[BMWrules7]

Okay, now I have seen everything!

All of this over zealous design to be green by implementing automatic start and stop.

All this to save fuel?

Then some one please tell me why BMW requires that the motor be running during a firmware update?

This is rich.

The new firmware update on my 2013 f2 requires that you leave the engine running...in park!!!

In this history of firmware updates this has to be lunacy at its finest.

All of this push to save fuel and cut emissions and we have to leave the motor on and you can't be driving?

For a bloody firmware update?

This just shows that Eco pro is politically motivated and not designed to really save fuel.

[Bobby_Drake]

Yea doesn't make sense. If you leave the engine on, it should be able generate enough power.

[Teemo Panda]

If i update my car, i would just press the start button once without depressing on the brakes, to power the nav and accessories.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by Teemo Panda

If i update my car, i would just press the start button once without depressing on the brakes, to power the nav and accessories.

Well, the new updates ensure the motor is running. Plus, the final implementation step requires that you power off the motor and wait for the iDrive screen to turn off in its own.

[JamRWS6]

No offense but how often do you update firmware? How much time do you spend at a stop with the car in drive? I would surely hope more of the latter.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by JamRWS6

No offense but how often do you update firmware? How much time do you spend at a stop with the car in drive? I would surely hope more of the latter.

Of course, you make a valid point.

But, that's missing the issue. How much emissions do we save by turning off the car at every other stop light with ASS? And, how much wear and tear do we put on key components like the battery and the starter to support this capability to turn off the engine when coming to a stop.

The answer, of course, is that ASS will have very little impact on reducing the emissions of a single car. Instead, as the theory goes, ASS is beneficial because of the large number of cars that use this feature.

Well, okay, so it's the large number of cars that gives us the real benefit of ASS, right?

Well, what's good for the goose...

The same must hold true for firmware updates. If 300,000 BMW owners update their car's firmware twice per year at two minutes per update then that's equivalent to leaving a single car idling for over two (2) years!!!

Are you telling me this sophisticated car that can keep the car cool while the engine is off during an ASS cycle and has the hardware to start and stop the vehicle countless times per day all in the name of being green cannot handle a two (2) minute firmware update while the engine is off?

Worse, don't you think the equivalent of leaving a car idling for two (2) years is a complete waste of fuel and emissions? Don't you think a little thoughtfulness on the part of BMW could easily design the firmware update to take place with the engine off???

I mean really, we are told to look the other way when we question this green nonsense of ASS, yet bmw has no problem in designing a completely wasteful firmware update that requires the motor to run even though the motor has nothing to do with the update.

[AP]

Don't forget about all of the energy used to make the car in the first place!

[AP]

And another thing!...
I find it annoying that here in the uk the car is taxed based upon its co2 emissions but no consideration is taken into account how much co2 was created building the car. Its done because its very easy to measure and collect the money. Keeping an older car is surely better longtrm than having a new car built?
Eco pro is there as it will be used in the fuel consumption test and is again easy to measure and affetcs the tax rate of the car. (Varies around the world)
If the starter eventually burns out , the owner will have to pay I suspect quite a lot of money to replace which is perhaps more than the fuel saved by the stop start? And how much energy is used to make that starter motor?

I get a little annoyed at all of this as the whole picture is not taken into account and that only the easy to measure and tax parts of it are taken into account.

Rant over!
I turn ass off most of the time by the way!

[JNoSol]

Hmm... I wonder what Operating System BMW runs on??? Not MAC that's for sure.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Hmm... I wonder what Operating System BMW runs on??? Not MAC that's for sure.

There once was a man named McNuth;
His bimmer failed to Bluetooth;
He upped the new code in good order;
Tho' he failed to open his garage door;
While waiting for iTunes;
He succumbed to the fumes;
Tho' he got his wish;
As his music doth play;
From his shirt pocket, his phone crackles inside his grave.

[The X Men]

BMWrules7, have you ever consider that the software update might require parameters from the engine while its running?
As far as ASS, let me guess, you hate it Just so you know, ASS does not keep the car cool while its off. During an ASS off cycle, the AC compressor shuts off, if the temp get too high, then the engine starts up. As far as wear on battery and starter, they are heavy duty that are design for the purpose of the multiple engine restart cycle. I find that most people who do not like ASS usually knows very little about the system.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by The X Men

BMWrules7, have you ever consider that the software update might require parameters from the engine while its running?
As far as ASS, let me guess, you hate it Just so you know, ASS does not keep the car cool while its off. During an ASS off cycle, the AC compressor shuts off, if the temp get too high, then the engine starts up. As far as wear on battery and starter, they are heavy duty that are design for the purpose of the multiple engine restart cycle. I find that most people who do not like ASS usually knows very little about the system.

No. The reason why they want the engine running is to reduce the likelihood of the telematics system from going brain dead in the event the battery were to fail during the update process. There are plenty of known ways in the art (like bank switching for example) that can prevent a failed firmware roll from killing the telematics system.

But, today's software engineeres were weaned on Microsoft products and Microsoft methodologies. This leads to thoughtless designs and make fault tolerance a kludgey afterthought.

I can assure you that there are no parameters from the engine that need to be passed to the firmware update process. Even if there were such a thing, there are ways to implement such things without having to have the motor running.

Now, in response you your question. I don't like the concept of ASS, but my wife loves it.

Next, the ASS "system" is designed to continue to cool the car while the engine is off. They made specific changes to the air conditioning system to support continued cooling to a limited extent while the engine is off. I agree that it is somewhat passive, but the AC system is different in an ASS car than a non ASS car.

However, it kills me to know that BMW spends millions to implement a half-baked idea to save fuel and emissions on a grand scale only to partially offset it by an ill-considered idea of making the user keep his motor running during a firmware update.

[ManiacGT]

Originally Posted by JamRWS6

No offense but how often do you update firmware? How much time do you spend at a stop with the car in drive? I would surely hope more of the latter.

+1

[sexy_ninja_goat]

Originally Posted by BMWrules7

There once was a man named McNuth;
His bimmer failed to Bluetooth;
He upped the new code in good order;
Tho' he failed to open his garage door;
While waiting for iTunes;
He succumbed to the fumes;
Tho' he got his wish;
As his music doth play;
From his shirt pocket, his phone crackles inside his grave.

^ lol ^

Not too shabby!

[Catfish454]

I HATE HATE HATE the damned stop/start feature and will have the dealer recode it to leave it off when I am in for service in a few weeks. I also question the economic long-term benefit of this annoying feature. How much money will be saved in fuel costs over the life of the car compared to how much a new starter will cost? All of that repeated starting is taking its toll on the life expectancy of the starter. My bet is that in the end, you'll spend more on a starter than you saved in fuel costs.

[K-A]

Originally Posted by Teemo Panda

If i update my car, i would just press the start button once without depressing on the brakes, to power the nav and accessories.

Exactly. Don't listen to the stupid text saying "Engine" needs to be running. Just use some common sense and keep the car powered up but the engine off. My update took less than a minute anyway.

[Teemo Panda]

Originally Posted by K-A

Exactly. Don't listen to the stupid text saying "Engine" needs to be running. Just use some common sense and keep the car powered up but the engine off. My update took less than a minute anyway.

yup yup! The cars battery is always full IMO because of the brake regen kicking in every time we drive. I would agree that the update takes less than a minute unless there is some porn in the USB, if you know what i am saying

[ferrarif1]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Hmm... I wonder what Operating System BMW runs on??? Not MAC that's for sure.

I believe it's QNX

[OzDriver]

Originally Posted by Teemo Panda

yup yup! The cars battery is always full IMO because of the brake regen kicking in every time we drive. I would agree that the update takes less than a minute unless there is some porn in the USB, if you know what i am saying