Here's what happens at BMW vehicle processing centers, specifically Oxnard

[John Casey]

Originally Posted by Hawkdog

“Why-knee-me”

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by danallxt

Also i am not sure if the recoding to turn off transport mode is done at a vehicle processing center or at the dealer during PDI. I have heard of it being done at dealer PDI.

I know in 2020, when my 2021 X5MC arrived at the dealership, I stopped by to look at it and it was still in transport mode. Key fobs didn't unlock the doors like they normally do. And comfort access also was not active. The tech held the key fob near the liftgate and then the unlock button on key fob unlocked the doors.
Instrument cluster displayed Transport Mode. During the PDI, transport mode is cleared.

[1WickedE90]

Originally Posted by G21-M340i

Here you go .

Inside BMW UK Thorne reception centre (they have now moved to a much bigger facility at Immingham). These pictures are 6 years old. Real pictures inside these places are notoriously hard to get; maybe the below is why. They can do PLENTY to a 'new' car damaged in transit. I'm not sure if the 3% rule is a thing here.

Thanks for the pics - those cars look like they've been in accidents. The Bondo work on the black F30 (?) looks terrifying.

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by danallxt

Next, local longshoremen are tasked with driving the vehicles off the vessel and into a preliminary parking area on the docks.

When I was in my late teens I worked as temporary Longshoreman on the docks of Vancouver, BC. When the car transport ships were ready to off load, the cars were driven off one after another.
That first mile they were driven was brutal, I don`t know if the guys were instructed to drive that fast to save time or they were just having a good time but jamming gears, overreving and screeching tires were familiar sounds on the docks. Hopefully, things have changed these days, I certainly wouldn`t have wanted to pay full price for a car that was transported by the crews I worked with.
I have to admit that all of us temps would have loved to trade places with the offload drivers but they had seniority and we had none.

[IrishSpuds]

Originally Posted by GL

I stopped reading at "electronics downloaded".

Thank You for your miserable input - you must be a joy to be around

OP - very informative write up - thank you.

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

When I was in my late teens I worked as temporary Longshoreman on the docks of Vancouver, BC. When the car transport ships were ready to off load, the cars were driven off one after another.
That first mile they were driven was brutal, I don`t know if the guys were instructed to drive that fast to save time or they were just having a good time but jamming gears, overreving and screeching tires were familiar sounds on the docks. Hopefully, things have changed these days, I certainly wouldn`t have wanted to pay full price for a car that was transported by the crews I worked with.
I have to admit that all of us temps would have loved to trade places with the offload drivers but they had seniority and we had none.

Still the same!

This kind of work is provided by 3rd parties at minimum wage.
However having the transport mode the cars are better protected against abuse.

[capt_slow]

Originally Posted by IrishSpuds

Thank You for your miserable input - you must be a joy to be around

OP - very informative write up - thank you.

There's a staging area in the VDC with ceiling-mounted ICOM units. All they are doing is just updating the I-Step, this would have applied to cars like the E90 and E60 back in the day. Most of the time nothing is done since the shipping time from factory to port is usually less than the release cycle for an I-Step.

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Wondering how many miles these guys punch our engines to redline in doing all this moving cars around before it reaches the dealer…

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by Tr4ckD4ys

Wondering how many miles these guys punch our engines to redline in doing all this moving cars around before it reaches the dealer…

You can't redline them if transport mode is active...

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Originally Posted by LOW4LYF

You can't redline them if transport mode is active...

Good - I was hoping someone would respond with this lol

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by LOW4LYF

You can't redline them if transport mode is active...

Makes sense. BMW doesn't want to be paying for a transmission prematurely

[MParallel]

Originally Posted by LOW4LYF

You can't redline them if transport mode is active...

Just as transport mode can be set, it can also be turn off.

Although maybe they don't tell the secret code to the movers.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by danallxt

Good point, i was wondering about that as well. To clarify, i hate to be a purveyor of misinformation, that info was not from first hand experience rather it was copied from an article on the Oxnard facility. It may not be correct. I suspect that the writer may have gotten it mixed up with the "transport mode" that often is used from factory for shipping.



The writer of the article i used for my original post may have confused the disabling of certain electronics with a battery disconnect...the disable is to keep battery drain to a minimum in case of long shipping/storage times. Parasitic drain on some of these cars can be substantial.

Also i am not sure if the recoding to turn off transport mode is done at a vehicle processing center or at the dealer during PDI. I have heard of it being done at dealer PDI.

Good information. It is a good idea when quoting someone's work to give the citation (author if known and publication).