[Chucklepants]

Hi, all. I’ve had my e35 out in the snow now twice in this mild northeast winter, and I’m having all kinds of trouble with it. It’s honestly the worst performing car I’ve ever driven in the snow, and that includes years of driving 1980s vintage RWD cars. This thing can’t even go in a straight line if there is any kind of packed snow or slush on the ground - I will not let my wife or daughter drive it under any circumstances, and I think it’s bad enough to warrant an NTSB investigation.

I generally drive it in Sport mode - has anyone found it better in the other modes? Or any other tips (other than go buy snow tires)? I’m ready to end my lease early over this - a family of three drivers in the NE can’t put one of its cars on the shelf during the winter, and I’m not returning to the ‘70s where every car had to have a separate set of snow tires.

Thanks!

[Space Cadet]

I run in eco pro simply because the throttle response is less sharp. If you are in snow a lot then winter tyres are a very good idea.

[DerekS]

Having owned numerous RWD BMWs in the past, I always installed a set of dedicated snow tires for winter driving. Driving in winter with all seasons is a bad idea

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Drive in eco mode since you're not used to the torque. Get winter tires. Put on chains. Or keep blaming the car and not taking responsibility.

[Jonathan S.]

Did your i4 come with the OEM all-season tires or summer ("performance") tires?

[K-mac-k]

I have an e40 but I live in an area of Canada with LOTS of snow. I have driven in winter conditions for at least 5 months of the year for more than 40 years. I also love on a mountain so I have to climb a bit to get home. I don't find the vehicle that bad in heavy snow. That said, I drive in ecopro and I have snow tires (it's required by law here!). It isn't as stable as my previous all wheel drive 328 but I didn't expect it to be given that it is a 2 wheel, rear drive vehicle.

Take it out of sport mode and see if it makes a difference. And if you don't have snow tires you might want to consider them.

[M-ab]

You Canadians are so romantic. We in the lower 48 wish we loved on mountains too.

[jpuffmasterpuffpuffpuff69]

Liar. We wanna live in Hawaii.

[kipsate]

I’ve driven the e40 in snowy conditions with summer tyres and it was much better than any other rwd BMW I had before. However it is a terrible idea to not have snow tires if you’re driving on snow.

[mlanes01]

I drive my e40 all through lake placid and Vermont regularly. I put snows on it (Michelin xice) and have had very few issues with the exception of keeping traction control on. Traction mode on bmw is to switch to eco and turn off DSC but I found it breaks loose up front way too easy so I keep it on in eco with adaptive Regen. Snow driving is mostly about the driver my friend but if you are trying to drive on the turanzas that came with it that could be a lot of the problem

[polarcharm]

Did you turn on Traction Control (DTC) - I'm not being funny, the default is Stability Control (DSC). On my 128i, DSC is all over the place in the snow as it tries to get the car straight. Hitting the DTC button on the dash makes everything much better as it gives max traction.

I checked the i4 manual and it has DTC in the iDrive settings - maybe give that a go ?

[Georgetheowl]

If you have performance tires, you will absolutely get stucked in snow. Find a set of good winter tires will keep most of the snow troubles out, unless you are living in a snowy + hilly area.

I've had some struggles with my E35 with performance tires here in Vancouver but I just decided not to drive when there is snow on the road.

[Hansn]

Sometimes i thank god i live in a country surounded for 1000 miles in every direction by other countries that have manditory winter tyre requirements. Get caught without them in freezing conditions and you will be walking home, and for the next several months.. 🤔

There is a car with 4 contact points to the ground yes, but you have it figured it out all wrong if you think that the type of car is playing a major role in how those 4x 25 inches of contact patch is behaving on a frozen surface. Actually people who think they can skip winter tyres because they have 4wd scare me the most. What are you going to do when you have no traction sliding towards a car in the oposite lane? Accelerate with no traction? 🙄

[guy_in_boston]

My i4 35 handles Boston snow very poorly, but I think that would be true for any RWD, and I had this expectation when I leased the car. The only time it becomes an issue for me is to go on the occasional ski trip, so for these I borrow a friend's AWD.