Multiply Cameras not working

[Twurzel]

I picked up my M3 on Saturday and so far love it. No real issues with it other than one half of the wireless charging pad only appears to charge for about 5 minutes before switching off, the other half works fine.

I live in deepest darkest Wiltshire and last night was my first night drive with the car. I kept getting warnings that the side cameras were blocked or blinded on some of the darker back roads. Now that seem logical as there was no ambient light for them to pick up and the warnings cleared when street lights were around but I just wanted to check that others have the same behavior.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Have you checked to see if the protective film has been removed from the B pillars? There have been cases where this hasn't been removed before handover, and it can cause this problem.

Other than that, the only time I've seen the cameras blinded issue is low sun in autumn and spring, I've not seen a problem at night.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Yes. TADTS. The cameras don’t like dark country lanes or even quiet unlit major roads

 

[TheManofMead]

Yes. TADTS. The cameras don’t like dark country lanes or even quiet unlit major roads

Thanks, having had this warning on a few rare occasions now it makes sense as I seem to recall it has been only on dark roads where it has happened...not ideal having to avert your eyes to the screen...on dark roads/lanes etc

 

[Twurzel]

Yes. TADTS. The cameras don’t like dark country lanes or even quiet unlit major roads

Thanks for the confirmation, it does make sense but a little warning in the manual would have been good especially as it started with alternating left camera/ right camera before going to multiple cameras. I thought I was having some sort of cascade failure in the dark out in the middle of nowhere!

 

[GRiLLA]

It happens when there is 0 light, the camera just sees black and so it might be blocked. The computer doesn't understand nighttime.

 

[mrkwats]

Exactly the same happened to me last night - driving in the dark, country roads, with hedgerows on both sides. I've also had it with bright sunshine one early morning.

 

[Adopado]

Thanks for the confirmation, it does make sense but a little warning in the manual would have been good especially as it started with alternating left camera/ right camera before going to multiple cameras. I thought I was having some sort of cascade failure in the dark out in the middle of nowhere!

It's not in the manual because these things are constantly changing. Different software updates tweak the way work. Low sun is the only consistent problem. The issue in darkness is not consistent with all cars and with all software versions.

 

[MrBadger]

I find the total darkness ones only trigger when the ultrasonics detect something that the cameras cannot see.

 

[Chanser]

I get this all the time, driving back home from work at night.

 

[Durzel]

It’s normal at night time for sure, on unit roads.

You’d think the sensors would be able to tell the difference between an absence of light (blocked) or an excess of it (blinded). It is a pretty portentous message to see and it makes you think the cameras might be broken.

Would’ve thought it would be possible to detect the ambient light (it already does this to change the screen mode from dark to light) and to show a message that says something less dramatic, like “Camera performance degraded due to insufficient ambient lighting. If this problem persists contact your service centre “

 

[LongRanger]

Tends to happen when there is hedge or other bobbins acting as a reflective wall fairly near to the car at night

 

[Sparkeur]

The cameras don’t like dark country lanes or even quiet unlit major roads

or direct sunlight
or raindrops on the pillars
or moisture inside the pillars
or heavy rain on a motorway
or (as I found out yesterday) intermittent fog/heavy mist.

Other than that, 100%.