BMW interior designer take note: E90 interior ergonomics/safety improvement needed

[Schwepps]

I can't believe this thread! And I can't imagine what complaints you would have about an E21, E30 or E36. I think you guys have outgrown BMWs, and it's time for you to move up to the quiet ergonomic luxury of a Merc, Lexus or Jaguar. GET REAL people! :bird:

 

[astroboy]

Well.. looks like different individual has different level of benchmarks..

I'm only complaining about the right dash compartment lid because it "hurts"!!:banghead:

Other than that, I can give u 10 good reasons for everything that come or did not come with the car.. :wink: :top:

 

[initialM]

yes, the bloody E46 also have this. Injured myself also because forget to close it when getting out of the car.:stupid:

Unker u must took a lot of Tongkat Ali lar.
I broke my E46 glove cover when goin out.

 

[SMG330i]

5 。 Wiper movement seems to be coupled over the brake pedal. I felt it because the brake pedal was depressed at traffic light stop. I don't recall such mechanical coupling being felt in other BMW models.

I thought i'm the only one experiencing this. This is very very irritating.

 

[phantom]

Few issues I don't like about E90,

1) Front window is too small that I've to "climb" out from my seat to touch the Touch n Go sensor at the toll plaza.

2) As with most rear wheel drive cars, the boot compartment gets warm after a long drive and not suitable to carry fresh groceries and badminton/tennis rackets.

3) The side of the rear passenger seat curve too much making exit difficult especially for elderly people.

4) On M-Sport models, higher -ve camber(normal characteristic) on the 255 rear wheels equates to earlier tyre changes! It's ok to sacrifice this for greater handling:top:

Other than that, it's a funtastic drive!

 

[Schwepps]

It's all a function of aging guys. Gone are the days when it didn't matter if the girl was sitting on your left, you could still unhook her bra with one left-handed pinch. Gone are the days when you could climb over the gear console without requiring reconstructive knee surgery, etc, etc.

Time to look at a Merc. Their headrests are small, key slot on the right, no right side compartment, etc. Designed for aging rockers.

 

[astroboy]

... Use of aluminum is no reason/excuse for BMW having & not solving those issues. Besides I don't think the air con piping non-insulation is due to aluminum panel. Even the black PVC (I think?) surface is cold.

1. The aluminum is part of the cooling design to regulate cabin temperature..

2. Aluminum is a good heat conductor, so the element itself absorb and disseminate heat better than any other element on the chemistry table. Its just material used for ergonomic purposes.. if you no like, wrap it with PU lor..

Why u know the aircon piping is not insulated? When talking about aircond pipe and insulation, I normally would think off the cooling agent aluminum piping.. I doubt we have a rear cooling coil at our rear vent blower like my mini MPV.. our rear "blower" is not even a blower, it's just part of an air vent like those on both side of the dash.

And I have never seen air vent plastic hose comes with insulation.. not even a Lexus. In a normal aircond design, only the cooling agent aluminum piping need insulation, otherwise the condensed water over the piping will wet everywhere. And return piping after the cooling coil is normally not insulated, to release heat pick up after the passing the cooling coil..

.. did u wear a hot pants while driving? Otherwise how on earth would your skin comes in contact with the central console aluminum trim? :love:

So I have no idea what u talking about?!

The rear seat both side is too curvy for the back, that's the wheel arch area. U want lesser curve, the designer would have to move the seat further to the front and that will sacrifice rear leg room.. just like the Volvo S40 & S60.. I hate it. Don't sit to near to the side la. 2 elderly at the rear should be pretty comfy :top:

The trunk is too warm for vege? hmmnn... its not feasible to build a permanent aircond vent in the trunk la. No passenger there, no animal there, and you don't carry vege every day ma. Put the vege in the passenger cabin la. Otherwise u will can trunk aircond blower, extending the air cooling agent piping to the trunk and every related accessories.. weight penalty la Bro! Go get a 7-silly la. I think behind rear seat ada fridge..

Folks! Please don't complain there's no passenger seat in the trunk ya... or no embedded baby chair under the rear seat ya?! U already have Isofix anchor points which I think is unnecessary... weight penalty!

... Gone are the days when it didn't matter if the girl was sitting on your left, you could still unhook her bra with one left-handed pinch...

Dirty old man.. Why u have lost the pinch?! Should be able to get it back with some practice.. come I bring u to a place for practice.. :wink:

 

[viewfinder]

It's all a function of aging guys. Gone are the days when it didn't matter if the girl was sitting on your left, you could still unhook her bra with one left-handed pinch. Gone are the days when you could climb over the gear console without requiring reconstructive knee surgery, etc, etc.

Time to look at a Merc. Their headrests are small, key slot on the right, no right side compartment, etc. Designed for aging rockers.

hmm I won't trade to Merc because of the issues listed yet. Note that my thread is a genuine user feedback to BMW designer, with the hope that they will think about it in the next 3 series design.

Since you mentioned about something about unhooking, won't you also consider the raised (above seat level) arm rest & handbrake compartment obstructing other movement. For the record this is not my feedback.

Somebody said Merc has smaller head rest. And kevster30 said the larger e90 headrest is needed for safety reason. So Merc is less safe... don't buy.

 

[viewfinder]

1. The aluminum is part of the cooling design to regulate cabin temperature..

2. Aluminum is a good heat conductor, so the element itself absorb and disseminate heat better than any other element on the chemistry table. Its just material used for ergonomic purposes.. if you no like, wrap it with PU lor..

Why u know the aircon piping is not insulated? When talking about aircond pipe and insulation, I normally would think off the cooling agent aluminum piping.. I doubt we have a rear cooling coil at our rear vent blower like my mini MPV.. our rear "blower" is not even a blower, it's just part of an air vent like those on both side of the dash.

And I have never seen air vent plastic hose comes with insulation.. not even a Lexus. In a normal aircond design, only the cooling agent aluminum piping need insulation, otherwise the condensed water over the piping will wet everywhere. And return piping after the cooling coil is normally not insulated, to release heat pick up after the passing the cooling coil..

.. did u wear a hot pants while driving? Otherwise how on earth would your skin comes in contact with the central console aluminum trim? :love:

So I have no idea what u talking about?!

...

I was getting a bit into the solution space about my feedback that the piping, below the chilled metal surface surrounding the gear knob, be insulated.

Ok the point again is: My issue is that the area is chilled and often touched by my left thigh (near the knee). Does not matter if I'm wearing shorts or khaki's... user such as me get irritated by chilled metal surface. So I hope BMW designer can solve this in next model.

Either:
- they insulate the air duct (what I meant by piping earlier) below the ashtray's metal surface to avoid loss of thermal exchange efficiency (what I'd prefer from engineering perspective),
- they shift the duct further away from metal surface (provided there's such space luxury down there), or
- even better ways that BMW designer can come up with.

Coincidentally, a Camry sales man told me that Camry's rear air con duct is causing freezing in the center glove compartment. I guess he meant ice in the compartment. A bigger problem there I would say.

 

[astroboy]

U have side mirror, and rear view mirror plus reverse sensor.. and our boot is tall (not low, flat, flabby Audi ).. so looking over your front seat to the back actually can't see much too. I don't think our front head rest is big. In fact I think its nicely proportioned in size compare to the seat. Perfectly done! :top:

The head rest apart from supporting your head from a rear crash impact, it also acts as a roll over support to the collapsing roof.. part of safety design. Not to say Merc better, but bigger better lor.. If Merc one better, than give Merc a point.. add up the points and see if end of the day, you are a more Merc or BMW person.. In a Merc, I see everything also I criticise.. can't explain la.. coz I'm Bimmer fans! :rock:

C-Class... side huge mirror like CRV (MPV), multi function buttons on steering like PS2 controller (toy), rear light like Savvy, pensioner's suspension (soft), handicap steering (light), 3rd brake light on the rear dash instead of top section of windscreen, like the old Saga .. etc.. Don't let me start on the grille..

 

[David Yong]

Dirty old man.. Why u have lost the pinch?! Should be able to get it back with some practice.. come I bring u to a place for practice.. :wink:

I want I want also!

 

[atty]

astroboy, simple solution to your tissue cry... buy the smaller box one la.
I bought this tissue box that is meant for cars and it fit nicely at the driver's door, beside my smart tag and water bottle. Yes, i have a Rubbermaid water bottle small and flat enough to sit there!

No blue tooth!
It is like a standard issue on luxury cars nowadays.

 

[Traveler]

also..steering wheel..the thin 'plastic' began to peel off ;(

Yeah, happening to my almost 3 year old car. Better make a visit quick before warranty expires in a month's time.

As with most rear wheel drive cars, the boot compartment gets warm after a long drive and not suitable to carry fresh groceries and badminton/tennis rackets.

I think it would be a great idea if we had an aircond vent in the boot, which can be opened/closed by the driver with a button/switch/etc. This would help keep stuff (groceries, computer, camera, other temperature sensitive items) cool in our hot weather or keep some stuff warm in cold climates.

It's all a function of aging guys. Gone are the days when it didn't matter if the girl was sitting on your left, you could still unhook her bra with one left-handed pinch.

Eh.. maybe for you the days are gone... no problems with the one-handed pinch here. :vroam: Off in 2 secs max.

The trunk is too warm for vege? hmmnn... its not feasible to build a permanent aircond vent in the trunk la. No passenger there, no animal there, and you don't carry vege every day ma. Put the vege in the passenger cabin la. Otherwise u will can trunk aircond blower, extending the air cooling agent piping to the trunk and every related accessories.. weight penalty la Bro! Go get a 7-silly la. I think behind rear seat ada fridge..

Ok then how about an airvent to blow in cool air into the trunk? Maybe in Europe it doesn't get too hot all the time, but in hotter climates like ours, that trunk becomes an oven, and even ordinary luggage items may be subject to extreme temps (like toiletries or medication packed in our baggage).

And while on the subject of boots/trunks, how about some wiring in there for a 12V socket? I know some models have it, as I can see it there in the manual. Thing is, our cars (or maybe it's just mine) don't. I've asked and was told there isn't any wiring that they can use to add a socket for me. So I can't even add one on my own at extra cost. That 12V socket can come in useful for things like charging emergency flashlight, powering a cooler box (because got no aircond vent), for DIYers - powering a carputer.

 

[Schwepps]

Dirty old man.. Why u have lost the pinch?! Should be able to get it back with some practice...come I bring u to a place for practice.. :wink:

Beware that failing eyesight can affect your critical reading skills. Where in my post did I say I've lost the pinch? I live by the adage "Use it, or lose it."

For me, I don't have a single complaint about the ergonomics of my E90. Every aspect of it is better than top drawer for what it is: a sports saloon.

 

[viewfinder]

Beware that failing eyesight can affect your critical reading skills. Where in my post did I say I've lost the pinch? I live by the adage "Use it, or lose it."

For me, I don't have a single complaint about the ergonomics of my E90. Every aspect of it is better than top drawer for what it is: a sports saloon.

Good for you

Sport saloon or not does not change my ergo feedback. Not well thought of design/engineering is a fact to me irregardless it's tiny compact or super car. I acknowledge that cars aren't usually 100% perfect in every area. Hence my feedback for their next model improvement.

I just added feedback #6. Some care to enlighten me?

6. Cruise control stick sometimes get mistaken as the turn indicator stick. Perhaps a bit too close. I do get used it after a few days though.

I am curious as to why it's shifted from below wiper control stick to now below the turn indicator stick.
​

 

[viewfinder]

I was getting a bit into the solution space about my feedback that the piping, below the chilled metal surface surrounding the gear knob, be insulated.

Ok the point again is: My issue is that the area is chilled and often touched by my left thigh (near the knee). Does not matter if I'm wearing shorts or khaki's... user such as me get irritated by chilled metal surface. So I hope BMW designer can solve this in next model.

...

Is it a defect in the e90 that I'm driving? Since none of you seems to think that the aluminum panel is chilled beyond normal? I hope there isn't a leak on the duct or something.

 

[Schwepps]

Could well be, bro. I touched mine and it was cool, but not cold. Anyway I don't see how my leg can touch it while driving. Which model variant do you have, BTW?

 

[E46Fanatic]

Beware that failing eyesight can affect your critical reading skills. Where in my post did I say I've lost the pinch? I live by the adage "Use it, or lose it."

When I grow up I wanna be just like you

 

[Schwepps]

No don't! You're a nice young man! AB is absolutely right about me! I consider Traveler's 2 secs max to be fiddling, and in need of further instruction and practice. You can reach a level where you can do it so quickly and deftly that she doesn't realise it. The look of surprise and the 'how'd you do that!?' glare that comes a bit later is PRICELESS! Hahaha! I'm really bad.

 

[Ennui78]

Aiyoh schwepps.......notti boi! Dirty boy, where have you been playing!! Must be disciplined.... Time to bring out the Hermes riding crops. Which colour do you want, there's orange and brown here. Orange is a MUCH happier colour, no?

LOL.