BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions - $18 per month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well Lexus charges a subscription fee for the remote start feature on my car. And I assume other employ similar crappy tactics. It's one reason why my next car won't be another Lexus. I think it's a really low ball move.

Yep, and I hate it so much. Periodically they send me an email asking if I'd like to pay them $8 a month for the privilege of being able to remote start my car. NO, Lexus, I would not.
I want to buy a car that does what I want it to do (and I'm happy to pay for whatever options I choose at that time) without ongoing fees.

::smiles in Toyota::

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How weird. I have heating and cooling seats but a subscription to make them work seems very odd.

No different than Satellite radio

[Anonymous]

This is no way to live. I can barely stomach this.

[Anonymous]

I can order a BMW with heated seats as a $500 option.. under the micro transaction model I have no upfront cost factored into financing and instead can choose to pay for activation during the months needed or opt for a lifetime subscription which presumably will include OTA software updates and tweaks. BMW isn’t claiming to own the hardware but rather giving you a license to its software.

[Anonymous]

Everyone has to use an app. Gm does it with on star. The car has remote start using the key but if you want to use remote start from the phone app you have to be a subscriber. I find it annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rest...

It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. Since the company announced in 2020 that its cars’ operating system would allow for microtransactions on features like automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, customers have decried the move as greedy and exploitative.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

In the case of heated seats, for example, BMW owners already have all the necessary components, but BMW has simply placed a software block on their functionality that buyers then have to pay to remove. For some software features that might lead to ongoing expenses for the carmaker (like automated traffic camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more reasonable. But that’s not an issue for heated seats.

Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions (as per the company’s digital UK store) include heated steering wheels, from $12 a month; the option to record footage from your car’s cameras, priced at $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package,” which lets you play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.

I really wonder how this will go over the US is they expand it. Will people be able to hack their cars to circumvent the BMW programming and make their features work? Will that be a nice hacker gig?

In a few years, it will be the norm. Tesla already does it re the extended range; BMW was just ahead of its time. The younger generation is becoming accustomed to microtransactions.

Huh? if you want the extended range, you pay for it when ordering the car b/c it's a different battery or an extra one, which costs more. But you don't pay for a subscription to be able to utilize it.

[Anonymous]

BMW has been taking steps to lock down its software. Most recently they are updating ECU software to make it significantly more difficult to add an aftermarket performance tune to vehicles. I still can’t get over getting rid of a dipstick.

[Anonymous]

My Subaru has heated seats (no subscription). I never use them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Subaru has heated seats (no subscription). I never use them.

+1, although I have used them a handful of times. I also have free remote start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well Lexus charges a subscription fee for the remote start feature on my car. And I assume other employ similar crappy tactics. It's one reason why my next car won't be another Lexus. I think it's a really low ball move.

Yep, and I hate it so much. Periodically they send me an email asking if I'd like to pay them $8 a month for the privilege of being able to remote start my car. NO, Lexus, I would not.
I want to buy a car that does what I want it to do (and I'm happy to pay for whatever options I choose at that time) without ongoing fees.

That’s awful. My Subaru Forester has remote start as part of its included features. I don’t like this trend of charging for every little thing.

+1 that's crazy! My accord that's 5+ yrs old has this feature. It's not even a "luxury" !

[Anonymous]

Who told you BMW is a luxury brand. It downgraded to joke brand. I don’t mind paying extra upfront, but I don’t want to be bothered by another monthly subscription. I am too busy to care about stupid seat heater!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who told you BMW is a luxury brand. It downgraded to joke brand. I don’t mind paying extra upfront, but I don’t want to be bothered by another monthly subscription. I am too busy to care about stupid seat heater!

Yea BMW doesn't know who they are anymore. Since Chris Bangle left the brand has been at a standstill in terms of design. They still have a great bunch of engineers but the company leadership has no idea how to innovate and configure a good product.