Weird Occurances

[CoriK]

Hello! I'm new here, I just found this site. I need some help. I've had my 2001 325xi for just about a year and it's been great. BUT...just recently really weird things have been happening with it. It's happened numerous times to not only me, but my brother who has borrowed my car. The automatic seats move themselves, and the air adjusts it self. Now I know this sounds weird, but it's been seen! My car was parked, I went out to put something in the car, opened the passenger side door and saw the seat completely laying down. As I looked at it, the seat then sat itself up. So I got in the car, turned it on, and the seat had moved itself back to its original position but the air which had been on, was set at 85 degrees on full blast. No one had been in my car, and I had the keys. Ever since then, it's happened probably 6 or 7 more other times. The same thing, the seat moves back, and the air adjusts itself. I dont understand why both these would occur when the car is off. And the seat and air shouldn't have anything to do with eachother correct? Is my car haunted!?
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Big Daddy]

Welcome to the board. Is your car named Christine? Other than the memory function I know of no reason why your cars seats would move when no one is in the car or the car is off???

 

[CoriK]

I don't know why either! Kind of creepy. People are trying to convince me that its haunted. The weirdest thing is that its always the driver side seat that moves, and when the seat moves the temperature adjusts too. I ran in to get food last night, I was only out of the car for 5 minutes and when I came back the seat was laying down. I just don't get it!

 

[bmwrocks]

And the seat and air shouldn't have anything to do with eachother correct?

This sounds like a malfunction of the "key memory" functionality. I am assuming you have the memory seats. As you probably know, your seat memory is tied to your key. Also, the climate temperature setting is also tied to your key. And the side mirrors. Meaning when you lock the car with a key remote, the car saves the seat and mirror position and temperature setting and associates it with that key. So next time you unlock it with that key, the seats and temp return to the settings you left them at when you locked it. This obviously only takes on meaning if you have two (or more) drivers with different keys.

It appears as if your vehicle software is buggy in this area. Maybe all you need is the vehicle and your keys reprogrammed. A task only a dealer can perform unfortunately.

I have had a similar problem with my X5 but mine didn't change on its own when I wasn't there!!! Mine would go to some other seat position and then I would have to press the memory button on the seat once I was in the car and it would go to my memory position.

They fixed it with a reprogramming as I described. Good luck.

 

[CoriK]

This sounds like a malfunction of the "key memory" functionality. I am assuming you have the memory seats. As you probably know, your seat memory is tied to your key. Also, the climate temperature setting is also tied to your key. And the side mirrors. Meaning when you lock the car with a key remote, the car saves the seat and mirror position and temperature setting and associates it with that key. So next time you unlock it with that key, the seats and temp return to the settings you left them at when you locked it. This obviously only takes on meaning if you have two (or more) drivers with different keys.

Ah...now this makes sense! Thanks for the advice! I do have 2 keys, and while I was away at school I always used the same one and kept one in my room incase I lost the other one, but while I'm home I keep them both in the same key area and grab either one. So I guess I am using 2 keys even though I am the only primary driver. I'll have to bring it over to the dealer for them to fix the ghostly problem! Thanks again!!!

Cori

 

[deutsch100]

My 2004 330cic did the same thing, and I always used the same key. The dealer could not explain why or how it did that (luckily, they saw it move for themselves...saved me from looking completely crazy... well at least for a moment

I would open the driver's door, and the seat would recline, move back & forward and adjust the height...all by itself, with no key in the ignition,

Hopefully yours is related to using both keys. Good Luck and happy haunted motoring!!

 

[Kirby]

As Eric (BMWRocks) mentioned, it's probably a software glitch. All of this stuff is actually tied together by several communications networks in the car, so things that appear independent (seat vs. air vs. automatic headlights) actually are interconnected.