Carscoops, an American publication that examines car experts, believes that owners may be motivated to hack their cars software in order to have heated seats in BMW cars.
BMW owners were involved in hacking the ECU in the past to gain some of the free features the Bavarian automaker offered by subscription. After BMW offered $80 per year for Apple CarPlay 2018, some owners modified the software. The terms of the subscription were later changed by BMW, who offered to pay $300 for the feature for 20-years.
Many BMW car owners hack into the cars’ electronic systems to access hidden functions. Experts say they haven’t seen any reports that hackers attempted to hack the iDrive 8 multimedia system to activate heated seats.
It was announced at the start of the week that BMW had introduced a subscription for heated seats and a steering wheel. Heating seats are $18 per month and $180 for a yearly subscription.