Louis Rossmann is a right-to-repair advocate and owns a computer repair business based in Austin, Texas. He also happens to have over two million subscribers on YouTube where he tackles all sorts of technological and right-to-repair topics. He has called out BMW in the past for its heated-seats subscription gambit, and now the Bavarian Engine Works has him riled up again. This time, it’s over the Adaptive M Suspension subscription program, and the title of the video does not mince words: BMW SaaS model; Suspension-as-a-service. It’s time to start pirating cars.
Just last week, a Reddit user posted screenshots of BMW’s Adaptive M Suspension subscription. Buyers can pay 25 euros per month or up to 460 euros to keep the feature for good without having to pay any subscription at all. According to Rossmann, the problem is that these folks already paid for this feature at the very start.
Essentially, BMW models that are available with Adaptive M Suspension actually have it regardless of whether a buyer options it or not. For those who don’t check that box, the components just lie dormant. It’s not until one subscribes or buys it outright, that the components work to their fullest potential.
The automaker touts this system saying on its website;
Every day, for every road, you decide how you want to drive. With sporty or comfortable suspension. Simply use the Driving Experience Control in the cockpit to adapt the basic suspension settings to your driving style. So now you have a more enjoyable driving experience, and better control on uneven roads.
BMW offers a helpful guide on how to activate the system. Once one pays for it through their BMW ConnectedDrive store, they need to drive the vehicle for at least 15 minutes in a place with good wireless coverage. A message should pop up telling them that it’s enabled.
If it doesn’t, they just have to call customer service, probably wait on hold, go for at least one more (who knows? Maybe more) 15-minute drive, and then maybe the system that shipped with the car will work completely.
While this adds several layers of complexity, the benefit to anyone outside of BMW isn’t entirely clear. Advocates for subscription services will point out that it’s plausible that companies like BMW actually saved money by simply building every car with this hardware rather than creating two product lines.
Rossmann’s retort is that BMW has never dropped prices significantly from one year to the next as a result of that streamlined production. That’s not too hard to track since Adaptive M Suspension (in this form) launched in 2019. I can’t find any record of BMW prices (on affected models) getting lower year over year since then.
On top of that, some buyers might have avoided checking the Adaptive M Suspension option box because they don’t want the hassle of maintaining it over time. Surprise! They’ll still have to! That obviously goes for anyone who buys the car second-hand as well, regardless of whether or not they pay for the subscription.
This is an important distinction for the suspension subscription versus “services” like heated seats, which don’t involve critical wear components or parts likely to be damaged due to a collision or hitting a particularly nasty pothole. If you don’t pay for the heated seat sub, there’s little chance you’ll end up paying more down the road for repairs or maintenance by virtue of the heating components being included in the car, activated or not. The suspension is a different story. If you need to replace an Adaptive M shock, one must assume you’re going to pay for the electronically-controlled variable damping technology built into it whether you’ve activated the software to operate it or not.
Further, the suspension subscription raises an important question: What happens if the first owner buys and pays for the lifetime availability of the feature? Will it revert when owner one sells it to owner two? It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard of an automaker trying to sell a software-locked feature twice for the same car.
Factors like these lead Rossmann to suggest that pirating software is justified. BMW owners were hacking their cars years ago, so there’s certainly precedent, and that behavior could return.
Finally, it’s worth noting what Pieter Nota, board member for BMW sales and marketing, told Autocar in 2023:
“What we don’t do any more – and that is a very well-known example – is offer seat heating by [subscription]. It’s either in or out. We offer it by the factory and you either have it or you don’t have it.”
Clearly, something is different now, so we’ve reached out to BMW for additional comment and will update this story if we hear back. How do you feel about subscriptions for hardware-based features? Will such subscriptions be an inevitable part of car ownership? Should we fight it to the bitter end? Let us know down below!
Yeah, it’s a hard NEVER on paying a subscription for any non-connected thing whatsoever.
To put it another way, with respect to any suspension subscription fees, Fuck Off BMW!
Spending your money elsewhere makes too much sense though. Thats no way to build a subscriber base on social media….as thats what this is really about
Don’t buy a bmw. Of course, eventually all manufacturers are going to this model as they all hire from the same B school educated ‘talent’ pool.
“You wouldn’t download a car.”
Every day gets me closer to this goal.
Same. I’d download anything I could: car, food, clothing, whatever. Put it into my modem!
Way I see it man just don’t buy anymore BMWs in the future. Save yourself the headaches and quit supporting a brand that you feel is screwing you over.
So how much does this screw over non-oem suspension makers? Do they have to pay some sort of fee to have their suspension meet the standard needed for AMS? Or does it only screw over the driver?
Wait, that’s not James from Throttle House in the thumbnail?
So, rather than hack the car, which is illegal. How about I just repurpose the hardware. Develop a controller that can be wired to the hardware. Maybe even give more control than BMW would provide through their system.
That’s what hacking is.
Not really, hacking as is being suggested in this post is more like pirating software… unlocking the OEM feature by hacking the software.
What I’m suggesting is to leave the software alone, unplug the hardware, and plug it into my own controller. That’s not pirating software, not hacking software, and not illegal.
We just need a license key generator like in the old days of Warez.
Put in your VIN and select the options you want.
heck yeah.
Or even better, something like Game Genie that can intercept the signals, add or change them, and unlock options that were never even offered.
I’ve got bad news about the DMCA and the kind of reverse-engineering required to do what you’re suggesting, vis-a-vis common legal definitions of hacking.
In the infinitesimal small chance that were to be a problem simply scapegoat a Russian/Chinese/Korean/whatever hacker group. Its not like they bother doing jack shit against those guys.
The DMCA is such a shitty law! Thanks Clinton!
Is it illegal though?
yes, unfortunately if you hack the software to unlock the feature. That’s a DMCA violation. And, in the case of a car where safety could be an issue something the FBI actually looks into (not that they would trouble themselves going after you or I if we did it on our own).
For those of you in America, I’m afraid the DCMA criminalizes that behavior as Felony Contempt of Business Model.
Try claiming it as parody and/or satire and thus protected under free speech.
Or create a corporation, put ownership of your car under the corp, break the law a bunch, and then hide behind the corp. Classic.
Just bought a E46 last weekend, I sure do love that everything on it is already paid for, for life.
Don’t worry, you get to enjoy a similar business model when the VANOS goes. Ask me how I know.
You’ve just led me to the epiphany that BMW coolant reservoirs, valve covers, rod bearings and interior plastics have been subscription items all along.
that is so true. damn.
I’ve own and daily an e36 M3. Every feature on it that came on the car still works perfectly, every day!
I had an E36 that almost ruined me. It was in the shop constantly. So far the E46 has been pretty good, but its only been a couple weeks.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!
You ask for money to heat my bum, but ill get it free and enjoy my rum!
a pirates life for me!
Could you imagine Levi’s selling you a subscription for the zipper to work on your pants? Same thing. Something to keep in mind, though. BMWs are meant to be leased for three years and then disposed of. Buying one is asking for never ending hurt.
“Could you imagine Levi’s selling you a subscription for the zipper to work on your pants?”
I’d love to see them try.
Go ahead Levi’s, give me and other like minded pasty, doughy, not at all hot teen model lazy couch potato folks a reason to do one less thing in our day. We’ll be walking billboards for your products. There is not enough eye bleach in the world! And we WILL make damn sure everyone knows who’s to blame for all that can’t be unseen. Angry mobs will destroy your stores. Your sales and stock prices will crater. Executives will be tarred, feathered and run out of town. Your loved ones will pretend you ever existed. The very name Levi will be taboo.
Go ahead, I double dog dare you!
ok no more coffee for you!
That’s probably for the best.
We’re in monetization hell for most products these days. It probably can’t be stopped, but I’m doing what I can by not giving these poachers my business whenever I can avoid it. At least BMW makes it easier ever since adopting their new motto: the fugliest driving machine.
So how long till automakers give buyers the option of having those features for “free” but only if you sit through three, 30 second ads before the car can be started?
They have screens. Why wouldn’t they put ads on them?
Why not indeed?
There is nothing wrong with your screen.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
WE are controlling transmission.
If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume.
If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper.
WE will control the horizontal.
WE will control the vertical.
WE can roll the image; make it flutter.
WE can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity.
For the next seemed eternity, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear.
We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your screen.
You are about to participate in a great adventure.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the outer limits of…forced exposure advertising.
“Welcome to the machine”
Pink Floyd…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt-udg9zQSE
Bravo!
I wish that BMW were hitting the outer limits of the subscription model. I’m afraid that this is just the beginning.
I absolutely LOATHE the screens screeching at me at the gas station. The idea of that existing inside my vehicle is just … so plausible and rage-inducing.
Sorry. If there is a pay-for-good option, this whole subscription discussion is just empty – get the forever choice and be happy with your adaptive dampers.
On the other hand, if you have no interest whatsoever on adaptive dampers, why the hell are you getting a brand new BMW anyways?!
If you’re on the second hand market and still don’t want the adaptive stuff, just replace it with a regular one when the original blows up on you – it’s not like folks are not jerry-rigging shit in their cars around here…
[pause for inflamed comments…]
There are no “regular” ones, or I’d agree with you.
BMW only installs the adaptive shocks, the subscription is just to turn them on. Presumably there is no “standard” one to replace it with later on.
Yes, not having a “standard” one is annoying. But again, BMW is a luxury – people just gotta be in peace with the fact that now BMW’s “standard” shocks are expensive as hell – but again, if that’s TOO expensive for the person, they can always get a cheaper brand/product.
Even though I hate the concept, it kinda drives home their ethos of “ultimate driving machine” – you either get the full experience, or you’re better off in a miata
I would not be surprised if this was in fact BMW’s logic toward their customers, but needless to say I don’t think it’s a good way of doing business.
By offering the illusion of choice, not making the shocks standard (and simply increasing the price of the car by $460), BMW is implying one or both of the following:
-Some customers actually prefer the standard ride, but we know better than they do and won’t actually offer it to them.
-Some customers will turn on the monthly billing and forget to turn it off, or a second/third owner will need to reactivate the shocks, meaning we will earn much more than $460 for the option.
Either way, it’s contempt for the customer.
“There are no “regular” ones, or I’d agree with you.”
Go on RockAuto and you’ll see that there actually are. I know because I just check for the options for shocks for the G20 3 series.
If you buy one of these used, you absolutely can remove the unnecessary/unactivated crap and reduce the weight of the car.
I get what you’re saying, but you’re paying for the components even if you opt out. It isn’t like they discount the car to what it would cost with “normal” suspension components. I agree with the goods vs services arguments below.
We don’t really know how they are accounting for it. But it’s possible their charging the cost without the components.
Realistically, this is probably more of a cash grab with the cost already included in the accounting of the original car sale. Just to see if consumers will let it happen.
“We don’t really know how they are accounting for it. But it’s possible their charging the cost without the components.”
I had a look on rockauto at the suspension kits with and without the electronic suspension control. The version with the electronic control had a few extra bits and the shocks mounted the same way but what looked like had a couple of things grafted onto them.
I have a sneaky suspicion that electronic suspension doesn’t cost BMW much more than the standard stuff… particularly given that it’s in every car they build. I wouldn’t be surprised if it adds less than $100 to the cost of building the car.
Which would make sense why they would put it in on every car and try and make up the cost with subscriptions. Plus, economies of scale might drive the cost for them down even more.
You’re approaching this wrong, they aren’t trying to make up for any deficiency, they’re only trying to get more. The business schools these execs go to teach them that the only acceptable baseline is more than last month, and that every potential dollar that isn’t taken is a dollar lost.
Their definition of losses is not the same as our definition, and neither is their definition of value. They even tell us to our faces, announcing that they lost XYZ billion dollars in “expected revenue” or “missed revenue”. They never had that money, they didn’t lose it, they just wanted it and didn’t get it, and that’s unacceptable to them.
I read that article thinking “Who actually is willing to buy stuff this obviously predatory. How could you excuse this?” Guess I have my answer.
You get the new BMW and buy the forever shocks. Eventually, you sell it. The next owner hasn’t bought the forever shocks, so now they have to buy them. Remember, in spite of your posts, no regular shocks, only the adaptive ones. So each round of a new buyer will have to buy the shocks if they want to use them.
It’s a scam, pure and simple. Don’t endorse a scam.
“The next owner hasn’t bought the forever shocks, so now they have to buy them.”
No. The next owner can replace the adjustable shocks for regular non-adjustable shocks my buying them from RockAuto and installing them himself and/or getting a shop to do it for him/her.
But yes… installing the hardware and not activating it is a scam as it’s basically extra dead weight in the car if it’s not activated and it’s bullshit that it woudn’t be activated.
And if you compare the standard vs electronic suspension parts, I’m gonna guess it costs BMW less than $100 to install this feature. Hell… I wouldn’t be surprised if it was under $50 because they’re doing it in volume.
“If you’re on the second hand market and still don’t want the adaptive stuff”
And I just went on RockAuto to confirm that this absolutely is possible. And I figure the person who buys one of these used can install regular shocks and then remove the unnecessary crap tied to the adaptive system and free up some weight.
You are assuming we’re riled up on BMW shock absorbers, but this is not the point. I’m not even remotely considering purchasing a BMW, subscription or not. The issue here is the principle of selling you shit and still charging you rent.
I couldn’t care less about this particular car, but I get angry at the prospect of this business model taking hold. This is not equivalent to SaaS at all, this is equivalent to bloatware you pay for, drag along and can’t uninstall.
BMWs are luxury cars, so they sell an image. Therefore I hope this generates a ton of pushback and bad press, to do immense damage to their image, so manufacturers think twice before copying this.
This. It has nothing to do with software, so the whole SaaS argument is bullshit. They’re trying to tout something between Hardware-aaS and Firmware-aaS, neither of which are value adds. And it isn’t as though they’ll be improving things as time goes on, otherwise they (1) would need to cover all replacement costs (it isn’t a service if you have to pay for replacements caused by service changes), and (2) wouldn’t offer the “unlimited” option, which also happens to prove they aren’t even offering a service, rendering the entire model borderline fraudulent.
It there a subscription for smaller grilles ?
This comment goes hard
I’d pay for it even weekly if they offer one
Better yet, can I “gift” one to my neighbor?
A line in the sand for me is the difference between a good and service. If its a service, then there is a recurring benefit that has costs associated with maintaining that benefit. If its a good then the cost has already taken place and there is no additional maintenance costs required from the supplier to maintain the benefit. i.e. if doesn’t Cost BMW anything to keep having your suspension understand the math required to vary damping forces, its not a connected service and its development is, essentially, done.
How do you justify making people pay a recurring fee for a good? If you paid monthly it would take less than 1.5 years to reach the unlimited price, but they would happily keep charging you monthly forever.
This is exactly why gift card companies now have to ensure that the value you paid for your gift card never expires.
Yeah I can accept the idea of paying to have access to something like GM SuperCruise, where they are apparently mapping roads, maintaining a database for the system to access, and theoretically improving the software over time. Fair enough.
Unlocking some piece of equipment that is already installed on my car? Nope.
This is a good point, and also a distinction I make in my head as well. Subscriptions for goods is always shady, and that absolutely seems to be what BMW is trying to do here.
If BMW demands a monthly fee to provide this capability, then shouldn’t that mean it’s on BMW to ensure that hardware continues to work? Kind of like renting a router from your ISP (when you could buy one for much less), it’s on them to provide you with a working router.
Yes. This. The subscription for the good that already exists is the wound. The fact that you give BMW money every month and they don’t even have to maintain the good is the salt in the wound.
This is the right take.
If the OEM is continuously doing something to maintain/improve my experience, sure a subscription might be fair. If they’re just making me pay a fee to keep them from flipping an “off” switch, no thanks.
Like in this specific example, if they were somehow continuously updating and improving the smart suspension software then maybe I wouldn’t hate them for making a subscription. But I doubt that’s the case here.
And even then, I’d still hate them, because there’s a right way to tune suspension. If they’re still “improving” it after launch, that’s because it wasn’t finished at launch. It’s the videogame model where you launch a broken product and then promise to fix it via updates.
Adobe and Autocad enter the room.
Service. They provide continuous updates. Though I have to say, as soon as someone comes out with a decent photoshop knockoff…I wont have a reason to use Adobe ever again with resolve
I use the oss alternatives as I don’t get to write off the rogering Adobe and Auto desk want to administer for your subscription. Also am a very casual user of products in this space so cannot justify the subscriptions. Know many people who do subscribe and continuously moan about the price/value proposition.
Oh they joined apple and Microsoft
As a graphic designer, I was pretty annoyed at first with the Adobe subscription model, but it’s actually proven to be pretty good.
Pre-subscription (at multiple companies I’ve worked for) I had to constantly justify paying for every individual Adobe product, every version upgrade, and every font. None of those things were cheap. It wasn’t always easy to make the case to people who didn’t quite understand why any of those things mattered, even though it definitely compromised my ability to do my job well. Holding on to old versions constantly led to us/vendors/freelancers etc all potentially running different software versions (which matters in our world), not to mention bugs and performance issues introduced by OS and hardware updates.
Now its a fixed cost I’m never asked about, everyone I work with is using the same version, and I have access to all the tools I’ll every need (ever things like After Effects and Premiere that I only use occasionally). It might not be a great value for casual users or those whose job doesn’t need more than one or two of the included programs, but it’s a actually a pretty decent value for some of us.
FUCK BIM360 WITH A 2X4
“How do you justify making people pay a recurring fee for a good?”
There is only one way it can be justified… if it breaks, then the manufacturer provides the repair/replacement free of charge… just like what happens if you rent a hot water heater which is also a good and much more expensive in the long run to rent rather than buy, but at least if it breaks, they’ll fix or replace it free of charge.
This is the correct answer. Thanks!
I hope in the future this leads to a subsequent owner suing BMW because they paid to activate the system but I wasn’t possible due to the first owner replacing components. That’d be a fun lawsuit.
That would be an incredibly brief and losing lawsuit.
It’s sort of like if I bought a used satellite dish not knowing the prior owner had removed some key internal components. If I was dumb enough to then sign up for direct TV, there’s absolutely no merit to sue direct TV when the subscription doesn’t work because I’m an idiot who bought equipment with broken/missing hardware from a third party.
Dumb wealthy people separated from their money – yay!
Enriching greedy megacorp – ok, not so great.
It’s not even piracy. If you bought the car, you bought the components. Called fixing your car.
I’ve tried to avoid the extreme “sky is falling” rhetoric around some of these subscription things, but this one is pretty damn bad.
Suppose you don’t even care for the “default” suspension setting on the active shocks, and purposely didn’t option it for that reason. One could almost see the shape of a lawsuit for not providing what was promised.
I am sure there is a EULA for the whole car that many lawyers worked many, many hours putting together, but I am really wondering about a lawsuit for the service angle of these.
I had not considered it before but if you are going to lock me out of using hardware on the car and then when it comes time to replace the component and I have to purchase the expensive adaptive suspension components, am I then going to be able to use it without subscription?
I’m sure some lawyers will bring the suit especially if there are people like Louis Rossman with an audience and an axe to grind. I do hope this comes back to bite BMW but I’m far from confident.
Edit to add another question: If you buy the lifetime sub, does BMW warranty the component for life? Seems like they would have to legally to me the way this business model is shaping. If so, that price would almost seem a bargain. Almost…
Great point. If I am paying a monthly subscription for the suspension any part that needs repair or replacement should be on BMW since I am paying for a working suspension. I am sure there is some BS I’m the sales papers about it. When cars need to have 12 page arbitration agreements etc you know this garbage has gone too far.
Manufacturers WANT subscriptions to be part of the ownership process because it’s profitable. Recurring revenue is what they want, not just one-time purchases, hence why dealers want you to come back to them for service, and fight to keep independent shops limited in their knowledge.
If consumers collectively put their foot down and either 1: Don’t ever pay for subscriptions or 2: Don’t buy a car that has them at all, manufacturers WILL back down.
I am OK with subscriptions that require a data connection, IE Mazdas connected services everyone got up in arms with. I won’t be paying for it myself as it’s not worth it to me, but it’s dependent on a cell connection, I am OK with that concept. Anything hardware related? Hahahahaha, no.
For an example of the one manufacturing line to cut costs theme, Mazda had Navigation as an option on my trim of CX-30 I bought. The hardware and receivers are all there, it’s simply missing the SD card with maps data. Sure I could get it at the dealer for $399 (lol) or one on amazon for ~$30, or not use it at all. But it is NOT a subscription, because it doesn’t need to be. There’s a line, BMW has crossed it entirely.
One time fee to have a static set of maps available forever, OK.
Subscription fee to have a map that is constantly updated for traffic and changes of road, OK
Subscription fee to have access to a static set of maps available, not OK.
Not saying I would ever pay for maps, but this seems like basic logical thinking that companies should use to determine if something works as a subscription or not.
Yeah, I keep getting emails from Ford to purchase a new set of maps for our 2014 Flex. Since we use our phones for navigating, it falls on deaf ears.
Yeah that is a good point about it being another point of failure, whether you want it or not. BMW might not believe it, but some people don’t check an option box because they don’t want a certain component. It could be free and they would choose not to have it.
I was like this with the Ram air suspension. I’m sure it’s great when it works, but from what I understand it has (or at least had) an extremely high rate of failure in cold weather areas.
Imagine if Ram built every truck with air suspension but only let you adjust it if you paid the subscription. Basically the same thing, and they’re locking you in to an expensive future repair whether you want it or not.
I thought being locked into an expensive future repair was just part of the BMW experience.
Very scummy on the part of the Quandt family. I guess “good breeding” isn’t worth much.
Oh that’s a rabbit hole I’ve never heard of before. That’s a VERY enlightening search results page.
I always thought BMW Motorsport should call itself the Superior Race Car.
I thought that was VW.
Oh, bmw is worse. Vw technically came along as salvaged from the war. Bmw though… well, let’s leave it at v2
VW was captured and then handed over to a different government. BMW, well, not so much, and I’m surprised how this hasn’t come back to haunt them yet.
I was never going to buy a BMW anyway, but now I’m not just ambivalent, I’m actively opposed.
I used to own 3 of them in a row. Thankfully their design language has convinced me to look elsewhere.
For I’m blessed with the gift of sight.
What convinced me was the endless repairs, associated costs and lousy condescending service. Owned 1, never again. Mercedes same story, owned 2 VW, you’d think, I’d learned. Now it’s never ever buy a German automobile.
Just boycott them. Why are we giving BMW any money at all?
Yeah subscription services for suspension is beyond greedy.