth but the actual data transmission is WiFi
 
Man of Honour
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Same. Some of the Apple CarPlay apps are terrible with the jog wheel.

What apps do you use?

I've used it but I still see limited value in Carplay etc in a car that already has a decent navigation/traffic/media set up. You're driving a car - you want navigation, traffic information and audio entertainment. All of this is handled by iDrive 7 really very well so I'm still not really sure what it is the extra apps add.

The only times I've been glad to have Carplay/Android Auto is when the car has no satnav/traffic or rubbish Spotify integration.
 
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Hi all

Had a quote on my 320d for a full service + transmission service

Car is 71k miles

Below is the cost, which seems quite steep to me?




It’s an independent, but they are BMW specialists.


Has anyone got any insight? Price okay?
 
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Why are you changing the transmission fluid? It isn't part of the service schedule. If we remove the transmission service element, which won't be included in any main dealer quotes as it isn't a service item, we're below £500 which is somewhat less steep. I don't know what labour element is related to the transmission fluid change but assuming it's half the labour we're at what, £400 for the non transmission fluid service.

This service is about £360 at a main dealer, or £428 if you include the Vehicle Check Service (Which is probably due reasonably soon, I don't know if your quote includes that or not).
 
Man of Honour
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I've used it but I still see limited value in Carplay etc in a car that already has a decent navigation/traffic/media set up. You're driving a car - you want navigation, traffic information and audio entertainment. All of this is handled by iDrive 7 really very well so I'm still not really sure what it is the extra apps add.
Mine's an F80 so I only have iDrive 6 I believe. The BMW nav is not a viable replacement for Google maps. I use touch for the Deezer app as it's difficult to navigate otherwise.
 
Soldato
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Can't comment on the touch screen, but are you using it via bluetooth? If so, I suspect you'll be limiting the quality depending on which bluetooth version your phone and the car uses (eg. my Bose headphones only support Bluetooth v5, which has a max quality of ~900kbps from memory)
CarPlay is WiFi I thought
yes car-play is wireless, but the iphone is nonetheless re-encoding the tidal stream(unecessary power consumption too), android auto via usb is probably the best quality option;
so realistically my next phone will be android (I care that much), so I can use the unlimited data contract, although reception versus car sim could be problematic,
 
Soldato
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My new 6GT will only have iDrive 6 as well. Have the HUD so be more tempted to use the car nav functionality though. Carplay is still good for audio because it lets you switch between Spotify, Podcasts, Tunein radio etc. very easily and choose what you want to listen to
 
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Why are you changing the transmission fluid? It isn't part of the service schedule. If we remove the transmission service element, which won't be included in any main dealer quotes as it isn't a service item, we're below £500 which is somewhat less steep. I don't know what labour element is related to the transmission fluid change but assuming it's half the labour we're at what, £400 for the non transmission fluid service.

This service is about £360 at a main dealer, or £428 if you include the Vehicle Check Service (Which is probably due reasonably soon, I don't know if your quote includes that or not).


The (auto) gearbox hasn’t ever been serviced, and based on the info I’ve seen online, it is recommended around circa 70k miles - would you advise against it?

It does feel a little sluggish/lurchy vs other ZF I’ve experienced.

They quoted me £350 for the box service, inc labour and VAT.


They were made aware that it’s on 71K, and I did ask them to carry out the vehicle check service (or equivalent), but I can’t see any reference to it.


Again, it isn’t a main dealer, but their BMW tech is an ex BMW main dealer tech (14 years) from the local BMW garage, so I would have thought they’d know this.
 
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BMW advise against servicing the ZF boxes, although ZF themselves say you should, so it's not a bad idea. Make sure the garage can do it properly though as it's quite an involved process (partial fills at differing temperatures etc).
 
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My new 6GT will only have iDrive 6 as well. Have the HUD so be more tempted to use the car nav functionality though.

I'm clearly in the minority but I consider any version of BMW Navigation with a valid RTTI subscription to be just as good as Google Maps. In some respects it is better, in others it is not as good.

I think its helpful to remember that each system works differently. Google Maps will predict your journey time, BMW RTTI will add up all the delays on route and stick them on the arrival time. Both methods have pros and cons, for example:

Google Maps will be much better at predicting arrival time on a long journey where there is just regular traffic. It knows that just because there is a massive queue on the M6 near Birmingham at 5pm doesn't mean it'll be there when you get there at 8pm, so it disregards it. Specific city navigation too will likely be better on Google Maps for this reason

But the problem with this is how it handles major incidents of the type you may come across on long journeys. I have had countless situations whereby something serious has closed the Motorway, BMW RTTI has added the diversion on and recalculated the time and knows the road is closed. Google has instead guessed that it'll be sorted by the time I get there. Which if the road is closed due to a serious incident is likely not the case. Google Maps seems particularly poor at how it handles road closures, I often find it reports closed roads as being open, guesses closed roads will probably open or simply doesn't report other closed roads. BMW RTTI seems much better at responding to this.

If I want to know the best and most efficient route into town in rush hour Google Maps wins hands down but if I am setting off on a 300 mile motorway journey I have far more trust in BMW RTTI. I've had too many situations where I've trusted Google and not RTTI and ended up stuck - the last being when I set off at 11pm near London, BMW said the M4 was shut, Google said it was fine, I trusted Google and ended up on a huge detour around the M4, which was shut. Thanks.

Or that time when there was an accident on the A303, BMW said closed, go elsewhere, Google said its an 8 minute delay and I sat on the A303 for 45 minutes... :D
 
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I'm clearly in the minority but I consider any version of BMW Navigation with a valid RTTI subscription to be just as good as Google Maps. In some respects it is better, in others it is not as good.

I think its helpful to remember that each system works differently. Google Maps will predict your journey time, BMW RTTI will add up all the delays on route and stick them on the arrival time. Both methods have pros and cons, for example:

Google Maps will be much better at predicting arrival time on a long journey where there is just regular traffic. It knows that just because there is a massive queue on the M6 near Birmingham at 5pm doesn't mean it'll be there when you get there at 8pm, so it disregards it. Specific city navigation too will likely be better on Google Maps for this reason

But the problem with this is how it handles major incidents of the type you may come across on long journeys. I have had countless situations whereby something serious has closed the Motorway, BMW RTTI has added the diversion on and recalculated the time and knows the road is closed. Google has instead guessed that it'll be sorted by the time I get there. Which if the road is closed due to a serious incident is likely not the case. Google Maps seems particularly poor at how it handles road closures, I often find it reports closed roads as being open, guesses closed roads will probably open or simply doesn't report other closed roads. BMW RTTI seems much better at responding to this.

If I want to know the best and most efficient route into town in rush hour Google Maps wins hands down but if I am setting off on a 300 mile motorway journey I have far more trust in BMW RTTI. I've had too many situations where I've trusted Google and not RTTI and ended up stuck - the last being when I set off at 11pm near London, BMW said the M4 was shut, Google said it was fine, I trusted Google and ended up on a huge detour around the M4, which was shut. Thanks.

Or that time when there was an accident on the A303, BMW said closed, go elsewhere, Google said its an 8 minute delay and I sat on the A303 for 45 minutes... :D
I drive through London a lot, Waze is a godsend in those instances. It takes you down side streets to skip long queues etc.
 
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BMW advise against servicing the ZF boxes, although ZF themselves say you should, so it's not a bad idea. Make sure the garage can do it properly though as it's quite an involved process (partial fills at differing temperatures etc).

They were very confident they could, and explained they don’t just change the oil, but to a flush/check/run etc to ensure it’s working properly

I’d be more inclined to believe the manufacturer of the gearbox rather than BMW though.

Nothing lasts forever, and servicing something mechanical seems logical - don’t know why BMW call it a sealed unit.
 
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I must be in the minority as I use the touchscreen quite a bit.

I do on my last two Touaregs but then again I have no choice as its the only controller.

Well mess it I think on the new BMW as certain things like the reverse assist will only work with the touchscreen and something about the 360 cameras dont swivel around without the touchscreen I have heard?

But at least I am getting £500 hard cash back to me personally, not the company I was told by BMW.

But wireless charging is now back on my car(they much have found some chips!) but dark mesh trim is not longer available so I am getting that one that makes your eyes go googly instead. More annoyed about that than the touchscreen tbh. No offer of compensation on that and I only noticed it by putting my chassis number into the BMW decoder and queried it with the dealer who agreed and said they cant even spec it anymore on new order. I have said I am not happy about it being changed and even worse nobody has told me and I want compensation. I told him it would be like speccing cream seats and then turning up to pick your car up and they are black. We will see if BMW cough some more compo up.
 
Man of Honour
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certain things like the reverse assist will only work with the touchscreen

Are you sure? I've only used it once (On a 2020 G30) and I'm pretty sure I was able to select the option using the iDrive controller.

dark mesh trim is not longer available so I am getting that one that makes your eyes go googly instead. More annoyed about that than the touchscreen tbh. No offer of compensation on that and I only noticed it by putting my chassis number into the BMW decoder and queried it with the dealer who agreed and said they cant even spec it anymore on new order. I have said I am not happy about it being changed and even worse nobody has told me and I want compensation. I told him it would be like speccing cream seats and then turning up to pick your car up and they are black. We will see if BMW cough some more compo up.

This would seriously annoy me as well, one of the few reasons I'd spec a new car instead of used is that its often hard to find the trim you want in a used car. Can they not swap for another available option, ie wood or something?
 
Caporegime
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Are you sure? I've only used it once (On a 2020 G30) and I'm pretty sure I was able to select the option using the iDrive controller.

I am only going on what the salesman from the dealer told me when he rang me up to tell me I wasnt getting a touchscreen so the backup assistant was being deleted as well. Perhaps that needed another chip they dont have?
 
Soldato
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If you have idrive 7 with a central console controller you just select reverse and then tilt the controller to the right.
If you've then vin number you can also download the bmw's driver guide from Google Play, or Apple's alternative, enter the vin and you'll have the car's manual..
 
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