Sensitive Sensors - 2015 BMW M235i Convertible Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited February 2016 in BMW
imageSensitive Sensors - 2015 BMW M235i Convertible Long-Term Road Test

Parking sensors are a nifty idea in most cars, but when they start acting as confused as those in our 2015 BMW M235i, we question their usefulness.

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  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    I'm at work, which means I don't have the time to watch the video, nor can play the audio. But I'm guessing the red lines are the projected arc/path of the vehicle if you turn the wheel full left or full right? And does the path change based on the degree of turn to the wheel? Meaning if the wheel is only turned half-way, does the arc change to reflect that?
  • darexdarex Member Posts: 187
    daryleason said:

    I'm at work, which means I don't have the time to watch the video, nor can play the audio. But I'm guessing the red lines are the projected arc/path of the vehicle if you turn the wheel full left or full right? And does the path change based on the degree of turn to the wheel? Meaning if the wheel is only turned half-way, does the arc change to reflect that?

    Yes -- exactly like that. I have this exact same system in my MINI Cooper. It is very sensitive, but appropriately so. If it reacts this way, there's a reason, and you'd be a fool to ignore it. There are 6 up front and 6 in back.
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    If I understand the warning correctly the red yellow and green bars and the beeping are for something in the front of the car. If you are in reverse it should not be warning about anything in front, since it would just be a distraction.

    It also completely fails to detect the car that drives directly behind you and stops beeping while it is back there.
  • hacefriohacefrio Member Posts: 29
    edited February 2016
    @nate001: yes, glad you caught that, the car that passes by near the end of the video. You can see the sensors warning about something in front of the car, even while in reverse. I assume the sensors thought I might graze the car parked alongside, even though the steering wheel was straight and not even in a presumed reverse arc.
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    Based on the amount of beeping coming from the front of the car in that video, I would suspect there is debris on the sensors giving you a false reading.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,817
    I'm not at all sorry that my 2er lacks those features.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • cromagnum_mancromagnum_man Member Posts: 54
    I still don't understand why someone would need a reverse sensing radar system when you have a backup camera. I would think that seeing what is behind you is ALWAYS better than hearing fast or slow beeps.
  • reighty8reighty8 Member Posts: 6
    cromagnum_man said:

    I still don't understand why someone would need a reverse sensing radar system when you have a backup camera. I would think that seeing what is behind you is ALWAYS better than hearing fast or slow beeps.

    Perspective distortion of the wide angle lens can be misleading when judging distance, and sometimes the obstacle can be too low for the camera to see.
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