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Rear view camera problem on 4.8i E70

55K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  propchef 
#1 ·
Frustrating, I am still having intermittent rear view camera problem. Wondering how many of you guys having the same problem. I wonder whether it is a camera problem or a software problem.
 
#2 ·
The issue has been quite common and with two rectifications, replacement and/or software upgrade to 25.02. If you do that make sure your dealer doesnt upgrade to 25.01 that still has other niggles. This will also sort out other minor issues transmission etc.

Thats assuming your running older software?

V26 should be out shortly as well.
 
#4 ·
What camera problems are people having, exactly?

I have noticed that the camera is useless at night. Completely useless. Additionally, on two occasions, when I put the X5 in reverse, the camera blanked out on me, instead putting a rainbow of vertical lines on the screen (like a television that lost reception) that didn't clear until I shut the car off and back on.
 
#6 ·
What camera problems are people having, exactly?

Additionally, on two occasions, when I put the X5 in reverse, the camera blanked out on me, instead putting a rainbow of vertical lines on the screen (like a television that lost reception) that didn't clear until I shut the car off and back on.
That is the Backup Camera problem!!!!. Sometimes, it wont even come up until you leave the car off for a while. It truly works intermittently!!!!
 
#5 ·
Today I noticed my first glitch with my rear view camera. I put the car into reverse and the camera display didn't show up and a "gong" sounded and a warning with an exclamation icon came up in the gauge cluster. I put the car in park and reverse again and then is started to work again.

Like others, I'm also experiencing rather poor quality at night. I have an S550 with rear camera and that one is way clear compared to the X5. It seems like the Benz uses stronger reverse lights to light up the path.

Maybe some stronger bulbs for the reverse lights may help the problem? But I think it more of a hardware problem with the camera.
 
#8 ·
Is it the same issue that the video in this thread shows? http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726012

If so its not a software issue. The camera cable needs to be replaced and its pretty involved. My SA told me they had to drop the headliner and remove some panels to route the new cable so depending on who does the actual job you may end up with new rattles. The cable itself is about $225 if you have TopView, without I'm not sure but is probably about the same. It depends on what module the rear camera gets connected to and that depends on options and maybe model year as well.
 
#10 ·
With these e70 rear camera issues (blacking out, poor night time visibility, cable failure, etc.) has anyone looked at replacing the camera with a new design from either BMW or another electronics company? The Clarion CC510 camera is good to .5 lux of light. That is pretty minimal lighting. I that would greatly improve the nighttime visibility. And it is compatible with numerous non-Clarion head units. Has anyone else thought of swapping out their camera as I have?

-CAD
 
#11 ·
I think I can add third, alternative solution for this. As all, I have flickering issue with high temperature outside. Went to dealer, they told that cable should be changed - $1200.

So, I decided to do it myself. First, I decided to take a look at this cable and how it's located.
Took rear hatch trim off, unplug cable it from camera, did some pulls and twists to figure out how it routed, put everything together and boom - everything works perfectly since than!

I know, this can not help to everybody but at least it's easy to try.
 
#14 ·
I think I can add third, alternative solution for this. As all, I have flickering issue with high temperature outside. Went to dealer, they told that cable should be changed - $1200.

So, I decided to do it myself. First, I decided to take a look at this cable and how it's located.
Took rear hatch trim off, unplug cable it from camera, did some pulls and twists to figure out how it routed, put everything together and boom - everything works perfectly since than!

I know, this can not help to everybody but at least it's easy to try.
Hi can u tell which connectors did u move it????
 
#12 ·
Now, after few months, I can confirm that not the cable but more connector issues is here.

Yesterday my camera started to give me really terrible pictures and then just gave me blank screen with camera malfunction message. I was about to order cable but decided to give it a shot, one more time. Open all up again, pull connector off and plug it back in and camera works as brand new - no single flick on 100F heat we had yesterday. Will check that connector more closely this week sometime. Looks like this is the real problem here.
 
#13 ·
My car has three cameras and none of them is working. no warning message; no gong either! by pressing the camera button on the console, nothing happens. by pressing the camera icon in the rear camera screen, it is either black screen or car icon indicator. no fault messages are displayed. Can anyone help? Is there a fuse for the cameras? I find it strange that all of them are not working. Am I missing anything? tks !
 
#15 ·
Connector that connects to camera. I unplug it to see where it goes, so I move it around a bit but when I plug it in it worked fine, for some time. It sure not "fix" but rather something you can try to make it better until you replace that cable...

I found cable for a cheap and now need some time to replace it to see if that really the problem. Dealer asked like $1300 for a job.
 
#18 ·
Bumping an old thread.

My reverse camera was going all wonky when the temperature rise, getting intermittent when it goes above 90 and going out completely above 100. It happened all summer last year and I never dealt with it, but it was above 100 yesterday and POOF, gone.

I did some digging and found a few threads, including this one. I took the cheap approach first and removed the rear panel, unplugged the camera, then plugged it back in, making sure it was well set. I used my scanning tool and found and reset a code for reverse sensor failure (this is what came up on my dash yesterday when the camera didn't come on). Today it's upper 90's and no issues. If I'd had some dielectric grease I would have used that, but if it returns I'll go that route.
 
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