2007 X5 Backup Camera Intermittent!
 

After having my new (YAH!) X5 for about 1 week I have noticed that when you put it in reverse sometimes the camera screen goes dark and I get no image. (The PDC sensors are working however). I have not found a pattern to it and when it does not work, if I shut off the car and wait a few minutes then get in and start the car it is working again.:confused:

As a point of history, when I picked up the car after learning all about it I got a warning of Camera failure and was to bring it back the next day however in the morning all was working so they cancelled the appointment.

Have any of you seen this happening where the camera sometimes does not work? I am bringin it back in on Weds... Help?


PS I do not have v25 software......(No POIs...)

You are not the only one. I have the same exact issue like yours. Sometimes, the back camera image does not show after I drove for like half a block, then the camera images came on briefly and disappeared. There are times, that the screen just went pitch black. Is this more of the software loop hole or just an isolated case?

One other issue that I found on my X5 this past weekend, when I had her wash for the first time since I took a delivery 4 weeks ago. There was a leak through the driver door side eventhough, I have my window closed. I thought I had my window slightly opened, but after checked it. The window was very much tightly closed. I am bringing it back this Friday.

Glad to hear that I am not alone! Only wish I could tell the dealer what others have found. As far as the window is concerned I am sure that this is a quick fix. Hopefully someone who has also had the problem with the Camera and gotten it fixed will post. If I find out from my delaer I will make sure I let everyone know.

Well I brought my x5 back to the dealer to see if they can fix the camera and I will let everyone know what they find (if anything). Stay tuned....

Well I just got it back from the dealer and they said that they needed to re-init the camera again as it showed that it was having problems during the init sequence. They said if this does not work then they will replace the camera. So far so good....

Also they informed me that they would not do the software ver 25.x as it has killed a few cars and they are still in the shop. They said to wait a few more weeks until they know more.

My car was in the shop for 6 working days for the camera issue. It was NEVER working after some time of intermittent working. A new camera was shipped from Germany. Sadly, when I got in the car at the shop, the camera malfunction light was ON - but I took it home anyway hoping it was an isolated incident. So far, it's worked 1x of the 5x I've backed up since bringing it home. I'll call back Monday.

Yeah, today I got the malfunctioning camera message, but it doesn't affect me since I always have the screen on PDC display.

It appears one thing for sure there is still no fix for this issue and MY08 will still have this problem..

I too was one of the people who had their car in the shop for 6 weeks with this issue. The rear camera fault should be stored in the memory, so even if it is not on when you bring it in, your tech should be able to check for fault codes and see it in there.

My dealer opened a PUMA case and the Field Service Engineer in NJ told them to replace the rear camera, which they did and the whole iDrive went down. They had to order a CCC, which took 4 weeks to come in as they are coded by VIN and you can't just get a spare one from another car.

I'm happy to say after a week that my rear camera is working great and they updated my software to 26.2 and I see some changes in the iDrive programming.

-Chris

Thanks. How do you know what software you have? I got my 4.8 x5 late February and the screen is brown (I mention this because I heard that the newer version is grey).

I was thinking they would update my software because of various problems I'm having like showing the wrong station, delay or lock ups, lost presets,... and in the end, they did not because they said it didn't any of this for them.

I will call tomorrow about the camera. It's completely dead.

Hi...

Sorry...I got the programming version wrong...I have 26.1.1 in my car now.

I attached the service order for your review. It is the second issue on the order. I cut off the top with my information, but it pertains to my 04/07 build X5 4.8i Sports with Technology package.

Chris

lsh...

To answer your other questions, my iDrive screen is brown too. To confuse us even more, my old screen was grey!!! I noticed some changes to the iDrive...the bluetooth pairing has some different screens and in the Entertainment setting....it now says AUX/Rear for the rear tv. Before it used to only say AUX. But otherwise, it feels the same to me. Still kind of laggy, especially when using the steering wheel functions for which I preset the phonebook and next entertainment source.

Chris

I took my E70 to the delearship 3 times for the same Backup Camera issue. Th first time they did a software upgrade and claimed that the upgrade will fix my Camera issue. Well it became worse. I took it back but somehow they can't replicate it. They did a diagnostic and claimed that a loose wire caused the malfunction. Well, the malfunction happened again as soon as I got home. I brought it back again and after two days, i was told that the problem is the Camera, duh!!!! I was told that the Camera is in back order. So far I have been waiting for 11 days now waiting for the dealer to call me if the receive the camera.

Do updated versions of the software cost money....or can you just bring it in whenever an update is new and they will update your car?

They are covered under warranty .. but BMW tell dealers to only upgrade the software if there is a fault.. i.e you can't just get an upgrade because there is one.. or at least that what I have read in some dealer communications.

james is correct...the dealer will only upgrade your software if you have a particular problem, which the update addresses. Otherwise, they won't do it. The updates take quite a while and dealers don't want to be slammed with people wanting updates just for the heck of it.

But they are free...at least in the US.

Chris

do the updates pertain to the entire car, or just components that are controlled within I-drive? Is there any way to see what changed from version to version, and whats the current version coming on cars that were ordered in mid-june?

is it normal when you use the camera at night the screen is all blurry? Cause there is really no point of using it when that happens.

IT's an entire software update I believe.. and it can take hours... ! You can look at the release notes about what is fixed.. not sure if these are released as SIBs or not...

The camera is really "noisy" at night. Looks like you're shooting with 3200 ISO film or something. I believe the camera that BMW sources is of really bad quality compared to its competitors. I have seen units from Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti and the BMW is by far the worst. It seems like the CCD chip in the camera they use is really tiny and the picture just comes out really noisy.

Someone in a previous post (in another thread) had mentioned they are going to try use a different camera from a Lexus in their E70, but I never heard how that project went.

At night, the rearview camera is practically useless. You can see something in partially lit areas or in a parking garage, but if you are on a really dark street, you wouldn't be able to see an obstruction like a trash can. In defense, your PDC will come out alerting you of something.

If they didn't package it as part of the tech package, I really wouldn't get it in retrospect. The PDC sensors are fine with me...and even then, I find them pretty irritating.

Do BMW state that this should work at night ? If so then it does not perform as expected and should be subject to a recall. It appears new cameras are being ordered to solve some of the problems... it will be interesting to see if they provide more of the same. Has anyone seen anything from BMW regarding alleged night capability of the rear view camera ?

Yes, page 241 of the manual states:
"you should only use reverse gear during daylight hours, if you need to put the X5 in reverse you should drive forward and circle around to avoid using reverse. Reverse is fully functional during daylight hours."

haha thats funny

I got my E70 back from the dealership after the the Backup Camera was replaced. So far, it is working properly and have not encounter any issue for about 5 days now.

but is it the same low res camera that is useless at night?

My rear camera was replaced last week, and it might be a little clearer, but it's still pretty useless at night. Unless there is some street or car park lighting, I can only see what's lit by the reverse lights.

Chris

It is pretty much the same quality asthe old one but without any faulty error. It is still useless at night though.

Hi,

I have sometimes a delay when switching into R and camara screen should appear. Specially right after cold start it takes around 10second to have a reasonable image on it.

Quality is horrible.

I don´t understand this step back, the E53 camera was fine; very sharp image, fantastic sensibility by night. Even with no light (excepting car´s backlights) there was a very usable picture.

regards
Alex

BMW has taking a step back as far as the rear camera. Last night, I was using it when I was parallel parking on a dark street and it was COMPLETELY useless. All I saw was colorful snow. :(

My camera works fine after 3 months but i think the backup lamp is not enough for camera in the dark night

Most of these (I cannot say I read them all) seem to refer to the camera going out (I assume like black).

I had a spell Saturday where the camera just showed a color test patter, vertical color bars and no picture.

Stopped and started engine - no impact. After it was stopped for 20 minutes or so (presumably causing a reboot) it worked fine.

Anyone seen this failure mode?

Interestingly enough this happened at the BMW dealer where I was picking up parts. Naturally, despite being open for service Saturday, no one was there who knew anything about it. I scheduled an appointment then before I left (after it sat a while) it was working.

I had the same issue before. The dealer finally replaced the camera after complaining to them for 4 times for the same issue. Insist on changing your Backup Camera because it is faulty, BMW NA knows about this issue. I have not have a single Camera issue since it was replaced almost a month ago.

Good luck!