Does anyone know if there is a way to code the heated steering wheel pop up notification on the dash like the 3's and 4's have? It's annoying have to look for the light to see if it is on or off.

I'd be interested in this as well...

+1000... Especially since you can't even easily see it by glancing to your left. You really have to move your head to be able to see it

It's not. I checked with many sources.

momoboy wrote

It's not. I checked with many sources.

So I have seen somethings indicating a car firmware update could do it. Do you know if there is any truth to that?

+1 on this. On another note, would also be interested in their reasoning for putting the heated steering wheel button in such a weird place on the steering column, as opposed to somewhere on the dashboard. Seems like such a random place to plop a button that probably gets used pretty regularly hahaha

I'm having trouble understanding why an indicator is needed. The heat from the steering wheel indicates mine is on

Regulator07 wrote

So I have seen somethings indicating a car firmware update could do it. Do you know if there is any truth to that?

There is a cluster firmware update for (I believe 3-series). It doesn't work with our clusters

cybersandman wrote

I'm having trouble understanding why an indicator is needed. The heat from the steering wheel indicates mine is on

Because people turn it on and off during their trip, and once the wheel is warmed up, it's not obvious if it is on or off…

Based on that logic, why do you need any sort of an indicator on the dash? Like, when you turn on your lights, BMW could have saved money and not bothered showing you. Or even when you turn on your highbeams... Can't you tell when they're on?

i am on 59.4 on my X3 and it does not have any indication on the Kombi... I dont think the software was written to have this like the F30's do... No one has been able to code this either.

MSport_Jon wrote

i am on 59.4 on my X3 and it does not have any indication on the Kombi... I dont think the software was written to have this like the F30's do... No one has been able to code this either.

Sometimes in addition to firmware updates, production dates must be changed to enable features.

Which KOMBI do you have? You should be comparing vehicle to an F010, unless you have Fem_Body (F2x/ F3x/ F8x) in your vehicle. My X5 with CAFD_00000069 has indicator.

I have a loaner 528xi while my water pump is being replaced - tonight on the way home from the office I turned on heating steering wheel - now I know what this thread is about. Wish I had this on my '11 X3. can't see that light at all without moving yourself into a position that could be dangerous

greg2step wrote

I have a loaner 528xi while my water pump is being replaced - tonight on the way home from the office I turned on heating steering wheel - now I know what this thread is about. Wish I had this on my '11 X3. can't see that light at all without moving yourself into a position that could be dangerous

Are you saying your X3 has indicator but not in a good place or not at all?

nothing on the dash. there is a light on the button, but you can't see the button from a seated driving position - its only really visible when you are outside the car looking in....

greg2step wrote

nothing on the dash. there is a light on the button, but you can't see the button from a seated driving position - its only really visible when you are outside the car looking in....

Ok. Did you grab coding files from rental so you could compare to your vehicle?

I have the indicator in my M4, my wife does not in her X3 even though overall the X3 has a richer feature set. I'll dig into the files and see if I can find anything.

On our previous cars each of us complained many times about not being able to tell whether we'd already activated it or not.

For those who don't get why this is a useful feature, an extremely cold wheel is only slightly colder than a very cold one. If it's considerably below freezing, it takes time to warm to a degree that's at all perceptible. That's just life. However, if one has neglected to activate it, the wait until the wheel warms to a comfortable temperature potentially takes several months (until a change of seasons) as opposed to a few minutes. It's nice to have an easily-visible confirmation that warming has been activated during those first several minutes of frozen-handed driving.

greg2step wrote

nothing on the dash. there is a light on the button, but you can't see the button from a seated driving position - its only really visible when you are outside the car looking in....

Well I'm a short bastard, I can see the heated steering orange button light on when I'm driving.

mstevens wrote

I have the indicator in my M4, my wife does not in her X3 even though overall the X3 has a richer feature set. I'll dig into the files and see if I can find anything.

On our previous cars each of us complained many times about not being able to tell whether we'd already activated it or not.

For those who don't get why this is a useful feature, an extremely cold wheel is only slightly colder than a very cold one. If it's considerably below freezing, it takes time to warm to a degree that's at all perceptible. That's just life. However, if one has neglected to activate it, the wait until the wheel warms to a comfortable temperature potentially takes several months (until a change of seasons) as opposed to a few minutes. It's nice to have an easily-visible confirmation that warming has been activated during those first several minutes of frozen-handed driving.

You can also just have vehicle coded to have heated seats and / or steering 'on' if 'on' when vehicle shutdown. You can both code functional time and memory interval (ie period between shutdown and start).

Interestingly, if I add 248 Heated Steering to my F010 or F015, there are no changes in KOMBI. Only changes I see are in BDC_Body or SZL.

Almaretto wrote

You can also just have vehicle coded to have heated seats and / or steering 'on' if 'on' when vehicle shutdown. You can both code functional time and memory interval (ie period between shutdown and start).

They already do that, at least for shutdown times of a couple of hours or less. For overnight-ish they seem to revert to off.

That still doesn't let us know the current state without craning down to peer at the tiny dim light on the steering column, though.

mstevens wrote

They already do that, at least for shutdown times of a couple of hours or less. For overnight-ish they seem to revert to off.

That still doesn't let us know the current state without craning down to peer at the tiny dim light on the steering column, though.

You can set it for 15 minutes, 4 hours, 24 hours, or infinity.

I still know tons of X3 owners that i told them they have a heated steering wheel... after they have had the car for months lmao.

alpwhite46 wrote

I still know tons of X3 owners that i told them they have a heated steering wheel... after they have had the car for months lmao.

I believe this. The button is in such an awkward position, most drivers would ignore it. Unless of course your overly obsessive with your vehicle like most people on this forum.