BMW has started selling subscriptions for heated seats in various countries.
See also: BMW CEO confirms 3.0 CSL release
A monthly subscription for heated front seats in vehicles costs about $18, with options for a one-year subscription for $180, three years for $300, or paying for “unlimited” access for $415.
It's not clear when BMW started offering this feature as a subscription or in which countries, but some stores this week reported spotting launch in South Korea.
BMW is slowly moving away from subscriptions starting in 2020, and heated seat support is now available on BMW digital stores in countries like the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa. However, US residents don't seem to have this option yet.
It's no surprise that BMW didn't advertise the new subscription. Ever since the company announced in 2020 that operating system would allow microtransactions on features like automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, customers have criticized the move as greedy and exploitative.
See also: BMW M3 Estate: Modern technology and great space comfort
Of course, automakers have always charged customers more money for advanced features, but the dynamics are very different when software rather than hardware is the limiting factor.
In the case of heated seats, BMW owners already have all the necessary components, but BMW has simply placed a software block on their functionality, which buyers must then pay to remove. For some features that can result in ongoing costs for the automaker (like automated speed camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more logical. But that’s not an issue with heated seats.
Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions include heated steering wheels, starting at $12 per month, the option to record video from your car's dash cams, priced at $235 for "unlimited" use, and the "IconicSounds Sport" package, which lets you play engine in your car for a one-time fee of $117.
See also: BMW iX1 xDrive30: The fully electric version of the X1 SUV is coming
In the latter case, BMW notes that "the hardware for this feature is already installed in your vehicle during production, at no additional cost."
