Memory Power Seats and Mirrors

[mindmachine]

That's the part I do not understand. BMW justify not having memory features as weight saving and thus range extending measures, yet they offer a sunroof option that surely weighs more than the seats would. Ditto the energy consumption for the sunroof motors as opposed to power seats. Is there any other car made by BMW that does not have power seats available as an option? This is a $55k car made by a luxury goods manufacturer with seats as cheap and cheesy as my $18k smart. They look great but try living with them for a while and and the constant need to make multiple adjustments several times a day gets old very fast.

Regarding the reliability of powered components on cars, I fix things when they break and I have never in over 40 years had to fix a power seat. Nor a power window, but I have cut my hands and wrists trying to repair manual window regulators several times over the years.

Sometimes the engineers need to come out of their labs and observe how real customers use their products in the real world as opposed to trying to make those with the money accept their decisions from on high. If you don't meet customer expectations you don't make money, irregardless of the engineering necessity.

I for one would much rather have the sunroof, but for some reason it wasn't available either. The sunroof would not require anywhere near the amount of electricity to open/close it compared to a 200 lb hunk of fat sitting-on the seat being adjusted every-time you get into the car. We are not just talking about base weight, but energy consumption too.

 

[jadnashuanh]

I for one would much rather have the sunroof, but for some reason it wasn't available either. The sunroof would not require anywhere near the amount of electricity to open/close it compared to a 200 lb hunk of fat sitting-on the seat being adjusted every-time you get into the car. We are not just talking about base weight, but energy consumption too.

The US federal safety laws require metal reinforcements in the roof when you have a sunroof - none exist. Also consider that a sheet of glass and motors plus the reinforcements they did put in to meet Euro standards for roof strength (or is it manually opened?) are going to weigh more, and that weight is at the wrong place on any car, IMHO...you want to keep your CG down, and throwing extra weight up there doesn't help.

Frameless windows are lighter than those with a frame, but to get a good seal, it tends to work better if you can lower the glass a little first so that it isn't always banging off that gasket at the top and making it take more force to close the door. So, if you're going to have to lower it a little bit, it doesn't make much sense to use a manual crank, since you'd need both and probably a clutch on it so you didn't jam someones hand or fingers or knee when you powered the handle up/down to get the window in place.

My guess on the power seats is more the additional fixed load you'd have to carry around all of the time for, at least some people, a one-time use. While I'm sure a good proportion of the people may have multiple drivers, in my case and I'm sure I'm not alone, nobody else ever drives my car on a regular basis.

It's been mentioned before, and that could fairly easily be updated in s/w, to tie the exterior mirrors into the profile for the two FOBs...then, at least you'd only have to deal with the three possible seat adjustments and the interior mirror. That should take all of about 30-seconds, to me, not worth the cost and expense and power and weight to overcome that 'deficiency'.

 

[WoodlandHills]

I wonder which would use more power: a sunroof opened and closed a couple of times a day, a power seat adjusted a couple of times a day or the front running lights on for several hours.....?

 

[mindmachine]

I wonder which would use more power: a sunroof opened and closed a couple of times a day, a power seat adjusted a couple of times a day or the front running lights on for several hours.....?

I have sunroof's in my other two cars and the do not get opened and closed anywhere near that often, however in my Lexus hybrid the power seat moves back and forth along with the steering column every time I enter the car for ease of entry (until I had the dealer turn off that feature).

While I like a sunroof and do use it, it is probably only used 10 to 20% of the time during the milder months, and especially not in winter at all. Of course you have the added weight to consider in either case, fancy power seats that adjust automatically or the sunroof, however I would bet the seats if you both are power would out weigh the sunroof, especially the way it was implemented in the UK i3 without a metal frame.

 

[stumbledotcom]

It's been mentioned before, and that could fairly easily be updated in s/w, to tie the exterior mirrors into the profile for the two FOBs...

Exterior mirror positions are stored in the profiles, which are triggered by the key fobs. I just tested it in mine. Mirrors moved by changing profiles in the iDrive unit as well as by using the different key fobs to unlock. Though I should note that the profile didn't switch when I had both comfort access keys on me. Leaving one key inside though solved that confusion.