BMW’s Heated Seats: Tried Charging Customers for Features They Already Own

BMW recently made waves with its attempt to charge customers for a subscription to access heated seats—a feature that was already physically built into their cars. The idea sparked outrage among customers, who were rightfully frustrated at the notion of paying a monthly fee for something they essentially already owned. After significant backlash, BMW ultimately scrapped the plan.

During the IAA Mobility conference, BMW’s head of sales and marketing acknowledged the miscalculation. He suggested that the subscription model was part of BMW’s broader experiment with microtransactions but admitted it didn’t land well with customers. “People felt they were paying twice, which wasn’t actually true, but perception is reality,” he said, noting that it was this reaction that led BMW to drop the idea.

The initial proposal was to charge approximately $18 per month, or up to $415 for “lifetime” access, to enable heated seats, even though the hardware was already installed. This paywall affected customers in countries like the UK, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, and South Africa, while U.S. customers never encountered the charge. Heated steering wheels were also briefly behind a paywall, although BMW later removed this from their ConnectedDrive store as well.

BMW’s heated seats subscription attempt isn’t an isolated case. The company previously tried—and failed—to charge an annual fee for Apple CarPlay, a feature most other automakers offer for free. Even before that, BMW launched “Access by BMW,” a subscription service costing $2,000 a month that provided access to various BMW vehicles. Both ventures were abandoned due to similar customer dissatisfaction.

In a market increasingly captivated by subscriptions, BMW’s fumbled attempt highlights a critical issue: customers are not interested in paying extra to activate features they already expect to be included with their purchase. The automotive industry’s push toward subscription-based models is mostly driven by software, which enables companies to monetize existing features. While people are open to paying for add-ons like advanced safety features, there’s widespread resistance to being charged for basic functions that should be part of the initial cost.

BMW’s heated seats misstep illustrates a larger trend where automakers must tread carefully. Customers are willing to invest in premium experiences, but when companies ask them to pay repeatedly for something they’ve technically already bought, it leads to justified backlash and loss of trust.