E89 20i - Hill Assist

In the last BMW magazine there was an article in there relating to this hill assist (and the lack thereof). The author got compensation for it as well (think the going rate is about £350, or the equivalent for one of those satnav jobbies).

Reading it made me appreciate how difficult it actually would be to move the car without this on it as I hadn't really thought about it before. Took the author about 20 minutes on a car park to get it sort of right without all the alarm lights going off.

Not sure how BMW think you are supposed to pull away though?
 
pvr said:
In the last BMW magazine there was an article in there relating to this hill assist (and the lack thereof). The author got compensation for it as well (think the going rate is about £350, or the equivalent for one of those satnav jobbies).

Reading it made me appreciate how difficult it actually would be to move the car without this on it as I hadn't really thought about it before. Took the author about 20 minutes on a car park to get it sort of right without all the alarm lights going off.

Not sure how BMW think you are supposed to pull away though?
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and the author is on here...

pay attention in class pvr :P
 
pvr said:
Not sure how BMW think you are supposed to pull away though?
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Please don't take this as me trying to be cheeky but... Release brake. Apply power.

Believe me, it's not the Krypton Factor-esque challange it's being made out to be...
 
Dave-2912 said:
pvr said:
Not sure how BMW think you are supposed to pull away though?
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Please don't take this as me trying to be cheeky but... Release brake. Apply power.

Believe me, it's not the Krypton Factor-esque challange it's being made out to be...
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No it's not but there are people who live in very hilly areas (like Edinburgh) who bought their cars thinking they've got hill assist fitted.
Also, for me personally, it was used as a sales point and then the car comes without it. Not the salesmans fault per se but they are the dealers who sell the cars and they should provide adequate and satisfactory compensation for customers who complain or be prepared to have the cars returned to them.
 
I took my car to some steep hills when I got it to test this, cos until then I was panicking.

Most of my driving doesn't have steep hills, so I found some to test.

I really didn't have any problems, and thats not factoring in lack of practice. OK, so sometimes the car bonged at me telling me I hadn't released the brake in time, but were only talking a second or so of mis-timing and I doubt this is harmful (I stand to be corrected though).

In the hillstarts I have done since, I have had no issues, and very rarely get the bong.

So it would be easy to say its driver error.....however, a lot of the people who have had real issues with this are people who need to park on steep inclines all the time, so I am assuming in those situations it is difficult, and I'm lucky I dont have to that often.

I'm still keeping it at the back of my mind though for compensation....
 
Being honest I nearly rolled back in to a car because there is sometimes a little time delay in the brake engaging!
 
Carol M said:
Dave-2912 said:
pvr said:
Not sure how BMW think you are supposed to pull away though?
Click to expand...

Please don't take this as me trying to be cheeky but... Release brake. Apply power.

Believe me, it's not the Krypton Factor-esque challange it's being made out to be...
Click to expand...

No it's not but there are people who live in very hilly areas (like Edinburgh) who bought their cars thinking they've got hill assist fitted.
Also, for me personally, it was used as a sales point and then the car comes without it. Not the salesmans fault per se but they are the dealers who sell the cars and they should provide adequate and satisfactory compensation for customers who complain or be prepared to have the cars returned to them.
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I'm not saying anything against anyone’s claims that the car was misrepresented. I fully understand that it does not have something it was advertised to have. This was wrong and people are entitled to claim for compensation or return the car if they wish.

What I am saying is that the car is not undriveable or even difficult to drive. After the first couple of attempts at pulling away it’s just like having a normal, manual handbrake. Manoeuvres (like parking) on hills aren't dangerous or difficult either. I do it literally all the time. I drive into and around Edinburgh for work every day and have not encountered a problem in the 3 months I’ve had the car.

It just seems like the issue is being blown well out of proportion.
 
KeithJ said:
Being honest I nearly rolled back in to a car because there is sometimes a little time delay in the brake engaging!
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I agree, there is a slight delay between pushing/pulling the lever and the brakes dis/engaging. It's the same length of delay every time you press it though...

I just dont understand how after months of driving the car people havent adapted to this? You may argue that you shouldn't have to adapt to cover for a missing feature but its just like learning the biting point of the clutch in any car you drive. It takes a few go's and you never really have to think about it again.

I'm honestly not having a go at you Keith, I'm just trying to understand where the difficulty is?!
 
Dave-2912 said:
KeithJ said:
Being honest I nearly rolled back in to a car because there is sometimes a little time delay in the brake engaging!
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I agree, there is a slight delay between pushing/pulling the lever and the brakes dis/engaging. It's the same length of delay every time you press it though...

I just dont understand how after months of driving the car people havent adapted to this? You may argue that you shouldn't have to adapt to cover for a missing feature but its just like learning the biting point of the clutch in any car you drive. It takes a few go's and you never really have to think about it again.

I'm honestly not having a go at you Keith, I'm just trying to understand where the difficulty is?!
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Difficulty in adapting isn't the point really. The point is that the car was advertised/sold with a function that wasn't actually present on 4 cylinder models.
Would it be ok then to advertise the car as having abs and then it doesn't come with it or electric windows and then the car has wind up windows or buying an m sport model and then being told it doesn't come in m sport or....... you get the point.
We could drive without abs or electric windows or a non m sport but these cars were sold and advertised as coming with a function, which you could argue and quite rightly so, we paid for and they don't have it. Why is that ok?
Thank you however for putting your point across intelligently and politely which is more than can be said for some people on this forum........

moonshine said:
Dave-2912 said:
It just seems like the issue is being blown well out of proportion.
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thank god it isn't just me who thinks this! :thumbsup:
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Carol M said:
Difficulty in adapting isn't the point really. The point is that the car was advertised/sold with a function that wasn't actually present on 4 cylinder models.
Would it be ok then to advertise the car as having abs and then it doesn't come with it or electric windows and then the car has wind up windows or buying an m sport model and then being told it doesn't come in m sport or....... you get the point.
We could drive without abs or electric windows or a non m sport but these cars were sold and advertised as coming with a function, which you could argue and quite rightly so, we paid for and they don't have it. Why is that ok?
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I see your point Carol but I'm just saying that I don't see it as such a big issue as the examples you have mentioned. To me, a better example would be if the car was advertised with 1-touch up/down windows but the feature wasnt present. It's something that's nice to have but you dont really need. You just get on with enjoying the car.

That's why I have no problem with people claiming compensation. I just don't see why it has become such a major issue for some and why they've spent so much time fighting for something I view as fairly trivial.

Just my 10p worth and I appreciate we all have different opinions on this.
 
Could you get in the car for the first time, do a hill start on a very steep hill and pass a driving test with no faults? No chance. You would roll back and would be marked down for not being in control of the car.

Which I argue an experienced driver could do in any other car. So it is compromised.
 
Don't agree.

Firstly, you'd need to be used to the biting point in the other car.

Secondly, don't do a driving test in a new car.

Thirdly, with a little practice it is possible.

Fourthly - loads of people can't do hill starts anyway!
 
duncan-m-w said:
Could you get in the car for the first time, do a hill start on a very steep hill and pass a driving test with no faults? No chance. You would roll back and would be marked down for not being in control of the car.

Which I argue an experienced driver could do in any other car. So it is compromised.
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I'm a little confused by this. I have to be honest and say I think the scenario in your argument is flawed...

Nobody does a driving test in a car they are not used to. It takes practice to be able to drive any new car competently. Also, I don’t know a single person who passed their test with no faults at all (although I welcome anyone to pipe up to say they have).

I seriously doubt that the majority of drivers could jump straight into a new car and immediately control it perfectly. It takes a little practice to get the feel of a car, including the clutch biting point, the steering angle needed to go round a given corner, the pressure you need to apply to the brake pedal to slow at the required rate, etc. I'm sure most people driven a car for the first time and almost put themselves through the windscreen when they discover the brakes are a little more sensitive than they expected...

Like I said in a previous post. After a very short period any decent driver should be able to manoeuvre on a gradient without a problem. It is easily learnt in the same amount of time it takes to get used to the rest of the car.
 
I've been driving manual transmission cars since 1976. 3 1/2 years ago I took lessons for 2 months and then passed the UK practical driving test with three minor faults. None of the faults were for parking brake, hill starts (Moving Off) or required maneuvers. I took the test in a 10 year old high mileage Golf.

Edit: I just pulled my test report. 2 minor faults for undue hesitation and 1 minor fault for steering.


If I tried to take the test in our Z4 I would almost certainly get a few minor faults for undue hesitation. If they asked for a turn in road on a hill, there is a good chance I'd get enough faults to fail the test.


On the other hand our e89 is more than drivable. Most of the time the parking brake is a minor annoyance, nothing more. If I had to take the test again, I'd use a different car.
 
I think if someone turned up for a driving test in a Z4, they'd get a fail for being a knob. Its not exactly a learners car is it?
 
The whole point of this is that we bought a car that wasn't

"....as they were described to you before you made a purchase."

that's the crux of the matter really. Some people have decided to just swallow it and let it go others have decided not to. BMW will be thankful I'm sure for the ones that have let it go but for the ones that aren't prepared to accept it then they must do something about it, which in this case is some form of compensation as hill assist can't be retrofitted. Either that or we are within our rights to return the car to them.

There are people who can't understand why we are 'making a fuss' which is fine but make a fuss we will if we choose to as is our right.
 
Exactly - its the principle of the thing, not the effect of not having the feature (although for some it really is about the effects!).
 
Well... BMW reviewed their offer and gave me a cheque for £800 which the dealership is going to send me out. They said that was their absolute final offer and wouldn't budge at all.

I am going to donate a bit of it off to the Bobby Robson foundation.
 
KeithJ said:
Well... BMW reviewed their offer and gave me a cheque for £800 which the dealership is going to send me out. They said that was their absolute final offer and wouldn't budge at all.

I am going to donate a bit of it off to the Bobby Robson foundation.
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Good result Keith and that's a brilliant thing to do. Wished I'd done that now. You live and learn eh?
 
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