BMW Shifter

[MileHigh]

My wife has an X5 and I’m not totally hip on the shifter that looks like the Same one as in the IG. I was surprised, given the rigged 4x4 application, that they didn’t get something more purpose driven? Also, it totally looks out of place next to the center diff control… I know I’ll get used to it, but I find it rather non-intuitive….

Whenever I drive her car, I’m never quite sure that I actually have it in park..

 

[Davman]

Agreed - the shifters look horrendously mismatched

 

[Guru]

I’ve already considered making some sort of alternative cover for it. Cad designed and 3D printed. Always hated the shifter in my X5.

 

[emax]

Don't underestimate the design and production of such a device. It's indeed a device and not just a collection of switches.

It must be resistant to vibrations, dust, humidity, heat and cold. The buttons must not bounce, give a good haptic feedback and must last for at least 8000 hrs of operation, as well as be capable of firmware updates and support the bus protocol including diagnostic procedures and error logs. All this is paired with a long lasting finsh and a sweat resistant coating.

I am really curious what a DIY 3d printed shell or cover will perform like in at least the haptic and reliabilty respects.

The price for a new, complete shifter is around 1000€ - for a reason.
(so I must admit that this includes a BMW premium ...)

And I guess that Ineos did for the Grenadier 1.0 not design their own due to exactly these requirements, let alone that this device is critical as it constitutes a single point of failure.

 

[Guru]

I think you misunderstand my post… I’m not so conceited to think I or any other “qualified amateur” could redesign/manufacturer a complete new shifter.
The idea would be to have another outer shell keeping intact all the elements if the original BMW one. A chunkier more utilitarian one to match the low/high range lever.

 

[emax]

I think I got you right in that you will by no means want to build your own - I'd in that case just have shaken my head ;-)

But I am, as I wrote, curious what a DIY cover or shell would perform like.

I consider this difficult, even if one has access to and skills of e.g. Solidworks.

 

[MileHigh]

I think I got you right in that you will by no means want to build your own - I'd in that case just have shaken my head ;-)

But I am, as I wrote, curious what a DIY cover or shell would perform like.

I consider this difficult, even if one has access to and skills of e.g. Solidworks.

So I’ll have to upgrade my TinkerCad skillset…. Actually, I’m amazed at what you can make in Tinkercad, and then I’m amazed at how hard it is sometimes….

I too have a few 3D printers and have looked at pics of vintage 4x4s trying to figure out a mod.

$1000 for it, I’ve seen for less- but my wife’s (2014X5) is rather ‘dumb’, with out haptics as far as I can tell, no touch pad or anything. I thought I saw them for a couple of hundred bucks.

I agree that it would suck to mess with it and end up dead back up a trial. And it is so glaring , that there has to be a reason why they didn’t mess with it.

I’m more interested on printing do-dads for the L channel cargo system…. Even if they are just Starship Enterprise engine nacelles or Sidewinder missiles…

 

[emax]

> So I’ll have to upgrade my TinkerCad skillset
Try freecad. Amazing, but steep learning curve. Conceptually much like Solidworks.

> I agree that it would suck to mess with it and end up dead back up a trial
I wouldn't see it that way. Even if the chances are little, it's worth a try.

"Der Weg ist das Ziel." ;-)

 

[Halliwell Jones Chester]

My wife has an X5 and I’m not totally hip on the shifter that looks like the Same one as in the IG. I was surprised, given the rigged 4x4 application, that they didn’t get something more purpose driven? Also, it totally looks out of place next to the center diff control… I know I’ll get used to it, but I find it rather non-intuitive….

Whenever I drive her car, I’m never quite sure that I actually have it in park..

Depending on the age of your X5, the second you turn the engine off it should automatically put itself into park.

 

[emax]

That's imho one of that annoying 'nanny' functions which sometimes get in the way. If I want to move my car half a meter in my garage, I'd for sure not start the engine, but push it manually. Doesn't work if it's in park.

And how about towing? This works in 'neutral' with my Mercedes - without running engine.

This is hopefully a configurable option ...

 

[stickshifter]

I agree with the original premise of the thread: the BMW shifter does not fit well with the overall ethos of the Grenadier, nor does it fit well visually in the cabin.

I think the ethos of the Grenadier calls for a manual transmission, but I'm not going to grind that axe. It is pointless, and non-productive.

However, I still think Ineos could have done better than the BMW shifter, and provided a shifter that is more mechanical and less electronic. Yes, yes, I know that even the "more mechanical" automatic shifters use electronics, but there is a difference between a BMW shifter and some of the other auto shifters on the market. Take the Jeep JL Wrangler shifter as an example of a "more mechanical" shifter: both the Grenadier and the Jeep use the ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, but the Jeep's shifter moves, and has positive engagement when you go into gear. It is very tactile, feels more mechanical, and is more obviously in whatever gear (park/drive/reverse) you select. Also, if you click it over to the left, you go into "manual shift" mode, and the manual shifts are crisp, with positive physical feedback (haptics) to the driver.

Both in terms of aesthetics (less important), and in terms of physical feedback and mechanical feel (more important), I think Ineos should have developed their own shifter (or borrowed one from Jeep). I am not suggesting "Jeep is better than Grenadier" or any nonsense like that, so let's not go down that rabbit hole. I just agree with the OP that the BMW shifter is out of place in the Grenadier.

 

[stickshifter]

Depending on the age of your X5, the second you turn the engine off it should automatically put itself into park.

And this is why I drive manual transmission vehicles. The Grenadier is designed to be "as simple as possible, and as complicated as necessary" (I believe that's a quote from Sir Jim or someone very high-up in the design team). I think that most people who are drawn to the Grenadier are hoping that the word "automatically" has been ripped from every page of the owner's manual. I'm only partly kidding...

 

[Shaky]

When I recently got in a new BMW with that shifter I had to sit and look at it and acclimatise myself for quite a few minutes. I seem to remember I struggled to get it into reverse.

It was totally alien to me if I am honest, although I am sure I will soon get used to it.

That said I certainly wouldn’t want a manual IG and I note a lot of “upgraded” Defenders have an auto gear box.

 

[Shaky]

I have just looked at photos of the interior again. I wonder if the two shifters are purposely radically different to stop a potential mix up whilst driving.

In a defender it is pretty had to grab the wrong one whilst driving but it may be much easier to do in the IG.…Just a thought

 

[rovie]

I have just looked at photos of the interior again. I wonder if the two shifters are purposely radically different to stop a potential mix up whilst driving.

In a defender it is pretty had to grab the wrong one whilst driving but it may be much easier to do in the IG.…Just a thought

I don't trust the engineers with such a thought.
I think they made it easy for themselves and simply adopted the lever with the gearbox attached.

 

[emax]

I agree with the 'sentiment' regarding that shifter.

But to be honest: I give it a shit. It's one of the things which have to work, and I'm convinced it will. It may take an afternoon to get used of it, but then you'll likely not want to miss it any more. It has been developed a long time ago, and has had a dozen or more iterations. And so I trust in it to do what it's supposed to do, and to support the driver as good as it can get.

In my Mercedes W203 I have some gadgets which I doubted to makes sense. One of them is the automatic dimming of the back mirrors, WTF?

Today, I find it one of the best accessories I've ever had in a car. It shines in that you don't notice it. It's just there and relieves me from too bright light behind me, a perfect 'silent' assistant - which you get only aware of in the moment that it's not there.

If the shifter turns out to be a 'silent' assistant as well and it works similarly helpful, it will be perfect.

But for the ones which don't feel well without mud at their shoes - like me ;-) - I suggest a covering of flecktarn camouflage. Or maybe just a Parisian for the pimps among us? And for the grandmas just a knitted sock, maybe ... ?

I suggest a 'Pimp Your Shifter' thread. Not only that it might yield interesting variations of that shifter, it will as well be a source of entertainment for all of us.

 

[rovie]

It probably only symbolises the tie-wearing so-called workshop specialists.

 

[Orcmurd]

Whilst not in keeping with the look of vehicle, the shifter is fine to use. Had it in my BMW X4 for the last 3 years and it was fine

 

[Shaky]

If pimping your shifter then what about a condom. Dust proof and thin enough to get full feeling of the haptic buttons

 

[DCPU]

I’ve already considered making some sort of alternative cover for it. Cad designed and 3D printed. Always hated the shifter in my X5.

It's an option (as in it's been done already).