back up camera

[araderboy]

i love the back up camera on my e70,
but it never seems to come on, in the few months that ive had the car, i think ive only seen it like 5-6 times.

how do i make it always come on? and not the fucking laser censor, i hate the beeping- they need a different noise
*on that note-
i love the chime it makes when the key is in the ignition.

[X5 Guy]

Sounds like it is not operating properly.

It should always turn on when you are in reverse unless you opted to deactivate it somehow.

[X5_2_OBX]

If you search "intermittent camera" you should find the discussions about this. Unfortunately, it seems to be one of the issues that quite a few people here are having with their E70's. We had this problem and recently had the whole camera replaced AND got a software update. It's been flawless ever since. I haven't driven it at night since so I don't know if the new camera has better "night vision" but the colors are MUCH more accurate on the new camera!

[pvandam]

but the colors are MUCH more accurate on the new camera!

Could this mean that BMW listened to the feedback from their customers and in the meantime has come up with a new and better camera?
Wouldn't it then also appear on the SIBs? Just wondering as I'm still considering to cancel the camera in my order.
Not because of the intermittent problems (they can be fixed right?) but mainly because of al the other operation limitations discussed here.
(like night vision bad, stays on too long, cannot easily switch between PDC front graphics and Cam, cannot operate together with front PDC graphic)

[X5FX]

Originally Posted by pvandam

Could this mean that BMW listened to the feedback from their customers and in the meantime has come up with a new and better camera?
Wouldn't it then also appear on the SIBs? Just wondering as I'm still considering to cancel the camera in my order.
Not because of the intermittent problems (they can be fixed right?) but mainly because of al the other operation limitations discussed here.
(like night vision bad, stays on too long, cannot easily switch between PDC front graphics and Cam, cannot operate together with front PDC graphic)

Despite its weakness, its still a valuable option to have. I would not eliminate it.

[X5_2_OBX]

I don't know if the new camera has actually been improved over the old one or if the old one was just flawed. I do agree with X5FX that it's a valuable addition even with the possible issues.

FWIW, the camera replacement and software update were all covered by BMW (of course!). The biggest issue was that it took them a few days to get it all done but we had an X3 loaner so it wasn't awful.