[BmerMeUp]

Driving 2008 E91 with no iDrive - so I'm not sure if it is the same for iDrive cars?

Does anyone else find that silly little "reset trip odo" button lurking in the corner of your dash display unusually out of place for all the other ways they could have done that?

I just had to press it to compare my "actual" miles to my "remaining miles" fuel ticker for fun and was reminded how a) Awkward it is compared to all the other handy buttons and levers available to me and b) How thoroughly out of place that silly mechanical button is, sticking out of my gauge display, breaking the harmony of my classic spartan analog gauges.

Surely that could have just as easily been a more slick 2-flip 8-tap 2-more-flips and 3-taps solution hidden in the BC menu?

[raleedy]

Guess not. That circular control mounted at the top of the steering column is old-fashioned too. There are so many other ways BMW could have found to turn the front wheels.

[ssmith96]

Were the two in sync? As far as the remaining miles and the counter goes.

I personally don't think it would be, my remaining miles calculator is a mess.

[BmerMeUp]

Originally Posted by ssmith96

Were the two in sync? As far as the remaining miles and the counter goes.

I personally don't think it would be, my remaining miles calculator is a mess.

Ya I've checked it a couple times - usually when I push the tank too far and get the "low fuel" warning, and found it varies wildly depending on your speed and acceleration. On the highway with cruise even, it would count down 2:1 for awhile (lose 2km on the "remaining" when I actually traveled only 1km) then hold for a bit and "actual" miles (km for me..) would catch up. So it fluctuated but over longer distances (you only get 100km to start with anyway) it seems to average out and gets very close to actual.

Frankly, I'm perfectly happy if it panics a little and under-estimates! I'd much rather be freaked out pumping gas for no reason than walking to the nearest station with a display saying "20km remaining"... Ha.

[BmerMeUp]

Originally Posted by raleedy

Guess not. That circular control mounted at the top of the steering column is old-fashioned too. There are so many other ways BMW could have found to turn the front wheels.

Lol. Clever.

[Meeni]

It is used to control the computer in repair mode. When everything is crashed, it's good to have an old button to still be able to navigate around.

[BmerMeUp]

Originally Posted by Meeni

It is used to control the computer in repair mode. When everything is crashed, it's good to have an old button to still be able to navigate around.

Tru dat. Forgot about that trick!
Hm. Oh well then keep the button (maybe hide it somewhere else) but move the trip reset to the BC. I dunno, just seems oddly old-school. Good point though, it's a good "backup" hardware-level interface.

[Meeni]

Well, beyond the computer trick, I do not see how digging into 20 levels of idrive menu would be better for such a commonly used functionality (some people like to reset it at every fillup etc). It's not like the button takes so much space anyway.

[dkexige]

I would have liked an alternative as well. The intuitive thing to do for me is to hold the button on the stock that cycles through the display modes for three seconds. Mostly because that is how it worked on my Civic which didn't have that button. I think its just easier than reaching behind the steering wheel all the way to the cluster.

[BmerMeUp]

Originally Posted by dkexige

I would have liked an alternative as well. The intuitive thing to do for me is to hold the button on the stock that cycles through the display modes for three seconds. ...

+1! That would be perfect!

[Tom K.]

Maybe its a German thing as my Boxster has a similarly located button. But it is fatter and can also be rotated to adjust the instrument lights.

So the anachronism seems to lie in the fact that our Bimmer's odo reset button is not multifunctional - except for service mode and the trivial use of briefly displaying info when the ignition is turned off.

Also, I cannot find an odometer reset function in iDrive.

Tom

[dkexige]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Also, I cannot find an odometer reset function in iDrive.

I think I have a different iDrive than yours but mine has a separate trip computer than the in-dash one and one of the rows is "Reset all values".

[PichaDis11]

The button is also used to display a whole bunch of other info unlock able by adding the last 5 digits or your vin. Look it up.

I think this rather works well than digging thru another 10 option menu with another 15 sub menus. It's so easy to just hit the button after a fill up to reset the trip odometer. Old school ftw!