# Bimmer-Tech OEM Integration Rear View Camera on an e92



## mrMTB (Jan 4, 2009)

After finding an almost-perfect 2009 e92, I went about correcting the one missing option from my ideal M3 - something to keep me from backing into things when parallel parking. I did a bit of research between retrofitting PDC and adding a RVC, and on account of not wanting to deal with the hassle of pulling off the rear bumper and trying to get the holes drilled perfectly, decided to start with the RVC retrofit.

I spent a few weeks researching the various kits that are available, and reading reviews of them. Based on some of the reviews, and the availability of dynamic parking lines, I decided to go with the Bimmer-Tech kit, OEM integration with dynamic guid lines (http://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw-3-series-e90-e91-e92-e93/park-assist-retrofits/rear-view-camera-retrofit-oem-integration). A quick-and-painless order on the website later, and I waited a few days for the DHL driver to show up with my kit. A few people have noted that DHL have presented them with a bill for customs, though I've (knock on wood) not seen anything yet.

As mentioned they do not include instructions in the box, and ask you to take a picture of everything when you get it to ensure that all the appropriate parts are present. After sending this to Patryk, he sends you a pretty-thorough instruction guide. The guys at Bimmer-Tech include a coding cable to help get all the electronics sorted for the computer, and handle the installation over the Internet while you wait. If you are using a machine you also use for work, be aware that you need to be able to disable virus protection and firewall to ensure it is successful; I was not able to do that on my Windows machine, so we ended up going with a VM on my Mac, and it worked perfectly.

The provided instructions are really very good, and if someone has a specific question about them, I'll be happy to speak to any part of it. A few items of note:

I generally shy away from doing installations like this since there's a chance of screwing up something (scratching, breaking), but decided to take this one on based on the quote I received locally for installation (about 1.5x the cost of the kit). I'm very glad I did because once I got past one particular hurdle, the remainder of the installation took me 4 hours, and I was taking my sweet time to ensure I didn't make an expensive mistake.
The one hiccup I ran into was removing the passenger-side rear seat. Yes it's just pull up on the front lip and it comes up, but if it's not been removed previously, it can take an unsettling amount of force to make that happen. Just keep with it.
Running the camera lead through the rubber loom between the trunk lid and body can be difficult. I used a Craftsman Pick Up Tool (http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-23-1-2-in-pick-up-tool/p-00941322000P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5) and carefully threaded it from the body side to the trunk side, gripped the lead, and gently pulled it through. It took me about five minutes.
When it comes time to start putting everything back in place, you have the wiring harness and interface box to try and fit behind your CIC. I put the interface box down in the passenger side of the opening, and fed the excess wiring to the driver's side. This was the only way I was able to get everything in there easily.
After a few weeks one of the wires was drooping a little bit on the passenger footwell. I was able to take up some slack behind the glovebox, and zip tied it together.
If you don't have a set of non-marring trim tools, order them. They're $10, and worth their weight in gold for these kinds of things.

After buttoning up everything and starting the car, the guide lines were not in the right place, but turning the wheel to one lock, and back to the other remedied that, and they've been perfect since. All said and done, I'm very satisfied with the choice to go with this kit, and it would be my first choice if I were to need to tackle this project again.

Finally I want to sign off with something I've not seen mentioned about this kit. There's an undocumented feature that many might find useful. The source button on the right-hand side of the steering wheel- if you press and hold it, the rear camera will come up regardless of the state of the shifter. Pressing and holding the button again will return the CIC to its previous function. Pretty neat.


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## tim330i (Dec 18, 2001)

Cool! Thanks for sharing the review.


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## Ecss08 (Dec 2, 2015)

This seems awesome and is definitely on my list


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## zx10guy (Jan 27, 2014)

Interesting you had to have your car coded. I just installed their kit in my E82 and didn't need to have any coding done. I'm glad your install was pretty straight forward. Mine was a total nightmare but not due to anything about the kit or Bimmertech. It was a nightmare due to having absolutely no room to install the multimedia box and the SmartView box option. I got it installed but it was a royal pain in the rear.


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## zx10guy (Jan 27, 2014)

Never mind. Found out if you do the full OEM integration kit, you'll need to do the coding. If you use their retrofit kit which can support the front camera and the SmartView box, that one won't need any coding.


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## Matthew424 (Aug 1, 2015)

I got the Bimmertech front and rear camera and mirroring system for my F30 (2015 328 xdrive). Had it installed by their authorized dealer (Unexpected Creations) and very happy with the install and product. No coding needed on the F30, just plug and play.


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