[rG-tom]

Hi all,

I was under the impression that all LCI g30s had the "full" Drive 7, ie with android auto and remote software updates etc.

I've placed a (refundable) deposit on a November 2020 built LCI g30 m550i, and have managed to spook myself by reading horror stories of people with 2020 cars that have the earlier headunits that can't do a lot of what the later cars can. I can't find that any of these people have LCI cars though.

Is there any way of definitively finding out which version of iDrive it is from from a car's VIN?

Thank you,

[WretchedRefuse]

Originally Posted by rG-tom

Hi all,

I was under the impression that all LCI g30s had the "full" Drive 7, ie with android auto and remote software updates etc.

I've placed a (refundable) deposit on a November 2020 built LCI g30 m550i, and have managed to spook myself by reading horror stories of people with 2020 cars that have the earlier headunits that can't do a lot of what the later cars can. I can't find that any of these people have LCI cars though.

Is there any way of definitively finding out which version of iDrive it is from from a car's VIN?

Thank you,

It sounds like you are confusing manufacturing date with model year. If it's a Model Year 2021 or later, it is an LCI with full iDrive 7. You should be able to confirm the model year by checking the VIN.

[rG-tom]

Originally Posted by WretchedRefuse

It sounds like you are confusing manufacturing date with model year. If it's a Model Year 2021 or later, it is an LCI with full iDrive 7. You should be able to confirm the model year by checking the VIN.

What would I check the vin against?

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by rG-tom

What would I check the vin against?

Search the google for BMW vin decoders.

[MRDILLONS]

2021 have full IDrive 7 and 2020 has the Lite version. That’s why I went 2021. I was wanting a 2020 myself but the salesman’s told me “everything I want is on the 2021 ” (remote start, assisted driving, auto parking, etc).

[rG-tom]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Search the google for BMW vin decoders.

I have already checked against a number of vin decoders, but none of them list the model year only the build date (November 2020).


The dashboard has the eye tracking sensor, it has drive recorder and full 3d surround view, the steering wheel has the two lights on it, and it has driving assistant professional

[rG-tom]

Originally Posted by MRDILLONS

2021 have full IDrive 7 and 2020 has the Lite version. That’s why I went 2021. I was wanting a 2020 myself but the salesman’s told me “everything I want is on the 2021 ” (remote start, assisted driving, auto parking, etc).

Model year or build year? And was that including LCI 2020 cars?

[H_T]

MY2021 and later is LCI

MY2020 and later has N63TU3 engine

[WretchedRefuse]

According to Wikipedia, the 10th digit of the VIN denotes the model year. 2020 is "L" and 2021 is "M." This checks out for my VIN.

[Bimmerstyle]

Originally Posted by MRDILLONS

2021 have full IDrive 7 and 2020 has the Lite version. That’s why I went 2021. I was wanting a 2020 myself but the salesman’s told me “everything I want is on the 2021 ” (remote start, assisted driving, auto parking, etc).

This is salesman bs and really means nothing. Mine has all of these options and it's a 2017...


@[rG-tom] : Cars produces after september 2020 should be model year 2021. In september both MY 2020 and 2021 are produced. November 2020 should be a full MY 2021 LCI unless something really weird happened at the factory.

Now this is pretty easy to determine. Just look at the pictures in the Vin decoder. If it has the narrower and darker headlights, sharper front and blacked out taillights, it's a model year 2021 LCI. If it still has the bigger and brighter headlights, more rounded bumper and red tailllights it's not an LCI, so model year 2020.

[rG-tom]

Originally Posted by Bimmerstyle

This is salesman bs and really means nothing. Mine has all of these options and it's a 2017...


@[rG-tom] : Cars produces after september 2020 should be model year 2021. In september both MY 2020 and 2021 are produced. November 2020 should be a full MY 2021 LCI unless something really weird happened at the factory.

Now this is pretty easy to determine. Just look at the pictures in the Vin decoder. If it has the narrower and darker headlights, sharper front and blacked out taillights, it's a model year 2021 LCI. If it still has the bigger and brighter headlights, more rounded bumper and red tailllights it's not an LCI, so model year 2020.

It without doubt is an LCI, even down to having the larger screen in the interior etc, it's just purely the idrive hardware I'm questioning.

In fact, the m550i was never offered in the UK at all until LCI, so it's 1000% LCI.

RE your car having all of this, your car won't/cant have driving assistant professional with the full self driving under 40mph etc, as this was only ever available on id7 "full" cars

[MRDILLONS]

I think the salesman was being upfront with me in regards to finding a used 2020 M550i with all of those features I wanted. So I went for a 21.

I didn’t even see the option for a remote start for the 2020’s but I could be wrong.

I forgot the name that asked for this info butMy model year is a 21 but it was built 11/20

[Bimmerstyle]

Originally Posted by rG-tom

It without doubt is an LCI, even down to having the larger screen in the interior etc, it's just purely the idrive hardware I'm questioning.

In fact, the m550i was never offered in the UK at all until LCI, so it's 1000% LCI.

RE your car having all of this, your car won't/cant have driving assistant professional with the full self driving under 40mph etc, as this was only ever available on id7 "full" cars

I don't know if my car can drive on its own below 40mph, that's the least of my concerns, but it has driving assist pro, park assist pro and the display key to start the car remotely and move it forward and back. Tbh, I never use one of those features so I don't know their limitations. I just know they are on the option list (and I wish the previous owner would have spent that money on Bowers and Wilkins and an independent heater instead of this junk but that's another story...).

What I do know is that MY2020 cars are a bit of a mixed bag. They got the old exterior with the new kombi and ID7 but on a 10.25" screen. So one would assume this is the "light" version of ID7. MY2021 cars are full facelifts with ID7 on the big screen so this should be the full version of ID7. I can't know for sure but I'm pretty confident those "horror" stories are from people with a MY2020 car with ID7 on the smaller screen.