[cheapie408]

I had an X5 loaner with PPA and what I noticed is the sensor appears to be on the steering wheel. So you actually have to grib (or pinch) the steering wheel to let it knows your hands are on it. While the XC90 the sensor is actually by nudging on the stearing wheel so it feels tension.

On the XC90 I can wedge a water bottle into the stearing wheel and it will trick it to think that my hands are on the wheel for much longer than it normally would allow you to let go of your hands.

I don't recommend this as a daily practice but I do it when I'm doing a drive where there's 100 miles of straight road with no curves and hardly any cars around.

On the BMW, I think you can almost clip something with a pressure point on the stearing wheel and it should do the trick.

Can someone confirm that what I'm finding is correct about the sensor?

[thenew3]

Originally Posted by cheapie408

I had an X5 loaner with PPA and what I noticed is the sensor appears to be on the steering wheel. So you actually have to grib (or pinch) the steering wheel to let it knows your hands are on it. While the XC90 the sensor is actually by nudging on the stearing wheel so it feels tension.

On the XC90 I can wedge a water bottle into the stearing wheel and it will trick it to think that my hands are on the wheel for much longer than it normally would allow you to let go of your hands.

I don't recommend this as a daily practice but I do it when I'm doing a drive where there's 100 miles of straight road with no curves and hardly any cars around.

On the BMW, I think you can almost clip something with a pressure point on the stearing wheel and it should do the trick.

Can someone confirm that what I'm finding is correct about the sensor?

BMW does not use a pressure sensor to detect hands on wheel. They use a capacitive touch sensor to sense hands on wheel.
So something that simply pinches the wheel may not set off the sensor.

[jmciver]

But it doesn't take much to make the BMW "happy" so the system will work. I can rest my hand on my knee, only barely touching the wheel with my thumb and index finger, and it will work. I can also prop my left or right knee up to touch the bottom of the wheel and it will work as well. But regardless, a "death grip" is not required.

[thenew3]

Originally Posted by jmciver

But it doesn't take much to make the BMW "happy" so the system will work. I can rest my hand on my knee, only barely touching the wheel with my thumb and index finger, and it will work. I can also prop my left or right knee up to touch the bottom of the wheel and it will work as well. But regardless, a "death grip" is not required.

Oh I'm not saying it's not sensitive, I'm just saying it's not a pressure sensor, it's some kind of capacitive sensor like how your phone or tablet screen is a capacitive sensor. A very light touch in the right spot is all it takes.

[MomoM3]

And that's how people crash

[OtisX7]

Yeah, let’s not do this. Rest a hand on the wheel. You barely have to touch it. The whole jamming in a bottle to trick the safety system so you can avoid that major inconvenience?? Eesh...

[FreddyBMW]

Wow! can't believe to see how much we are ready to release the driving control to our cars! There were times when I remember my grandpa used to tell me by grabbing tightly the steering wheel and say "Don't let the car control you, its you who has to have the command of it!".

I like the tech but I think its not THIS generation which is taking the full control of it. I am sure its going to take at least 10-15 years when I would reply to my grandpa "Humans don't drive it, it drives itself! OK?!"

[lukehhhhh]

It will take a lot of effort to out smart BMW's touch sensor. Someone has built an emulator here.

After reading through the post, I'd just keep my hand on the steering wheel.