BMW M550i acceleration issue fixed with OTA update

Popular automotive magazine from the US called Car and Driver was pretty disappointed with the test results of the new BMW M550i xDrive. The car failed to fulfill one of the key requirements, namely acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 4,1 seconds. This is not a result that can be called frankly unsatisfactory, but the manufacturer aims to reach hundreds in less than 4 seconds. To do this, he intended to repeat the test of the car, after filling it with fuel with a higher octane rating. Refueling with other gasoline did not improve the situation, but another solution to the problem was discovered. We'll talk about it further.


The BMW M550i xDrive is a car that is definitely not slow. Under its hood is a weighty argument, namely a 4,4-liter TwinPower Turbo V8 with 523 horsepower and 750 Nm of torque. The engine looks much more interesting compared to the V10 E60 M5 with fewer cylinders. The beefed-up executive sedan performed slightly better than the initial test. He reached the speed of 100 km/h in 3,9 seconds. Car and Driver did not miss the opportunity to say that this is not a perfect result, and the car can do more, and the heavy X5 M Competition shows almost the same acceleration figures.



A peculiar test failure attracted the attention of BMW: the manufacturer released an OTA (over-the-air) update, that is, it developed additions to the firmware that can be installed without visiting service centers. This gave a certain result. According to the results of the third test, the acceleration time to 100 km / h was 3,5 seconds instead of the previous 3,9 seconds. It took the car 400 seconds to cover the 11,8 meters (quarter mile) distance at 191,5 km/h. This brings it closer to the standard M5.

A BMW investigation found that the M550i xDrive sedan's acceleration problems were caused by a software glitch. The connection between the engine control unit and the stability control module was lost, because of which the latter literally cut off part of the engine power. The over-the-air update that fixed the issue is now available for the M540i xDrive.



The base BMW M550i xDrive is available for $76800. It is a sporty version of the elegant BMW 5,5 Series Sedan. One of the main features of the model is an intelligent all-wheel drive system. Due to this, the car turned out not only dynamic, but also safe while driving at high speed.