Cover your face: Connected automobiles have gotten increasingly more widespread, providing automobile house owners amenity that they cannot get pleasure from on the street. They additionally include their fair proportion of complications, as one BMW proprietor just lately found.
Clare Eliza just lately tweeted that she was unable to finish a distant software program replace on her BMW i4 as a result of, in response to an on-screen notification, the street was too steep to begin the set up course of. The infotainment system recommends parking the automobile on degree floor earlier than retrying.
There would not appear to be a option to manually override that performance, like in the event you use wheel chocks to stop unintended rolls.
In “sentences that can make your grandma’s head explode”: I can not replace my automobile as a result of I reside on a hill pic.twitter.com/X0Jte5QYdG
— Clare Eliza (@clare_eliza) January 29, 2023
A BMW spokesperson instructed The Drive that the i4 has numerous sensors so it will probably perceive its orientation and subsequently know when it is on a tilt. “This might be a catch-all security precaution to attempt to stop any chance of the automobile transferring within the occasion of a programming interruption or error in any worst-case state of affairs, nonetheless unlikely,” the consultant added.
BMW additional notes that the next stipulations have to be met to finish the automobile replace:
- Vehicle must be in lively distant software program improve exercise
- The obtain must be performed and is totally computerized when related to the web by way of the telephone or the BMW Connected App
- It will need to have ample battery energy
- Vehicles can not park on slopes
- Transfers have to be within the park
- The engine (if current) have to be shut off
To be honest, related necessities for creating an surroundings for safe software program updates could apply to different related EVs as nicely. Still, it appears like a little bit of an inconvenience, particularly in the event you reside on hills or park your automobile loads.
It additionally raises a sound query that many are little doubt grappling with: Are new automobiles too superior for their very own good? I imply, does the good thing about an web connection to your automobile outweigh the inconvenience of the scenario? Are automobiles higher earlier than they flip into rolling computer systems that may be bricked or hacked?
Have you skilled related limitations when making an attempt to put in OTA updates in your automobile?
