It was 2007 MY after all, that explains it :confused:

FWIW, my Apr07 build has the force feedback. I REALLY like it and would be extremely disappointed if they removed it during a software update. And my car only has the single menu button.

Jeremy

the s class has the resistance on the knob .. why cant BMW get it back ?

The feature was disabled due to the amount of processing power it took. People without the "feedback" will notice that the iDrive operates faster.

this is interesting, but how do you know this? why can't they just put in a faster processor!

Hey guys, I just got my X5 last tuesday, so I am still geting used to it, I have never used a bmw idrive system before, my last card before this was a 2001 SLK 320 (Mercedes) so from what I understand from what I read here, the older iDrive's had a "lock" on the knob so that you could know when you were at the end of the menu? Im guessing this was helpfull so that you didnt have to look at the screen?

Could you guys explain why this would have been better? I already got used to just spining the wheel kind of like really fast, I over do it intentionaly that way I know I am at the end of the menu.

with the force feedback... you can literally 'feel' your way around the menu's... different menu's have different feeling 'clicks' and at the end, it tightens up so you know there are no more choices.... just a more 'interactive' feeling.

sounds cool.. but it also sounds like something I would end up breaking haha

I guess the conclusion is clear.
Most of us here like (or liked :-() the Force Feedback feature.
We still do not exactly know why BMW removed it (other than the suggested processor limitation).
Another reason might be that people "forced" it too much, resulting in it breaking up and that this would be the main reason for BMW to diable it.
If I get a good reason from my dealership I will post it here.

In the meantime, we should all let BMW know loud and clear that we want it back..
Giving feedback to BMW does work, as we have seen from the Backup Camera/PDC combination screen in the V27 software.

My 2007 4.8 built in April never had this feature, nor did the demonstrator I drove at the dealer, nor did the X5 I drove in Spartanburg when I went for PCD in May. I'd be interested to hear if any 2007 X5s built around that time have the resistance feedback feature.