[DrVader]

Was out today and my wife's new 2020 X7 M50i said it's due for a OTA software update. So will I was at Dick's Sporting Goods getting my son a new tennis racket, I said ok to the update. I figured it was no big deal. I patiently waited while it did it's thing and at the end it said update failure. It totally bricks the car!! You can't turn it in and tells you to call roadside service. I was totally shocked and super pissed. Why would it not revert back to old OS? On top of that roadside took forever but the tow truck guy was awesome. But it gets even better... the car could not be put into neutral. In BMW wisdom they got rid of the neutral release mechanism , so the flatbed tow truck couldn't tow it. It requires a a repo type truck and lifts your car on top of casters and pulls it to the dealership. WTF!! Now our brand new car (2weeks old) is sitting a shopping center parking lot. My 6 th BMW, never had a problem until now. It seems the German engineers are loosing their minds that a software update can kill your car and strand you in the middle of nowhere.

[huskerdoc2020]

Now THAT sucks. Sorry to hear bud.

[mitch57]

That is freaking ridiculous! Did you by chance try rebooting iDrive to see if it would recover?

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by DrVader

Was out today and my wife's new 2020 X7 M50i said it's due for a OTA software update. So will I was at Dick's Sporting Goods getting my son a new tennis racket, I said ok to the update. I figured it was no big deal. I patiently waited while it did it's thing and at the end it said update failure. It totally bricks the car!! You can't turn it in and tells you to call roadside service. I was totally shocked and super pissed. Why would it not revert back to old OS? On top of that roadside took forever but the tow truck guy was awesome. But it gets even better... the car could not be put into neutral. In BMW wisdom they got rid of the neutral release mechanism , so the flatbed tow truck couldn't tow it. It requires a a repo type truck and lifts your car on top of casters and pulls it to the dealership. WTF!! Now our brand new car (2weeks old) is sitting a shopping center parking lot. My 6 th BMW, never had a problem until now. It seems the German engineers are loosing their minds that a software update can kill your car and strand you in the middle of nowhere.

Holy crap! That's nutto. Keep us posted.

[DrVader]

Originally Posted by Wanderer73

Holy crap! That's nutto. Keep us posted.

Was pulled onto two truck with force, was hard to watch. Police showed up too🤬

[Wanderer73]

Sweet backup car

[DrVader]

Originally Posted by Wanderer73

Sweet backup car

Thx bud, my M's have never given me troubles but getting my wife her first Beamer has not been fun so far. She asked me today why I didn't get her another GLS 550. 😩

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by DrVader

Thx bud, my M's have never given me troubles but getting my wife her first Beamer has not been fun so far. She asked me today why I didn't get her another GLS 550. 😩

Just get her over this unfortunate hump and I know she'll be happy. My wife has nothing but praise for our M50i.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by mitch57

That is freaking ridiculous! Did you by chance try rebooting iDrive to see if it would recover?

I am curious if this (an iDrive reboot) would have helped too. That said, I agree that a failed OTA software update should not "brick" your car and leave it stranded. I am curious to see what is the root cause of the problem that led to this - and hopefully the solution is a relatively simple one. Hopefully it will not mean that OTA updates will go away as that functionality should not be that difficult to implement safely given the technology available today....

[toddwalton]

OMG this is just awful. Thanks for posting. I’ll avoid OTA updates entirely based on this and just let the dealership handle during service checks.

[Wanderer73]

Let us know what the dealership says. Fluke or is this a possible outcome when OTA fails.

[huskerdoc2020]

You know darn well that tow truck driver is telling your story over and over and over.

[BMWBear]

All I can see is the snakeskin crocs.

[jmciver]

Well, after seeing this unfortunate issue with the OP, I was curious about how to put the X7 into neutral and took a look. Apparently, F-series BMWs and older had mechanical unlock mechanism located inside the car close to the shifter. In most cases, it required using your emergency key to unlock the transmission to get it into neutral. But not anymore for the G-series cars....

The short answer is, yes, you can put the car into neutral if you have zero power or zero electronic control of the car (or a "bricked" car as the OP put it). The catch is you will need to crawl under the car, remove an underbody panel, and have at it with some "special" tools (or a few screwdrivers) to release the parking brake as seen here:

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/g...ock/1VndGenw4O

Or, if you are lucky and have some power/control of the vehicle, there is a procedure you can use that involves the start button, gear selector and brake pedal that can be seen here (approx 3/4 of the way down the page):

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/g...pce/1Vncm8Z4Xj

Then of course, there is the e-brake you have to deal with, which actuates automatically on the X7 when the engine is turned off.....

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/g...ake/1VncsiMYxk

Either way a serious PITA, but probably better from a security perspective than the previous mechanical emergency override options. Of course, this "new tech" does not mean much if you are in a situation like the OP and you just want to "gidder done..." So in other words, the "drag" method will most likely be the only viable option. Ain't technology grand...??

[Wanderer73]

All I can see/hear in my mind is my car getting dragged and it's causing imaginary anxiety

[crackerjack15]

Originally Posted by Wanderer73

All I can see/hear in my mind is my car getting dragged and it's causing imaginary anxiety

PTDS. Post Traumatic Drag Syndrome.

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

PTDS. Post Traumatic Drag Syndrome.

Yes, that's it!

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

PTDS. Post Traumatic Drag Syndrome.

Exactly! I was cringing was looking for something to grab hold of cause the photos of getting it onto the flatbed looked painful.

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

PTDS. Post Traumatic Drag Syndrome.

I believe the proper course of treatment for PTDS is to lay down some rubber. No M-XDrive on the M50i, but a few pulls might do the trick, and help even out the 17 or so feet of drag on those tires.

[Specularius]

Why in God's name did the tow truck company not use a couple of Go Jacks to get it on the Roll Back? I would never let a Tow company drag my X7! i live in a rural area and all our Tow companies carry Go Jacks or a similar product to load vehicles when they can't roll.

[cracker123]

Here is a video of the go jacks ez peze

https://youtu.be/U4Br1HchNUo

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by cracker123

Here is a video of the go jacks ez peze

https://youtu.be/U4Br1HchNUo

What a cool idea/invention. I've never seen them used before.