BMW i4 owners were understandably perplexed when their car’s screen showed a strange warning that the parking lot was “too steep for an over-the-air software upgrade” was. how does that happen? And why does it even matter in the first place?
As Clare Eliza discovered, it’s impossible to remotely update the i4’s software unless the car is parked on level ground. And instead of allowing the operator to override this, it waits until they physically move to a higher level to continue.
After all, there is more than one reason why BMW cannot perform this task on slopes. Rather, the limit exists as a safety blanket.
“The vehicle has all sorts of sensors (pitch, yaw, lateral and longitudinal acceleration and deceleration, etc.) that allow it to understand the orientation of the vehicle, so it can recognize that it is leaning.” said a BMW spokesperson. drive“It’s likely to be any worst-case-scenario safety measure to prevent the possibility of the vehicle moving if the programming is interrupted or goes wrong.”
It basically exists just in case something unexpected happens. After all, it’s better to assume the worst. Perhaps this makes sense if the actuator needs to be cycled as part of a software upgrade, or if one of the critical components experiences a fail-open scenario that could result in a rollaway condition.
But flat ground isn’t the only requirement for a vehicle to upgrade its software. BMW confirmed drive That there are other prerequisites that must be met as well:
- Vehicle must be participating in an active remote software upgrade campaign.
- The download should complete. The download is fully automated when connected to the Internet via mobile phone or the BMW Connected App.
- Sufficient battery charge level required
- Cars cannot be parked on slopes
- Transmission must be in park
- If there is an engine, it should be turned off
Certainly not convenient, especially if you live in a hilly area. No one wants to drive to a random parking lot just to wait for a software update. But it’s so much better than scheduling an appointment with a dealer and having them complete an upgrade for you, right? Either way, it would be nice to have an option along the lines of “Yeah, stuffed tires.”
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