The Ignition On A Modern BMW Doesn't Turn Off Until You Lock It, And I Don't Get Why
To begin with, the end of every journey is the same. You pull up to your destination, turn the engine off, open the door, and…wonder why the radio hasn’t shut up. So you press the stop/start button to switch the ignition off, only to be given a message about putting your foot on the brake to start the car. Which isn’t what you’re trying to do.
That’s because, by default, the M850i’s ignition won’t turn off until the car is locked. So if you have a lot of stuff to unload, you’ll be inflicting your taste in music on anyone near you until you’re finished.
Buried deep within the infotainment system, though, is a way of getting things back to the way they should be. You navigate via Car>Settings>Doors and Access, which brings up an option to have the ignition turned off as soon as the driver’s door is opened. Or, if there’s someone in the passenger seat, it switches off after both front doors have been opened. I’m not sure why it took me this long to find it, but finally, I can unload the car without music pointlessly blaring out.
This isn’t restricted to the 8-series, either - all Gx generation BMWs we’ve tried have the same default setting. To understand why we had a word with BMW UK. The answer is that the cars “are smart enough to decide what vehicle functions remain active” based on what the car/driver are doing at the time.
There are three main ‘states’ a Gx BMW can be in: ‘Parking’, when no one is in the car and “vehicle functions cannot be operated”; ‘Residing’, when someone’s in the car and functions are limited to those “relevant when the vehicle is stationary”, and finally ‘Driving’, when all functions are available.
You’d think, then, that when everyone’s out of the car, the 8er would go straight to ‘Parking’, but this actually takes a little while - I tested it (yes, I’m that dull) and it took around three minutes for the car to automatically power down.
To me, it just makes more sense that the car turns itself off when you get out. It’s the way almost every other modern car works, I can’t see any reason why you’d want the ignition to remain on any longer. And most importantly, if the car is set to shut down when you open the door, you get to enjoy the snazzy ‘goodbye’ sequence on the infotainment screen, which is a little like the end credits of a Bourne film.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Have you considered it’s an issue of longevity? After all, it’s big engine with 2 turbos, any heat in the system likely takes longer to transfer and the turbos need to handle their oil responsibly.
Don’t think it will have anything to do with that. In this case the engine is off (so oil pump is not running), but the ignition was still active. In any case, if oil temperature was the issue the car would have a dedicated air to oil radiator with the engine oil pump run by a small electric motor connected to the vehicle’s 12V system. No need for the ignition to be on in this instance.
This issue was to do with the radio and other electronics continuing to operate until the car is locked. That’s not going to do anything except put load on the car’s battery and drain it, as the engine isn’t running so it can’t turn the alternator to charge the battery.
The engine turns of, the radio doesn’t. It basically goes into accessory mode until you lock it.
Tbh this has been the case for a long time now, my 2016 i3 does this. Im just used to it, listening to tunes when unloading shopping is alright. Who cares about what other people think about your musical taste.
You might have had some experience with this yourself, I believe you’ve driven the i30N, but I really like Hyundai’s system where it stops as soon as you open the door.