BMW EV won't install OTA software update if parked on an incline

[Shawn Knight]

Facepalm: Internet-connected autos are increasingly more common, affording owners amenities that would otherwise be impossible to enjoy on the road. They also come with their fair share of headaches as one BMW owner recently discovered.

Clare Eliza recently posted on Twitter that she was unable to complete a remote software upgrade on her BMW i4 because, according to an on-screen notification, the road was too steep to start the installation process. The infotainment system recommended parking the vehicle on level ground before trying again.

There doesn't seem to be a way to manually override the feature, say if you were using wheel chocks to prevent accidental rollaway.

In 'sentences that would make your nan's head explode': I can't update my car because I live on a hill pic.twitter.com/X0Jte5QYdG

— Clare Eliza (@clare_eliza) January 29, 2023

A BMW spokesperson told The Drive that the i4 has all sorts of sensors so it can understand its orientation, which allows it to know when it is on an incline. "It's likely a catchall, every-worst-case-no-matter-how-unlikely scenario safety precaution to try to prevent any chance of the vehicle moving should the programming be interrupted or go wrong," the rep added.

BMW further noted the following prerequisites that must be met to complete an update on the vehicle:

• The vehicle needs to be in an active remote software upgrade campaign
• The download needs to be completed, which is fully automatic when connected to the internet via cellular or BMW Connected App
• It must have sufficient battery charge level
• The vehicle cannot be parked on an incline
• The transmission must be in Park
• The engine, if it has one, must be turned off

In fairness, similar requirements for creating a safe software updating environment likely also exist for other connected EVs. Still, it sounds a bit inconvenient, especially if you live or regularly park on a hill.

It also brings up a valid question that many no doubt grapple with: are new vehicles too advanced for their own good? By that I mean, do the benefits of Internet connectivity for your car outweigh the inconveniences brought about by situations like this? Were vehicles better off before they became rolling computers that can be bricked or hacked?

Have you experienced similar limitations when trying to install an OTA update in your vehicle?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/97489-bmw-ev-wont-install-ota-software-update-if.html

 

[StrikerRocket]

This is going too far in my opinion... Every computer is hackable, cars are no exception, and it has been done several times already. This is a new thing!

 

[hahahanoobs]

Gotta love this gimme-gimme world....

 

[Endymio]

The only "facepalm" here is the attempt to cast what seems to be a desirable feature in a negative light. During the update process, what happens if the electronically-controlled parking brake happens to disengage, even for just a brief second? Had BMW *not* done this, and some person had their vehicle roll forward even half a meter over someone's toe, foot, or (god forbid) head, the anti-capitalists would be here screaming for blood.

Park your vehicle on the level, then update. It's not rocket science.

 

[m4a4]

The only "facepalm" here is the attempt to cast what seems to be a desirable feature in a negative light. During the update process, what happens if the electronically-controlled parking brake happens to disengage, even for just a brief second? Had BMW *not* done this, and some person had their vehicle roll forward even half a meter over someone's toe, foot, or (god forbid) head, the anti-capitalists would be here screaming for blood.

Park your vehicle on the level, then update. It's not rocket science.

Or add an "I understand, update" button, where the owner takes responsibility (Ooooo, scary word). That is the main complaint.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

A lot of people park in their driveway because their garage is filled with junk (ie. my parents) and that's always set to be an incline. If any of them live on a slope as well, then they're screwed in terms of getting software updates at home. Imagine having to park half a block away just to get your car updated... Featured on Internet of ****!

 

[Gastec]

Just in case the state-of-the-art, full of artificial intelligence, software of the vehicle, in an sudden update frenzy, "decides" to release all restrictions and hand-brakes, accelerate the vehicle "pedal-to-the-silicon" and crash it into the nearby kindergarten.

 

[Gastec]

The only "facepalm" here is the attempt to cast what seems to be a desirable feature in a negative light. During the update process, what happens if the electronically-controlled parking brake happens to disengage, even for just a brief second? Had BMW *not* done this, and some person had their vehicle roll forward even half a meter over someone's toe, foot, or (god forbid) head, the anti-capitalists would be here screaming for blood.

Park your vehicle on the level, then update. It's not rocket science.

It happens what happened to me once upon a time when I was a child, when I leaned forward from the back seat and touched with my knee the old, mechanical handbrake of the car I was waiting in: it released, the car rolled downhill and crashed into a bus that was parked in front of it. Had the car been left by the driver in first gear it would not had moved. Then again there are lots of people who, instead of pushing the brake, they push the accelerator pedal and crash into the gas station, the garage, into 5-6 cars in the parking lot or into random groups of protesters.

 

[bviktor]

An update means several things reinitialized / reset during the process. Brakes are among them. It's perfectly reasonable to ask the user to put the car in a safe position and ensure no harm will be done while this is happening.

 

[psycros]

How about maybe not attaching computers to things that don't need them? How about that?

 

[bviktor]

So you're saying ABS is un

How about maybe not attaching computers to things that don't need them? How about that?

So you're saying ABS is a gimmick?

 

[Hodor]

The only "facepalm" here is the attempt to cast what seems to be a desirable feature in a negative light. During the update process, what happens if the electronically-controlled parking brake happens to disengage, even for just a brief second? Had BMW *not* done this, and some person had their vehicle roll forward even half a meter over someone's toe, foot, or (god forbid) head, the anti-capitalists would be here screaming for blood.

Park your vehicle on the level, then update. It's not rocket science.

Why not equip each BMW with a factory-approved device that enables software updates even on incline. For example:

 

[VitalyT]

That's like trying to take pants off while sitting on the toilet, and complaining that it is hard. But guess what, there's an override for that, you can just crap in your pants, and call it a workaround.

 

[Icysoul]

I totally understand BMW for wanting to protect themselves (and some of their not-so-bright customers) from potential accidents.
Parking on a level surface is not that an outrageous requirement - just go into town for your weekly shopping spree. Once the download is finished, it'll still be there, for the installation to start when the conditions are met. Besides, it's not like these updates are required every day.

 

[Nobina]

So you're saying ABS is un

So you're saying ABS is a gimmick?

I'm pretty sure he's not saying ABS is a gimmick, maybe one of us can't read.

A handbrake, the thing that was replaced with an electronic parking brake, wouldn't have this issue. But they have to invent a problem.

 

[DaveBG]

Happy owner of Tesla, no such problems here

 

[Endymio]

Or add an "I understand, update" button, where the owner takes responsibility (Ooooo, scary word).

Unfortunately, the US tort system has ruled that consumers don't take responsibility for their own actions, which is why 3/4 of the cost of an extension ladder is liability insurance costs, because people fall off them, then sue the ladder maker. Or take the case of a woman who sued Geico for $5.2M, because she contracted an STD while having consensual sex in the back of a Geico-insured vehicle. (judgement upheld on appeal, but thankfully overturned by the state Supreme Court).

 

[Hodor]

That's like trying to take pants off while sitting on the toilet, and complaining that it is hard. But guess what, there's an override for that, you can just crap in your pants, and call it a workaround.

Well, crapping in your pants on cold days has its advantages.

 

[Hodor]

Unfortunately, the US tort system has ruled that consumers don't take responsibility for their own actions, which is why 3/4 of the cost of an extension ladder is liability insurance costs, because people fall off them, then sue the ladder maker. Or take the case of a woman who sued Geico for $5.2M, because she contracted an STD while having consensual sex in the back of a Geico-insured vehicle. (judgement upheld on appeal, but thankfully overturned by the state Supreme Court).

OMFG?? Really?

I mean, I've heard of that woman who "dried" her cat in a microwave, which of course killed the poor cat, and then sued the manufacturer for millions, and won. Because they didn't explicitly say you can't dry a cat using a microwave OVEN. I mean, did she use normal oven before? How did that work out for her previous previous cat?

 

[wizardB]

I have auto updates disabled in my cars same as my networks.

 

[Gastec]

Unfortunately, the US tort system has ruled that consumers don't take responsibility for their own actions, which is why 3/4 of the cost of an extension ladder is liability insurance costs, because people fall off them, then sue the ladder maker. Or take the case of a woman who sued Geico for $5.2M, because she contracted an STD while having consensual sex in the back of a Geico-insured vehicle. (judgement upheld on appeal, but thankfully overturned by the state Supreme Court).

We all know the old American traditional greeting: "I'll sue your ***!". What is more disturbing is that judges partake in this lucrative business. Then again USA is the country where congressmen, congresswomen and congressnonbinary politicians are given and take bribes and they call it "lobbying".

 

[quadibloc]

How could the vehicle be designed so that updates could be done with perfect safety while the vehicle was on an incline?
Here is something I had thought of as a way to make the Windows Update process something that could be paused at any time, allowing one to boot straight into the previous version of Windows.
Have a second copy of every directory which includes files affected by the update process. So when you are updating, at first what is happening is that updated versions of system files are created, and these files are pointed to from these new shadow directories. The new shadow directories also have pointers to the old files that are being replaced, with them being marked as files to be deleted.
After all that is completed, then one will have to log out, and the system will not be able to run applications while it switches over to the new set of directories. Then it boots up, and the user continues to use the computer, while the old files are being deleted in the background.
So the time the computer is locked up for the update becomes seconds instead of half an hour or so.
Do that with these cars, and they can update while driving - except for the critical switchover. Which people who live on inclines can now do... while stopped at a red light, because it happens so quickly.

 

[Gastec]

How could the vehicle be designed so that updates could be done with perfect safety while the vehicle was on an incline?
Here is something I had thought of as a way to make the Windows Update process something that could be paused at any time, allowing one to boot straight into the previous version of Windows.
Have a second copy of every directory which includes files affected by the update process. So when you are updating, at first what is happening is that updated versions of system files are created, and these files are pointed to from these new shadow directories. The new shadow directories also have pointers to the old files that are being replaced, with them being marked as files to be deleted.
After all that is completed, then one will have to log out, and the system will not be able to run applications while it switches over to the new set of directories. Then it boots up, and the user continues to use the computer, while the old files are being deleted in the background.
So the time the computer is locked up for the update becomes seconds instead of half an hour or so.
Do that with these cars, and they can update while driving - except for the critical switchover. Which people who live on inclines can now do... while stopped at a red light, because it happens so quickly.

Sorry, but what? "second copy", "shadow directories"?

 

[Gastec]

I have auto updates disabled in my cars same as my networks.

Jesus Christ! It's like you are talking about Windows or an app, with that "auto updates disabled". On MULTIPLE cars that you own! What the bloody heck!

 

[Gastec]

OMFG?? Really?

I mean, I've heard of that woman who "dried" her cat in a microwave, which of course killed the poor cat, and then sued the manufacturer for millions, and won. Because they didn't explicitly say you can't dry a cat using a microwave OVEN. I mean, did she use normal oven before? How did that work out for her previous previous cat?

If that is for real, which I doubt it, it's just an abomination showing the perversion or a certain judicial system in a certain confederation of states.