Things that Surprise First Time BMW Owners 

Complete F30 Mods List ---> geni.us/f30-mods

I didn’t even know my BMW had turn signals until I saw this video.. Thanks Justin😎👍🏽

To cancel the turn signals, don’t press opposite way as normal, press same way again. So if your right signal is on, press right full a second time and it will stop.

The double door pull to get out of a locked BMW was my biggest learning curve. Taking people for a ride to this day still requires a reminder to the passenger to pull twice to get out. 😅

Another feature I love is that you can program the 1-8 buttons in the center to any menu you want. Just hold the number button for a few seconds while in the menu you want it bound to and it will bind the key. I have my most used adresses for the navigation on their and tire pressure menu and the sports menu for example, but you can program any sub menu on there.

"That why we've given up on turn signals altogether" that made me laugh out loud. Well played! And yeah, it took me a while to get used to them, and I still do the left right dance at least twice a week.

One of my favorite features is that the orange backlight for the gauge cluster and the HVAC controls is measured at 615nm (wavelength) which is the perfect color to reduce eye strain and fatigue on long rides at night!

Regarding the turn signals: the way you cancel them is by pushing them back in the way you're indicating. If you've done a full press to the right you push it right to cancel both half and full press works. It was a bit weird to get used to but it's very logical once you do. BMW should communicate this better since a lot of seasoned bmw owners doesn't know this.

Buying a bmw was probably the best purchase I’ve ever had, so much fun to drive even with the lesser engines, my fave part has to be the fact that it really teaches you how to drive

Jo a quick tip: You can cancel the turn signal by pushing in the SAME direction as it's on in the moment. So if your signaling right (full press) you can push right (half press) once more and it's off :)

Definitely the gong sound. I nearly have a heart-attack every time I hear it while driving. Also the indicators. I do the right and left indicator dance a lot and that is quite annoying. But I wouldn't swap my BMW for another car it is awesome and I love it.

As someone who grew up with both parents owning BMWs, I found it normal for the lock/unlock to be in the middle, and now I find myself accidently turning on hazards when I go to lock/unlock, or even in the newer BMWs where it is on the door handle.

About OE, for those not aware, as long as you have the OE number, you're well set. You certainly don't have to go to the dealer. Kudos to FCP Euro

My first bmw was an e90 328i, its a great car, the first few things that caught my eye were the automatic windshield wipers, having to press the inside door handle twice to open it, and how well it handles at 70+ mph

Just got my first bmw 2 weeks ago. Honestly the fastest, and most practical car I’ve ever owned. It was weird getting used to the turn signals/wiper switches but it’s very convenient.

Hi Justin, I watched some of your videos about 7 years ago, when I was looking to by a bmw and now I'm after one again I've come this video. Glad to see your still creating content and keep up the good work g!!

The turn stalk definitely caught me off guard, but now I can’t go back to the traditional version. I actually really like the tap for 3 blinks, and it doesn’t make that horrid CHONK sound like you’re breaking it when clicking it over. And to cancel, just press once in the same direction instead of opposite! Once you retrain yourself for that, it’s a breeze!

This is the first guy I've seen who can correctly explain the hot/cold dial on the dashboard. Not even Doug DeMuro and his ilk have gotten this correct. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp. Thanks for the great video!

Just drive across country in my 2008 328i. Was getting 34 mpg and had zero issues. Absolute unit

I own both an e36 and e46. The things that always suprises me is exactly how well they drive and how comfortable they are.

Great tips! Not a fan of that sensor lol

The thing that confuses most passengers is that you need to pull the lever twice to open the passenger door. Definitely worth telling passengers the first time they get in!

Just picked up my first BMW 2020 M340i. So glad I found this channel. Great content! Subbed!!!

What took me by surprise when I bought an old BMW the most was the amount of warning lights I got that (when I checked them with my scantool) were just completely benign stuff that most other cars wouldn't even blink at, like too much humidity in the air, or the passenger seat weight sensor freaking out whenever I put my bag there.

The thing that caught me out the most was the wing mirrors automatically pointing down when you throw it in reverse so you don't mess your alloys up lol.

The double pull of the door handle tripped me out for a while on my 340 lol

Had two, I got used to them pretty quickly, and I love em. Never had a problem with reverse gear. It doesn't seem hard to me. Just a right amount of resistance so you don't engage the wrong gear,

I have a 1 series e87 and the putting it into reverse got me and took me about 10 minutes to figure out. Even the guy who sold it to me struggled to show me how it worked. Also the indicators on the car takes a while to get use to. I have the manual dipstick on the car as well which is really handy and I prefer it.

One really cool feature on my 2010 328i is when you tip the sunroof open it draws the sunshade back a crack to remind you that it’s open. Every other car the shade doesn’t move unless the sunroof slides back, and to me that was such a nice feature to remind you to close it when you get out.

Solid video dude! I agree with everything you said especially the 5k oil changes 🤘

Just pick up my first BMW. As a senior in high school back in 1984, I had the pleasure of working on them for a year thanks to a neighbor that owned a shop. I feel in love with them. Well I finally bough one. Bucket list check box!

As shown in the video, I love it when putting the car in reverse and the passenger side mirror goes down so you don't curb your wheels.

One that is not common but not extremely useful either is the shortcut buttons 1-9. You can configure them to whatever you want by press and holding it (obviously) But they are also touch sensitive so you DON'T need to actually press them you can just swipe your fingers across the buttons 👍

The turn signal part part happens to me every time 😅. I know ppl behind me on the freeway be like “what the hell this guy doing” 😂

I love the ability to have cooler air in the face vents. Nice and warm for the passengers but the cooler air keeps you alert. I do sometimes freeze my face but that’s user error.

I totally agree on the runflat tires. I have replaced all of my tires and I actually bought a full spare. I just feel this is more secure just in case I’m in a place that my tire goes flat and my phone cannot connect or doesn’t have service.

So that’s why you guys don’t used them the turn signals . Now I want to know accord’s explanation

2005 E46 M3 ZCP w/ SMG. The transmission quirks definitely took a minute to learn, but dailying a manual Subaru definitely helped. Most people don’t like the driving experience of the SMG bc they don’t understand it, but I find it really rewarding. I also find it’s a whole world smoother after using the ECUWorx binary tuning to update to the CSL SMG software.

Hahahaha the chaotic highway blinker is definitely me. I knew that half press is for changing lanes, but sometimes you press up/down to hard and then it goes the opposite direction. I never put much thought into the fact that the blinker stalk automatically goes to center. Thanks, now I understand why I keep fumbling and never had that problem in cars before 😅

Been driving BMWs since 1999 and this video finally taught to me what the deal with the hot/cold wheel is! First BMW was a 91 318is I bought in 1999. I learned how to drive stick on it and never looked back. I do feel like BMW has lost its way. The other day at the dealer the only cars I was interested in were the CPO and used models.

I'm a F11 owner and the thing it surprised me the most is that the buttons of radio stations (1, 2, 3, etc) are touch sensitive, you can slide your finger across them and it will display you what radio station each one is directed to.

Great video. While I’ve driven bmw since the early 90s back in Germany, many of these items still hold truth today. A few things I’ve learned over the years from bmw engineers is that… 1. The door lock button is in the center for security reasons as it is much harder to get an object via “break in” to push it there rather than on the driver’s side as with many cars these days. (Used to have the window controls there too, in center console where armrest is now) 2. The manual reverse gear used to work by pushing the shifter knob downward and to the direction of the gear, at least in a 1992 525 TDS I had. Doubt it changed much from back then, but that was many moons ago. Now since living here, the automatic shifting is so great, no need for manuals any more. 3. Instead of using the signal stock to cancel the signal by pushing the opposite, the cancel feature is to push in same direction as when you activated it. 4. Bonus info - the orange backlight was engineered with the fact that it is a great color with frequency to reduce fatigue to the maximum, and keep your eyes focused at night without reduction of night vision.

My first car is a 2003 BMW 330XI, literally got it from a family friend. Engine, Transmission, AC and Heat worked well. Car was kept in good condition. Needed some work but minor; crank sensor, cam sensor, new spark plugs, coils, oil change. But otherwise I’m very happy with it. I notice minor issues come up with the older models especially not knowing much but it just being a BMW and my first car in general. I have been driving it since Friday.

The cool head/warm feet feature in BMW is down right amazing. Its a shame now on the g20 3 series you have to go through the entertainment system to adjust it though. I sorely missed that feature when I didnt own a BMW

Still driving my 2008 BMW E90 318D daily, 233,000 miles on the clock (374,977km) and runs perfect! A well maintained BMW is practically unstoppable!

My first, and only BMW is E65 745i , and it’s still giving me good emotions when I’m driving it. It’s 21 years old almost, and I’m still impressed about how many features it had back in the past.

Excellent video. Just bought my first BMW 6 hours ago. And there's definitely a learning curve.

The temperature control is actually convenient. I have it in my 14 X3 and 2023 m340i. It allows me to fine tune each temperature setting. I use it all the time

Love the video, I definitely agree with your points and choice of features. I've owned multiple e chassis now and currently have an e36 M3, e90 330i, and an e70 X5. One of the most annoying features with the X5 is PDC sensors. Everytime you get close to something and you're going backward, it beeps. But it also keeps beeping for about 30 seconds even after you put the car in park or drive, meaning, once you park and still have the car on, the car is constantly still beeping until you turn it off. Super annoying. Also, windsheild wipers. I've found that if you buy anything other than OE or OEM or RainX, the clip mechanism of other brands doesn't stay on well. There have been multiple times when I've bought Michellin wipers and they've almost fallen off when I turn on the wipers. If they fell off, that would have lead to the metal wiper hanger scratching your glass. Yikes. With the turn signals, F31 MSport is right but also, it won't take long to become accustomed to just barely tapping the stalk to cancel the turn signal. Cool feature about Carly and BimmerCode, you can code the temporary turn signal to flash 5 times which I think is long enough for anything anyways. You'll never have to fully turn the turn signals on again lol.

The turn signals caught me so off guard, but now I actually prefer them and feel like the other „normal“ ones are weird.

Just picked-up the 320IX, w/ twin turbo, and really like it. Video was very informative, and useful. Cheers

all of this was so valid. i got my first bmw last year and even though it’s 15 years old a lot of this is true, minus having the menu screens. i def get frustrated with the signals at times and the no dipstick blew me away. but i’m still getting surprised at some of the amazing things within the car-dimming mirrors, the lights that move when i make turns. it’s so worth it to have some of those accommodations. my biggest complaint is no vents in the cabin and it gets HOT in the back (florida, X3).

I’m on my 3rd BMW now and I didn’t even know some of this stuff… lol. Great video as always!

When I bought my first BMW in 1991 (318is e30) I was astonished by the overall quality of the car, especially the build and materials used. The turn signal quirk was one of the first things I noticed. All the driver controls were oriented towards the driver. This was a first for a non exotic and was a big deal at the time. The battery was in the back as well, which was something you found mostly in Italian cars. The tool kit attached to the trunk lid was another feature that distinguished BMW from other cars. It was an extraordinary car and I have owned two others since.

The width adjuster on the seat and the leg rest for driver and front seat passenger were trippy, I absolutely love them on my 335i M

Got a 2007 E60 530i. Love the N52 3 litre n/a engine. One thing that took me ages to come to terms with is how (unless the car has only been shut off for a very short amount of time), the air always comes on as standard, even if I had it switched off before stopping the engine. At first I thought it was broken until I looked around online and had people telling me that was normal. Every other car I had previously would leave the air on or off depending on how it was when shutting the engine off.

This reminds me of some of your older videos for some reason, but I still do enjoy this video because it can be very helpful for those who are like me that are going to buy or are interesting into picking up a BMW. A great video as always coming from Justin!!

You have to pull the door handle twice to open the door. My friends kept trying to get out on the first pull. It was great lol

I bought my first BMW 640D coupe month ago and still learning everything. Everything digital and great. I am enjoying especially app control when I need vent my baby :-) so awesome.

The first thing that surprises is that the seat is so uncomfortable that you can't drive for more than 20 minutes. The rest is no surprise at all

Having had a 2014 5 series in the family since 2015 (and it’s still running fine), I’ve learned quite a lot about about fixing it myself and about OE parts. Seems like that same CTEK battery charger/tender is marketed as several brands, BMW, Alfa and Mercedes seem to use that unit! On my Alfa, I switched to non-run flat tires and enjoying the better ride. Nice video Justin, hope are doing well!

I've loved all six of my BMWs, they're great reliable cars if your stay up on the maintenance and replace common failure items early. High depreciation make them a great used car buy - really can't beat the handling, usability, and fun factor for the money (used).

I love the F82 M4, and they’ve depreciated to a point where I can almost afford one so I really appreciate this video. I’ve been driving 90’s JDM cars for the last 5 years, this will be my first BMW so videos like these are really good to watch. Love the background music too ❤

Thanks Justin! Now I know how to check my oil now. Love your content, keep it up!❤❤

I absolutely love the red/blue hot/cold air feature on F BMWs, it works so well. I have trouble finding a comfortable temp setting for longer drives in other cars especially during winter time but this just works everytime. I do not think I saw it on the G models though.

Great video, I’ve had BMWs for years and love them. The weird thing compared to other cars is that they are really well thought out so reading then manual is actually worth doing. I’d advise finding a BMW specialist near you for service and repairs. You’ll save a ton of money but still get the car looked after by someone who understands them.

One thing that surprised me when I first got my 320i was the amount of options for seat positioning as well as the mirrors that dip down when you reverse

Had my 328i a year now and didn't know about the door unlock until you said it! I've been leaning over to open for my lady the whole time lol.. thanks!

Hi Justin, you put out great videos. Thanks for sharing. I have a 2014 550i xdrive and one thing that took me by surprise, was that one day I started the car and I wanted to back up while the door was open. It started to back a slightly and then it shifted into park and that scared the crap out of me until I figured out the safety feature. Lol

G20 actually solved some of the "issues": turn signal, door locking and so on. The dipstick still gone, but as you said, no dealbreaker. Now there's an individual control of front vents and even a "vitalize" program that opens the shade of the moonroof, blows shots of cool air in the driver area and plays some wake-up music

My first BMW was 1988 535is. I discovered the dash vent flexibility with the 3 levers that controlled windshield, dash and floor air. The infinite flexibility of the system was wonderful. On a recent 2024 330e, I saw the same flexibility, but now digitally controlled via settings on the IVI screen. Still a cool feature.

I have a BMW X3 2012. It's the door handles for me. The double pull, everyone that gets out of my car thinks the door is locked lol I love that the manual is preinstalled and you can look it up in the Dash! Never loved driving until I got this!

When I had my 2010 E92 330d Coupé one of the first things I did was to ditch the run-flat tyres and put in a compressor and bottle of Tyreweld. It improved both the way the car handled and the ride quality became sublime.

Bought a F32 435i a week ago. Turn signals are a challenge at first, didn’t know where to unlock the doors, no dipstick, and didn’t know what that climate control adjuster near door lock button did. Great video!

I recently just got my bmw 328i xdrive & tbh I’m still not use to all the accessories & little tricks about the car but I am sure loving it & learning as I go!

Best orchestrated car video I’ve seen. Nice job.

Well my first bmw was a Z3, so everything was pretty typical. BUT I had to get use to the window buttons being in the middle of the car. That was weird for a little. After that I got an 08 X3, and I think the weirdest thing besides the temperature dial like you mentioned, was the lack of cup holders. Previously I had a suburban and that thing had cup holders big enough to hold a jug of milk.

Couple of things I learned after owning my X3 for awhile. Adaptive headlights: Putting headlights in auto mode will operate fog lights and turn headlight lenses when turning. This does not work in manual mode. Lock/unlock sunroof and windows: A neat feature I learned about when looking into coding my BMW. Long press to disable traction control: Traction control button will switch between normal and "Ultimate"/Tank mode traction. Useful when you get your car somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. To turn off Traction control, hold the button.

Im going to mention this because this may help someone. Whenever you put the BMW in reverse and you dont want the mirror pointing down, use the side mirror selector and select the moving mirror. It will disable it, ive used this to help reverse back into spaces (e46 no backup camera) and use the switch if I am looking for a curb. Should work with newer BMWs too.

Not really something that took getting used to but I have an f82 m4 and the automatic mirror button is just such a nice feature especially with the M side mirrors. Great vid!!

The turn signal in my E90 caught me off guard for sure. The relatively heavy steering at low speed was a bit of a surprise too.

Nice video. I have been driving my E46 320d manual now for almost 21 years and I have done just under 520 000 km (~323 000 miles). Still going strong. Some of what you listed is relevant on myne, but it is old enough that many of your list would be new to me as well.

Thank you for this I really needed this, I was so weirded out by half of your points.

One thing I love is that when you turn off the engine, the radio still plays. It’s timed and when the car shuts down. You can still hit the radio power button to still listen to the radio. Plus the interior lighting is awesome. This color orange. Wow.

One thing that I really liked was if your vehicle is equipped with Lane assist, even doing a lane change will cancel the turn signal because the cameras can tell you changed lanes

Ive owned my BMW for 4 years and haven't looked back. In terms of maintenance, its been very good to me thankfully because ive kept it well maintenaned and drive it like a normal person The thing that took me a little getting used to is definitely the seat adjustments!!!! Especially because i haven't got electronic ones,!

Great information and thank you!

that was the most informative BMW video I've every watched :) thank you.

Good video. I have a 328i with an inline six, and love it. Can cruise at 90 to 100 mph all day. Got rid of the run flats after about six months. Great improvement in the ride. Will be getting a 540i in a week.

After driving two F20 1 series (standard and facelift, both 116d) as company cars, I bought my own E89 28i and will probably drive this one for a while, especially after having preventive maintenance on the timing chain and the valve cover. I can relate to the run flat tyres. On the company cars I had no choice but once the run flats were worn out on my E89 I replaced them with normal tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S). My god, what a difference. These tyres make the car really come to life...

Just got mine two days go love it

I had a 2004 Jetta but just purchased a 2015 328i Luxury model. I really love it for the few months I have had it.

Love the adjustment for front air vent temps regardless of what your cabin temps are set at! Also agree with going with non run flat tires… just sign up for AAA. Hate the gong sound and low tire warning, usually means a nail in the tire( but not always)

Ahhh. My first BMW was a 1998 E39 5-series (manual) which I still have. I have a dipstick, indicators where the stalk stays in the position you push it to (no 3 flashes for lane changes), no battery coding, a harsh buzzing as the warning sound and a full sized spare in the boot/trunk. It's a fabulous car to own since I've had it for 19 years but I wouldn't want to buy a car as old as that now. I also have a newer 1-series with everything you describe. The gong sound is truly awful and Chinese-like. I would recommend BMWs all day long as mine have always been very reliable but they do get serviced every 2000 miles since I don't do the milage any more, I still do them yearly. Regular oil changes are absolutely essential, not only for BMWs but for any car and is the single most important thing you can do to keep your car reliable. Regularly change the oil and warn the engine with gentle driving and they will go on forever, providing there isn't an existing issue. Great interesting and informative video though, thanks.

This channel is my new go-to guide

Got an M4 (2018 Automatic) and what was a big adjustment was the DCT. Still getting the hang of it but I love this car so much!

My first 3 bmws were all 80’s bmw e30s surprisingly enough much of the technology included in the car from that time period was way ahead of its time and suprises many people. auto windows, auto sunroof, fuel economy gauge, impressive all wheel drive, dimmable interior lighting, premium Harmon Kardon sound, heated seats, mirror map lights, oil check/ service light, overhead indicator check lamps for trouble codes it was shockingly impressive, so impressive I decided to invest in a newer model so I can do more fun projects and be able to down my other cars for maintenance. I bought a 2011 128i and it was a n51 sulev which actually is insanely expensive to deal with because of the sulev components. word of advice for anyone looking at buying a sulev n51 Powerplant bmw do not buy it unless you live in an emissions/ smog state then there is a 15 year 150k mile warranty applied to sulev components. To my dismay I have had a lot of trouble with my 1 series and spent a lot of time and money troubleshooting and fixing these problems, one thing I will say impressed me is that I had no idea about DTC (Dynamic Traction Control). In my car during the winter I was driving a rear wheel drive car and it was challenging until I learned more about the car and used DTC in combination with siped and studded Firestone winter force tires. DTC made all the difference in the characteristics and performance of driving in challenging winter snow and ice. My vehicle had only aux and CD options for music but I had no idea about being able to program my phone in Bluetooth for hands free calls which was amazing. I also learned about how to use the key fob to roll all my windows down and back up which was a super cool! But hidden feature. Great video with lots of good info thank you!

One of the first things that caught me off guard is when you’re in eco pro, and you go over 30mph and less than 50mph, and u take ur foot off the gas, the car automatically goes on neutral to save gas. It took me some time to get used to it 😂

Purchased my first 2015 535i. Love this car even though it's 8 years old, it runs great . I bought the car with 74,000 miles. No issues whatsoever. I just figured out how to automatically let the rear window shade down, which is a plus

I have a tuned manual m140i and although it probably shouldn't suprise me, it did suprise me how easy it was to go sideways. All about the smiles per gallon!