[Stryker]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

The only let down was the lack of basic features and some of those are essential these days. e.g. ventilated seats, sun shades, mild hybrid etc.

Thanks HammerHead! Yes these basic features - add keyless entry and wireless charger to the list - are omitted from a model that already had it in its first iteration. Calling it chip shortage is deplorable to say the least!

Originally Posted by Shubz

I am curious about what all coding was done and did/does it not void warranty?

Thanks Shubz! Referring you to this thread (BMW - Coding & enabling hidden features) where the warranty has been discussed quite a lot.

Originally Posted by vjbox

I will safely assume you didn't try the M340i. If you did tell me you also took your family in it Bonkers it is suffice to say!

Thanks vjbox! No I didn't TD the M340i. Yes it is mad, yes it is drool worthy, but where will you drive it to its potential?

[RaviKBobba]

Congratulations on your purchase. Wish you many smiles on your face when you much miles in your Bimmer.

[Stryker]

Since there are a few questions about coding the BMW, I thought I will put down a few notes on the same. You can get more information in this thread (BMW - Coding & enabling hidden features).

I got my car coded by a Ludhiana based coder, who has coded hundreds of BMWs, Audis, Mercs, Skodas, VWs, you name it. Many of TBHPians have got it done through him too. He can be reached via a DM to his Instagram handle @drcodemyvw. The steps are:

1. Buy an RJ45 to OBD connector (Ethernet to OBD) like this one on Amazon, or you can buy one directly from him (which is what I did).

2. Once the cable is with you, connect it to a Windows laptop and to the OBD port on your car.

3. You then allow control of your laptop via remote desktop sharing app like TeamViewer.

4. A VPN driver will be installed on your laptop and then the magic happens remotely.

5. 15 minutes later the car is coded and all the hidden features unlocked.

That's all there is to it. Simple and easy. Of course, you can try to do this yourself by downloading software like Bimmercode or Carly, but I'd prefer to leave this in the hands of those who know what they are doing. You don't want to end up messing up something and then not knowing how to undo it.

Here's a photo of my car during the process:


Changes made
1. The 80/120 kmph alarm was removed - This was the main reason I got this done. Those alarms are extremely loud and very very irritating. Now I can drive in peace and I usually have my own personal alarm sitting right next to me!

2. Sports Plus mode - I didn't know about this mode and after he told me about it, I was like "Yes!" and boy, does it make the car go!

3. Comfort Plus mode - Haven't explored this much, as the regular Comfort mode is quite good.

4. Exhaust Flap Control in iDrive - This controls the engine sound and you can set it as "Auto", "Balanced" or "Sport". I have left it at Auto, there seems no need to make the engine roar all the time.

5. ///M startup animation - Replaces the standard BMW logo with the ///M logo. Looks cool.

6. Rear camera zoom - Pretty useful feature to have if you want a closer look at some obstruction behind you.

7. Lane change blink to 5 times - The default setting is 3 and this one makes it blink 5 times. That's all.

8. ///M Sport guages and fonts - Changes the default font to a more sportier looking guage and font for the driver's display.

9. One touch closing of tailgate - The default is hold the button on the key fob until it closes, this is changed to just one touch.

10. Default startup mode to Eco Pro - The default is Comfort mode, this is changed to Eco Pro mode.

It is perplexing as to why some of these changes require coding. For ex., the blinker change to 5 times or the one touch closing of the tailgate. I mean, why would BMW leave this out by default in the first place? Who makes these decisions?

[shiv11bhargava]

Congratulations Sir on your 3! Nothing like one. An absolute joy to drive and such a complete package. So happy to see you and your family welcome Bayerische Motoren Works into your life. What a beauty! <3

[Cresterk]

Congrats on the new ride! I too felt the new C-class to be too low and scraped on every single speedbreaker during my test drive of the same. They weren't even unusually tall speedbreakers that have you wonder who designed them either. All of them were crossed completely fine on higher speeds on the previous gen C class. Also I broke off that underbody plating during the test drive itself so I don't think it will last anywhere near 5 years.

I wonder why no reviewer mentioned this obvious flaw

Originally Posted by Stryker

Exhaust Flap Control in iDrive - This controls the engine sound and you can set it as "Auto", "Balanced" or "Sport". I have left it at Auto, there seems no need to make the engine roar all the time.

Does the 3 series sold here have active exhaust? I thought it was only in the M models.

[mobike008]

Hi Stryker,

Congratulations and Welcome to the most pleasurable driving experience i.e- BMW driving experience.

Nice crisp review. And, glad to see the newer models getting the same instrument cluster and ID 7 infotainment as the global customers.

I personally never use Eco-Pro unless it's a 150+ mile trip. Have noticed that this mode increases the gas mileage by a lotttt. However, same mode will not yield greater FE in city runs.

Therefore, it's best to enjoy the comfort (since it's lot more powerful than eco-pro) and Sports mode.

Sports + is reserved for those days when you want to go "mental" or make others "mental."

Unique color. Is this a new offering in India? I see you got the same cognac seats as mine. Favorite by far and works with multiple exterior colors.

Cheers to 1000's of miles of blissful ownership. !!!

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I wonder why no reviewer mentioned this obvious flaw

Does the 3 series sold here have active exhaust? I thought it was only in the M models.

Thanks Cresterk! Yes, even I'm surprised (as I mentioned in the OP) as to why no review - including the one here - neglected to mention this "small" detail.

The exhaust flap control is probably a M feature and it was unlocked during coding.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Unique color. Is this a new offering in India? I see you got the same cognac seats as mine. Favorite by far and works with multiple exterior colors.

Thanks mobike008! Not sure if this is new, but I have not seen many cars in this colour. And I love the cognac seats too!

[Stryker]

Quick question. Has any 330 owner successfully mounted the mandatory Ganesha idol in their car? Could you post photos please? Is this a problem with other models as well?

I'm just unable to find a proper place for it which is not downwards looking. BMW doesn't seem to have taken this into consideration while designing the dash

[Baddychat]

Congratulations Stryker on your new ride. Wishing you thousands of miles of happy motoring !
Excellent review as well !

[simplysaj]

@Stryker Congratulations and wish you many more happy miles with this fantastic machine. Nice write-up as well. That color is quite unique. I have not seen one in that color yet.
A quick query on whether there are any reasons to not to wait for the facelift launched in Jan 2023?

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by simplysaj

A quick query on whether there are any reasons to not to wait for the facelift launched in Jan 2023?

Thanks simplysaj. I made the decision not to wait for the 2023 facelift for three reasons.

(1) Apart from the nice looking screen, there is almost zero change from the 2021/2022 model. I did see quite a few Youtube videos on this. At the time of decision making, not much info was available on the long wheel base version, but there was enough on the regular 330i. The engine is the same B48, no changes. All videos mentioned this fact, that the screen seems to be the only change. The consensus seemed to be that this is actually a good thing, because everything in the existing model was just perfect! Both for the 330i and the 340i. I extrapolated and was confident that BMW would follow the same pattern for the LWB as well, which was vindicated recently.

(2) The fat dealer discount being offered on the outgoing 2022 version!! One can't ignore a large saving of nearly 6 lakhs right?

(3) I felt I could live without the large screen, which after seeing the new one, feels like it is stuck on with that not so good looking "struts". I do love the new screen itself, just not these "struts". Couldn't the BMW engineers come up with a better design than this for propping up that screen?

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Quick question. Has any 330 owner successfully mounted the mandatory Ganesha idol in their car? Could you post photos please? Is this a problem with other models as well?

I'm just unable to find a proper place for it which is not downwards looking. BMW doesn't seem to have taken this into consideration while designing the dash

Neither do I have the 3 series nor is the dashboard in my X3 as downward sloping as it is in the 3er.

But just for the sake of it posting a few pictures:




This is how it looks from the driver’s seat, in the picture the touchscreen does hide the idol slightly, but to the eyes it’s at the perfect position:


This is how it looks from the outside:

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

But just for the sake of it posting a few pictures:

LOL, talk about coincidence! I was fixing the idol just a few minutes back and took some photos to post here! I couldn't fix the much larger idol which was in my XUV, so I went out and bought a smaller version hoping I would be able to fix that. Happily, I could.

Managed to fix it right on the centre line


From the driver's seat


From the passenger seat


And from the rear seat

[govindremesh]

While it's impressive that you've unlocked some hidden comfort features , but I won't applaud you because of this statement:

Originally Posted by Stryker

Changes made
1. The 80/120 kmph alarm was removed - This was the main reason I got this done. Those alarms are extremely loud and very very irritating. Now I can drive in peace and I usually have my own personal alarm sitting right next to me!

The alarm is irritating for a reason: to remind you that you're driving dangerously. Even in the western world where roads are well developed, a speed limit of ~130 kmph applies. Even on the German Autobahn, most places are speed controlled at 100/130/160 kmph with the unrestricted stretch existing in areas where there's very less traffic density.

I would strongly discourage this practice of disabling the alarm. Above 80 kmph, its not an annoyance as it sounds once every two minutes. Above 120 kmph - you're not supposed to drive constantly at that speed anyway. Even if your vehicle is capable, our roads are not at most places and neither are most of the drivers well educated for high speed driving. The fact that you're bypassing the regulation with this fix is another thing.

The irritating alarm should be a constant reminder that you're driving above safe limits.

[Stryker]

I'm guessing you aren't driving a BMW in India. The volume level of those gongs are enough to give one nightmares. Safety on the highway can be simply a matter of discipline and I like to think I'm among the saner drivers out there. But when a straight stretch of empty road beckons...the car is made for these conditions and one buys such a car simply to enjoy such conditions.

For your reference, please see this thread (The 80 & 120 kmph speed alert system | Brands that implemented it poorly) started by GTO last year and this one (Disabling the 80 / 120 kmph speed warning alerts) which has been running for two years now. Your conscientious objections are better expressed there and the issue of forum rules discouraging this particular topic has been discussed ad nauseam in multiple threads.

Certainly the European cars don't have this 80/120 warning gongs, so you are not subject to this insane system. Lucky you!