Rear View Camera Top View? - Page 4

X5-UK · #31 09-07-2009, 06:11 PM

Electric folding mirrors not standard on ANY X5 in the UK, costs £235 ($385) extra [Option No.430]. Top View costs £470 ($771) so if you go for Top View, it costs $1156 by the time you add folding mirrors (compulsory). Top View is more than side view (slightly) as the iDrive monitor combines all three images (allegedly).

Sponsored Links

LeMansX5 · #32 09-07-2009, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtech8

Electric folding side mirrors? I thought those were standard on the X5 (I could be wrong). I know if I press a button, the mirrors will fold and if I press it again, they unfold.

Did BMW finally add automatic folding mirrors (ie: when the car is locked)? Those are cool. I like those.

Top view doesn't really sound like much. Sounds more like side view to see the curb to help you park. Good feature to avoid curbing your wheels.

Back in the days auto-folding only came with Premium package. Not sure about the deal now.

Penguin · #33 09-07-2009, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Back in the days auto-folding only came with Premium package. Not sure about the deal now.

That would actually explain something I read in another thread or message board. Someone said their dealer told them they could not order the technology package without the premium package. Since, in the U.S. the only way you get the electric folding mirrors is with the premium package, the addition of top view to the technology package might make the premium package a mandatory option with the technology package.

mtech8 · #34 09-07-2009, 06:30 PM

Yeah. I was in a X5M this past week and did see the rear view camera divided into 4 screens.

It was "Blank, standard rear view, blank, PDC view (I'm sure this was from a split screen and could have been removed)". The side views probably belonged in the blank spots. So if it's the combination of that which makes Top View. Not extremely excited about it. Definitely better than not having it, but nothing that blows the competitors away.

Penguin · #35 09-07-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtech8

nothing that blows the competitors away.

BMW electronics technology is usually behind the competitors. Right now you can get more advanced features on a 2010 Ford Taurus than on a 2010 BMW X5. But I do get some excitement when BMW catches up so that you don't have to give-up too much of the electronic features to get the BMW handling and luxury.

nynd · #36 09-07-2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penguin

BMW electronics technology is usually behind the competitors. Right now you can get more advanced features on a 2010 Ford Taurus than on a 2010 BMW X5. But I do get some excitement when BMW catches up so that you don't have to give-up too much of the electronic features to get the BMW handling and luxury.

Agreed! Why can't these guys get up to speed with the competition?

jamesboags · #37 09-07-2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynd

Agreed! Why can't these guys get up to speed with the competition?

It's old technology and they still have bugs... imagine if they tried to be leading edge...

Penguin · #38 09-07-2009, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynd

Agreed! Why can't these guys get up to speed with the competition?

I think it is because of their wanting desperately to use German or European suppliers if at all possible. On their Motorcycles, the "K" series had an extremely unreliable instrument cluster for years after introduction. By extremely, I mean more than 50% were failing within 2-3 years, many within a month or two. They managed to gradually improve the reliability after about 6 years, but on the next new product line "the oilheads" they finally went to a Japanese supplier.

My 1987 K75S motorcycle (which I still have) has gone through six new instrument clusters over about 100,000 miles (I don't know the mileage for sure with so many cluster changes), and BMW only paid for the first two, and half of the price for the next two. Conversely, my 1994 BMW R1100GS has Japanese instruments, 72,000 miles, and the original instruments are still working.

P.S. The "final" Rube Goldberg solution they came up with was to put a couple of nickle-sized vents on the back of the cluster, with Gore-tex membranes,,, apparently they could not stop moisture from collecting in the cluster, so they used Gore-tex to allow it to evaporate when the cluster got hot in the Sun.