Photo: BMW
Having spent approximately 90% of my life living in Arizona and Florida, I cannot truly appreciate the value of having heated seats in an automobile. What I can recognize is a car company trying to squeeze money out of customers by charging a monthly fee for a feature that already exists in a car, but blocks it with technology.
BMW recently performed its biggest software update ever with the release of Operating System 7, which 'unlocked' a series of vehicle feature improvements. In turn, the update also improved on BMW's revenue stream potential by increasing the opportunity for micro-transactions related to features they believed they could charge customers a monthly fee to access.
Functions on Demand are delivered through BMW's ConnectedDrive Store and include such features as adaptive M suspension, simulated exhaust sounds, and yes, heated seats. The update and its effect on the heated seats feature did not go over well with car owners in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, and South Africa, where the ConnectedDrive is active.
The automaker explained the software subscription service which could cost anywhere from $18 (17.62 euro) per month to $300 (293.66 euro) per year, was intended to relieve some car buyers of the cost associated with some car options. However, if the components for these features already exist in the car and they are strictly dependent on software for functionality, isn't this just an end-around avenue to add to the company's bottom line?
It seems many people are seeing it that way, and are punching back at the carmaker by paying a one-time fees to essentially beat the system.
Automotive performance professionals routinely use methods to unlock engine management systems in order to increase a vehicles performance. They are using those same methods to help frustrated BMW owners get there heated seats back. One shop owner in the U.K. told Wired that "this has been popular on VW/Audi cars for a while now.” It seems to be gaining popularity now with BMW owners.
Who knows if their seats may be getting a little too hot when it comes to the risk of voiding a vehicle warranty for tampering.
Functions on Demand are delivered through BMW's ConnectedDrive Store and include such features as adaptive M suspension, simulated exhaust sounds, and yes, heated seats. The update and its effect on the heated seats feature did not go over well with car owners in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, and South Africa, where the ConnectedDrive is active.
The automaker explained the software subscription service which could cost anywhere from $18 (17.62 euro) per month to $300 (293.66 euro) per year, was intended to relieve some car buyers of the cost associated with some car options. However, if the components for these features already exist in the car and they are strictly dependent on software for functionality, isn't this just an end-around avenue to add to the company's bottom line?
It seems many people are seeing it that way, and are punching back at the carmaker by paying a one-time fees to essentially beat the system.
Automotive performance professionals routinely use methods to unlock engine management systems in order to increase a vehicles performance. They are using those same methods to help frustrated BMW owners get there heated seats back. One shop owner in the U.K. told Wired that "this has been popular on VW/Audi cars for a while now.” It seems to be gaining popularity now with BMW owners.
Who knows if their seats may be getting a little too hot when it comes to the risk of voiding a vehicle warranty for tampering.
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