F80 M Cars dangerous Limit button
Discussion
Just a heads up for those driving F80 M3/M4, be careful with the limit button on the steering wheel
It is total madness that BMW have chosen to put a 'limit' button right next to the M1 button on the steering wheel,I had quite a hairy moment because of this...
I was on a slip road, at night , just about to join a motorway, it was busy so I was at a standstill, sure enough there was a reasonable gap to pull out into the slow lane in front of an HGV, wanted to get a move on , so pressed M1 as I have programmed that button to use 'sport' for the throttle response, so a bit better to accelerate away, only problem was I must of pressed the limit button instead ( I was looking over my right shoulder watching the traffic etc ) , when you press the limit button whilst at a stand still this envokes a 20 mph limit on the car, I now know this, and I now know that if you mash the throttle down all the way it overrides the 20 mph limit, I DID NOT know this at the time, pulled out, Christ no power, whats going on, HGV looming down at me, panic panic ( car has only 600 miles so not run it & it wasn't really in my mind to mash the throttle ), splutter splutter, HGV blows his horn & pulls into the middle lane...very heart attack moment for me, thought I had some sort of engine malfunction, was looking a the dash for any 'limp mode' warning etc. Anyway my response was indeed to put the throttle to the floor & this cleared it, but it takes a couple of split seconds etc, as I say a very 'interesting' moment for me
So yes it was a silly error on my part, but a very easy error to make indeed, I struggle to see what BMW are thinking putting a one touch limit button right next to the M button you use regularly , should it not have a 'confirm' function like when you switch MDM mode?,why set a 20 mph limit on it if you press it when at a standstill?..ridiculous, just asking for accidents when pulling out of junctions. Yes if you hit the throttle it over rides, but it does take a second or so, so can put you in a compromised situation. Same applies if you say where going to overtake, hitting the limit button in error will invoke a speed limit set at your current speed, and again it will take a second or two to comprehend, react & press the throttle etc...just find this incredibly dangerous
Have told my wife about it, only drives the car on the odd occasion,in full auto mode, as she is not really a car person and doesn't really like driving it,I could quite clearly see her pressing the limit button in err, then panicking, and it is not your normal panicking reaction to hit full throttle,she wouldn't have known to do that , so again an incredibly dangerous scenario to be in
I am really quite amazed in this day & age of safety that BMW have gone with this design..try it yourself, stop at a junction, press limit,pull out & then see how long it takes to over ride etc,make sure you tell people that may drive your car about it too... I have no doubt its going to cause an accident at somepoint for people
It is total madness that BMW have chosen to put a 'limit' button right next to the M1 button on the steering wheel,I had quite a hairy moment because of this...
I was on a slip road, at night , just about to join a motorway, it was busy so I was at a standstill, sure enough there was a reasonable gap to pull out into the slow lane in front of an HGV, wanted to get a move on , so pressed M1 as I have programmed that button to use 'sport' for the throttle response, so a bit better to accelerate away, only problem was I must of pressed the limit button instead ( I was looking over my right shoulder watching the traffic etc ) , when you press the limit button whilst at a stand still this envokes a 20 mph limit on the car, I now know this, and I now know that if you mash the throttle down all the way it overrides the 20 mph limit, I DID NOT know this at the time, pulled out, Christ no power, whats going on, HGV looming down at me, panic panic ( car has only 600 miles so not run it & it wasn't really in my mind to mash the throttle ), splutter splutter, HGV blows his horn & pulls into the middle lane...very heart attack moment for me, thought I had some sort of engine malfunction, was looking a the dash for any 'limp mode' warning etc. Anyway my response was indeed to put the throttle to the floor & this cleared it, but it takes a couple of split seconds etc, as I say a very 'interesting' moment for me
So yes it was a silly error on my part, but a very easy error to make indeed, I struggle to see what BMW are thinking putting a one touch limit button right next to the M button you use regularly , should it not have a 'confirm' function like when you switch MDM mode?,why set a 20 mph limit on it if you press it when at a standstill?..ridiculous, just asking for accidents when pulling out of junctions. Yes if you hit the throttle it over rides, but it does take a second or so, so can put you in a compromised situation. Same applies if you say where going to overtake, hitting the limit button in error will invoke a speed limit set at your current speed, and again it will take a second or two to comprehend, react & press the throttle etc...just find this incredibly dangerous
Have told my wife about it, only drives the car on the odd occasion,in full auto mode, as she is not really a car person and doesn't really like driving it,I could quite clearly see her pressing the limit button in err, then panicking, and it is not your normal panicking reaction to hit full throttle,she wouldn't have known to do that , so again an incredibly dangerous scenario to be in
I am really quite amazed in this day & age of safety that BMW have gone with this design..try it yourself, stop at a junction, press limit,pull out & then see how long it takes to over ride etc,make sure you tell people that may drive your car about it too... I have no doubt its going to cause an accident at somepoint for people
To be honest, I've never done it accidentally although I can see how you might, but that might be because I always press the M1 button as soon as I start the car and leave it there. So at the risk of diverting this thread, is there a way for my M1 preferences (sport+ throttle, sport ride and comfort steering just in case you are interested) to already be activated when I start the car?
S&C
S&C
steakandchips said:
To be honest, I've never done it accidentally although I can see how you might, but that might be because I always press the M1 button as soon as I start the car and leave it there. So at the risk of diverting this thread, is there a way for my M1 preferences (sport+ throttle, sport ride and comfort steering just in case you are interested) to already be activated when I start the car?
S&C
Short answer is no unfortunately.S&C
benny.c said:
pc.iow said:
So, the gap wasn't big enough for an M spec BMW to enter under normal M power?
That was my first thought too. The issue here is that if the button is pressed when the car is stationary a limit of 20mph will be set. Which is dangerous when you are relying on strong acceleration to keep you safe, e.g. moving onto a motorway off a slip road as in the original post.
Edited by steakandchips on Wednesday 2nd December 22:53
steakandchips said:
Pressing the limit button doesn't limit power. Well, it does, but not in the way I think you both mean. It doesn't act like an anti-M button to curtail available power. It acts as a ceiling on your top speed. If the limit is set to 120mph you can drive it like a lunatic until the car hits 120mph. It works the same way as the 155mph (theoretical) limited speed on a lot of German cars.
The issue here is that if the button is pressed when the car is stationary a limit of 20mph will be set. Which is dangerous when you are relying on strong acceleration to keep you safe, e.g. moving onto a motorway off a slip road as in the original post.
Should have added, although I never use it, it would be good for driving through road works with 40mph average speed cameras, for example.The issue here is that if the button is pressed when the car is stationary a limit of 20mph will be set. Which is dangerous when you are relying on strong acceleration to keep you safe, e.g. moving onto a motorway off a slip road as in the original post.
clearly from the feedback , as I thought its an accident waiting to happen,quite simply bmw needs to add a confirm function to the limit button, so it takes two presses to activate, that would stop inadvertent accidently presses
also remove the stupid 20 mph limit if pressed at a standstill, what on earth is the point of that?, when do I ever want to set off from a standing start & decide, hmm better not go quicker than 20,,ridiculous
also remove the stupid 20 mph limit if pressed at a standstill, what on earth is the point of that?, when do I ever want to set off from a standing start & decide, hmm better not go quicker than 20,,ridiculous
M
Pressing the limit button doesn't limit power. Well, it does, but not in the way I think you both mean. It doesn't act like an anti-M button to curtail available power. It doesn't act like the Rain mode on a superbike. It acts as a ceiling on your top speed. If the limit is set to 120mph you can drive it like a lunatic until the car hits 120mph. It works the same way as the 155mph (theoretical) limited speed on a lot of German cars.
The issue here is that if the button is pressed when the car is stationary a limit of 20mph will be set. Which is dangerous when you are relying on strong acceleration to keep you safe, e.g. moving onto a motorway off a slip road as in the original post.
No that's not what was getting at , look again at my question.
steakandchips said:
benny.c said:
pc.iow said:
So, the gap wasn't big enough for an M spec BMW to enter under normal M power?
That was my first thought too. The issue here is that if the button is pressed when the car is stationary a limit of 20mph will be set. Which is dangerous when you are relying on strong acceleration to keep you safe, e.g. moving onto a motorway off a slip road as in the original post.
Edited by steakandchips on Wednesday 2nd December 22:53
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