DCT question btwn D and S

[MentholGuy]

Hello,

Might be a stupid question,
For my 09 Coupe, I push shift knob once to right, I get S mode, push shift knob twice to right, then I get D mode which is Auto.
I heard someone said that he gets D mode when he push shift knob once to right and gets S mode when he push twice to right.
How does your shift knob work?

[footie]

European M-DCT come with D2-mode as the pre-selected choice on startup, where as the USA it's S3. So as I am in the UK when I start my M3 and push the lever to the right it automatically selects D2.

Hope this explains it.

[mkoesel]

I presume that, as a result footie, your car retains its last S mode Divelogic setting after restart while losing the D mode one? Ours are the opposite.

[footie]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I presume that, as a result footie, your car retains its last S mode Divelogic setting after restart while losing the D mode one? Ours are the opposite.

I assume so. I never really noticed either way but will check for you.

[frankzlin79]

I've got a US spec E92. Assuming that you are in neutral, I push once to the right get to S mode and twice to the right to get D mode.

Assuming I am already in S or D mode, I push once to the right to toggle between the two.

[footie]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

I've got a US spec E92. Assuming that you are in neutral, I push once to the right get to S mode and twice to the right to get D mode.

Assuming I am already in S or D mode, I push once to the right to toggle between the two.

Correct.

[thefly]

i have noticed that if you stop and start the car in a short period, it remembers your last setting. for instance when i have run into a store and came back out and started the car again it remembers heated seats settings and when i push over to the right if i was driving in D, it puts me back into D.

[waremark]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I presume that, as a result footie, your car retains its last S mode Divelogic setting after restart while losing the D mode one? Ours are the opposite.

Quite right. UK spec cars start in D2, and when you change to S it goes back to the last S mode you had before you stopped the car. Anyone have any idea why they use a different default in Europe from the US?

[footie]

Originally Posted by waremark

Quite right. UK spec cars start in D2, and when you change to S it goes back to the last S mode you had before you stopped the car. Anyone have any idea why they use a different default in Europe from the US?

This question has come up numerous times with no concrete answer.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by footie

This question has come up numerous times with no concrete answer.

Yep. I think the prevailing opinion is that it is based on regional marketing differences.

I don't mind so much that ours default to S mode. What I do mind is that the car will only remember the Drivelogic setting for the mode that is not the default mode. So for us in the US, it is impossible to get it to default to S5. In the UK, you guys can just do a quick double tap to the right and always get S5 (if you had it set there last, which I always do). We only require a single tap to get to S, but then I have to click the damn rocker switch up twice to go from S3 to S5 every time. People will say that is what the M button is for but it is still an additional button press for you that have MDrive, and it should not be necessary. Plus a lot of people use that button for aggressive drive settings that they don't want to use in normal driving.

I know, I know, its a minor thing. But it is still an annoyance. And most importantly, why couldn't BMW just have designed it so you could code both the mode and the Drivelogic setting to the key, or at the very least just remember the last used Drivelogic setting for both the D and the S modes? The latter in particular should be a simple task, achievable with a software update. I don't suppose we can ever persuade them to address it though.

[grayshrk]

Agreed. Of the many things that should be coded to the key as a personal default/preference, the driving modes should be one of the highest in priority. Not sure why they chose to leave that out.

I'm curious if this is the same for the 09 iDrive as well? I've got an 08.

[TheBry]

Originally Posted by thefly

i have noticed that if you stop and start the car in a short period, it remembers your last setting. for instance when i have run into a store and came back out and started the car again it remembers heated seats settings and when i push over to the right if i was driving in D, it puts me back into D.

Yup. The transmission setting is retained for like five minutes or so (in my experience) but the heated seats setting is retained for 20 minutes.

[MentholGuy]

Thanks guys for all replies which made my brain clear

[doba_s]

Originally Posted by thefly

i have noticed that if you stop and start the car in a short period, it remembers your last setting. for instance when i have run into a store and came back out and started the car again it remembers heated seats settings and when i push over to the right if i was driving in D, it puts me back into D.

i think so too ...