[g11730d]

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I’m trying to find out some info about the new Mild Hybrid systems in the diesel and petrol models here in the UK. Does anyone have a document outlining exactly how it works? All I can seem to find is a tiny section in the Owner’s Manual which gives an overview and doesn’t really explain anything.

I know that it effectively provides a boost of around 20hp, and disconnects the engine when coasting below 9mph (+ no Start Stop button), but that’s about it.

[Nadz]

I would be interested in this too. I currently have a 2018 530d and I am looking at a new built 530d and also am interested to know the difference with MHT but also people's real world experiences with it.

I had a loan car a month or so ago which had the feature and I can't say I was overjoyed with it (although it was a 520d and it may have been due to me being used to the 3lr).

How noticeable is the coasting as in the loaner I noticed it all the time and for that reason did not like it. However the ASS function seemed smoother than the previous generations.

[AP]

Apparently if you put the car in sport ( or sport individual presumably) ASS is disabled like on current cars

There is a review of the 545e somewhere in this forum which may be of interest

[Jas387]

I have a 2021 540i touring. I love the car, but I am not a big fan of the Start/Stop and wish I could turn it off. It's my only complaint about the car.

It sometimes works fairly seamlessly, but other times, it cuts off at just the wrong moment (for example when a gap opens at a junction) and means that I end up pulling away faster than I intended to after a short pause. It also occasionally feels like a 'flat spot' in the pedal when I'm driving, particularly when accelerating out of tight bends. If I drive incredibly slowly, it's not as noticeable.

I don't really notice the electric motor. As has been said already, I think it is mostly there to make the start/stop smoother, but I don't know how effective this is, as I don't have any experience with the earlier model. In my car, driving in traffic, I often find it difficult to drive in a completely smooth manner. I always feel the jolt of the motor cutting in and out, which annoys me in such an expensive car. It's only gentle, but I still find it irritating.

Putting the car in sport mode does switch the start/stop off, and makes it much more engaging to drive. I understand that you can configure the 'sport individual' setting to be similar to comfort mode, as a work around to have the start/stop off sometimes, so I might experiment with this.

I'm all for environmental changes, but for me (living in the countryside where I'm not often in traffic for very long at all), the benefits of the start/stop system are outweighed by the drawbacks.

[Junebug85]

Originally Posted by Jas387

I have a 2021 540i touring. I love the car, but I am not a big fan of the Start/Stop and wish I could turn it off. It's my only complaint about the car.

It sometimes works fairly seamlessly, but other times, it cuts off at just the wrong moment (for example when a gap opens at a junction) and means that I end up pulling away faster than I intended to after a short pause. It also occasionally feels like a 'flat spot' in the pedal when I'm driving, particularly when accelerating out of tight bends. If I drive incredibly slowly, it's not as noticeable.

I don't really notice the electric motor. As has been said already, I think it is mostly there to make the start/stop smoother, but I don't know how effective this is, as I don't have any experience with the earlier model. In my car, driving in traffic, I often find it difficult to drive in a completely smooth manner. I always feel the jolt of the motor cutting in and out, which annoys me in such an expensive car. It's only gentle, but I still find it irritating.

Putting the car in sport mode does switch the start/stop off, and makes it much more engaging to drive. I understand that you can configure the 'sport individual' setting to be similar to comfort mode, as a work around to have the start/stop off sometimes, so I might experiment with this.

I'm all for environmental changes, but for me (living in the countryside where I'm not often in traffic for very long at all), the benefits of the start/stop system are outweighed by the drawbacks.

Start/Stop can be coded off but a few people mentioned on here that dealers have started to pick up on this when cars have gone in for servicing or warranty work. Not sure what impact it has if a warranty claim needs to be put in...

I've recently started to drive in Sport Ind now instead of Sport Plus all the time. It's a little less aggressive (when you just want to cruise along) with the bonus of S/S being turned off.

[AP]

I have a pre lci 540i and as mentioned wearlier, I configure sport individual to be configured essentially as comfort (with exception of steering set to sport) which means with one press of a button, its set up exactly the way I want it for most of the time with the bonus of ASS being configured off.

In terms of coding ASS, I coded my previous F10 with ASS set to last setting (ie if set to off on last journey, it would retain that setting when the car was started again). When I traded it in for my G30, the dealer had a quick look at the car as regards determining its trade in value and they picked up immediately on the fact that ASS was off.
"have you coded the car?"
"yes"

"Ok we're not really allowed to sell cars that have been coded. Can you set it back to defaults?"

"No, you can just apply the latest Istep and that will reset it back to defaults anyway"

"Ok. The new owner will actually probably thank you for this anyway!"

Whether it was reset, I've no idea.

As regards warranty, been discussed many times and I think its a grey area.
You could argue if using something like esys, that software has not been officially purchased so....
Whilst other 3rd party products you can buy and make changes.

You can argue it either way but at the end of the day, BMW and or the dealership may turn round and refuse warranty work. This may depend entirely on who you see.

personally I think its a (small) risk, but as long as you understand this potential risk, then its up to everyone to make that informed decision.

Changing topics, slightly, I see that apparently EVs outsold diesels in the UK . Not sure what period of time that was over but interesting. Is this really a trend now or a blip in the stats?

[Nadz]

I had mine in at the dealer (battery died as a result of drive not shutting down - needed a software update). Long story short - I had coded the ambient lighting to be two colours, coded the ASS to off and set adaptive as the default drive mode.

Dealer picked up these changes and rooted about in my boot and found my OBD dongle. When I went to pick up the car I got the accusation of "have you mapped your car". Obviously I said I hadn't as I had actually coded it and I then got varying arguments for why repairs would not be covered under warranty and my name would be blaclisted on BMW systems.

One of the arguments was that coding ASS off was illegal and invalidated insurance as I was permanently disabling a safety feature. I laughed as there were so many holes in this argument that I couldn't be bothered arguing with.

Anyway, got the repair done under warranty and will not be using that dealer again.

Originally Posted by Junebug85

Start/Stop can be coded off but a few people mentioned on here that dealers have started to pick up on this when cars have gone in for servicing or warranty work. Not sure what impact it has if a warranty claim needs to be put in...

I've recently started to drive in Sport Ind now instead of Sport Plus all the time. It's a little less aggressive (when you just want to cruise along) with the bonus of S/S being turned off.

[Jas387]

Just been for a long drive in sport individual and it’s a game changer for me. The car feels so much better to drive. All the hesitation that comes with the ASS has gone.

I’m not sure I’ll love having the rev counter in the HUD all the time when I’m just cruising around slowly, but I’ll definitely live with it.

It’s still a shame that there isn’t just a button to turn it off, but this will do the job.

[marsb007]

You can code ASS to revert to memory yourself. Get a dongle, Bimmercode, and you're good to go. Worst case, revert back every time you go to the dealer.

I've had cars coded for about 10 years now, and never had an issue. Only time I've ever had the dealer say anything was when they finally saw my JB+ piggy back, albeit not related to any coding, but a tune.

As far as the mild hybrid, there's plenty of posts about it. Essentially it allows you to have more juice between stops and provides a mild boost for a short time. The starts are also supposed to be more seamless too. I had an electric before and if they're the same, the car would start moving from a stop on electric then kick the engine on, which would be more seamless than now.

Either way, if you're so against it, code it off.

[LogicalApex]

I have a PHEV so I imagine ASS works the same. It is so seamless you can barely pick it up. If it is the same as a PHEV and you are annoyed by it I would say it is just due to not liking it because it is different.

[Max_M]

I just got a new 530i xDrive delivered and I love everything about the car....except this Mild Hybrid and how the gear box shifts up over and above 1,800 rpm.....revs are dropping all the time. This really is disappointing for a performance sports sedan.

It's not yet fully runned in (< 1.000 km - 700 miles), so I hope that soon when the revs will go up the gearbox will be "self learning" and changes behaviour.

The car is fast but the pleasure of driving is gone with 1,200 - 1,500 rpm....come on if I wanted an electrical car I would have ordered one.....don't force me into it. Also I ordered the pre LCI version (which was without Mild Hybrid), but BMW cancelled all orders back in May and changed them to post LCI order without consultation!

I am afraid that with the 540i this is no different.......

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Max_M

I just got a new 530i xDrive delivered and I love everything about the car....except this Mild Hybrid and how the gear box shifts up over and above 1,800 rpm.....revs are dropping all the time. This really is disappointing for a performance sports sedan.

It's not yet fully runned in (< 1.000 km - 700 miles), so I hope that soon when the revs will go up the gearbox will be "self learning" and changes behaviour.

The car is fast but the pleasure of driving is gone with 1,200 - 1,500 rpm....come on if I wanted an electrical car I would have ordered one.....don't force me into it. Also I ordered the pre LCI version (which was without Mild Hybrid), but BMW cancelled all orders back in May and changed them to post LCI order without consultation!

I am afraid that with the 540i this is no different.......

Your issue is something else. The Mild Hybrid tech was only added to the 540i in the LCI.

[Max_M]

Well I am having the car in Barcelona and certainly is equipped with Mild Hybrid technology.....

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Max_M

It's not yet fully runned in (< 1.000 km - 700 miles), so I hope that soon when the revs will go up the gearbox will be "self learning" and changes behaviour.

How you use your right foot governs the change points and how the transmission adapts to your driving style.

How about the change points in the Sport drivetrain settings?

[Jas387]

Originally Posted by Max_M

I just got a new 530i xDrive delivered and I love everything about the car....except this Mild Hybrid and how the gear box shifts up over and above 1,800 rpm.....revs are dropping all the time. This really is disappointing for a performance sports sedan.

It's not yet fully runned in (< 1.000 km - 700 miles), so I hope that soon when the revs will go up the gearbox will be "self learning" and changes behaviour.

The car is fast but the pleasure of driving is gone with 1,200 - 1,500 rpm....come on if I wanted an electrical car I would have ordered one.....don't force me into it. Also I ordered the pre LCI version (which was without Mild Hybrid), but BMW cancelled all orders back in May and changed them to post LCI order without consultation!

I am afraid that with the 540i this is no different.......

I haven’t noticed anything like this - my gearbox is fine and will redline in Sport Plus if I want it to.

The car does shift up quite early if I’m driving gently in comfort mode, but that’s exactly what I’d expect it to do.

[Nadz]

How have you found the coasting feature? I have a loan car recently (520d) and tbh every time it coasted I noticed the drivetrain kicking back in so was far from seamless. My pre LCI 530 the coasting is only on in Ecopro mode and with the LCI I believe it is on all the time. Can anyone confirm whether this is the case?

Originally Posted by Jas387

I haven’t noticed anything like this - my gearbox is fine and will redline in Sport Plus if I want it to.

The car does shift up quite early if I’m driving gently in comfort mode, but that’s exactly what I’d expect it to do.

[Jas387]

Originally Posted by Nadz

How have you found the coasting feature? I have a loan car recently (520d) and tbh every time it coasted I noticed the drivetrain kicking back in so was far from seamless. My pre LCI 530 the coasting is only on in Ecopro mode and with the LCI I believe it is on all the time. Can anyone confirm whether this is the case?

Yes, I do think it’s on all the time.

It isn’t always that noticeable but sometimes I find it very irritating, like when I’m off the throttle going round a tight bend, and there’s a delay when I try to accelerate away. The best way I can describe it is that it makes it feel like theres a dead spot in the pedal where it doesn’t respond. In reality, what’s happening is that the car takes a second or so to start the engine and engage the drivetrain, by which time I’m pushing the pedal down a little harder and wondering why we aren’t going anywhere.

As I said above, the slower I drive, the less noticeable it is, but I’ve had to adapt my driving slightly to account for it.

Now I’ve configured Sport Individual to be the same as Comfort mode, I effectively have a one button solution to turning it off, so I’m happy. As others have said, you can code it off, but I don’t want to do that.

[Nadz]

That was what I was feeling in the loaner - although you described it a lot better. Given my experience of taking the car into the dealership and them "noticing" I had coded ASS off, I will probably do the same as you and configure sport individual. I don't see why we should resort to this - the coasting should be an option we can disable in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Jas387

Yes, I do think it’s on all the time.

It isn’t always that noticeable but sometimes I find it very irritating, like when I’m off the throttle going round a tight bend, and there’s a delay when I try to accelerate away. The best way I can describe it is that it makes it feel like theres a dead spot in the pedal where it doesn’t respond. In reality, what’s happening is that the car takes a second or so to start the engine and engage the drivetrain, by which time I’m pushing the pedal down a little harder and wondering why we aren’t going anywhere.

As I said above, the slower I drive, the less noticeable it is, but I’ve had to adapt my driving slightly to account for it.

Now I’ve configured Sport Individual to be the same as Comfort mode, I effectively have a one button solution to turning it off, so I’m happy. As others have said, you can code it off, but I don’t want to do that.