[rak299]

Perhaps, this should have been obvious to me. I understand why you cannot remote start a car with a manual transmission car that is probably stopped in a gear, with nobody to depress the clutch. One feature that seemed unrelated to me was the digital key card that you can carry in your wallet. The card can be used to unlock the car and start it, in case you lose your key. It turns out if you have a manual transmission, you don't get the card and there is no way to configure one to work with the car. Apparently, the card uses the same process as the remote start from a phone.

[dialogical]

Originally Posted by rak299

Perhaps, this should have been obvious to me. I understand why you cannot remote start a car with a manual transmission car that is probably stopped in a gear, with nobody to depress the clutch. One feature that seemed unrelated to me was the digital key card that you can carry in your wallet. The card can be used to unlock the car and start it, in case you lose your key. It turns out if you have a manual transmission, you don't get the card and there is no way to configure one to work with the car. Apparently, the card uses the same process as the remote start from a phone.

Yeah easy - nobody is gonna buy the manual. We are the chosen few.

BMW will probably discontinue it partially through the production cycle too.

Honestly I think they don't want to offer a stick - they probably find it too expensive to have separate tooling and all that.

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by rak299

Perhaps, this should have been obvious to me. I understand why you cannot remote start a car with a manual transmission car that is probably stopped in a gear, with nobody to depress the clutch. One feature that seemed unrelated to me was the digital key card that you can carry in your wallet. The card can be used to unlock the car and start it, in case you lose your key. It turns out if you have a manual transmission, you don't get the card and there is no way to configure one to work with the car. Apparently, the card uses the same process as the remote start from a phone.

I wasn't too bothered about the physical card, but was bummed about not being able to use my phone as a key.

There are definitely a few features like this where the 6MT comes across as a little bit of an afterthought. I honestly don't care that much - there are basically no other alternatives for this type of car with 3 pedals, so I'm just grateful to be able to get it

[tydntydj]

It's pretty stupid how it's an all or nothing deal. How does a manual transmission prevent unlocking with a phone or watch?

[chris3g]

Especially annoying for me with my previous car being a Tesla, I had really gotten used to not having to carry keys for anything. Ive realized that I can lock the key in the car with the app and then later unlock it with the app, which makes it a little better in situations where I don't want to bring the key.

[TrentMeister]

Last night I drove mine about 50-60 miles to my detailer for full ppf tints'n such.

I had to go late at night so I could leave the car for them cause I had plans for today.

I woke up this morning and almost immediately realized I took both keys with me and didn't leave one in the car for them

Luckily I had set up the digital key the other day so I took a look at the settings for it and viola!

You can actually share the key to other IPhones.

So I shared it with him, he got in, started her up and boom crisis averted.

Digital key is a cool feature

[jmh600cbr]

Originally Posted by LBbluem2

Last night I drove mine about 50-60 miles to my detailer for full ppf tints'n such.

I had to go late at night so I could leave the car for them cause I had plans for today.

I woke up this morning and almost immediately realized I took both keys with me and didn't leave one in the car for them

Luckily I had set up the digital key the other day so I took a look at the settings for it and viola!

You can actually share the key to other IPhones.

So I shared it with him, he got in, started her up and boom crisis averted.

Digital key is a cool feature

Digital key works on 6MT? In Canada it doesn't list this feature on either car. I really hope I got this.

[dialogical]

Originally Posted by jmh600cbr

Digital key works on 6MT? In Canada it doesn't list this feature on either car. I really hope I got this.

No, it doesn't.

[nick776]

Originally Posted by dialogical

No, it doesn't.

The BMW USA site says it is STANDARD and does NOT have any fine print which excludes the 6MT. Below is cut/copy directly from the BMW USA website:

Convenient Digital Key.
The standard Digital Key unlocks your BMW with your compatible iPhone®, while available Remote Engine Start lets you start your car from the comfort of your own home.

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by nick776

The BMW USA site says it is STANDARD and does NOT have any fine print which excludes the 6MT. Below is cut/copy directly from the BMW USA website:

Convenient Digital Key.
The standard Digital Key unlocks your BMW with your compatible iPhone®, while available Remote Engine Start lets you start your car from the comfort of your own home.

In the owners manual it is specific that you need the auto.
I agree BMW should have been clearer about it elsewhere

[dialogical]

Originally Posted by nick776

The BMW USA site says it is STANDARD and does NOT have any fine print which excludes the 6MT. Below is cut/copy directly from the BMW USA website:

Convenient Digital Key.
The standard Digital Key unlocks your BMW with your compatible iPhone®, while available Remote Engine Start lets you start your car from the comfort of your own home.

Check the owners manual.

Trust me - I wish it had it. I have a 6MT on order

[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by jmh600cbr

Digital key works on 6MT? In Canada it doesn't list this feature on either car. I really hope I got this.

Oh no. I was just saying it's a life saver lol

[frankiebones]

Originally Posted by dialogical

Yeah easy - nobody is gonna buy the manual. We are the chosen few.

BMW will probably discontinue it partially through the production cycle too.

Honestly I think they don't want to offer a stick - they probably find it too expensive to have separate tooling and all that.

With respect to a fellow 6MT driver, many people keep repeating this fallacy and there's absolutely no basis for it. If they didn't want to make a manual or didn't see value in it they wouldn't have made one. The worst thread on this forum was the "how to kill the manual transmission once and for all" and was basically a bunch of conspiracy theories suggesting BMW was deliberately offering an inferior product with a 6MT to get us to buy the 8AT. Logically that makes little sense. They could have simply not made one and what would we have done? Are all 11 potential 6MT buyers worldwide going to protest at the Welt?

There is also no basis for the repeated assertion that they will discontinue the 6MT before the end of production. If it sells they'll continue to make it, if it doesn't they won't.

[Multimodal]

6MT panic is the same thing as gun people always saying the Democrats are going to take their guns and ban their ammunition. It never happens but it creates a nice excuse to buy more.

[LuvMyE92]

As for all of this concern over the manual, BMW has said publicly that they intend to offer a manual transmission until the end of days. Of course, now it's (AFAIK) only available on the M3 and M4 and maybe the M240i in the USA market.

The big deal isn't "tooling" and such, because in the rest of the world, people do know how to drive and shift all at the same time. The big expense is EPA certification for each drivetrain option that a manufacturer sells. They have to be able to sell enough cars to make it worthwhile.

[xlover]

Originally Posted by rak299

Perhaps, this should have been obvious to me. I understand why you cannot remote start a car with a manual transmission car that is probably stopped in a gear, with nobody to depress the clutch. One feature that seemed unrelated to me was the digital key card that you can carry in your wallet. The card can be used to unlock the car and start it, in case you lose your key. It turns out if you have a manual transmission, you don't get the card and there is no way to configure one to work with the car. Apparently, the card uses the same process as the remote start from a phone.

It likely has nothing to do with the actual mechanics of the keycard, the manual has a different console setup that is shared with the non-us manual base models (320 and below).

They keycard nfc receiver is part of the auto console design and would require a separate design for the manual. That much is a fact.

BMW likely projected near 0 demand for the digital key in the low end manual models that supported the volume for the manual console design, leaving only the M3/M4 models where there would be overlap in demand for manual and demand for digital key. Their choice was look at the data and 1) data says not offering digital key would be a blocker for manual M3/m4 purchases leading to missing sales targets then design a new nfc receiver setup that goes with the manual 2) do not design new setup and assume manual sales will be unaffected

[rak299]

Originally Posted by xlover

It likely has nothing to do with the actually mechanics of the keycard, the manual has a different console setup that is shared with the non-us manual base models (320 and below).

They keycard nfc receiver is part of the auto console design and would require a separate design for the manual. That much is a fact.

BMW likely projected near 0 demand for the digital key in the low end manual models that supported the volume for the manual console design, leaving only the M3/M4 models where there would be overlap in demand for manual and demand for digital key. Their choice was look at the data and 1) data says not offering digital key would be a blocker for manual M3/m4 purchases leading to missing sales targets then design a new nfc receiver setup that goes with the manual 2) do not design new setup and assume manual sales will be unaffected

As I said, perhaps it should have been obvious to me. I can see that the digital key access would use NFC, but I had (incorrectly) assumed that the NFC receiver in the vehicle would have been part of the wireless charging pad, so when you moved the pad, you would move the receiver at the same time. It appears that the NFC receiver was a separate piece that happened to be near the charging pad on the automatic models.

[Multimodal]

Just add a CS badge to the back of your car and then we can justify all these missing features as intentional exclusions because lightweight (like the M3 CS).

[Ibiza]

The physical key card is useless, as it's sitting in a draw for my X5M comp. The iPhone Digital key is ok, but the remote start is the bomb, as that's how I find my car in the airport parking lot. Just listening to the V8 growl.

Future G83 modes will all be 8AT AWD, so digital card key will be included.

I feel bad for the 6MT owners, as y'all get screwed over on the creature comforts.

[snareman]

It's also missing from all of us with Android phones.

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by Ibiza

The physical key card is useless, as it's sitting in a draw for my X5M comp. The iPhone Digital key is ok, but the remote start is the bomb, as that's how I find my car in the airport parking lot. Just listening to the V8 growl.

Future G83 modes will all be 8AT AWD, so digital card key will be included.

I feel bad for the 6MT owners, as y'all get screwed over on the creature comforts.

Yes, but we get 6MT, and that makes it all worth it. If a condition of the 6MT was that your sales associate got to kick you once in the nuts as part of the sales process I don't think there would have been much of a drop off in demand.

[W288SH]

Originally Posted by rak299

Perhaps, this should have been obvious to me. I understand why you cannot remote start a car with a manual transmission car that is probably stopped in a gear, with nobody to depress the clutch. One feature that seemed unrelated to me was the digital key card that you can carry in your wallet. The card can be used to unlock the car and start it, in case you lose your key. It turns out if you have a manual transmission, you don't get the card and there is no way to configure one to work with the car. Apparently, the card uses the same process as the remote start from a phone.

When I learned this I was annoyed for about 60 seconds. Then I got into the car and shifted through the gears as I accelerated away. I am so happy that BMW offered a G80 manual that I'm willing to put up with other minor inconveniences.