BMW Route Planner

TomvdH
TomvdH Forum Participant Posts: 13
edited December 2019 in Towcars & Towing #1

I have been towing with a BMW X5 for many years. Initially I relied on my car's sat nav to get me to my destination. But, after having had a number of scary moments with unsuitable routes, height restrictions, etc I have used BMW Routes to plan my own route and upload it to my vehicle via USB.

I have recently replaced my X5 for another. Having lost all my pre-planned routes I tried using BMW Routes again only to be met with a notice that it was no longer available. I then contacted the BMW Connected Drive team and was told that there is no indication that it will be activated again. But, worst of all, that there is no way to load your own routes onto the BMW and have to rely on its own sat nav. Well. that is of no use as it does not take account of the fact that you are towing.

After spending all of that money on an expensive car, it seems my only solution will be to buy a stand alone sat nav suitable for towing! How crazy is that?!

Has anyone encountered a similar problem and found a solution? I'd love to hear from you.

Comments

  • Whittakerr
    Whittakerr Club Member Posts: 3,472 ✭✭✭✭
    1000 Comments Photogenic
    edited December 2019 #2

    I got my first X5 earlier this year and have been trying to plan my own routes using this link

    https://www.bmw-routes.com/uk/en/plan-routes/index.jsp

    To be honest i've only had one quick play with it but got nowhere, and i probably wont need it now until the spring. Id be interested to know if you have any success.

     Its still a great car though.smile

     

  • TomvdH
    TomvdH Forum Participant Posts: 13
    edited December 2019 #3

    Yes, it is a great car for towing! That is the site that was closed down. I'll let you know if I get any useful response from BMW.

     

    Have you sourced towing mirrors yet? I had to import mine from Germany as the standard UK ones won't fit properly. EMUK ones are very good.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2019 #4

    Maybe you have to have a top of the range BMW that is fitted with all the extras including direction indicators for their route planner to be activecoolwink

  • TomvdH
    TomvdH Forum Participant Posts: 13
    edited December 2019 #5

    No, I spoke to BMW and it does not only apply to my model. A shame.

  • Tigi
    Tigi Forum Participant Posts: 1,038
    500 Comments
    edited December 2019 #6

    Can you not make your Sat Nav go the way you want it to go by adding waypoints?

  • TomvdH
    TomvdH Forum Participant Posts: 13
    edited December 2019 #7

    Thanks for the suggestion Tigi, will try that.

  • Whittakerr
    Whittakerr Club Member Posts: 3,472 ✭✭✭✭
    1000 Comments Photogenic
    edited December 2019 #8

    Yes, i had to get the EMUK mirrors as you say very good but expensive.

    The sat nav has some functions that might help solve the problem such as the route magnet, but again i've not tried it yet.

     I can still login to the routes site with my connected drive account but not planned a route yet.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2019 #9

    Makes you wonder how anyone got anywhere when we only had paper maps  .... 🙄

  • Whittakerr
    Whittakerr Club Member Posts: 3,472 ✭✭✭✭
    1000 Comments Photogenic
    edited December 2019 #10

    Ahh, but the horse knew its way home.wink

  • derekcyril
    derekcyril Forum Participant Posts: 408
    100 Comments
    edited December 2019 #11

    Ive thrown my sat nav away , gone back to hgv bridge map

  • Steve and Lynette
    Steve and Lynette Forum Participant Posts: 13
    edited July 2021 #12

    We're a couple of years late - ie after your original post - but had exactly the same issue two weeks ago travelling from the Lakes to Buxton CC Site and our X5 BMW Sat Nav sending us down a single track road.

    So, did you solve your problem? Any tips?

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