[THizzle7XU]

So yesterday I ordered a base model 2013 328i xDrive and during the sales/negotiation process, I mentioned the only thing I didn't like with my test drive of a 2012 model was the shudder when the engine turns back on. The sales guy sort of agreed with me (before going on to say I'd get used to it) and said it's more noticeable in the 3 series since they are lighter cars than say the 5 series. I'd have to agree there as I test drove a 2012 5 series last year and didn't notice the shudder like the 3 series.

Then he added that for 2013 the car will remember the setting when the car is restarted. So if you turn it off, it will stay off for good unless you turn it back on by pressing the ASS button.

Anyone else hear this or have official proof from BMW? Some quick Google searches didn't reveal anything. Thanks!

[levente]

If this is true, indeed would be great news. Otherwise will just have to code it to stay that way.

[OrangeDeep]

I think this will make a lot of people happy. I don't have this in my car, but have driven a 328 with this. That car would shutter like crazy when it would kick back on.

[SCBimmerKid]

I have truly gotten used to ASS. That being said, mine seems to shutter harder some times more than others. I had one the other day where I barely even felt the car turn back on.

[RobUK]

On the test drive I didn't really notice it, but in the 150 miles I've done in the new car, I've found myself turning it off at least 50% of the time. This isn't so much because of the shudder, it's more the worry that I'll need to pull away quickly (e.g. into a gap in the traffic) and waiting for the engine to restart will make the response slower.

If ASS setting 'memory' becomes a standard feature in the 2013 F30, I wonder if it will be available as a coding change for 2012 models? (Fingers crossed it does).

[yerffejleahcim]

Originally Posted by RobUK

On the test drive I didn't really notice it, but in the 150 miles I've done in the new car, I've found myself turning it off at least 50% of the time. This isn't so much because of the shudder, it's more the worry that I'll need to pull away quickly (e.g. into a gap in the traffic) and waiting for the engine to restart will make the response slower.

If ASS setting 'memory' becomes a standard feature in the 2013 F30, I wonder if it will be available as a coding change for 2012 models? (Fingers crossed it does).

I have mine coded to remember the last setting. I do still however leave it ON all the time except for heavy traffic.

[Frogman]

Originally Posted by SCBimmerKid

I have truly gotten used to ASS. That being said, mine seems to shutter harder some times more than others. I had one the other day where I barely even felt the car turn back on.

I've noticed that too. Some stop/restarts are smooth as silk and I think, hey, this isn't bad at all. Then some restarts are jolting enough that I think the engine is be being ripped out of the mounts!

Mine seems to shudder worse when it auto-starts due to needing the A/C on (i.e restating before I release the brake petal). It's like the compressor is engaged while starting and making it harder for the engine to start. You would think that the car wouldn't engage the A/C compressor until after the engine is running!

The shudder seems to be mildest when the A/C is completely off; I can barely feel it stop or start then. It's pretty consistent.

I think I'm going to code it to remember the last state and just leave it off. The shudder is annoying enough that I don't want it on by default.

I have only had one restart-stall (I have a 328, not a 335); it was an auto-restart caused by A/C demand. Not fun sitting stalled in an intersection, having to manually restart the car and re-selecting D. If this happened while my wife was driving, it would freak her out!

Maybe I'll just enable ASS during the winter when the A/C isn't being used.

[CurlyFatAngry]

I doubt it honestly, that's not how BMW thinks. Case in point; wiper sensor, DTC/DSC settings and a few more that the case simply doesn't remember.

[THizzle7XU]

Originally Posted by Frogman

I've noticed that too. Some stop/restarts are smooth as silk and I think, hey, this isn't bad at all. Then some restarts are jolting enough that I think the engine is be being ripped out of the mounts!

Mine seems to shudder worse when it auto-starts due to needing the A/C on (i.e restating before I release the brake petal). It's like the compressor is engaged while starting and making it harder for the engine to start. You would think that the car wouldn't engage the A/C compressor until after the engine is running!

The shudder seems to be mildest when the A/C is completely off; I can barely feel it stop or start then. It's pretty consistent.

I think I'm going to code it to remember the last state and just leave it off. The shudder is annoying enough that I don't want it on by default.

I have only had one restart-stall (I have a 328, not a 335); it was an auto-restart caused by A/C demand. Not fun sitting stalled in an intersection, having to manually restart the car and re-selecting D. If this happened while my wife was driving, it would freak her out!

Maybe I'll just enable ASS during the winter when the A/C isn't being used.

During my test drive, I did have the A/C on for most of the drive as it was pretty hot in Cleveland during the day of the Team USA test drives. But I turned it off towards the end to get a feel for the moonroof and the breeze with the windows down. But by the time I put the windows down I had already turned off the Start Stop. Even when ASS is on with the A/C, the power of the fans also makes an unsettling change in intensity due to the change in power levels. It's like someone turns the fan dial to off then right back to the previous setting every time you stop the car and the engine shuts off.

But the fact that your car stalled even once because of Start Stop is inexcusable. This is the first car I've personally bought and I'm coming from driving a Saturn Ion for the last 8.5 years, which was the car I got when I started college. And that car, being a $16,000 starter car, NEVER stalled on me. So the prospect that my $50,000+ luxury sports car might stall on me due to a purposefully installed, mandatory "feature" is downright inexcusable. I'd rather spend the couple hundred dollars in gas "saved" during the lifetime of using that feature over having the car stall on me even once.

You're not the first person to report their engine stalling due to Start Stop. And the car hasn't even been out for six months yet. This feature should be able to be permanently disabled by choice of the customer/driver, and in an easy fashion (no hacking/diving into iDrive). I just hope the CA knew what he was talking about. At that point in the conversation, the deal was pretty much inked, so selling me that line just to sell the car even though it was BS would have been pretty bizarre.

[BXL4]

Selling you that line wouldn't be bizarre at all. The deal isn't closed until you drive it off the lot. Not saying that the CA was dishonest, just that keeping you happy about the car is still very much in his best interests and he knows it.

That said, BMW has GOT to fix this before it causes an accident. The negative press alone will cost them millions.