Bad things/drawbacks for the 1 Series?

[C_Topher]

So far my biggest complaint is the 2 end vents on the dashboard. I can't direct them far enough towards the middle of the car to blow cold AC on myself or my passenger. They either blow straight back or on the door!?! Only the center vents can be directed towards the front seats.

Otherwise LOOOOVE the car.

[d3syd]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before...

Clutch peddle bit close dead peddle
Cup holder under arm rest useless for anything taller than a standard can
High beams on xenon equipped cars could be better
Pro nav lacks the functions and usability of my Garmin portable
Larger door pockets would be nice

Minor gripes. I still LOVE my car!!

[warmtoes]

Originally Posted by C_Topher

So far my biggest complaint is the 2 end vents on the dashboard. I can't direct them far enough towards the middle of the car to blow cold AC on myself or my passenger. They either blow straight back or on the door!?! Only the center vents can be directed towards the front seats.

Otherwise LOOOOVE the car.

Yeah, I noticed that too.

[Darth One]

driving the car causes right shoulder pain....


...from being punched repeatedly in the arm by wife as she looks at the speedometer :

[d3syd]

Tell her to stop. It dangerous to distract the driver.....:biggrin:

[gullyfoyle]

Originally Posted by Exper1ence

I love it, except for the leg room. I have a couple friends, one 6ft, the other 6ft 4in, and they had some issues getting in and getting out of the car...

I don't know, i'm 6'6" no issues getting in/out. this car isn't for passengers though. especially on back sits.

[Mad Dragon]

Originally Posted by UmpChap

BMWs are supposed to come with that goofy flashlight in the glovebox, no?

They used to, but not any more.

[backtoreality15]

Stereo issues?:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13626

[My135]

I can't see the radio dispaly at certain angle with my sun glasses on.
I wish the throw is shorter.

[heybuddyjb]

mine didnt have the little flashlight either. i called the dealer and they sent me 2!!!

[Xin1120]

Originally Posted by heybuddyjb

mine didnt have the little flashlight either. i called the dealer and they sent me 2!!!

Oh wow, you wanna send me one of those? hahah, I didn't even know they were suppose to come with them.

-no first aid kit and no reflective triangle
-agree with the side air vents not able to direct to center

[adc]

Originally Posted by My135

I can't see the radio dispaly at certain angle with my sun glasses on.
I wish the throw is shorter.

Both are fixable - for the latter one, there is a short shifter kit available.

And for the radio display, there is a simple DYI fix:
- Wear thin gloves during this process to avoid fingerprints.
- Go to your supplies room and get a simple overhead transparency sheet. (Cost me a few cents at Kinkos).
- Measure your car's radio display - you can add up to 1/8" on each side, or at least to the top-bottom measurement. Cut it out of a piece of paper, that way you can test & trim for perfect fit. The reason it can be bigger is that you can slide it under the display's surrounding frame.
- Take the transparency sheet to the car, put your polarized glasses on and start rotating it in front of the radio until you can see the display. It will be roughly at around 45 degree rotation angle.
- Use the piece of paper you generated earlier to trace and cut a piece from the transparency sheet.
- Slide it onto the radio display with the glossiest side towards you.
- If it's not perfect, you can try again - a transparency sheet can easily generate 3-4 pieces.

It really works, it's cheap, and not terribly difficult to do.

[pghollysprings]

I'm overwhelmed with my 1. Only issues so far: with some frequency the drivers seat belt gets twisted around and I have to 'undo' it. Why they didn't offer front park distance control. I'm really short . Biggest grip: gees I rent cars a lot on travel, freaking chevy malibu reads out tire pressures, but my 1er doesn't??

[kwanzto]

Originally Posted by BrownBoy

I appologize. When I test drove the car, I might not have pushed on the arm hard enough but from what I experienced, you had to hold it down to have the blinker operate. What you described is absolutely perfect! I withdraw my comment.

Does it tell you how to customize this in the owner's manual?

Yes, I customized mine this morning after reading about it in the manual. You can chose 1 or 3 blinks for the 'lane change.' Great feature.

As for my gripes about the car, I agree that not having pockets on the back of the seats is a letdown. I had a very specific use for those in my last car, so I miss them.

edit...(I withdraw my previous gripe about HomeLink, I finally figured it out. Thanks in very large part to the helpful people in this forum).

[thesmokingone]

the clutch stroke seems long to me. i had a celica and i could go from completely disengaged to on the floor w/o moving my heel on the floor...

[backtoreality15]

Originally Posted by thesmokingone

the clutch stroke seems long to me. i had a celica and i could go from completely disengaged to on the floor w/o moving my heel on the floor...

That's because the Celica was designed for women's feet.

Haha, sorry I had to; just joking of course. I shouldn't be talking, I have a Step...

[jnynetwk]

My one complaint is that Comfort Access doesn't work farther from the car. Occasionally, when walking away, I'll remember that I didn't lock it (which is easy to do when you never touch the key) but sometimes the fob is too far from the car. so I have to take a half a step closer for it to lock. Also, sometimes the truck takes a bit to decide if it wants to let you in.

I'd also like to be able to put the top up and down more than a few feet away. If I'm that close, why bother? I want to be able to do it as far away as I can lock/unlock the doors. Hell, I'd love to be sitting in a bar and realize it is getting cloudy and close the top without putting my beer down!

All in all, I'm still very happy.

[imported_mega]

they gotta fix that radio polarized sunglasses issue, with my prescription glasses I cant see the radio at all, gonna fix that this weekend

the steering does not have that nice feel like the e30's had, I wish they could get that back

one of the cupholders is really a keyholder, no way to put any cup in there with the armrest over it

and that cvd, god I hate it, 1st to 2nd gear shifts are not fun, people that cant drive sticks buy auto's, leave the cvd out


easy fix I would do, auto rotate the mirrors when the doors are locked and keyfob is out of range, or remember the setting to do that, add it to the door lock settings, software I only I suppose and easy to do

[Dr_Jones]

no jack

[uofmtiger]

Most of my gripes have been mentioned, but I will mention them again:

1. The headrest only going up and down (no way to rotate it forward). My number 1 complaint.
2. The radio/sunglass issue..I will try to use the fix described above.
3. The cup holder under the armrest just seems poorly designed. There is no reason the armrest could not have been a half inch shorter. However, try putting two decent sized cups in the thing..just a mess waiting to happen. Also the vert does not have any cupholders in the back. I used those quite a bit in the 3 series (hated the cupholders built into the dash, too).
4. No flood lights

Other than those minor gripes, I love it. I should also mention that mine came with the 3 blinker setup disabled. I got that fixed thanks to this thread, though.

Also, I am 6'5 and have no problem getting in and out of the car. It has tons of headroom, and unlike the 3 series sedan, there is not a bar between the front and back doors that gets in the way with the seat all the way back. This was my main reason for looking at coupes & convertibles.

[ru with me drhoo]

Originally Posted by Jeff1962

I agree totally. Since I will use this car as a daily driver in northern IL. I will have to spend $1500 on a winter tire/wheel package, another $400 on a spare and jack, then another $1200 plus mounting and balancing on NON RUN FLATS when the OEM RUN FLATS wear out soon. Thats OVER $3,000. B.S. I ALSO SAY.

I drive my 330i in northern IL and have RUN FLAT WINTER TIRES. Available at Tire Rack if you don't find them locally. Dunlop makes mine.

[kovu401]

I love my 128i. I've never felt safer driving a vehicle. The brakes are fantastic, the accelerator is very responsive, and it gets decent gas mileage for a sports car (28-32 mpg). Some irritants I haven't seen addressed yet (granted, I haven't read all the posts yet):

If you put something moderately heavy on the passenger seat while driving, the iDrive will start harassing you about the passenger seat belt. So, if I go to the store, but a 12 pack of soda (or two) and put them on the seat on the way home, I have to listen to the stupid thing ding, put the seatbelt on my fizzy "passenger," or just put them on the floor or in the back seat.

Everytime the iDrive starts up, it has the "only use when safe to do so" disclaimer and you can't get rid of it.

I can't get the iDrive to NOT open when the car starts. I've tried all of the options. It may be because of the irritating disclaimer.

Each '08 1 is supposed to come with a commemorative hardcover book with a certificate of authenticity and my dealership had no clue whatsoever when I asked them where it was or when I would get it. I've had the car since April and have heard nary a word about it.

BTW, interesting aside: not two weeks after I got it some dimbulb chick in the parking spot next to me opened her door and slammed my right-rear wheelwell, making a ding that was almost $600 in damage. She said "I'm sorry!" got in her car, and drove away. Luckily I got her license plate number and, because I did so, California has a law that the insurance waives the deductible.

Another humorous story: One month after I had it I got a flat, but it was hardly the car's fault: turned out the tire had gotten a huge screw in it. Luckily I had gotten the full wheel and tire coverage offered by my dealer and didn't pay a dime. I was told not to fix it (some say RFTs should not be repaired), but wound up having to do so and it runs just fine.