[golf4501]

Opened my glove box this weekend and realized there is no flashlight, plus it feels like I could ripe the door off with a slight pull (it's very flimsy)

[five3three]

Originally Posted by golf4501

Opened my glove box this weekend and realized there is no flashlight, plus it feels like I could ripe the door off with a slight pull (it's very flimsy)

The glove box on the 2 series is a cheap piece of crap. That's the one takeaway I had from the auto show when I first sat in one.

[webdither]

As a current F30 owner I can chime in with the ASS (Auto Start Stop) feature. You have to take the car to the dealer to have it set to remember last setting. At least in my car it's not something you can configure via iDrive. Annoying, yes, but not a big deal. Just have it done at your first service appt or something.

Sad to hear that the power outlet under the glove box is just a hole! I have it on my F30 and it's the perfect place to plug in my V1 Wonder if this is a package thing? Anyone have a loaded car to confirm this with? Maybe it's only with Premium or Tech?

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Wow - these are great observations, and I would have to agree with most of them!

Definitely on the heated seats - they just don't get very hot. My first 135 was hardly ever put into the top setting because it was really hot - the 135 I turned in never got that hot, but the seats were hotter than this.

I will say the steering wheel is an improvement over the E82 - especially with the heated wheel option. That "helps" you notice the seats less IMO.

I am glad you mentioned the A/C - the day I picked up my car, it was in the low 60s, and I wanted to see how cold it got - I was surprised to notice, like you did, that it didn't seem to blow that hard, or that cold. This will be something to keep an eye on for sure...

I thought I was just being crazy by noticing the rock sounds ! You are totally correct - you can hear it, and it makes you think you're tearing the shit out of the bottom of the car - I never noticed this in the 135. Same driving conditions, same speeds, same streets...

Once more gripe I will add is the iPhone connector that they sent me - I specifically asked for the new 8 pin connection (iPhone 5) and they sent me the older, 30 pin. When I plug my phone into the car via the Apple USB cord (the white one), the iDrive screen says that the USB isn't connected. I have never had iDrive before, so I am not sure if I am doing something obviously wrong or not...

I also cannot believe that the "oh shit" handles are gone. Wtf??? This is another omission along the lines of the oil temp not showing up in the instrument cluster - I actually went to grab one the other day while my dad was driving, and was surprised to hit nothing but air. And the door handles are so far forward that they really aren't usable in a spirited driving experience.

It is definitely stupid that the car defaults to comfort every time you turn it off. I wonder if that can be adjusted somehow...it drives me nuts...

so dmboone, what is your verdict in comparision to the e82. Having had both, if you could only have one, what would you choose?

[rwalker]

Originally Posted by webdither

Wonder if this is a package thing? Anyone have a loaded car to confirm this with? Maybe it's only with Premium or Tech?

My car is loaded.

[vivalaReagan]

Originally Posted by FunRevn

Great feedback. Thank you for taking the time to post this. Some of these I too felt on an extended test drive. But I think only an owner can provide the level of detail you have provided.

One to add is that the HK upgrade does not include L7 surround sound or an EQ

The start stop I think can be shut off in idrive. Set it to last selection or something like that. Also putting the car in Sport mode cancels the SS.

AC not performing. Is the blue /red dial between the center vents set to red ? This may contribute to the lack of cooling. The white line should be in between red and blue in normal conditions and if you would like a cool breeze then go more blue.

The second pull on the hood release eliminates the need to actualy have a lever to release the hood.

Thanks again.

good call on the hood lever; i will check that when i get home tonight. it makes sense that it would eliminate the need for a hook, which i couldn't find. plus, it matches the double action needed to unlock/open a door from the interior. thx!

[modeboy]

Originally Posted by flyga3

Eliminates the need for the lever in the engine bay.

That wasn't my question. My question is why do you need to pull the lever inside the car twice? Why doesn't one pull open the hood? What is the purpose of having a one pull position that still leaves the hood in an state that it can't be opened?

JB

[modeboy]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Sorry - should have been more clear - the car comes with a Y looking device, that has a male connection for the aux jack in your car and on your phone, as well as the 30 pin jack for connection to the phone, which is USB into the car on the other end.

I defininitely didn't order it - I am pretty sure it comes standard - but I had made sure to tell them I needed the new one, but that got missed somehow...

I'm using just the USB lightning cable that came with my 5s - no need for the headphone jack ouput as well.

The one weird thing I have noticed - when I have it set to Random in iDrive, when I scroll to the next track sometimes it will play that track and sometimes it will play the track after that, if that makes any sense...

Like on the display it will be:

Song1
Song2
Song3
Song4

If I'm on Song2, and scroll to Song3 and click to play it, sometimes it will only play Song4, even if Song3 is highligted. It's not a one time thing either, I can go forward to Song4, and it will still play Song4, but when I go back to Song3, it will only play Song4. Weird.

JB

[vivalaReagan]

Originally Posted by leesat

does your A/C starts everytime when you start your car? Mine does and cannot figure it out how to stop it when ever I start my car after 10min.

yes. every bmw i've owned turns the a/c on when you start the car, regardless of how you left it when you shut it down. not sure how to disable this "feature" unless it's programmable by a bmw tech.

[modeboy]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Wow - these are great observations, and I would have to agree with most of them!

Definitely on the heated seats - they just don't get very hot. My first 135 was hardly ever put into the top setting because it was really hot - the 135 I turned in never got that hot, but the seats were hotter than this.

I will say the steering wheel is an improvement over the E82 - especially with the heated wheel option. That "helps" you notice the seats less IMO.

I am glad you mentioned the A/C - the day I picked up my car, it was in the low 60s, and I wanted to see how cold it got - I was surprised to notice, like you did, that it didn't seem to blow that hard, or that cold. This will be something to keep an eye on for sure...

I thought I was just being crazy by noticing the rock sounds ! You are totally correct - you can hear it, and it makes you think you're tearing the shit out of the bottom of the car - I never noticed this in the 135. Same driving conditions, same speeds, same streets...

Once more gripe I will add is the iPhone connector that they sent me - I specifically asked for the new 8 pin connection (iPhone 5) and they sent me the older, 30 pin. When I plug my phone into the car via the Apple USB cord (the white one), the iDrive screen says that the USB isn't connected. I have never had iDrive before, so I am not sure if I am doing something obviously wrong or not...

I also cannot believe that the "oh shit" handles are gone. Wtf??? This is another omission along the lines of the oil temp not showing up in the instrument cluster - I actually went to grab one the other day while my dad was driving, and was surprised to hit nothing but air. And the door handles are so far forward that they really aren't usable in a spirited driving experience.

It is definitely stupid that the car defaults to comfort every time you turn it off. I wonder if that can be adjusted somehow...it drives me nuts...

On the A/C ... I found mine particularly cold, even on low settings... but then, it wasn't overly warm outside. What have outside temps been like in your area?

I haven't tried putting the fan on max yet... Will try that later.

JB

[vivalaReagan]

Originally Posted by modeboy

That wasn't my question. My question is why do you need to pull the lever inside the car twice? Why doesn't one pull open the hood? What is the purpose of having a one pull position that still leaves the hood in an state that it can't be opened?

JB

probably to prevent an inadvertent hood opening at 100mph when you reach down to scratch your leg & accidentally snag the hood lever. two pulls confirms the intent to open the hood. just a thought.

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by vivalaReagan

yes. every bmw i've owned turns the a/c on when you start the car, regardless of how you left it when you shut it down. not sure how to disable this "feature" unless it's programmable by a bmw tech.

Really?

My e90 doesnt do that

What country u in?

[Ritz42]

Originally Posted by modeboy

That wasn't my question. My question is why do you need to pull the lever inside the car twice? Why doesn't one pull open the hood? What is the purpose of having a one pull position that still leaves the hood in an state that it can't be opened?

JB

Same reason that on other cars there is a latch you have to manually unhook. To prevent it from opening on its own.

My own gripe that I'm surprised no one else has mentioned, when I test drove a 235 I noticed all the audio controls on the steering wheel were on the wrong side. Am I the only person bothered by this?

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by golf_234

so dmboone, what is your verdict in comparision to the e82. Having had both, if you could only have one, what would you choose?

Ahhhh...you would ask me that wouldn't you?

Overall, I think the things that were "improved" on the M235 are more numerous than the things that might have been better on the 135. The looks are so much better, and the car is definitely quick, with a nice turn in and good braking (which one should expect out of a near 50K BMW).

I think over time, I am definitely going to prefer it, but I wouldn't say at this moment that it was superior to the 135, at least after the 550 miles I have put on it so far...again, incrementally better for sure in many ways over the 135 - but it's not blowing me away.

That being said...I do believe the E82 felt "tighter" by a small amount, if that makes any kind of sense. This could be because of the shorter wheelbase, slightly heavier feel in the steering...I am not sure. The 2er is nice, don't get me wrong - and I like it a lot - but I think I can also acknowledge the car's shortcomings. After having mine a week, there is no doubt that there is plenty of room for an M2.

In my leasing situation, I didn't want to keep the E82 - I had had 2 of them and the same overall body style for 5+ years, so I needed something different no matter what. I think it would be a tough decision for anyone who didn't have to switch cars, because they definitely have different personalities. I really think the car could do with about 40 more BHP - I think that would alleviate some of my hesitation to declare it an outright winner vs. the 135...

[modeboy]

Originally Posted by vivalaReagan

probably to prevent an inadvertent hood opening at 100mph when you reach down to scratch your leg & accidentally snag the hood lever. two pulls confirms the intent to open the hood. just a thought.

That makes sense..as a safety net. I wasn't thinking in those terms... yea, definitely wouldn't want that hood flying open inadvertently!

JB

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by modeboy

On the A/C ... I found mine particularly cold, even on low settings... but then, it wasn't overly warm outside. What have outside temps been like in your area?

I haven't tried putting the fan on max yet... Will try that later.

JB

Well being in Indiana (or the Midwest generally), the saying goes "if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will probably change"

We have had snow, wind, rain, and mid 50s F with sun in the last week - it's so nuts how much difference there can be from day to day. The warmest day was the Saturday I picked it up, and was the only day I tried it so far...so obviously not that much time with it on to know if it really isn't very good or not...I was just surprised someone else had noticed that it didn't seem super cold or to blow very hard. Those were the first thoughts I had when I turned it on...

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by modeboy

I'm using just the USB lightning cable that came with my 5s - no need for the headphone jack ouput as well.

The one weird thing I have noticed - when I have it set to Random in iDrive, when I scroll to the next track sometimes it will play that track and sometimes it will play the track after that, if that makes any sense...

Like on the display it will be:

Song1
Song2
Song3
Song4

If I'm on Song2, and scroll to Song3 and click to play it, sometimes it will only play Song4, even if Song3 is highligted. It's not a one time thing either, I can go forward to Song4, and it will still play Song4, but when I go back to Song3, it will only play Song4. Weird.

JB

That's crazy - the car absolutely will not recognize my 5 with my Apple lighting connection via the USB in the car. It is basically "greyed" out on the screen, as if nothing is connected there. And then the "Aux" connection shows up in white, and there is nothing in there at all. Weird for sure...

[modeboy]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Well being in Indiana (or the Midwest generally), the saying goes "if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will probably change"

We have had snow, wind, rain, and mid 50s F with sun in the last week - it's so nuts how much difference there can be from day to day. The warmest day was the Saturday I picked it up, and was the only day I tried it so far...so obviously not that much time with it on to know if it really isn't very good or not...I was just surprised someone else had noticed that it didn't seem super cold or to blow very hard. Those were the first thoughts I had when I turned it on...

One thing I will say that I perceive as an improvement over the 135 - the "directional correctness" of the vents themselves. LOL. I always had a tough time getting the air to point in just the right place on the 135. With the new vents in the 235, they're spot on and easy to adjust to get it to where I want it.

JB

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by vivalaReagan

yes. every bmw i've owned turns the a/c on when you start the car, regardless of how you left it when you shut it down. not sure how to disable this "feature" unless it's programmable by a bmw tech.

Both of my E82s would do this if you hit "Auto" on the temperature controls, but that was the only time it seemed to come on more on its own...

Funny how different the experiences can be for the exact same car, just in different parts of the country or world.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by modeboy

One thing I will say that I perceive as an improvement over the 135 - the "directional correctness" of the vents themselves. LOL. I always had a tough time getting the air to point in just the right place on the 135. With the new vents in the 235, they're spot on and easy to adjust to get it to where I want it.

JB

see, now I would say that so far, I find the vents too high for my tastes - I can already envision the driver's side vent in the center console freezing the shit out of my hand on the steering wheel when I have the A/C on this summer.

The E82's were just a little lower, so they blew straight into the right side of my face (always nice in the summer), but I have to admit that I haven't messed with them too much on the M235 yet. I am sure I will be able to make it work just fine...

[vivalaReagan]

regarding the a/c, i noticed a subtle difference in how to fine tune air flow versus previous bmw's. in my past vehicles, each push of the auto button would cycle through soft, medium, & intense (iirc). this would allow nice variation in air flow intensity from the vents without having to change the temp or exit auto mode.

in the m235i, the auto button no longer serves this purpose. instead, selecting a higher or lower fan speed while in auto changes the intensity of the air flow & does not exit auto mode in favor if manual mode. the fan speed light denotes intensity by illuminating only one light in the speed spectrum instead of all lights at & below the setting.

this is a feature i appreciated in previous models & i was disappointed when i thought it had been deleted. sorry if this isn't clear. pics may help: note when auto us illuminated versus when it's not.

[F30form]

RE: the stone sounds in wheel well. Have any of you driven any other cars on Pilot SS? They are crazy sticky. It sounds exactly the same in any M5 or M6. Enjoy the sounds of traction