BMW Discontinuing BMW Assist Renewals

[Dracon]

It looks like BMW is killing off the Safety and Convenience Plans for BMW Assist for the more targeted services under the ConnectedDrive banner found in the newer 2014 and 2015 model vehicles (where you can buy individual services that were part of the Safety and Convenience Plans).

BMW will be discontinuing renewals for the BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan (i.e., customer pay). This impacts all vehicles that are based on CDMA, TCU 1.5, and COMBOX technologies.

As a summary:

• Renewals of the BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan (applicable to 2013 and earlier vehicles and 2014 X6) are being discontinued as of January 1, 2016.

• For vehicles with subscriber agreements still within the BMW-paid period (i.e., 4 or 10 years after in-service date), please do not create a subscriber agreement beyond the BMW-paid period (e.g., extensions or renewals).

• As of early January 2016, the My BMW ConnectedDrive portal (www.bmwusa.com/MyBMWConnectedDrive) will no longer allow renewals for these affected vehicles.

>> FAQs: Discontinuation of Renewals for BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan <<

1. Why was this change made?
a. At the end of 2016, the underlying communication technology will no longer be supported. At that time, BMW Assist Safety and Convenience Services will no longer function in the vehicle. We are discontinuing renewals so that service durations are not included beyond this date.

2. What services are affected?
a. All services under the BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan are affected and will no longer work following the end of 2016. This includes the Emergency Calling (SOS) feature as well as MyInfo (Send to Car), Remote Services such as Remote Door Unlock and the My BMW Remote app, Stolen Vehicle Recovery, TeleService, Concierge and all other services which are available under the BMW Assist Safety and Convenience Plans.

3. My original contract for BMW Assist services goes beyond 2016. How will this affect me?
a. If your original contract (i.e., BMW-paid) ends later than Dec. 31, 2016, you will receive additional information from BMW.

4. Can a customer upgrade their vehicle to newer technology that would support BMW Assist?
a. Currently, we do not have a retrofit option in order to upgrade earlier hardware to newer hardware so that BMW Assist can still be supported. However, we are working on a technical upgrade. For further details, please contact your dealer in the second half of 2016.

5. Why is this discontinuation in BMW Assist renewals only occurring now?
a. Because the BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan are available as a one-year renewal, this change is being made to ensure that Safety and Convenience Plan renewals are only sold within the timeframe that they can be supported.

6. When will the services stop working?
a. By January 1, 2017, the services of the BMW Assist Safety Plan and Convenience Plan will no longer be available.

========

Another update from BMW outlining BMW Assist and CPO vehicle sales. CPO sales for MY2013 and MY2014 X6 models made after January 1 2016 will no longer automatically receive an addition 2 years of BMW Assist services.

As a follow-up to the previous messages regarding BMW Assist Renewals, please note:

• CPO vehicles will no longer receive any additional BMW Assist subscriptions beyond the original term offered, e.g., extending 2 years of services on top of the original 4 years of BMW Assist will no longer be in effect

• This change is effective in conjunction with the discontinuation of BMW Assist Renewal, as of January 1, 2016

Therefore, for CPO vehicles with the Safety Plan and Convenience Plan offerings (MY2013 and earlier and MY2014 X6):

• For CPO Sales Dec. 31, 2015 and earlier: The BMW Assist contract duration for CPO vehicles is available for up to 6 years from the original in-service date

• For CPO Sales Jan. 1, 2016 and later: The BMW Assist contract duration for CPO vehicles will be a maximum of 4 years from the in-service date

[paliknight]

More BS from BMW

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by paliknight

More BS from BMW

Yeah. It's basically canceling service for everything older than the NBT (except the 2013 5-series with NBT they are getting killed too).

Although I am curious to see what this "technical upgrade" is they talk about. I don't see any reason why at least the NBT in the 2013 5-series can't be updated to work, there can't be that much of a change in hardware between 2013 and 2014 NBT units.

[dbworld4k]

My mother's 2016 F48 X1 has Connected Drive, will it be affected by this BS too?! We paid extra for those features a month ago when buying the fucking thing...

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by dbworld4k

My mother's 2016 F48 X1 has Connected Drive, will it be affected by this BS too?! We paid extra for those features a month ago when buying the fucking thing...

No. 2014 and up models aren't affected by this (except the 2014 X6).

[kent11202]

All I can say is Wow! What's next in the pipeline of takeaways? Correct me if I'm reading this wrong but, no automatic collision notification, no SOS, no accident management services, no stolen vehicle recovery, no remote door unlock...? Somebody at BMW is really on a roll.

Buy/lease a vehicle with features you want and two years later they pull the rug out from underneath you. I guess they feel they have so many "adoring" (as in blinded by the badge) fans they can do whatever they want. People that can actually afford these things without the need to eat Top Ramen daily, will start drifting away at this rate IMO.

[Supermoon]

No more roadside assistance?

[FogCityM3]

It's obvious BMW is squeezing every possible way to capture more margin. It began with lackluster cars, profit maximization of the ///M brand, and now has gotten to the point where the full maintenance warranty and BMW assist, things that were gigantic selling points for the brand in the last 15 years, are being curtailed while at the same time, reliability vis-a-vis the competition has marginally improved. Couple this with huge management turnover, including superstars like Albert Biermann (left for Hyundai) and a sense of management complacency, and you have a brand that is probably at/near the peak of its success. The cases of long term success of taking this type of approach, no matter what the industry, are very, very few.

[SakhirM4]

Originally Posted by kent11202

All I can say is Wow! What's next in the pipeline of takeaways? Correct me if I'm reading this wrong but, no automatic collision notification, no SOS, no accident management services, no stolen vehicle recovery, no remote door unlock...? Somebody at BMW is really on a roll.

Buy/lease a vehicle with features you want and two years later they pull the rug out from underneath you. I guess they feel they have so many "adoring" (as in blinded by the badge) fans they can do whatever they want. People that can actually afford these things without the need to eat Top Ramen daily, will start drifting away at this rate IMO.

Originally Posted by Supermoon

No more roadside assistance?

This is for 2013 and earlier vehicles ONLY, effective January, 1 2017.

[Dracon]

Well, we'll have to see what the plans actually shake out to be, this is just a notice that renewals for customer-paid accounts are no longer in effect.

It does say they are working on a technical upgrade for customers. BMW still has a bunch of effected vehicles still under warranty and CPO which are entitled to BMW Assist services as part of the new vehicle/CPO vehicle purchase that they still need to provide service to.

They are stopping renewals because owners outside of the 4yr (for new vehicles) and 6yr for (CPO vehicles) are only permitted to renew yearly.

What they have been moving to with the 2014+ ConnectedDrive vehicles is no longer packaging services into large packages (Safety and Convenience) and allowing customers to purchase only the services they want. Now whether or not this works out to be cheaper for the owner or not remains to be seen.

Now I do see them phasing out the old TCU-based vehicles completely as they were mostly CDMA or basic GSM devices and most cellular providers are phasing out those networks. I would suspect that the "technical upgrade" they are referring to would only apply for Combox-enabled vehicles (03/2010 builds and up).

Otherwise, it does leave a space for third-party suppliers to fill in the gap. BimmerRetrofit already is beta testing a service for the NBT-based vehicles which provides some BMW Assist services via a customer provided SIM. They've posted about it here.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by Supermoon

No more roadside assistance?

No more enhanced roadside assistance, where the vehicle's location is automatically sent.

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by SakhirM4

This is for 2013 and earlier vehicles ONLY, effective January, 1 2017.

Yep, and I can actually read so I already knew that. I have a 2013 and I'll be dammed if I'm going to buy/lease a new car every few years just to MAINTAIN features I want - that's complete BS.

If the "technical upgrade" they are talking about is as effective/reliable as the useless My Remote function, they shouldn't waste their time.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by kent11202

Yep, and I can actually read so I already knew that. I have a 2013 and I'll be dammed if I'm going to buy/lease a new car every few years just to MAINTAIN features I want - that's complete BS.

If the "technical upgrade" they are talking about is as effective/reliable as the useless My Remote function, they shouldn't waste their time.

Well, I think by technical upgrade, it'll either be a replacement of the telematics module or some form of a software update to the navigation system that BMW will install for Assist customers.

But I'm just guessing here, like Apple, no-one knows what BMW is up to until BMW actually does something.

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by Dracon

No more enhanced roadside assistance, where the vehicle's location is automatically sent.

That too annoys me because I want that in the event my wife needs it. We're guys (for the majority of posters), we can figure it out, we can walk down a freeway without worrying about an abduction, we can sleep in a cave, we don't need to squat, there's a portion of our brain that is more sensitive to magnetic north than it is for females (yep, that's true). When we pick up the TV remote and search just about anything on the screen, we are actually recalling primal patterns and are "hunting." We (men) are different.

As an aside, animals (generally) have the same magnetic north ability. If you have a dog, watch when he/she relieves themselves - in almost every case they are facing north sometimes the reciprocal (due south). This magnetic north capability is for the same reason men have it - to find our way back to the cave after a hunt. It's also why we would rather drive 50 extra miles wandering around aimlessly rather than ask for directions to point B - no "real man" would ask, right?

[kent11202]

Originally Posted by Dracon

Well, I think by technical upgrade, it'll either be a replacement of the telematics module or some form of a software update to the navigation system that BMW will install for Assist customers.

But I'm just guessing here, like Apple, no-one knows what BMW is up to until BMW actually does something.

If the "upgrade" turns out to be a software situation provided at no cost, not a problem for me. If it turns out I have to PAY for hardware, I'm really not a happy camper. As you say, I guess we will have to wait and see.

[DeltaFX1942]

Network technology evolves and legacy hardware phases out. That's the game we play with "connected" cars, no matter what brand. I think this is just the start - in the future Audi MMI cars with 3G might not be supported when 3G gets phased out. The world moves forward.

[zx10guy]

I'd be interested in seeing what the technical solution is being that there is no retrofit kit planned. I bought my 2013 new at the end of January 2014. So I have one year beyond the termination date stated that BMW is obligated to do something.

I'm not faulting BMW for making this decision as others have stated...technology moves on and are usually outside the control of manufacturers who are "consumers" of these services. I'm just curious what their solution is going to be for people like me.

As another talking point, ADT went through the same issue...twice. I have their cellular backup service for my home security systems. My primary residence went through two upgrades of the cellular module and my vacation property once. Initially, ADT was going to charge us $200 to upgrade the box. I had held out after repeated notices and phone calls from them telling me I need to do the upgrade or lose service. I'm glad I did (and apparently others did too) as ADT changed their policy and just covered the cost of replacement.

[DKX4///M]

Originally Posted by kent11202

As an aside, animals (generally) have the same magnetic north ability. If you have a dog, watch when he/she relieves themselves - in almost every case they are facing north sometimes the reciprocal (due south). This magnetic north capability is for the same reason men have

Lmao. I never realized this before but now that you mention it. My dog does usually go out of her way to face north when she conducts business..hmm too funny

[doccyber]

I find this news disturbing. BMW should take care of the customers

[geost]

Originally Posted by kent11202

That too annoys me because I want that in the event my wife needs it. We're guys (for the majority of posters), we can figure it out, we can walk down a freeway without worrying about an abduction, we can sleep in a cave, we don't need to squat, there's a portion of our brain that is more sensitive to magnetic north than it is for females (yep, that's true). When we pick up the TV remote and search just about anything on the screen, we are actually recalling primal patterns and are "hunting." We (men) are different.

As an aside, animals (generally) have the same magnetic north ability. If you have a dog, watch when he/she relieves themselves - in almost every case they are facing north sometimes the reciprocal (due south). This magnetic north capability is for the same reason men have it - to find our way back to the cave after a hunt. It's also why we would rather drive 50 extra miles wandering around aimlessly rather than ask for directions to point B - no "real man" would ask, right?

lmao ain't that the truth? I'd rather drive around than ask for directions. Weird yet funny.

Anyway this is disappointing news. But at the same time I understand since tech is always advancing. But jeez to me it feels like 2011 cars (BMW only obviously) and up are still "new" enough that even the tech inside is up to date.....guess not.

[Dracon]

Another update from BMW outlining BMW Assist and CPO vehicle sales. Looks like they will no longer offer an additional 2 year subscriptions for CPO vehicles.

The wording also seems to indicate it'll be for all CPO sales going forward, even on the newer vehicles (MY2014 and MY2015 X6).

[bayarea328xit]

"As of July 1, 2016, BMW will no longer be supporting the BMW Assist services within your vehicle."

This is pure BS. I selected BMW because it was one of the few manufacturers with the functionality when I purchased our 328xit.

I'm willing to pay ~ $1k for the hardware upgrades. To avoid pissing off their customers, they have to give an option to keep it functional. I feel that this is a huge mistake on BMW's part.

I'll definitely look at other manufacturers if the current owners are not offered (even a high cost) option.

I remember that Mercedes offered a hardware upgrade option for my father-in-law's E320.

Again, pure BS from BMW...