[RichardInCA]

I washed my i5 this morning and used the remote parking to move it forward from my house to make access to the hose easier. When I was done and wanted to move it back, I saw that the car decided to start steering itself - it seemed to perform some sort of “S” maneuver in my driveway, but I’m wondering if others have seen that? I couldn’t find a way to steer the car with the remote app (either forward or backwards) so I wondered if there’s a way to ensure it just drives in a straight line forward or back. This would certainly would make me shy away from using it to slip the car in and out of a tight parking spot.

[SkykingUSA]

When I use remote parking, it has always gone straight as long as I choose the Manual option. However, if I choose a saved path option (even if I'm sitting in the car not using remote), the car will adjust the steering sort of drastically compared to the steering input I made when I recorded that path. I think it's because the car is trying to accommodate for obstacles. For example, if I'm closer to the side of the garage door when I start the parking, it will usually steer away from the edge more, then snake back in a winding path to end up in the final spot.

[RichardInCA]

Thanks Skyking - I’ll take another look at that. I tried recording a path in my driveway a little while back that I’ve not ended up using, that might be the reason.

[SkykingUSA]

I noticed that it usually picks the recorded path option by default if it has one. The options are easy to miss - they are at the bottom of the screen.

[AiredaleDad]

Yeah, But I can imagine crapping oneself thinking their new $70K+ car is gonna smack against the garage entry or wall.

[lilstevie]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

Yeah, But I can imagine crapping oneself thinking their new $70K+ car is gonna smack against the garage entry or wall.

My 2GC did go smack against the garage wall when it was supposed to be reversing on the recorded path, so yeah I kind of get that fear. I keep a close eye on it while using remote, but nothing too scary has happened yet

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

Yeah, But I can imagine crapping oneself thinking their new $70K+ car is gonna smack against the garage entry or wall.

Definitely a real fear, but BMW uses a "dead-man switch" approach. In the app, you have to keep your finger on the button constantly for the car to move. Once you take your finger off the button, the car immediately hits the brakes and stops.

I usually use the saved path option when I'm driving into the garage every time I come home (not remotely, but while I'm in the car). I stop in the driveway in front of the garage, then start the saved path feature to have the car park itself in the garage. Of course, I'm watching closely and have my foot riding the brake a little, just in case. :-)

Most times, the car will put itself exactly between the wall and our other car so that both side doors can open to the first "notch" without hitting the wall or our other car. It always stops far enough away from the wall in the front, and far enough in so the garage door has room to come down in the rear without hitting the car. Only sometimes does it leave too little room on one side or the other, and I'm not sure exactly why yet. Might just be a normal margin of error, or maybe the wife is too close to my side and car decides to center itself between the wall and her car.

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by SkykingUSA

Only sometimes does it leave too little room on one side or the other, and I'm not sure exactly why yet. Might just be a normal margin of error, or maybe the wife is too close to my side and car decides to center itself between the wall and her car.

That makes me curious. Maybe you should put a chalk line on the floor to see if she is parking in the same sport or moving over. I know when we lived in the states and had a side-by-side garage, my wife liked to park as far over to the right as possible so SHE could swing her door All the way open. Then complained when we went someplace in MY car and she had to wait for me to pull out of the garage first for her to get in. She would ask why I parked so close to the wall? Lol.

[Scrapula]

I used saved path for parking. It retained the path after the update and parks the same as it always did.

[LVBMW]

I have recorded a path for parking in the garage, but when I implement it the car gets "nervous" approaching the back garage wall cabinets and always stops short of the end of the recorded path.

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

I have recorded a path for parking in the garage, but when I implement it the car gets "nervous" approaching the back garage wall cabinets and always stops short of the end of the recorded path.

I made sure to stop my recorded path when the front sensors went to yellow. Maybe if it goes red, the car stops, or if it's about to go red, the car stops the path. Try re-recording it but stop the recording before the front sensors turn red (if you can).

Good luck!

Warning: if you do this, be prepared for your spouse to make fun of you. My wife laughs at me and says things like, "Don't you know how to park in the garage anymore?".

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by SkykingUSA

I made sure to stop my recorded path when the front sensors went to yellow. Maybe if it goes red, the car stops, or if it's about to go red, the car stops the path. Try re-recording it but stop the recording before the front sensors turn red (if you can).

Good luck!

Warning: if you do this, be prepared for your spouse to make fun of you. My wife laughs at me and says things like, "Don't you know how to park in the garage anymore?".

The problem is that I have to park right up against the cabinets to clear the garage door (well into the "red" zone). No problem recording the path right to the end, but the car refuses to execute it right to the end and stops short. I think it gets nervous once it enters the "red" zone despite the recorded path.

[F10_Freq]

My remote control behavior suddenly changed this week. For the past two months I had been using remote control effortlessly to pull my car into a narrow part of my driveway. Worked smooth with one press/hold until I reached my endpoint.

Now, all of sudden it keeps stopping constantly along the same path. There is nothing immediately in front of it. Nothing changed in the path, but it’s like it thinks it’s going to hit something and stops. I have to inch it forward 8 or 9 times to get it to its regular end point. It backs out fine still.

Any ideas?

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by F10_Freq

My remote control behavior suddenly changed this week. For the past two months I had been using remote control effortlessly to pull my car into a narrow part of my driveway. Worked smooth with one press/hold until I reached my endpoint.

Now, all of sudden it keeps stopping constantly along the same path. There is nothing immediately in front of it. Nothing changed in the path, but it’s like it thinks it’s going to hit something and stops. I have to inch it forward 8 or 9 times to get it to its regular end point. It backs out fine still.

Any ideas?

Is it stopping, even though you have your finger on the button, or is it stopping because it loses connection? With my phone, it sometimes loses connection to the car during a parking maneuver and I get a message on the phone that says it needs to reconnect. When that happens, the car immediately stops.

For my phone, to avoid disconnections I will typically turn off my bluetooth, then turn it back on right before starting any remote parking. That way, it usually keeps the connection solid during maneuvers.

[Scrapula]

Originally Posted by SkykingUSA

Is it stopping, even though you have your finger on the button, or is it stopping because it loses connection? With my phone, it sometimes loses connection to the car during a parking maneuver and I get a message on the phone that says it needs to reconnect. When that happens, the car immediately stops.

For my phone, to avoid disconnections I will typically turn off my bluetooth, then turn it back on right before starting any remote parking. That way, it usually keeps the connection solid during maneuvers.

Bluetooth just sucks. I have to constantly pair my FitBit when I connect to the app. My Meater temperature probe constantly loses its connection. Supposedly it has to find its way through WiFi, looking for gaps.

[F10_Freq]

It’s not loosing connection. I’ve seen that happen and it completely closes out the remote function and I need to launch it again from the app home screen.

In this situation, I’m in the manual remote screen and hold the forward button, and it’s just move forward a few inches, it stops, lift finger and press again and get a few more inches, etc. It's happening consistently in this same spot.

Coincidentally this behavior started right after I paid when my trial ended. Hmmm. I’ll need try it out in a new location and see if it does the same thing.

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by F10_Freq

I’ll need try it out in a new location and see if it does the same thing.

That is a good idea. Also try rebooting iDrive if you have not done so already.

There may be something more to the location than we think. For example, I have found two spots in my city where I regularly drive using DAPP, and where the car will suddenly start to slow down and indicate there is an intersection coming up, where there is none. When that happens, I usually just push on the accelerator pedal to stop the slow down for about 1-2 seconds, and then I let off and the car continues at speed like normal. In both locations, there is no intersection nearby, and there are no other cars too close or anything either. However, the slow downs are predictable and consistent. Pretty odd, but manageable.

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by F10_Freq

It’s not loosing connection. I’ve seen that happen and it completely closes out the remote function and I need to launch it again from the app home screen.

In this situation, I’m in the manual remote screen and hold the forward button, and it’s just move forward a few inches, it stops, lift finger and press again and get a few more inches, etc. It's happening consistently in this same spot.

Coincidentally this behavior started right after I paid when my trial ended. Hmmm. I’ll need try it out in a new location and see if it does the same thing.

I think the issue is interference. There may be another device in that specific area that is emitting on the same or a harmonic frequency to the connection to your car. The connection is constantly having to be re-established. Every time it re-connects it puts out a stronger signal to establish the "handshake" and then once it is established the signal drops in power slowly until it finds the minimum power needed to maintain that connection. Then it gets interrupted and drops. You lift your finger and then it re-establishes the connection when you put your finger back on the button. Find the source of the interference and you find the problem. Keep in mind it might not be obvious or visible. It could be a phone box, generator, hot water heater, thermostat, Neighbor's Bluetooth connection to their car etc....pretty much everything radiates at some frequency or another.

[F10_Freq]

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

I washed my i5 this morning and used the remote parking to move it forward from my house to make access to the hose easier. When I was done and wanted to move it back, I saw that the car decided to start steering itself - it seemed to perform some sort of “S” maneuver in my driveway, but I’m wondering if others have seen that? I couldn’t find a way to steer the car with the remote app (either forward or backwards) so I wondered if there’s a way to ensure it just drives in a straight line forward or back. This would certainly would make me shy away from using it to slip the car in and out of a tight parking spot.

I didn’t mean to derail your thread OP, I also wanted to say that my remote parking sometime steers like that, it just seems like it “thinks” it needs to maneuver but then “realizes” it doesn’t so it corrects back. In my case it happens so fast it seems erratic but in reality it pulls into the spot just fine. And this is in a fairly tight spot with walls and bushes and flower beds on the sides.

…that is until my other issue with remote control cropped up. So I tried the remote control in my work parking garage. There it backed out fine and when pulling back forward it still had a quick stop but it covered more distance first. It got right up to the wall on my second press forward and I released it to the final stop.

[RichardInCA]

Originally Posted by F10_Freq

I didn’t mean to derail your thread OP, I also wanted to say that my remote parking sometime steers like that, it just seems like it “thinks” it needs to maneuver but then “realizes” it doesn’t so it corrects back. In my case it happens so fast it seems erratic but in reality it pulls into the spot just fine. And this is in a fairly tight spot with walls and bushes and flower beds on the sides.

…that is until my other issue with remote control cropped up. So I tried the remote control in my work parking garage. There it backed out fine and when pulling back forward it still had a quick stop but it covered more distance first. It got right up to the wall on my second press forward and I released it to the final stop.

You’ve described it pretty perfectly. I’ve not been able to go back and try it out again but will likely give it a shot this weekend. Work is crazy busy right now.

[F10_Freq]

So after some more testing here is what I’ve learned. I don’t think it’s interference. Rather, the remote parking is relying heavily on trying to stay centered to any objects on the sides. So in my case, my driveway starts off wide and then narrows. If I start the remote control further back, in the wider part, it moves forward and steers toward center into the narrow part, uninterrupted.

However, if I start with the nose already partially in the narrow part, get out of my car and then remote the rest of the way in, it’s registering one of the sides (wall or curb/bush) as too close and thus every time I try and move it forward it stops.

My takeaway is it needs a little space to calibrate according to the surroundings and then it can maneuver smoothly (albeit not straight since it wants to stay centered).