Precondition/departure not selectable

[lucas2497]

Hi folks,

New member here and I just picked up a 2018 i3s rex. When charging at work at a level 2 charger I wanted to precondition the vehicle. The bmw connected app does not work on my samsung s8 and while charging I wanted to setup the precondition and departure option in the vehicle menu but I cannot click it or set any values.

Any input?

Thanks,
Lucas

 

[Shrink13]

Try unclicking "charge immediately." Good luck.

 

[lucas2497]

Yea I tried to unclick several times and nothing.

 

[graememwl]

Have you tried setting a departure time? AFAIK, this is a prerequisite for enabling pre-conditioning.

 

[user 3172]

Ditto that, precondition for departure refers to battery and cabin and needs a departure time set to enable it.

 

[lucas2497]

Thanks for the input folks. I cannot set the departure time. I can go into the submenu for setting the departure time but I cannot enter any values. It only displays all gray lettering. I was able to select the day bit it did not advance to time selection.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Have you tried moving the cursor to the time slot, entering a value? That generally will cause the box above to be checked. Once the cursor is in that field, push on the control wheel to select, then enter a value...continue to minutes. Let us know. Mine has had time in there forever, so I don't remember the first time I tried.

Do you have an Android or iOS device? Have you tried to download the app and tried to do it from the app?

Not sure, but you probably can't click on the box because there's no valid time in the time window. Once you do get a value in there, you could click on the box.

 

[user 3172]

Or as an alternative, login to the connected drive website and you can set it up using the remote cockpit section of that. I think as Jim says, you can’t enable a timer until you have selected one or more days of the week and a time.

I don’t think this part of the software is particularly intuitive to use and my manual was not helpful in explaining the concept.

I found the easiest settings to use was to select every day of the week for each departure time then set the three most common times I leave against the three departure times. That way it’s easy from the app to just select the nearest time and know that it’ll automatically work the next morning regardless of which day of the week it is.

I find I hardly use departure times other than in the morning. If it’s warm or cold later in the day I just use the precondition now option.

 

[jadnashuanh]

You don't need to set a day...if none are selected, it will happen the next time that TOD occurs, one time only...but, the actual time will stay in the field. If you want to use that time again, then, you can just click on the box to activate it. Not having any particular schedule, I do not have any days selected and I find it works fine. If you want to set up for something by skipping a day or so, then you'd need to select a day for it to occur.

For optimal operation, the departure time should be at least 3, and preferably 4 hours in the future if it's really cold out. You can enter it anytime, but you may not benefit fully, since the battery may not have time to be fully conditioned. On a moderate day, it may not start doing much until nearly your departure time, if the battery is near ideal temp already.

For maximum efficiency, you might also set in a time window, even if you don't have off-peak charging , so that the window would mean the car would be charging before you left. When it's cold out, the act of charging will warm them, and the car may not need to use it's heater as much. YOu may need to play a bit with that so that there's enough time to actually get a full charge. I do not have off-peak charging where I live, so I've not played with that feature.

 

[lucas2497]

Thank you for all the advice! I called bmw assist via the in cabin SOS button and now everything works. I had to register the car with the bmw network.

 

[EVMan]

Hmm,
So i guess all these features will stop working, once the subscriptions for connected services ( Network and apps) expire ?
I guess before 2016 models, everything was free for 4 years.
in 2017 and later it has become 3 years.

Any idea, how much are the yearly services after this ?

 

[alohart]

Any idea, how much are the yearly services after this ?

You could learn all of the various subscription costs by logging on to your BMW Connected Drive account. One of the Web pages lists the prices and supports buying subscriptions.

 

[EVMan]

I looked up. While it was not clear, i think
New car comes with 4 years free services from date of first sale
After that , i guess , there is a bundle for $350 per year. But its not clear , what is included in the $350
What about CPO cars. Do they come with any new services ?

 

[jadnashuanh]

Some stuff will continue to work without a subscription, as you can still use the iRemote app to check on the car and set departure times, etc. For my needs, I didn't renew, as I didn't feel it was worth the cost but your circumstances may be different.

 

[EVMan]

Some stuff will continue to work without a subscription, as you can still use the iRemote app to check on the car and set departure times, etc. For my needs, I didn't renew, as I didn't feel it was worth the cost but your circumstances may be different.

Hmm. I thought all internet services including the above you mentioned will stop. Basically the cellular SIM card will stop working, and so will the app. The car does not have WI-Fi.
In fact , as the threat above points out, even some menus in the car are getting disabled.

I need the low cost charging feature. If that were to stop , i will need a EV smart charger

If the iRemote app works, then i guess , i will not need anything more.
My portal says the Remote services and eMobility will expire in 4 years

 

[alohart]

New car comes with 4 years free services from date of first sale
After that , i guess , there is a bundle for $350 per year. But its not clear , what is included in the $350

The services likely depend on the market and maybe the model year. Four of the services included with our 2014 U.S. BEV are valid for 10 years. I can't recall whether Concierge Services was included, but it's not important to me.

Advanced Real-Time Traffic Information (RTTI) and Remote Services were valid for 3 years. I resubscribed to these services last November despite not being impressed with RTTI. I might not resubscribe to RTTI in November, but I value Remote Services which is the data connection to the Internet. The annual subscription costs for these services were $50 each, but BMW offered them at $30 each in a Black Friday sale.

 

[jadnashuanh]

I didn't renew anything after my free 3-year subscription expired, and I've continually been able to use the app to precondition the car and set departure times, which is all I really wanted. I figure I generally have a cellphone with me if I need to call for help (although the car can do that automatically), and I have an AAA membership to aid in towing, should it be required.

 

[user 3172]

I need the low cost charging feature. If that were to stop , i will need a EV smart charger

You can set this in the car so can’t see why remote services are relevant there. The only issue would seem to be changing the settings remotely if you needed to.

 

[jadnashuanh]

All of the app functions will continue to work without renewing a subscription. And even without it, you can always change the programming in the car - the function doesn't go away, or at least hasn't, on mine in the USA.

 

[EVMan]

Thank You.
I was planning to install a 2nd charger, and was thinking if i need to get a smart one.