BMW Heated Seats for a montly fee

This car is systematic, hyyydromatic...why it's greased lightning!
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Executioner
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BMW Heated Seats for a montly fee

Post by Executioner »

WTF?

https://www.newser.com/story/322942/bmw ... orld_login
BMW Switches Heated Seats, Other Options to a Monthly Fee
For $18, or $180 a year, automaker will turn the heat on through software
(Newser) – In some countries where BMW sells cars, buying a model with, say, heated seats has become more complicated—if not more expensive. Heated front seats are a subscription service now, for which the consumer pays a Netflix-like $18 per month, the Verge reports. Other options are offered the same way, including automated traffic camera alerts and map updates, in a system that keeps the vehicle generating revenue for the automaker long after it's driven off the lot. Subscriptions launched in South Korea and are offered in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa, but not the US yet.

Automakers have always charged more for optional features, but this—a system of microtransactions—is different. The abundance of software in cars now makes it all possible. All the vehicles already have the hardware to heat the front seats, but BMW has the system blocked by software. When consumers pay up, BMW unblocks the software governing front-seat heating. The fact that they've already paid for a vehicle with all the equipment has increased buyers' irritation, per the Verge, though the company tells buyers the installation was at "no extra cost." BMW does offer deals on the options: The heated seats can also be turned on for $180 a year, $300 for three years, or $415 for perpetuity. If payments are missed, CNN points out, BMW will turn the heat off.
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FlyingPenguin
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Re: BMW Heated Seats for a montly fee

Post by FlyingPenguin »

F'ing ridiculous, although at least they have a perpetuity option. You're buying beamer, might as well pay the lifetime heat price.

The stupidity of wasting effort to design this to go through the computer, with remote lockout capability, it mind boggling. I bet when the seat heater breaks, it's a real expensive logic box you gotta replace.
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Losbot
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Re: BMW Heated Seats for a montly fee

Post by Losbot »

That's just stupidly ridiculous and encourages people to "hack" their cars. I used to program features in my Audi, through the OBD port. Stuff that normally only the dealer could do. I'm sure it'll get hacked and then hopefully BMW gets more backlash for that stupidity.

I agree it was a waste to spend resources on designing more complexity into the vehicle for something that should just have an on/off switch and nothing more. More possible points of failure.
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