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      09-16-2019, 08:52 PM   #1
M427
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Drives: 2015 M4, 2019 X7, 2004 R1200C
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Kansas City

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X7 sets off Radar Detector's Laser alarm: fix

My radar detector turned out to be useless in the X7 as somehow the Laser alarm was constantly going off. Some quick Googling revealed that I'm not alone. Turns out the culprit is the Gesture Control sensors, which ingeniously use the same red wavelength of light as Police radar to "see" your gestures. These sensors are located in the overhead console. You can see the bright red lights shining in this pic:

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Turning the Gesture Control feature off does not help as it does not turn off the lasers. The solution? Cover the sensor.

1. I used blue painter's tape to avoid a sticky mess when I remove the tape. But note that the laser still shines through the thin blue tape.
2. Outline the sensor on the blue tape to use as a template for thicker tape. I used black hockey tape. This is very sticky, so I applied it to another length of painter's tape, then covered with the template and cut it to size (a bit larger to ensure coverage).
3. Remove the top layer of painter's tape (the template) and use the black tape on painter's tape to cover the sensor.

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Voila. Tape installed, Valentine1 turned on. No laser.

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I should note that we are a house divided with regard to this Gesture Control feature. I think it's crap, as it's a useless novelty and interferes with the all important radar detection. My wife however, loves the Gesture Control. She finds it easier to throw a quick gesture when there is a lot going on (dog in the car, kids yelling, stop at Freddy's drive thru to bark an order). Point 2 fingers and boom, the radio (at least) is silent.

However, we both agree that priority goes to the V1 on a long road trip.
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