I decided to give Carista a shot since I couldn't find a lot of information:
http://www.caristaapp.com

I signed up for a yearly suscription with a free month trial.
I'll decide if I keep it or not in the next few weeks... The trial period comes with their ODB2 dongle purchase.

For those who don't know, Carista is simply an ODB2 diagnostic App service with simple custom programming for custom function (half of which you have already access through the car computer using steering wheel controls).


- So far the app is simple and pleasant.
- Using an iPhone 6s, the connection is pretty easy and smooth without needing complicated pairing. It's quite automatic and makes it great for occasional and first time users.
- The code diagnostic is a little slow but with the wifi connection I'd rather it takes its time rather than mess up something. It takes a few minutes to gather either codes or customizable options. It is not overly long either.
- Saving customizable options is rather quick
- Resetting codes isn't too bad. I should have noted the code it pulled out (most of them I know why), but I'll see if some comes back.
- It pulled 16 codes and it seems to be thorough in those specific to BMW. Most of them seems like little occasional errors related to miss use rather then on going problem.
- It also sends you to a google search automatically when you press on a specific code which I find really convenient.
- Next time I get to it, I'll pull out all the customizable options it gave me for our R59 roadster. I'm sure it varies from models to models.
- I was able to get the "press and hold remote" to close all the windows which is nice. I had the press and hold for the down motion but not the up...
- Very sadly the "one touch windows up" function, is not available for the roadster. I'm a little bummed about this since is one reason why I was curious to try it as it seems promising. I'm starting to think that function is really buried with safety in BMW coding... sad
- I'm not crazy about their payment plan they have (I wish for a monthly suscription option rather than weekly or yearly, which would make it a lot more useful) but I also think it is understandable they go for a suscription plan to invest in development.

That's it for the first impressions. I'll come back with more evaluation later...
Any questions for me to try, let me know. I'll make a note for when I take an other look next week as I'll have a little more time...

 

Good to see some feedback. I was wondering about this since I had my Clubman as well as my VW Passat that it will work on.

 

I had it purchased and saw on their site that it doesnt work on the F56

 

I'll provide more info soon... so this thread is not a total dud

 

Do you have power fold mirrors on your R59? I'm curious as to if this will make the power fold mirrors fold when locking the car. I have an R55 with them and would love if they'd fold when locking.

 

I tried the powerfold it will work, its the back up / side mirror down that did not work for me. Also have the one touch window up on my R58 and the all windows up with key fob.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ues-fixed.html

TG did you work with anything more?

VinnieMini - Not yet but they are working on something in the near future for the F56+. You can use it as a OBD2 reader right now for those.

 

I've tried a few more things...

But for me neither the power-fold or the passenger side mirror down in reverse worked. And I do have power folding mirrors


The remote press to close all windows on door locked worked at first. It doesn't work now...
I wonder if it has to do with the on-touch to close windows which does work but that was not available until I got the beta test version.


Sorry for not updating this thread yet. I haven't had the time...

 

I tried the Carista, and when connected it "thought" it could enable the keyfob windows up; but it could not.

And the other things I was interested in--that the webpage strongly suggested it would be able to do--didn't even show up on the interface once connected.

Mine is a 2013 R59, and I see that T.G. had success with a 2014.

I bought the Carista ODB2 from Amazon, so I am confident I can just return it.

 

Yes it didn't work the first time I got it. I asked Carista and they replied that it's still part of the beta testing which he offered me to be part of. I'm somewhat surprised they haven't put it in the latest version by now... though it only has been a few month I've had it.

Some people have suggested that Carista practices bait and switch practices to try to lure people into yearly subscriptions. I'm not going to accuse anyone when I don't know... but who knows. The line is sometime blurry.

On the other hand I also recognize that these geek tech entrepreneur like apps company face difficulties in testing their products. They just don't have easy access to all the vehicles to know what's going to work or not. Hense why they are so enamored by beta testing programs. Otherwise they tend to do so by hooking up with people they know, which can be limited. To take an example, the roadster "openometer" reset is supposed to involve pushing the dash LCD little stick. But on my car, for what ever reason, it has been programmed by pushing the steering option button. The point is that there can be a lot of variations from car models to car models... and Carista facilitate MINI mostly because it uses BMW system. But truce be told, they cater more BMW cars.

My plan has always been, try it for a year and if I don't use it enough, cancel the subscription and beta testing. So far it's working well for me for what I had to do. But as of today, I don't for see being a long term solution.