[Justgothere]

Hi everyone. We noticed mouse droppings in our brand new 2024 plug-in hybrid X5 and a chewed up granola bar. So we researched this forum. They said to check the cabin air filter. Sure enough, it was chewed through.
I didn’t see any wires chewed. Although it’s uncanny that the next day, all of my BMW ID settings were back to default.
We brought the car to BMW. They didn’t see any nests. They said they can’t really check all of the wire connections. But they said they don’t think we have any problems.

I came back home and researched this forum more again. I saw someone say that a mouse could gnaw on wires and that could lead to the settings erasing. Does this make any logical sense?

I should also mention, we had the car fully detailed after we found the mouse droppings, and when we got the car back, that’s when we noticed our settings were wiped. So maybe it’s more plausible to say it happened during detailing?

Would it make sense to bring the car to another BMW dealer to get a better look at the car to make sure no wires are chewed through? What else can we do?

[X6ix GTA]

Originally Posted by Justgothere

Hi everyone. We noticed mouse droppings in our brand new 2024 plug-in hybrid X5 and a chewed up granola bar. So we researched this forum. They said to check the cabin air filter. Sure enough, it was chewed through.
I didn’t see any wires chewed. Although it’s uncanny that the next day, all of my BMW ID settings were back to default.
We brought the car to BMW. They didn’t see any nests. They said they can’t really check all of the wire connections. But they said they don’t think we have any problems.

I came back home and researched this forum more again. I saw someone say that a mouse could gnaw on wires and that could lead to the settings erasing. Does this make any logical sense?

I should also mention, we had the car fully detailed after we found the mouse droppings, and when we got the car back, that’s when we noticed our settings were wiped. So maybe it’s more plausible to say it happened during detailing?

Would it make sense to bring the car to another BMW dealer to get a better look at the car to make sure no wires are chewed through? What else can we do?

I don't think BMW or any car manufacturer can run a test to confirm that no wires are chewed through. Hopefully, the setting were wiped because of something else. When I first got the car I also noticed rodent footprints on the engine cover. I have this device attached under the hood and it has kept the rodents away.

[TurtleBoy]

I would say if your wires were chewed then you would have error messages. I don't think the reset of the settings, however you are defining that, has anything to do with the mice.

[Justgothere]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

I would say if your wires were chewed then you would have error messages. I don't think the reset of the settings, however you are defining that, has anything to do with the mice.

Thank you. My wife and I still both have our BMW IDs, but our settings are gone. Meaning seat position is wiped, all driving settings, etc. I did mention that we had the car detailed and noticed upon picking it up that our settings were gone. I wonder if the detailer did it by accident? Is that fairly easy to do if you’re holding down a button?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by Justgothere

Thank you. My wife and I still both have our BMW IDs, but our settings are gone. Meaning seat position is wiped, all driving settings, etc. I did mention that we had the car detailed and noticed upon picking it up that our settings were gone. I wonder if the detailer did it by accident? Is that fairly easy to do if you’re holding down a button?

You can create new ones/overwrite existing but as far as I know, it is not really possible to wipe settings. Many also are saved to the cloud, assuming you have that enabled, but this would change if someone changed the settings. If you do a vehicle reset it would wipe everything out but since you logins were still active, assuming since you didn't say anything, a reset doesn't appear to have been done.

I don't have a guess as to what happened.

[Justgothere]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

You can create new ones/overwrite existing but as far as I know, it is not really possible to wipe settings. Many also are saved to the cloud, assuming you have that enabled, but this would change if someone changed the settings. If you do a vehicle reset it would wipe everything out but since you logins were still active, assuming since you didn't say anything, a reset doesn't appear to have been done.

I don't have a guess as to what happened.

Just hoping it wasn’t the mouse that got in the car.

[Justgothere]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

You can create new ones/overwrite existing but as far as I know, it is not really possible to wipe settings. Many also are saved to the cloud, assuming you have that enabled, but this would change if someone changed the settings. If you do a vehicle reset it would wipe everything out but since you logins were still active, assuming since you didn't say anything, a reset doesn't appear to have been done.

I don't have a guess as to what happened.

Wait I have a possible reason. When I dropped the car off for detailing, I put it in Valet mode. When we got the car back, valet mode was off. I wonder if they needed to override valet mode and so they just did some type of reset? I’ve asked their shop, we’ll see what they say. But that might make the most sense!

[davchr]

Originally Posted by Justgothere

Hi everyone. We noticed mouse droppings in our brand new 2024 plug-in hybrid X5 and a chewed up granola bar. So we researched this forum. They said to check the cabin air filter. Sure enough, it was chewed through.
I didn’t see any wires chewed. Although it’s uncanny that the next day, all of my BMW ID settings were back to default.
We brought the car to BMW. They didn’t see any nests. They said they can’t really check all of the wire connections. But they said they don’t think we have any problems.

I came back home and researched this forum more again. I saw someone say that a mouse could gnaw on wires and that could lead to the settings erasing. Does this make any logical sense?

I should also mention, we had the car fully detailed after we found the mouse droppings, and when we got the car back, that’s when we noticed our settings were wiped. So maybe it’s more plausible to say it happened during detailing?

Would it make sense to bring the car to another BMW dealer to get a better look at the car to make sure no wires are chewed through? What else can we do?

If you think there might be a problem I would inspect the wiring yourself and see if you see any problems. You will be as thorough as the dealer's tech and save yourself $200 an hour for him to sort of look at it.

Losing your settings is a minor problem. Those are easy to re-apply. Your big problem is the rodents. I hope you are parking the car in a garage as it is easier to control them there. Much of the wire insulation today is made from organic material that rodents love to eat. I live in Arizona where pack rats and mice are BIG problems for any wiring - cars, A/C units, pool equipment, landscape lighting, and etc. If they can get at it they will eat it. There are ultrasonic deterrents and blinking light deterrents. They are both marginally effective. Keep traps set and baited. If you don't catch anything this month or next, great. Keep them set as the critters will come back. You can try the ultrasonic and/or blinky light things if you have to park outside. They may help they are not a guarantee.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by Justgothere

Wait I have a possible reason. When I dropped the car off for detailing, I put it in Valet mode. When we got the car back, valet mode was off. I wonder if they needed to override valet mode and so they just did some type of reset? I’ve asked their shop, we’ll see what they say. But that might make the most sense!

There is no way for them to turn off Valet mode and do a reset unless you gave them the code. Not sure if disconnecting the battery would do it or not. Perhaps there is a bug in 8.5.