BMW CarData API - changes with new European law

[dreautall]

Since today, the European "Data Act" is in force, and BMW made changes to the BMW CarData API to allow private users to query their API service without the AOS signup and costs associated with it (to comply with the new EU law).

The new details can be found on the vehicle "CarData" sub-site (in the Connect Drive settings), linking to https://bmw-cardata.bmwgroup.com/customer/public/api-documentation, https://bmw-cardata.bmwgroup.com/customer/public/api-specification and also a "data streaming" documentation: https://bmw-cardata.bmwgroup.com/customer/public/api-documentation/Id-Streaming

Did someone already try this? Especially the streaming could be a game-changer for any home assistant integration.

(I did a search, but most just mentioned CarData related to the recent User-Agent issues a couple of days ago - back then the updated API was not yet listed on the BMW site as I specifically searched for it)

[schmidmuc]

Unfortunately the API documentation does not work at the moment. Has someone alternative links to the doc?

[dreautall]

Will be fixed around Thursday, according to the BMW support!

[whi-tw]

Corroboration of Thursday being docs day:

From: BMW-CarData-B2C-Support bmwcardata-b2c-support@bmwgroup.com

Thank you for reaching out and for your interest on BMW CarData.

Unfortunately we have problems with the documentation, but we have to wait for other partner systems to fix it.
According to them the fix should arrive tomorrow.

I cannot provide a PDF version, please wait one more day for the fixed online version.

[whi-tw]

Nope, it's back now!

https://bmw-cardata.bmwgroup.com/customer/public/api-documentation/Id-Streaming

[whi-tw]

integration.html

I've ripped the raw HTML of the documentation, in case it disappears again

[dreautall]

Yup, apparently some pictures are still missing, but at least the text is all there!

[rikroe]

I'm on vacation till end of the month so won't have a look.
If some of you are able to figure out the basics (login, getting data,...) and put it into a gist, I'd appreciate it!

[whi-tw]

https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc - i've made a POC which does the auth, and connects to MQTT and streams data.

[dreautall]

The documentation is actually pretty good (and pretty on-point, not too long of a read). The most important things seem to be:

• It's only available in the EU (+ UK, apparently - so maybe "old EU" or just "European market models")
• 50 API calls per day
• Token lifetime (also for MQTT) is one hour, so you need to refresh it pretty frequently (which makes it impossible to "just include" in an existing MQTT server).
• MQTT is rather "spammy", my car is just standing in the garage and I already got like 250 messages with a ton of stuff that didn't actually change (range, window status etc.), so I'd guess if you just wait a couple of minutes or send one refresh command you don't need any non-MQTT endpoint anymore for status tracking
• Setup for end users is a bit of a PITA since they need to click a lot of ("technical looking") stuff on the BMW website. For streaming, there are 244 metrics which you need to check one-by-one if you want them all (or use a dev console script to click all at once - not sure if this is something you'd point users to do)

I think for this library it is straightforward to integrate, the bigger pain point will be for the HomeAssistant integration etc., as it adds another layer of abstraction (China/EU/RoW) and I guess is quite documentation heavy for end-users to actually use it properly. But if properly integrated, all stats and even the position of the car basically updated live, so it's a complete gamechanger. Like, you could open the garage door when your vehicle approaches on the road, or even just if it's in the garage and you get in and start the engine... you get all the events, live!

[whi-tw]

++ agreed. for non-eu people, the old way will have to continue (maybe BMW will extend it down the line?).

It definitely is a faff to get it set up, but it seems pretty solid once it's running. my car's not near me at the moment, so I can't just go poke it to get it to update, but i got a massive burst on the first connect. It seems they don't have any QOS on the messages. I wonder if that's why it appeared 'spammy' to you?

If you've been using my poc, i've fixed some things with heartbeat (bmw seems to want clients to ping/pong within every 60 seconds, otherwise they'll be disconnected)

[whi-tw]

if you're messing around with it, using the Find vehicle button in home assistant triggers a burst of data on the stream, if it all seems quiet.

[jasoncodes]

In section 1.2 Availability and additional information in the Integration Guide it states as one of the requirements:

your vehicle is assigned to a supported market (EU)

As someone in the “rest of the world” region, that is quite disappointing.

The images in the Integration Guide are not loading for me (hostname doesn’t exist) but it seems like there should be a fairly prominent “Create CarData Client” button in the ConnectedDrive portal. I can’t find anything like that.

[jasoncodes]

On the off chance the page is there but hidden from navigation, what does the URL look like when you click the “BMW CarData” icon? e.g. https://www.bmw.com/en-au/mybmw/mapped-vehicle/…/settings is what I have for Preferences / Settings.

[dreautall]

/cardata at the end. Is your vehicle fulfilling all other requirements? Is it a "modern" vehicle (F- or G- series)?

[jasoncodes]

/cardata redirects back to the icon menu. The site seems to know about that slug since a random string takes me back to Preferences/Setting. Oh well. The vehicle is G20 which I assume is supported. All other listed prerequisites are met.

Oh well. Hopefully they expand into other regions later on. Might drop them an email and ask when I have time. I assume no plans but can’t hurt to register demand.

[dreautall]

Looking at it all, they rushed hard to get the B2B CarData thing B2C ready just in time for the EU law. The documentation didn't work at the beginning, still has broken links (jtw.io instead of jwt.io, missing link to the B2C T&Cs right at the start etc.), the guys at the b2c support address all have b2b in their signatures etc.

I'd guess (without knowing) that this now a fast shot as they needed to get it done - hopefully they just wait for it to be stable (and maybe judge demand) and then roll it out everywhere.

[jasoncodes]

Update: CarData API can be configured via the German BMW website at https://www.bmw.de/de-de/mybmw/vehicle-overview even though my vehicle is registered in Australia.

When I load the CarData page I get a bunch of red error message which translate to “An error has occurred. Please try again later or contact BMW Customer Service.” however I was able to create a client ID and configure streaming without issue. I used the instructions at https://github.com/JjyKsi/bmw-cardata-ha?tab=readme-ov-file#bmw-portal-setup-dont-skip-do-this-first for this.

I then got https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc running and I’m seeing events stream in when car activity occurs. Hooray! Hopefully this access persists and is not locked down to just EU regions.

---

I’m pretty sure I was trying the BMW ConnectedDrive customer portal links via the API documentation previously. The German portal shows this message (translated) when I try to sign in there:

Information about your home country/region.

Discover the world of BMW ConnectedDrive in your home country/region. You are already registered there and can use BMW ConnectedDrive for your vehicle. If you have recently moved across borders, your vehicle must be assigned to your new home country to comply with any different legal requirements. Please contact the ConnectedDrive hotline for this.

This incorrectly led me to believe I had to use my home country’s portal. Turns out that’s not true!

[whi-tw]

I've made a python POC which handles CarData authentication + connects to the MQTT server and streams data: https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc

[whi-tw]

(if you have tried this, i've fixed a bunch of stuff now, so worth re-pulling)

[rikroe]

Thanks, this looks great!
Will check back in October for a HA integration (and need to think about it it should be part of the existing integration or a separate, new one...).

[whi-tw]

ok, i'm done noodling with this. shifted some stuff into a library, added a summary of auth / mqtt stuff, made a sample webui for fun. any questions, gimme a shout. hopefully it's self-explanatory enough though to use as some prior art / inspiration!

[FilipDem]

Thanks, this looks great! Will check back in October for a HA integration (and need to think about it it should be part of the existing integration or a separate, new one...).

Wrt existing integrator or a separate...
It seems that the API can only be used to retrieve information without possibility to start remote services (like heating etc)...
(btw: I did an integration in Domoticz based on the bimmer_connected library - now looking to integrate it natively in Domoticz by the formal API, but then missing the remote services).

[tb205gti]

ok, i'm done noodling with this. shifted some stuff into a library, added a summary of auth / mqtt stuff, made a sample webui for fun. any questions, gimme a shout. hopefully it's self-explanatory enough though to use as some prior art / inspiration!

Have you had any issues creating custom containers? No matter how I make the payload I always get a 403 in return. I can get the basic data, images and all other stuff just fine, just can't create a new container with the metrics I'd like to get.

I do have the streaming up and running, and getting data (Albeit BMW does not quite send out much updates on the queue..)

[andreas-p]

see here: andreas-p/bmw-cardata-stuff#2 Create Container not working.

[myModelY]

have everyone received the id in car ?

[whi-tw]

there's no ID to receive in the car. That ID is generated as part of the auth flow. https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/blob/main/AUTHENTICATION.md#step-3-user-authentication

[myModelY]

if i authenticate ny device, i got a window for type in a code it should received in car.

[whi-tw]

That's not how it works - the button is badly labeled. this explains it better: https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/blob/main/AUTHENTICATION.md#what-is-the-user-code

[FilipDem]

Thanks for all this preparatory work!
Just playing around using the CLI to evaluate integration in Domoticz...
All works well, however I don't get any stream data... Any idea?
Already tried to open/close the car to see if sth comes in...
Stream data is configured on the MyBmw website...

2025-09-17 21:10:38,247 - bmw_catalogue - INFO - Loaded 244 items from cache
BMW CarData MQTT Client Starting...
2025-09-17 21:10:38,247 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Tokens loaded from bmw_tokens.json
2025-09-17 21:10:38,247 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Refreshing tokens for fresh session...
2025-09-17 21:10:39,168 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Refresh token saved to bmw_tokens.json
2025-09-17 21:10:39,168 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Tokens refreshed successfully
2025-09-17 21:10:39,170 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Connecting to MQTT broker...
2025-09-17 21:10:39,210 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Set up connection to MQTT broker...
2025-09-17 21:10:39,580 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Start mqtt client loop...

Streaming vehicle data... Press Ctrl+C to exit.
2025-09-17 21:10:39,783 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Connected to MQTT broker successfully
2025-09-17 21:10:39,784 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Subscribed to topic: xxx/yyy with QoS 1
2025-09-17 21:10:39,784 - bmw_cardata - INFO - Subscribed to wildcard topic: xxx/+ with QoS 1
2025-09-17 21:10:39,784 - bmw_cardata - INFO - ID token expires in: 0:59:58.383357
Successfully connected and subscribed to vehicle data

[whi-tw]

This is how I've been triggering a burst of data: #745 (reply in thread)

Did you subscribe to topics when setting up the stream? The door / window status should be supported by most cars. Mine is a G08, not a huge amount of data available, but those defo work.

[FilipDem]

Yes I did and indeed status of doors, windows, mileage etc...

[whi-tw]

Weird. Did you try the webui version? Maybe leave that running for a bit and see if something appears.

I'm not really able to provide any support.

I managed to strip out the mqtt debug logging when I made it into a module. I'll try to get that added in again, which should help you debug whether mqtt is working.

[whi-tw]

added. also fixed a token refresh problem. try running with mqtt debug on: https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/blob/main/README.md#mqtt-debug-logging and confirm that you're seeing mqtt messages like:

DEBUG:bmw_cardata:[21:01:14.818] MQTT(16): Received SUBACK
DEBUG:bmw_cardata:Subscription confirmed - Message ID: 1
DEBUG:bmw_cardata:Topic 0: Granted QoS 1

if these are coming through, you're authenticated and there's just no data flowing. unsure how to make it send some!

[tanelvakker]

I also needed to configure the stream and choose datapoints to be sent. Then I started receiving data on MQTT

[myModelY]

can anybody help me?
sudo pip install -r requirements.txt
ERROR: Could not open requirements file: [Errno 2] Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden: 'requirements.txt'

regards

[myModelY]

nothing, this should be first one, see manual https://github.com/whi-tw/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/blob/main/README.md#setup

[sincze]

To be honest Git repositories normally start with a

git pull .... of the specific repository

Then you at least have the files locally available to start. Maybe that was missed in the documentation or assumed known?

Did not see this repository as a known package yet but that might change over time

[whi-tw]

Sorry yeah, that was implied. i've updated the readme

[myModelY]

thank you, works well. but how can i send the data to my mqtt broker?

[whi-tw]

that's up to you. the repo is just a proof of concept for authenticating and connecting to BMW's broker, with two examples of reading and processing the data. the rest of the implementation is up to someone else, sorry!

[FilipDem]

I have it completely running in Domoticz now, however the API is still not at all at the same level...

• vehicle.isMoving: key is not returned (even when checked in the streaming parameters) --> no feedback when driving or not
• vehicle.cabin.door.status: this seems to be the only key that gives back if the car is locked, but clearly communicated that this key is not updated often and not to be used (in practice: I haven't seen yet this key value in the stream) --> no feedback if car is locked or not
• As indicated earlier: no APIs so start remote services (like heating)

I did not check the properties wrt EV, but disappointed so far about the complexity of the key structure...

And since today I got a "blocked" back in the bimmer_connected... So I assume BMW went a step further and blocked the API calls by bimmer_connected.

[myModelY]

here also blocked. :-(

[tb205gti]

So I have it up and running, and I get data on MQTT - but the update rate is pretty appalling.. Only seems to update every 20 minutes or so.. I'd expect that a "streaming" interface would be ... streaming.. Every 20 minutes is almost useless, how to make automations based on location if it "never" updates the location?

Am I the only one with this issue?

[tb205gti]

Even when charging I only get data every about 20 mins.. :/

Does the app still use the old endpoint?

[myModelY]

can you tell us how we get data on MQTT ?best regards

[tb205gti]

It is all describes in the documentation on the bmw site. Also take a look at some of the POC's that have popped up on github.

[myModelY]

Hi. now i have connection, loaded 244 items. but how can i send it to my mqtt broker? what is nessesary in the -enf ?

[whi-tw]

As I said to you before: #745 (reply in thread)

[tb205gti]

Have anyone been looking into what data we can get from the API (not the streaming).

Can we get the same data as in the old - now closed API.

[tb205gti]

Tried to look more into it - so we have to create a container with a list of telematic items, so we can design the container with the data we want. However, I'm not able to create a container - I keep on getting a 403 back.

I can get the basic data, the image, the charging history - but I cannot make a container with my own metrics

[myModelY]

beelink@beelink-MINI:~$ /home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 6: $'\nBMW CarData Client Library\n\nA standalone library for BMW CarDa
ta OAuth2 authentication and MQTT streaming.\nHandles authentication, token management, and MQTT connection lifecycle.\n': Befehl nic
ht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 8: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 9: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 10: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 11: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 12: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 13: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 14: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 15: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 16: from: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 17: from: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 18: from: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 20: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 21: import: Befehl nicht gefunden
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 23: Syntaxfehler beim unerwarteten Wort »(«
/home/beelink/bmw-cardata-streaming-poc/bmw_cardata.py: Zeile 23: `logger = logging.getLogger(name)

[myModelY]

Hi all. my connection is opened, but how i can receive the streamdata over mqtt ? nothing happens.

[x600]

How do you get the API key ( CarData client ID )?

Searched everything, it seems they are deliberately making it not very clear how to get BMW Client ID and the api key.

[sincze]

How do you get the API key ( CarData client ID )?

Searched everything, it seems they are deliberately making it not very clear how to get BMW Client ID and the api key.

A BMW CarData client ID (generated in your BMW customer portal)
Personally I use this integration https://dj0abr.github.io/bmw-mqtt-bridge/ids/ but it describes how to get your ID.
In my case running in a docker and publishing data to mosquitto topic bmw/