[crazzy76]

Does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade from the ID7 lite to the full?? have anyone done this? or is it mission impossible?

[LogicalApex]

BMW doesn't officially offer a retrofit for this. The general consensus is no since even if you could do it the cost would be prohibitive since you'd need to add all of the new systems expected in "SP18". You'd also need BMW AG involved to probably flag the car VIN in such a way as to get updates delivered to it.

I am as angry as anyone here over the iDrive 7 "Lite" fiasco, but I'd say it isn't worth paying out of pocket for a crazy attempt to fix it. I'd also wager that it isn't worth upgrading to a MY2021 LCI just for RSU since BMW still hasn't delivered major features in an RSU anyway. BMW is rumored to be launching the i5 next year and that's what I'd look if the tech is super important. Especially since given BMW pattern they'll stop updating iDrive 7 cars next year with iDrive 8 cars taking center stage....

[bepp67]

I would not be so sure: selling a product that in reality proves to be decidedly different and above all without adequately informing the customer about its true characteristics, constitutes the violation of some crimes, at least here in Europe. I repeat, I would not be so sure because it would be enough to constitute a precise class action against BMW. They, knowing with certainty of losing the case, would immediately recall the vehicles involved, because the costs to adapt the cars with idrive 7 lite would be enormously lower, compared to the damage from such an accusation, also in terms of image. In my opinion they would recall the vehicles before the class action is even filed in court. On the sidelines, we must also consider a further aggravating circumstance: BMW continued to sell vehicles (over the middle of 2020) with idrive 7 without informing that it was the "incomplete" (lite) version even when many customers had already officially complained and pointed out that they had a different system than the one they were convinced they had purchased.

[moscab]

I do think as well that we need to escalate this as I feel I've been misold.
Even the user manual which is tailored to the purchased version of the vehicle state features that are not and will never be present in the car.
I do agree it does not worth upgrading to ID7 our own due to massive costs and risk of invalidating the manufacturer warranty.

[mike1110]

I think there are some things which BMW simply skipped in iDrive 7 lite which drives me crazy thinking about it.
For example, in my country a 2 Series Gran Coupe with iDrive 6 has reverse assistant whereas my 530e (MY2020) doesn’t even include this feature. How is this possible ? Even though I payed more I’m getting lesser features. As a customer I feel cheated.

[bri1042]

My SO is in the same boat (heh) with his 530e. Coming up on one year of ownership and the missing features may well lead to the car being traded in. I spent 6+ months trying to help him make sure he was getting everything he cared about, but shortly after he bought it, he started seeing videos that covered stuff he doesn't have and he started getting unhappy.

It's such a great car for his needs otherwise, it's kind of a shame, but my perspective is skewed since my M2C is downright primitive compared to his car.

[owu23]

As i mentioned in another thread, i picked up a 2020 540 last weekend and i have been missold here in Canada.

[mike1110]

I guess everyone who owns a 5-series (MY2020) have been mis-sold. I did months of research before purchasing the car. However once you start using it in a daily basis,you will start to realise it’s missing quite a number of features.
I think we can escalate this and demand for what we paid.

[Ohnry]

hmmm, for what you have paid?

For my G20 M340i i have paid for RSU, but for my G550i i have only pay for the newer instru-cluster and CID Optik.

I think its not possible for retrofitting the full system. Subsystem ist different and im sure, BMW dont offer any support for retrofitting.

[bepp67]

Of course, all complaints are legitimate and BMW knows where they can lead if brought into question. As a matter of law, the mistake certainly lies in not having differentiated the two systems, as has been done in the past in some cases (eg: nbt idrive> nbt evo). For example, if they had named idrive 7 - 1 version and then from July 2020 idrive 7 - 2 ver. (or EVO), they would be unassailable: the customer who buys the car and is informed that the system is idrive 7 - 1 ver. he immediately understands that the system will develop. If we consider that, to date, nothing differentiates the two systems (before July 2020 and post), so much so that if one does not inform himself adequately he could decide to buy a vehicle in February or March 2020 thinking that the systems installed in the g30 pre and lci are the same, it would be misled. This is not at all nice and in my opinion very serious, given the brand and above all the value of the cars.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by bepp67

Of course, all complaints are legitimate and BMW knows where they can lead if brought into question. As a matter of law, the mistake certainly lies in not having differentiated the two systems, as has been done in the past in some cases (eg: nbt idrive> nbt evo). For example, if they had named idrive 7 - 1 version and then from July 2020 idrive 7 - 2 ver. (or EVO), they would be unassailable: the customer who buys the car and is informed that the system is idrive 7 - 1 ver. he immediately understands that the system will develop. If we consider that, to date, nothing differentiates the two systems (before July 2020 and post), so much so that if one does not inform himself adequately he could decide to buy a vehicle in February or March 2020 thinking that the systems installed in the g30 pre and lci are the same, it would be misled. This is not at all nice and in my opinion very serious, given the brand and above all the value of the cars.

Even worse is that the "full" iDrive 7 came out first on the X5 in 2018. So it is even more important for them explain that the iDrive system put on the 5-Series in 2020 isn't the same as that version even though they advertised it as the same...

Additionally, they STILL market it as the same... They STILL refer to stuff like Remote Software Updates as being supported on cars with "Operating System 7" even though Operating System 7 isn't a valid requirement since iDrive 7 "lite" cars are running it and do NOT have this feature.

BMW will tell you that you need "SP18" if you reach the right people internally. There is NOTHING on BMW website or manual or documents that tell you this or what "SP18" or etc.

[bepp67]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Even worse is that the "full" iDrive 7 came out first on the X5 in 2018. So it is even more important for them explain that the iDrive system put on the 5-Series in 2020 isn't the same as that version even though they advertised it as the same...

Additionally, they STILL market it as the same... They STILL refer to stuff like Remote Software Updates as being supported on cars with "Operating System 7" even though Operating System 7 isn't a valid requirement since iDrive 7 "lite" cars are running it and do NOT have this feature.

BMW will tell you that you need "SP18" if you reach the right people internally. There is NOTHING on BMW website or manual or documents that tell you this or what "SP18" or etc.

Exact! Precisely because of this strange attitude of BMW and how you continue to misinform the customer, it seems almost a well-studied scam: at the end of 2019 someone in bmw, realizing what had happened, may have thought "we made a mess! By now, we cannot say that the g30 have a "castrated" idrive 7 system, because all the beautiful cars already built and parked on the square would remain unsold there ". I don't want to think that it could have happened more or less like this, but BMW's policy in this case is strange and too ambiguous. This is why we should seriously think about a class action. It would take someone willing to organize a dedicated thread, at least to see how many are willing to join. I could push in this direction on the Italian forums and beyond.

[Wivenhoe]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Even worse is that the "full" iDrive 7 came out first on the X5 in 2018. So it is even more important for them explain that the iDrive system put on the 5-Series in 2020 isn't the same as that version even though they advertised it as the same...

Additionally, they STILL market it as the same... They STILL refer to stuff like Remote Software Updates as being supported on cars with "Operating System 7" even though Operating System 7 isn't a valid requirement since iDrive 7 "lite" cars are running it and do NOT have this feature.

BMW will tell you that you need "SP18" if you reach the right people internally. There is NOTHING on BMW website or manual or documents that tell you this or what "SP18" or etc.

I mustn’t get the guy into trouble who gave me this so it can never be revealed where it came from. See the BMW INTERNAL USE ONLY document dated August 2019 - which is when I ordered my 530e. The sales / marketing documents didn’t clarify this and the sales teams weren’t made aware of it. I think this document proves BMW were aware that the sales documents etc were misleading and produced this for the post sales guys to have an explanation when the complaints came in. There would be no need to have this explanation document if the sales / marketing documents had made the differences clear. 2019 Connecteddrive SP15 SP18[1].pdf

[Dephead2004]

This is gold dust. Thanks

[dandiesel]

I'm in Ireland and sat in my 2020 G30 this morning (which was sold to me as having idrive 7).. No remote software upgrade option.

This is really disappointing!

[mike1110]

Originally Posted by Wivenhoe

I mustn’t get the guy into trouble who gave me this so it can never be revealed where it came from. See the BMW INTERNAL USE ONLY document dated August 2019 - which is when I ordered my 530e. The sales / marketing documents didn’t clarify this and the sales teams weren’t made aware of it. I think this document proves BMW were aware that the sales documents etc were misleading and produced this for the post sales guys to have an explanation when the complaints came in. There would be no need to have this explanation document if the sales / marketing documents had made the differences clear. Attachment 2539127

This document attached here is such great proof that we have been mis-sold as all these information was never explained to us when purchasing our vehicle.
The only thing that most of us were informed during purchase is that the vehicle has iDrive 7 which means all the features advertised (e.g through YouTube,official BMW websites) must be included.
Im sure we can use this as a proof to bring justice for all 5-Series (MY 2020) owners however since its a document for internal use, we must be careful.

[Wivenhoe]

As I need to protect the guy who gave me the document - he was as angry about the situation as I was, I suggest you all ask BMW if there were any internal documents issued in summer of 2019 which set out the differences between SP15 & SP18. The question then is, why was such a document necessary if the marketing / sales literature and other materials were making it clear that the 2020 ID7 on certain models was significantly different ?

When I received my VIN, before delivery I downloaded the digital handbook for the car - it had all of the full ID7 functions in it. Several months later I downloaded an ‘updated’ version and it was for ID6 cars. Months later, it was updated back to the full ID7 version including RSU etc.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Wivenhoe

I mustn’t get the guy into trouble who gave me this so it can never be revealed where it came from. See the BMW INTERNAL USE ONLY document dated August 2019 - which is when I ordered my 530e. The sales / marketing documents didn’t clarify this and the sales teams weren’t made aware of it. I think this document proves BMW were aware that the sales documents etc were misleading and produced this for the post sales guys to have an explanation when the complaints came in. There would be no need to have this explanation document if the sales / marketing documents had made the differences clear. Attachment 2539127

Amazing! Thanks for posting that. It is extremely clear proof that BMW was, and still is, deeply aware of their marketing lies to us.

We need to press forward on this and I'm going to research how we can do so.

Originally Posted by Wivenhoe

As I need to protect the guy who gave me the document - he was as angry about the situation as I was, I suggest you all ask BMW if there were any internal documents issued in summer of 2019 which set out the differences between SP15 & SP18. The question then is, why was such a document necessary if the marketing / sales literature and other materials were making it clear that the 2020 ID7 on certain models was significantly different ?

When I received my VIN, before delivery I downloaded the digital handbook for the car - it had all of the full ID7 functions in it. Several months later I downloaded an ‘updated’ version and it was for ID6 cars. Months later, it was updated back to the full ID7 version including RSU etc.

Yeah, it is really ugly. The printed manual covers iDrive 7 features that were never coming our cars. The digital manual was flip flopped as you pointed out. Currently it shows the LCI car even though we don't have the LCI! Again explaining features we don't have!

Yet the manual is supposed to be "VIN matched to your car's features".

[owu23]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Amazing! Thanks for posting that. It is extremely clear proof that BMW was, and still is, deeply aware of their marketing lies to us.

We need to press forward on this and I'm going to research how we can do so.



Yeah, it is really ugly. The printed manual covers iDrive 7 features that were never coming our cars. The digital manual was flip flopped as you pointed out. Currently it shows the LCI car even though we don't have the LCI! Again explaining features we don't have!

Yet the manual is supposed to be "VIN matched to your car's features".

That document does appear to prove that customers were being misled. Please keep up posted if you follow up on this.

[bepp67]

The internal BMW document in Italy would be admitted to the proceedings as a source of "atypical" evidence, if deemed useful for reaching the truth, and the origin of the evidence (who materially provided the document) is not required. The burden of proving that the document is a forgery or non-existent or otherwise (to try in some way to have the document invalidated by the procedural documents) would rest with BMW. I assume that in the rest of Europe it is the same. I don't know in USA, but I think it's easy to find out.

[PotapMK]

Originally Posted by bepp67

I would not be so sure: selling a product that in reality proves to be decidedly different and above all without adequately informing the customer about its true characteristics, constitutes the violation of some crimes, at least here in Europe. I repeat, I would not be so sure because it would be enough to constitute a precise class action against BMW. They, knowing with certainty of losing the case, would immediately recall the vehicles involved, because the costs to adapt the cars with idrive 7 lite would be enormously lower, compared to the damage from such an accusation, also in terms of image. In my opinion they would recall the vehicles before the class action is even filed in court. On the sidelines, we must also consider a further aggravating circumstance: BMW continued to sell vehicles (over the middle of 2020) with idrive 7 without informing that it was the "incomplete" (lite) version even when many customers had already officially complained and pointed out that they had a different system than the one they were convinced they had purchased.

Let's look at it in another way. BMW doesn't sell iDrive 7, they sells BMW Live Cockpit Plus (SA6U2), which is, obviously, lower grade compare to Live Cockpit Professional. These words, not the "iDrive 7" are in your vehicle's spec list.

[bepp67]

Originally Posted by PotapMK

Let's look at it in another way. BMW doesn't sell iDrive 7, they sells BMW Live Cockpit Plus (SA6U2), which is, obviously, lower grade compare to Live Cockpit Professional. These words, not the "iDrive 7" are in your vehicle's spec list.

Yes of course, call it what you want. But if that particular system or option is sold without distinction, between one model and another of the same range of cars, when they differ substantially, the factor does not change: bmw has sold cars by failing to communicate fundamental details of a system to the customer or option. System already installed on other models of the same brand, misleading the customer, because he thinks he will find the same system installed on the other models.