New Owner 08 X5 3.0si First Impressions
 

We just took delivery of a 2008 X5 3.0si. Sapphire Black, Tobacco interior, Premium package, Tech package, Cold Weather package, Rear Climate package, and power rear gate. Overall, I would say this is a big step up from the 2006 Honda Pilot we were driving. One glaring problem that I noticed right away is the rear-view camera. In short, it sucks. The image is very blurry while moving and is useless at night. The Honda Pilot had a crystal clear image and worked great at night with the reverse lights providing illumination. Has anyone else noticed this, or is this a problem with this specific vehicle?

Welcome to X5world. Post some pics!

As for your question, do a search. There's been a numerous complaints about the Rear-view camera. It sucks, but people live with it.

BTW, how's the ride different from the Honda Pilot? Are you satisfied?:)

The ride is much tighter but yet softer at the same time (if that makes sense). I guess you could say it handles far better but yet the suspension hides the bumps in the road better. It is also far more quiet than the Pilot was. It's truly a treat to drive! That said, I do wish that I could have swung the V8....but with the much higher price and lower mpg's I couldn't justify it. My other car is an Audi A6, now that is a rocket-ship! :-)

I'll post pictures soon.

what's worse? sucks or blows? because no negative word is too good for the rear-view camera. Been raining here... looked into the camera display and I almost broke out laughing... or crying. I forget which it was this last time around.

Couldn't agree more. The camera is terrible at night or with rain. I wish BMW will release an upgrade some time soon.

Congrats on your new ride. I agree on the price tag of the V8 being higher then the I6, but mpg is the same or better in the V8 if you have a heavy foot like me. :D

I feel your pain! I've turned it off as it is worthless. PDC isn't that great either, since it sometimes takes a while for the iDrive to warm up before I can see anything on the screen.

You do have the audible tones for PDC though, don't you? Just making sure.

And yes, the idrive bootup is the other issue. Camera sometimes comes on after I've already put it back into drive after reverse. Thanks for playing, idrive. I wonder if the new harddrive based system coming soon got rid of this problem.

As cheap and small as video cameras are these days, you wonder if someone smart would come up with an aftermarket replacement since BMW appears deaf to complaints about the quality of its camera.

The camera image is there as a secondary measure (i use the distance and pathway markers to guide me in where I go), actual helping in backing up is the ultrasonic sensors.
it not good but not totally useless.