[Bimmer Phriend]

Hi All, I have just been through a noteworthy experience and conversation with my dealer that I want to share with the community.

I picked up my new 2021 X4 M40i back on May 12. Of course, I am absolutely loving it (feel free to look at pics from my first post!) Upon delivery, I noticed there was no Wireless Charging Pad installed in the vehicle. The Manager acknowledged that it had been left out, and that it should have been installed as a standard feature. He agreed to do some research and get back to me.

Today, we had our final resolution conversation to take care of this issue, and this is what he told me -
- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages.
- The dealer offered me an aftermarket solution installed by an outside shop. After some discussion, we decided together that this was not the best choice, as he said BMW would not be able to do anything if the unit ever failed, and they could not guarantee a perfect fit and I might not be able to close the sliding console cover anymore.
-The Dealer offered to send me a check for $500 to reimburse me. He said he was willing to fight for more for my trouble, but I told him since $500 is the cost of adding on that option to an X car, I thought that amount was very fair.
-this last point is not entirely clear to me, and I did not ask further questions for clarification, but I will relay it anyway. The dealer said that in all new Purchase contracts, they have added an addendum, that relieves the dealer from any financial responsibility if the the factory is unable to put in certain features due to part shortages. He told me that if this addendum had been in my contract, he would have a much more difficult time going back to BMW NA for any financial help, but because it was not, he would have no problem getting support from BMW to cut me a check. Again, just the messenger here, so this item warrants further research by anyone interested in getting clarification.

My Dealer/Manager could not have been nicer and more responsive throughout this process, so I am fine with the result. And, in my opinion, it was a small concession to make to get 382HP of Ultimate Driving Machine bliss!

[MrSo0h0o]

Your window sticker should be notated that the wireless charging option was omitted. They wouldnt just leave it out and charge you for it anyway.

[briguy80]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Phriend

Hi All, I have just been through a noteworthy experience and conversation with my dealer that I want to share with the community.

I picked up my new 2021 X4 M40i back on May 12. Of course, I am absolutely loving it (feel free to look at pics from my first post!) Upon delivery, I noticed there was no Wireless Charging Pad installed in the vehicle. The Manager acknowledged that it had been left out, and that it should have been installed as a standard feature. He agreed to do some research and get back to me.

Today, we had our final resolution conversation to take care of this issue, and this is what he told me -
- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages.
- The dealer offered me an aftermarket solution installed by an outside shop. After some discussion, we decided together that this was not the best choice, as he said BMW would not be able to do anything if the unit ever failed, and they could not guarantee a perfect fit and I might not be able to close the sliding console cover anymore.
-The Dealer offered to send me a check for $500 to reimburse me. He said he was willing to fight for more for my trouble, but I told him since $500 is the cost of adding on that option to an X car, I thought that amount was very fair.
-this last point is not entirely clear to me, and I did not ask further questions for clarification, but I will relay it anyway. The dealer said that in all new Purchase contracts, they have added an addendum, that relieves the dealer from any financial responsibility if the the factory is unable to put in certain features due to part shortages. He told me that if this addendum had been in my contract, he would have a much more difficult time going back to BMW NA for any financial help, but because it was not, he would have no problem getting support from BMW to cut me a check. Again, just the messenger here, so this item warrants further research by anyone interested in getting clarification.

My Dealer/Manager could not have been nicer and more responsive throughout this process, so I am fine with the result. And, in my opinion, it was a small concession to make to get 382HP of Ultimate Driving Machine bliss!

Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully they'll also be more open and honest about the potential for certain features to become unavailable. With the LCI release imminent, it's going to be interesting to see how they handle things the Driver Assistance Pro and so forth.

I'm really hoping to put an order in once the LCI is announced, but becoming more and more concerned about these shortages, and just going the route of a Q5/XC60.

If you place a custom order and they pull out a feature (Driver Assistant Pro, HK Audio, anything else) at what point in the process do they notify the dealer/you - and what ability do you have to cancel the order or refuse to take it?

[spangle1980]

"- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages."

I beg to differ. I say it's because they realised they designed the absolute shittest WiFi charging in existence and decided to throw the towel in.

It's an utter joke IMHO, and should never have been declared game ready. Oooooo that's a strong opinion eh? :->

[fndrplayer13]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

"- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages."

I beg to differ. I say it's because they realised they designed the absolute shittest WiFi charging in existence and decided to throw the towel in.

It's an utter joke IMHO, and should never have been declared game ready. Oooooo that's a strong opinion eh? :->

Lol this is so damn accurate

[NoMoreVauxhalls]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

"- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages."

I beg to differ. I say it's because they realised they designed the absolute shittest WiFi charging in existence and decided to throw the towel in.

It's an utter joke IMHO, and should never have been declared game ready. Oooooo that's a strong opinion eh? :->

I agree! Bimmer Phriend, you're not missing much with this change in your order. The standard fit wireless charging mat heats my phone up way too much, so I prefer to just use a USB/Lightning cable for charging on the go instead...

[Razel]

Kind of odd, but I haven't noticed the phone even getting warm using the wireless charger. It does charge the phone completely.
Samsung Note 10. Daughter's Note 5.

Not saying it's not an issue. Lots of folks fussing about the phone getting hot, which isn't "operating as designed".

Just lucky this time, I guess.

[zilla91]

I suspect it's probably down to the fact most people are running sat nav through the phone via CarPlay/AA while it's on the charger which heats the phone up

[Bimmer Phriend]

Originally Posted by MrSo0h0o

Your window sticker should be notated that the wireless charging option was omitted. They wouldnt just leave it out and charge you for it anyway.

My window sticker says Wireless Charging included, and they did just leave it out. BMW NA said they categorized it as a "Misbuild".

[Bimmer Phriend]

Originally Posted by briguy80

Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully they'll also be more open and honest about the potential for certain features to become unavailable. With the LCI release imminent, it's going to be interesting to see how they handle things the Driver Assistance Pro and so forth.

I'm really hoping to put an order in once the LCI is announced, but becoming more and more concerned about these shortages, and just going the route of a Q5/XC60.

If you place a custom order and they pull out a feature (Driver Assistant Pro, HK Audio, anything else) at what point in the process do they notify the dealer/you - and what ability do you have to cancel the order or refuse to take it?

The only other features they pulled out of my car were the lumbar support and side bolsters for the passenger seat. They were upfront about it before I signed off on the build, and credited me $375 from my negotiated price.

[AlteBMW]

I have a third party charging system in my '19. It works as long as the phone is positioned correctly. I would have preferred the factory system but I bought a demo that didn't have it. It is disappointing that a feature like that would be deleted. Certainly no exotic electronics in it. It will be interesting to see whether charging gets deleted across the board, worldwide after the big deal that was made about wireless CarPlay.

[j080808]

As noted above, running multiple apps while wireless charging (Google maps, Waze, Escort Live) yields minimal charging but will keep it at its current level. I drove 1000 miles wireless charging running all the above and it never bumped up the battery (this was on a G23 with ID7, which includes NFC for smartphone entry and drive).

Running the same apps on my F97 (ID6), wireless charging cant keep up. Driving the same 1000 miles, I had to plug the phone into the USB to keep a charge and stick it into the vent to keep it cool.

While the wireless charging feature includes a booster, its just not great all around in my experience on the G/F chassis with ID6. I installed one of these on my G01, and it works about as well as my OEM F97 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3296...77c74c4dEEpigi it fit perfect and was easy to install.

Given the option of specing and paying for wireless charging, I'd skip it anyway.

OP, consider yourself ahead (or even, considering you "paid" for it, though it was included).

[BobTheBimmer]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

"- BMW NA will no longer be offering Wireless Charging in any cars manufactured in Spartenberg going forward for 2021 and all of 2022. This applies to all X Models. The reason given is due to part shortages."

I beg to differ. I say it's because they realised they designed the absolute shittest WiFi charging in existence and decided to throw the towel in.

It's an utter joke IMHO, and should never have been declared game ready. Oooooo that's a strong opinion eh? :->

Damn!! You nailed it!

Owned my X3 M40i for just a week and the wireless charging pad is garbage. I could get a hamster on a wheel and generate more power to charge my phone.

On the other hand my M340i has wireless charging but it's the opposite! It charges so damn fast it overheats rendering it useless.

[3lucidus]

i bets its nothing to do with the related key issue lol

[Jeffola]

I have it in my X3. Just landed at the dealer in Florida. It heats up my iPhone until it shuts down. I'd prefer to have more storage room. If it's easy to swap out I'll do it for $250. lol

[JSY]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Phriend

The dealer said that in all new Purchase contracts, they have added an addendum, that relieves the dealer from any financial responsibility if the the factory is unable to put in certain features due to part shortages. He told me that if this addendum had been in my contract, he would have a much more difficult time going back to BMW NA for any financial help, but because it was not, he would have no problem getting support from BMW to cut me a check. Again, just the messenger here, so this item warrants further research by anyone interested in getting clarification.

Hmmm. If the dealer is absolved from any financial responsibility due to a misbuild, then who is responsible? The customer cannot be expected to just be out of luck if they paid for an option that wasn't delivered. Unless the only recourse is the customer does not accept delivery of the car. Someone has to be responsible or a concession made to the customer if the option to refuse delivery is not on the table.

They did you a favor leaving out the wireless charger. Let me ask you - did they install the enhanced bluetooth that was part of the wireless charger option? I think that includes the ability to pair 2 phones simultaneously as well as a second microphone above the passenger side. That was the only reason I got the wireless charger option. Otherwise, I don't use it much. I plug it in. Driving with Android Auto depletes the battery way faster than their slow charge. They should have put in a fast wireless charger.

You can get on Amazon a fast wireless charger pad that fits in that space that plugs into the lighter outlet and doesn't impede on the ability to close the cover.

[chicagofan00]

As others have already pointed out, the wireless charging solution in the X3 is shit. You aren't missing a single thing by not having it.

[LOW4LYF]

Are those issues any related to Apple products only?

[MX330I]

Mine didn't work properly since day 1. Dealer blamed on the phone. It still does t work with new iPhone.
The light is constantly turning from blue to orange, and the phone doesn't charge. It would be nice to know if one could replace charging element with a different one or remove and replace with aftermarket solution.

[Grand Moff Alpina]

This is interesting. We just ordered in May, and added wireless charging too. It's confirmed to be on the build list out the factory, but I guess we'll find out for sure when the car arrives.

Funny thing is, my wife and I tried our phones on a showroom X3 that was plugged into a floor power/tender thing so you could try the electronics. She has an iPhone X, I have a Razer Phone 2. We left each phone on for 10-15 minutes each (slow day in the showroom), and neither got too hot.

Will keep an eye on it though.

[nord1899]

A lot of the issue with the overheating is combining both wireless charging with wireless CarPlay or AndroidAuto.

[Coi]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

I beg to differ. I say it's because they realised they designed the absolute shittest WiFi charging in existence and decided to throw the towel in.

It's an utter joke IMHO, and should never have been declared game ready. Oooooo that's a strong opinion eh? :->

Could not agree more. On top of the slow charging and overheating issues, my phone never stayed in place on the pad. After less than 5 minutes it would always shift so it wasn't charging because there's nothing to hold it in place. Any bump, hill, or acceleration would move it.

Also $500 is an absurd cost for wireless charging to begin with. In most cars (even most luxury cars) it's like a $200 option or standard. A separate wireless charging pad like for your desk is under $30. The actual build cost for the pad is probably less than $5.

My 2018 M40i had it and I specifically didn't include it on my 2021 build.