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BMW Is Showing Full-Screen Ads on Its Cars' Main Dashboard Control Display
(consumerrights.wiki)
Is that a US only thing?
this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2026
762 points (98.8% liked)
Technology
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BMW drivers deserve this as punishment for all the missed turn signals
BMW got turn signels? When did that happen?
It's an add-on you pay for. Or now you can also watch an ad per use.
Found the BMW driver
There's something about watching a luxury import brand fast-track enshitification faster than everyone else, including economy options.
Yeah this is one thing enshittification apologists never seem to understand, they'll claim 'well if you don't like ads just pay for the non-ad version, I want cheaper prices' but the reality is no matter how much you pay there's a mandatory side dish of enshittification.
BMW's are pretty fast :P /s
Well we need to ban that
Well, they're BMW drivers, so I don't feel too bad for them.
Disturbing trend, though.
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Maybe now people will stop thinking they’re a premium brand.
It's funny how much of a joke the German car brands have become.
VW shoving touch controls down our throats, BMW selling their cars after they've been already sold, Audi and Mercedes sticking fake exhausts on their $70k cars, and all of them just desperately catering to the Chinese market while simultaneously not getting EVs...
Not to mention that in the wake of VW being caught red-handed with fraudulent software to evade emission regulations, BMW had to quickly get their (very similar) hack out there. Which, of course, was done so incredibly poorly that nowadays, several types of modern BMWs are liable to just explode into a fireball. Seemingly out of nowhere.
At least when they do explode they don't then also trap the occupants like Teslas do but still, plenty of stories of bmws in Europe just bursting into flames.
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Fuck capitalism and all of the sneaky and invasive ways they try to sell you shit. Advertising is now like a cancer that interferes with simply living a life.
Has anyone actually seen these ads in the BMW, as described?
This article seems fishy to me. Especially this part:
The ad has been available in more than 70 markets since July 27, 2026, scheduled to run through August 10, 2026, on any suitably equipped BMW running Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or OS X built after July 2020.
“System 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or OS X” are exact versions of MacOS, dating back to 1991. Why would BMW’s software versioning match Apple’s exactly? I mean it could be a coincidence, but it’s weird. Especially “OS X.”
Not that I’d put it past any car manufacturer to do this, capitalism gonna capitalize. But I thought the EU was more obnoxious about controlling/preventing things like this. Or does BMW get a pass since they’re a European brand?
One of the article's sources has a link to this Reddit thread (view it on RedLib), which has someone recording the ad. The article also uses official BMW websites as sources.
P.S. that was a very boring ad
Thanks, a reply in that thread:
This just showed up and no way to avoid it?
OP:
No, I got the option whether I wanted to view it when starting the car. And it’s added as an app in case you want to view it later.
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Best advertisement for chinese cars. Not that they needed one...
Embarrassing for BMW.
Not as embarrassing as subscriptions to use hardware you paid for.
I hope they don't act surprised when cheap Chinese cars without all that crap devour their market share.
Cheap chinese car, yes, without all the crap, you wish. They are all capitalist and learn from each other. Remember the door handle shit? It's very much everywhere in chinese car to the point their government have to regulate the shit out of it. Chinese car maker want to export their car so bad because they can exploit without limit.
At least China regulated it. Tesla and GM still use those handles.
to the point their government have to regulate the shit out of it
Sounds like the system works. A problem was caused by capitalist firms doing stupid capitalist bullshit, and so the government stepped in to regulate them. What a country! Imagine if our governments would step in to regulate stupid firms doing stupid shit.
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Imagine paying the kind of prices that car manufactures demand, and then they shove ads in your face on your own property. I would drive it back to the dealership & demand a refund.
You can probably have an ad-free system for a monthly subscription.
Wankers.
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Remember when they tried to make you rent the heated seats you already have?
you'd think BMW customers learned from that
Or you'd hope, I guess, because I actually wouldn't think them smart enough to learn from that
Remember when they installed turn signals you never use?
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LMAO. LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. AAAAH FUCKCARS is gonna have a fun time with this one gang. Aaah shit man.
Wow, maybe bring it back to the dealership and tell them the car is broken, and insist on them fixing it or ask for a full refund.
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You have to watch the commercial before you can access the turn signals, right?
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But they said if we pay, we are not the product...
Was the BMW free? It must have been.
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