[geddylee]

I just recently picked up a new X540i MSport. I've have a previous 2019 of the same build along with a previous 21 X7.

All I can tell you as I can't believe how many things I hate about this car after the first few weeks of ownership. Rather then go in massive detail I'll just bullet out everything that I see has a significant step back from every other BMW I have owned.

1. Idrive 8.5
The elimination of buttons for climate, heated seats and short cuts make every drive less intuitive and more irritating. You think it would be easy to to just get in and turn on your heated seats by clicking the screen in the morning but it's worse than that. You see you have to click to accept the legal terms before you can even get into the climate control when you start the car every morning. Sometimes there is delay in being able to do this due to the cpu booting up. It makes things that have been routine in cars for decades tedious and a step back in every way imaginable.

2. Recalibrated steering
The steering is much faster on turn in and is twitchy now at highway speeds. Since there is no feel, they are trying to tune the VSS to be faster and feel more sporty. The execution however leads to a synthetic feel that is unpredictable and borderline dangerous at highway speeds. My wife asked me what was wrong with it after driving it, you know if she thinks it sucks we have a problem. The previous version while devoid of feel was at least predictable but now no longer.

3. HK Sound
Boy does this stereo suck. I had to tune down the logic 7 due to the highs being so ear piercingly loud that it was unlistenable on my first drive home. There are no lows due to a lack of a sub, and it's muddy at all volumes. The base stereo in the X3 sounded better and more natural than this. The worst stereo I've had in any car I have ever owned and a noticeable downgrade from the pre LCI. The X7's system is pretty solid overall in comparison at least in pre LCI form.


Even the B58TU is not the massive upgrade I expected. Yes it is faster, but the low end grunt seems a bit less and the gears seem longer which leads to the transmission getting caught between gears at times which is a first with the B58 ZF8 powertrain.

Overall I have major regrets with this car so far. It feels like it's in Beta, not just the cluster that is drive 8 but the entire vehicle as a whole. It's my 14th BMW, I've never had one that I have been so disappointed with.

[1230vani]

Sad to hear this, especially as I am waiting for mine to arrive. Highway steering worries me the most

[geddylee]

To be fair, if you put it in sport mode the steering is not as bad on the highway. Comfort is so light it borders on unsafe.

[Lionel Hutz]

Originally Posted by geddylee

To be fair, if you put it in sport mode the steering is not as bad on the highway. Comfort is so light it borders on unsafe.

This is a “you” problem. The only issue I’ve noticed with my LCI’s steering is that it is as dead feeling as every other BMW made in the last 10 years.

[Heavyd]

I think you are the problem and not the LCI...

[TechCTU]

I have not noticed any of the issues above. I think the 24 is an improvement in many areas. I like 8.5, I do miss some buttons, but the shortcuts have resolved most of those issues. You most of known there would be less buttons that were integrated into the OS before buying.

I do have the bowers, so can't comment on the HK.

I have the m60i, power is not an issue in my car.

Sounds like you should have spent more time on test drives before buying.

Some gripes I have are the removal of the rear comfort access, and the latch to lower the rear seats from the trunk. Also, rear seats don't adjust as much as rivals.

I also don't like the removal of the start stop cancel button.

I knew all of this before buying and I still love the car. I can't understand why they didn't offer these as options. I get the are trying to reduce costs and make more profit, but I would have checked those option boxes leading to a happier customer and more profit.

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by Heavyd

I think you are the problem and not the LCI...

Ya think?
I find it impossible to believe that the 40i is a bad vehicle or maybe my M60i is just that much better.

[Mixitt]

Originally Posted by geddylee

I just recently picked up a new X540i MSport. I've have a previous 2019 of the same build along with a previous 21 X7.

All I can tell you as I can't believe how many things I hate about this car after the first few weeks of ownership. Rather then go in massive detail I'll just bullet out everything that I see has a significant step back from every other BMW I have owned.....

With all the forum rude "you're crazy, no I'm not" banter going on around here, I've read enough horror stories about the LCI changes to keep my 2019 40i for a while. It only has 35K miles on it too.

To remove the easy peasy buttons, etc. including the ASS button is just plain stupid, and distracting regarding driving safety. I don't like the new wide dash screen nor the lack of a massage feature. Can't be the ol "supply chain" diatribe as the 2024 X7 has massage (and ventilated seats), both SUV's being manufactured at the same plant.

Thanks for the info and good luck to you!

[David3]

Somebody must have made a mistake at the factory as my LCI has massaging seats. Love the LCI, annoyances and all

[Mixitt]

Originally Posted by David3

Somebody must have made a mistake at the factory as my LCI has massaging seats. Love the LCI, annoyances and all

What model please? I've been specking out a 40i. Will check again.

[Heavyd]

Originally Posted by cobramite

Ya think?
I find it impossible to believe that the 40i is a bad vehicle or maybe my M60i is just that much better.

My 50e is the best BMW I ever owned. Even much better than my previous 45e. Can't believe the 40i is bad.

I really like the current instrument panel and OS 8.5. Haven't missed a physical button for one second yet. And I even can change the temp on the panel while driving without crashing the car! Hell, the software buttons are even easier to reach and more in line of sight.

Never had any issues with HK. It's quite good and a lot better than standard HIFI. I did use the equalizer to fine tune it.

Yes, there are some things I would have like seen different. Like the comfort acces on the rear doors, distance button on the steering wheel.

But that's all minor stuff. In the end it's a great car and a succesful update. I'm not afraid of change

[TechCTU]

Originally Posted by Mixitt

What model please? I've been specking out a 40i. Will check again.

I don't think it's an option in the 40i for the US.

[LDT]

I couldnt be happier with my choice of M60i. The technology is far far better than Porsche. ID 8.5 is very intuitive, occasional bugs and reboots aside. Handling, Fit and finish is solid. Lack of comfort access on rear doors and lack of choice for auto start/stop is a PITA. Cars are like friends.....if you're looking for perfection in your friends.......you won't have any.

[bostonx6]

As someone who owned a 2019 X5 and now a ‘24 M60i I honestly don’t think my iDrive 8 is bad at all. It’s very intuitive. Yes, I get the buttons are not there, but that’s the industry trend. In between I had both a 21 SQ8 and a 23 AMG E53, and their UIs were atrocious. I struggled with the Audi’s UI for almost two years. Idrive 8 is comparatively much easier to use, and while I’m looking forward to 8.5, I am quite happy with 8.0. I couldn’t be happier with this vehicle.

[machop]

If you really into sound system then go with B&W. Steering: it’s been like that for a while. Buttons: back when iPhone came out many complained it doesn’t have keyboard.

If you look at other manufacturers, theirs are not better many are worse

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by Mixitt

Can't be the ol "supply chain" diatribe as the 2024 X7 has massage (and ventilated seats), both SUV's being manufactured at the same plant.

Of course it is supply chain issues, them being made at the same plant has nothing to do with the situation. The massage has been available at times for all of the LCI X5 models and when supply is short they start removing them from the 40i and moving up. They would love to be able to sell you that feature if it was available as it is easy revenue for them.

[Mixitt]

Originally Posted by TechCTU

I don't think it's an option in the 40i for the US.

I just ran the Build configurator, it's not.

[apw2607]

I think the steering is certainly an improvement over the F15 in both comfort and sport. Sadly not as good as the hydraulic steering in my old E70 Diesel which was perfect.

Interesting comment about the HK. I agree when i first got the car, i thought it sounded really bad, and thought wow things have gone down hill from the F15. However after about 2 weeks of use it sounds really good now, so not sure if the speakers just needed to "bed in".

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by LDT

I couldnt be happier with my choice of M60i. The technology is far far better than Porsche. ID 8.5 is very intuitive, occasional bugs and reboots aside. Handling, Fit and finish is solid. Lack of comfort access on rear doors and lack of choice for auto start/stop is a PITA. Cars are like friends.....if you're looking for perfection in your friends.......you won't have any.

Glad you are happy with your M60i, certainly very pleased with mine as it seems that outside of a few most guys are quite happy with their respective models of choice.
Some of the crap that a couple guys whine and bitch about here like "heated and cooled" cup holders, LED colors, "massaging seats" are complaints about things that are not even tertiary in nature.
I have owned nearly 60 vehicles(Porsches, BMWs, Cadillacs, Corvettes, etc.) in my life not including motorcycles, boats, ATVs and have no doubt that this 2024 LCI X6 M60i is the very best of the lot. It is as close to the perfect vehicle that I have seen or owned. These new BMW SUVs check as many boxes as I would consider possible but also understand that some may not share that opinion.
It is abundantly clear that some need to accept the fact that the industry is moving decisively in the direction of fewer mechanical "buttons" and expanded LCD gauge/infotainment screens whether some are on board with that trend or not.

[geddylee]

I’ll just add that it is true you can’t get Bowers with the 40i and while my car stickered for over 80k you can’t even get 4 zone climate control with it. Hard to fathom but true.

To get out of the hassle of comfort access for the rear I have setup all door to unlock as I approach which seems to be a decent work around.

[jad03060]

Options come and go based on supplier availability...BMW tries to not offer an option if they won't actually be able to source it from their vendor.

One thing on the steering, verify that your tire selection in iDrive is correct, and that the tire pressure is where it should be. Being off can make a big difference in how it feels.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by geddylee

I just recently picked up a new X540i MSport. I've have a previous 2019 of the same build along with a previous 21 X7.

Similar story here going from a 2017 X5 35i that was loaded with every worthwhile option minus the B&O as it was my wife's DD but did order the HK for it. I recently had to pick up a 2024 X5 40i given the insurance company considered the 2017 a total loss from an accident my wife was in (she walked away unscathed which is all that mattered).

Originally Posted by geddylee

1. Idrive 8.5

The elimination of buttons for climate, heated seats and short cuts make every drive less intuitive and more irritating. You think it would be easy to to just get in and turn on your heated seats by clicking the screen in the morning but it's worse than that. You see you have to click to accept the legal terms before you can even get into the climate control when you start the car every morning. Sometimes there is delay in being able to do this due to the cpu booting up. It makes things that have been routine in cars for decades tedious and a step back in every way imaginable.

I've left my wife's 40i on iD8 and not even sure I want iD8.5 due to the layout, etc. as she wants the analog clock plus media on the iDrive screen at all times (I added the map widget as well given plenty of space on the iD8 screen). That said I'm not a fan of the loss of hard buttons including the gap controls for ACC on the steering wheel (WTF?).

However, what is mind boggling with iD8 (and iD8.5 as basically just a re-skin of the UI) is BMW dropped the climate control app. At first I thought they buried the functionality in the seat app or the climate control settings. Nope. This is just asinine as even on the iD7 in my M850i with hard buttons I never touch the associated ones for the seats to heat or cool. Rather I have the climate control app set to automatically turn on the heated seats, steering wheel and console/door rest when the temperature drops to a set degree and the same for seat cooling when it hits a certain degree (pretty much on most of the time here in Phoenix but leave the fans on 1).

If they had not dropped that app it would solve your problem. It's almost like BMW wants everyone to use the iD8 interface at all times which once again is asinine after dropping all the hard buttons. 🫣

Originally Posted by geddylee

2. Recalibrated steering

The steering is much faster on turn in and is twitchy now at highway speeds. Since there is no feel, they are trying to tune the VSS to be faster and feel more sporty.

I've left the Eco Pro my wife uses for her daily commute in comfort for steering as it pretty much matched the 2017's. I've tried both comfort and sport steering and the sport is obviously a "tighter" feel to it but in either I've yet to experience any twitchy aspect at highway speeds whatsoever.

Originally Posted by geddylee

3. HK Sound

Boy does this stereo suck. I had to tune down the logic 7 due to [...]

Just turn off Logic7 completely as it is useless. Did that on the 2017 and obviously the same for the 2024. Happy to share my HK calibration as I'm an audiophile nut and just like my M850i with B&W I have the HK dialed in using FLAC high resolution albums sourced off a 2TB SSD. I've eliminated the muddiness, there is now solid bass plus more accurate mids and highs.

Even this process was a bit of a head scratcher as I first plugged the SSD into the USBC port in the console. Nothing recognized and then realized it's a charging port only. WTF? The USBC port in the console of my 2020 M850i is both charging and network which is where the 2TB SSD lives at all times. Had to dig up a USBC to USB A adapter to plug it into the USB A port by the wireless charging tray to even go through the exercise of calibrating the HK in the 40i.