BMW removes touchscreen from a bunch of models due to chip shortage

[Ivan Leon]

Popular BMWs like the 3 Series, X5, X7 and more will lose their touchscreens - Autoblog

Some unfortunate chip shortage news just broke for those in the market for a new BMW. Certain models are going to lose their touchscreen functionality to save silicon and allow BMW to maintain its current production levels.

The news broke on the Bimmerfest forum, but BMW has since confirmed it to both Edmunds and us.

The following models are going to be shipped without touchscreen functionality.

• BMW 3 Series
• BMW 4 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe (excluding the i4)
• BMW X5
• BMW X6
• BMW X7
• BMW Z4

It wasn’t all that long ago that iDrive-equipped BMWs didn’t have touchscreen functionality at all, as all infotainment screen control was done through the iDrive controller.

We’re taking a trip back to the past with the above models now, as once again, the only way to control them will be via the iDrive controller on the centre console.

We asked BMW what additional information it could provide about the issue, and were provided with the following statement from a spokesperson.

“As you know, the global chip shortage is ongoing and impacting automakers worldwide. We are actively managing the situation and are in close contact with our suppliers. We do not have any further detail to share at this time.”

The original Bimmerfest forum report stated that customers who take delivery of a car without the touchscreen will be given a $500 credit on the monroney listed as “Deletion of Touchscreen.”

BMW confirmed this to us, so expect $500 off the price of your BMW if it doesn’t come with touch functionality.

In addition to the loss of the touchscreen, the Bimmerfest post says those cars will also lose the BMW Backup Assistant if they’re equipped with the optional Parking Assistant Package.

The Backup Assistant is BMW’s auto back-up feature that will automatically reverse your vehicle along the same path that you pulled into a spot with. It could be useful in very narrow parking areas or spots with poor visibility.

Vehicles without touchscreen functionality should be arriving to BMW dealerships soon, and then it’s up to customers to decide if $500 is enough of a boon to still drive home their brand-new car without a touchscreen.

BMW removing touchscreen from a bunch of models due to chip shortage

Certain BMW models are going to lose their touchscreen functionality to save silicon and allow BMW to maintain its current production levels

www.autoblog.com

 

[FiestaST]

Your New BMW Might Not Have A Touchscreen

Infotainment isn't going away, but using 'the screen' as a touchscreen in some new BMWs is

BMW is shipping new cars with its infotainment system, like normal, except several models won’t have touchscreen functionality, according to reports. Instead, you’ll have to use BMW’s iDrive control in the center console. The horror!

I joke, but Autoblog got confirmation from BMW on the following:

Certain models are going to lose their touchscreen functionality to save silicon and allow BMW to maintain its current production levels. The news broke on the Bimmerfest forum, but BMW has since confirmed it to both Edmunds and us.
The following models are going to be shipped without touchscreen functionality.

• BMW 3 Series
• BMW 4 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe (excluding the i4)
• BMW X5
• BMW X6
• BMW X7
• BMW Z4

Autoblog also says that customers will get a $500 credit instead of the functionality, which really may be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved, given that touchscreens in cars are generally bad and useless, or at least I have never encountered one that wasn’t, if it can be controlled any other way. And I do mean the touchscreen functionality, specifically, given that the screens in modern cars are often sort of far away and small and the touchscreen experience isn’t how you might imagine it. Which is to say that it isn’t at all like using an iPad. It is like using an iPad but 100 times clunkier, even if it looks cool momentarily while the salesperson fiddles around with it at the dealer.

Your New BMW Might Not Have A Touchscreen

Infotainment isn't going away, but using 'the screen' as a touchscreen in some new BMWs is.

jalopnik.com

 

[RedViking]

Hectic. Such a mess.

 

[RedViking]

If I were them I would make sure it is touch screen ready with credit to the owners or discount fee when stuff becomes available again.

 

[FiestaST]

BMW building cars without touchscreens as chip crisis continues

American buyers of various models are offered options credit as compensation for missing functionality

As the global shortage of semiconductors continues to ravage the automotive industry, BMW has started selling cars without touchscreens to maintain output.

A post on the US-based Bimmerfest forum revealed that American buyers of the 3 Series, 4 Series, X3, X4, X7 and Z4 are being offered the option of touchscreen deletion in exchange for $500 (£369) of credit towards other options.

Post author Jonathan Shafer is internet sales manager at a BMW dealership in Santa Maria, California. He said: "Over the course of the last several months, we have managed to maintain the majority of our planned production in spite of limits to certain option content. As we move further into Q4 [of the year], some of these limitations have increased in scope.

"In an effort to maintain production levels through the end of the year, we have decided to remove the touch functionality from the Central Information Display in several vehicles starting production this week."

The change doesn't affect the functionality of BMW's iDrive infotainment system, which can also be controlled using a rotary dial on the centre console. But the option isn't compatible with the Backup Assistant function, which steers the car into parking spaces, so this will be deleted as well.

BMW building cars without touchscreens as chip crisis continues | Autocar

American buyers of various models are offered options credit as compensation for missing functionality

www.autocar.co.uk