https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/5/22765709/bmw-chip-shortage-touchscreen-car-suv-manufacturing

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Filed under:

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  * Transportation

Some new BMWs won't have touchscreens thanks to chip shortage

New, 40 comments

New buyers beware -- the 3 Series and more won't have touchscreens

By Mitchell Clark Nov 5, 2021, 3:15pm EDT

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[BMW_MY22_3] Image: BMW

BMW is dropping touchscreens from many of its new cars due to the
chip shortage, according to a forum post on BimmerFest and later
confirmed by the car company to Edmunds and AutoBlog. While we've
seen other auto manufactures have to pause production or cut other
features, this omission is a big deal -- nowadays, touchscreens are a
fairly standard feature in cars, and not having one will affect how
you interact with the car almost every day.

According to the BimmerFest post, some affected vehicles (which
include the 3 Series sedans, and X5, X6, and X7 SUVs / crossovers)
will also lose access to the backup assistant feature as well, which
automatically backs into spots for you after recording how you drove
through them going forward. The post also says that cars shipped
without touchscreens will come with a $500 credit and will require
both a software update and the customer to sign a form with the
dealer to acknowledge that they know about the feature deletion.

Instead of the touchscreen, users will have to rely on a controller
in the center console, which features touchpad-like abilities. It's a
divisive input option between reviewers, but I doubt most people
would choose it over the touchscreen under normal circumstances.

What's worse is that, practically speaking, you probably won't be
able to get a touchscreen installed after the fact with the $500
you're saving from the deletion. At this point, then, it may be best
to just try and wait it out -- while the chip shortage is expected to
last until at least 2023, cars are often a long-term purchase. Do you
really want to be using a touchpad instead of a touchscreen in, say,
2030?

BMW isn't the only company making cuts to its vehicles to deal with
shortages -- GM has dropped features as well, from the relatively
innocuous like HD radio and built-in wireless charging on some models
to serious omissions like fuel management modules and auto stop-start
on some of its V8s and its much-touted Super Cruise hands-free
driving mode.

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