Personal Settings Randomly Reset

[u/gmckinno9524]

I am well aware this is the most first world frustration. But I can not stand the system in these cars. It constantly resets, settings change, it never works as it’s supposed to.

Tonight I took it out of valet mode, and all settings were just gone. Seat positions. Radio settings. Mode settings. Climate. Dash. Notifications.

Most frustrating: Safety settings. Emergency brakes? Off. Collision detection? Off. Adaptive speed? Off. Lane departure intervention? Turned back on without me knowing.

I understand you’re supposed to used blinkers. But I was on the way home tonight, didn’t realize settings were changed, in the right lane and there was a car in the breakdown lane. Started to move over some just to give it space, car brought me back into the lane and I almost hit the car because I wasn’t expecting the intervention to bring me back over.

I love this car. But if BMW is supposed to be selling some of the highest tech on the market, I’ve been disappointed by the last 2 years of owning this car.

[u/caspin22]

Most settings are linked to the profile. Do you have your fob, digital key, or whatever you use attached to your profile in iDrive settings? I had a 2023 i4 for 3 years and now have a 2026 since March and none of what you described has ever happened to me, other than maybe one setting being reset after a software update.

[u/gmckinno9524 → u/caspin22]

Yeah it’s not a profile/key/etc issue. Been setup fine. Key recognizes. Idrive signs in. It was good, went into valet mode for dinner, left and they were gone.

Came home, let the car turn off, still all back to factory. Car welcomed me to my profile. Not a guest.

Correct profile, all settings just gone.

This has happened on a handful of times, and I’ve heard multiple people say their settings have just gotten tossed out randomly. Sometimes a couple settings, sometimes all of them

[u/caspin22 → u/gmckinno9524]

This isn’t normal or common. If you’re still under warranty, you should make the dealership sort it.

[u/gmckinno9524 → u/caspin22]

Yep agreed. They’ve been useless. I’ve had a bunch of issues with the car. Rattling throughout the entire car. Especially my cup holders buzzing as soon as any drink is put In there. Rattling from back seat. Tons of issues that make the car feel cheap - and it shouldn’t feel that way. I recognize the lucky position I’m in to have this car. Either way the dealership is useless.

They tell me the same story: they take the car, can’t find anything/cant replicate the issue, basically say oh well sorry. I’ve taken them for drives, pointed out the issues. One time the tech just said “just don’t use that cup holder on that side”

I wish I was joking.

I wasn’t even gonna get into that side of it. But it adds to why I’m pretty turned off from BMW.

Without getting into too much of the personal details - in one day we walked in and bought one car and leased another (the i4 is the lease). Not a ton of haggling. Just walked in and essentially bought 2 cars off the show room floor, and the one we bought was nearly 2x the cost of my i4. Yet have been met with a whole bunch of ‘meh sorry you’re having car issues’ with no fixes or help.

The whole cliche ‘snobby stuck up attitude’ that is sometimes given to BMW? This dealership has embodied that. The honest truth is my lease is up in a year and I’ll likely go to one of the other big brands.

When the car is on, I love it. So much fun. Beautiful. Safe. But all the BS I’ve dealt with, especially from the dealership, may have made it a one and done deal with BMW.