Rear Cross Traffic Alert

huskerdoc2020 · 11-21-2020, 08:49 PM

Of all the features of this awesome machine, the one feature I feel is lacking is the rear cross traffic alert. Yes it has it but you have to watch for the red pulses in the corners on the display. Supposedly there is an audible alert if you are actually backing up but that is hit or miss. This is the problem. There should be an audible alert if your vehicle is in reverse at all. You shouldn't have to look at the screen to see if there are red flashes. If those are going at the same time, no problem but sound is the best thing to alert us. I wish BMW addressed this in an update. Any other thoughts on this?

CruiseControl · 11-22-2020, 07:15 AM

Yeah this is a problem, I've noticed it as well. It seems that this only works when in reverse and in motion and a vehicle is approaching. It's not clear how close the vehicle must be before an alert will sound.

My wife's 2019 Mazda CX5 does this well. As soon as you reverse if there's a vehicle approaching an audible alert sounds.

huskerdoc2020 · 11-22-2020, 07:31 AM

At least make this an option. Would be MUCH safer.

danchee · 11-22-2020, 01:15 PM

Yeah. It's worse if you enable auto braking. No warning whatsoever and the car just slams the brakes on as you back out of the garage and the garage door is tight for example. I had to disable that feature. The old (2016) CX9 would beep and if your foot is already on the brakes, it won't slam on the brakes for you.

Waise · 11-22-2020, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruiseControl

Yeah this is a problem, I've noticed it as well. It seems that this only works when in reverse and in motion and a vehicle is approaching. It's not clear how close the vehicle must be before an alert will sound.

My wife's 2019 Mazda CX5 does this well. As soon as you reverse if there's a vehicle approaching an audible alert sounds.

it looks like if your vehicle moves into the red zone direction it will alert.. I'm not sure if the car auto breaks or not.

CruiseControl · 11-22-2020, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waise

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruiseControl

Yeah this is a problem, I've noticed it as well. It seems that this only works when in reverse and in motion and a vehicle is approaching. It's not clear how close the vehicle must be before an alert will sound.

My wife's 2019 Mazda CX5 does this well. As soon as you reverse if there's a vehicle approaching an audible alert sounds.

it looks like if your vehicle moves into the red zone direction it will alert.. I'm not sure if the car auto breaks or not.

It's too late at that point, no?

huskerdoc2020 · 11-22-2020, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruiseControl

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waise

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruiseControl

Yeah this is a problem, I've noticed it as well. It seems that this only works when in reverse and in motion and a vehicle is approaching. It's not clear how close the vehicle must be before an alert will sound.

My wife's 2019 Mazda CX5 does this well. As soon as you reverse if there's a vehicle approaching an audible alert sounds.

it looks like if your vehicle moves into the red zone direction it will alert.. I'm not sure if the car auto breaks or not.

It's too late at that point, no?

Yeah, totally. This needs new software bad.

Joemac8 · 11-22-2020, 04:27 PM

BMW totally blew it on rear cross traffic alert. My 2015 Suburban was MUCH better.

huskerdoc2020 · 11-22-2020, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joemac8

BMW totally blew it on rear cross traffic alert. My 2015 Suburban was MUCH better.

Are all their cars this bad with it? Hard to believe their hardware is that bad when older vehicles of subpar quality do a better job.

gsobol · 11-22-2020, 09:23 PM

Apparently some car manufacturers do hardware better, others do software, and others suck at both ...

Wanderer73 · 11-23-2020, 01:38 AM

100% the biggest miss I've seen in this car. My daughter's Kia blasts you with audible and visual indicators before the crossing car even comes into the camera view. The X7 has some blind spots that are an issue for me when I'm backing out of my driveway (busy city traffic). I end up checking both ways at least three times.

I will say that the cross-traffic alert did save me in a parking lot a few weeks ago. I was slowly backing out (blind spot got me), and the red light came on and an audible alert—enough time to hit the breaks.

crackerjack15 · 11-23-2020, 08:41 PM

On my wife's Volvo, not only does it ding for a close object, but it dings through the speakers at the corner you are close to. So the dings move around the cabin!

huskerdoc2020 · 11-23-2020, 09:29 PM

Surely they can fix this with software

Wanderer73 · 11-25-2020, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

On my wife's Volvo, not only does it ding for a close object, but it dings through the speakers at the corner you are close to. So the dings move around the cabin!

Yes. My XC90 did a brilliant job of alerting me when I was backing up—perplexing to me as to why BMW has not addressed this gap.

Wanderer73 · 11-25-2020, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huskerdoc2020

Surely they can fix this with software

I am sure hoping, but not holding my breath.

thepianist1 · 06-04-2023, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huskerdoc2020

Surely they can fix this with software

huskerdoc2020 did Bimmercode offer any solution? This issue isn’t just X7 it’s all models. I also want the audible alerts to be more sensitive and I don’t know why BMW designed them this way

007 G07 · 06-04-2023, 10:34 AM

Yeah I agree on this ... Our 2017 TLX does a better job with early detection and audible sound just when in reverse, regardless of movement. Although I know it has activated before, I can't even remember how the audible alert even sounds like in the X7 - that's how late it is. This is not case with the TLX.

Speaking of parking/reversing aids, I also feel as though the top-down camera view of the car can be a lot sharper; I've noticed this on all new and older BMWs I've been in. My wife's 2019 GLC has way better resolution and sharpness to the image. I've tried cleaning the cameras on the X7 and everything, but it's still nowhere near (but still okay).

I feel like it has something to do with the instant image processing - I feel like Mercedes "applies" lighting effects to show a sharper image with parking lines and anything in its field whereas BMW uses more natural light when there is natural light like in the day since I've noticed the images are a bit more comparable in the night between the two.

Hopefully, BMW can better its rear cross traffic with a software update as well as the image processing although I'm not sure about the latter.

11-21-2020, 08:49 PM	#1
huskerdoc2020 Captain 383 Rep 841 Posts Drives: BMW X7 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: U.S.A. iTrader: (0)	Rear Cross Traffic Alert Of all the features of this awesome machine, the one feature I feel is lacking is the rear cross traffic alert. Yes it has it but you have to watch for the red pulses in the corners on the display. Supposedly there is an audible alert if you are actually backing up but that is hit or miss. This is the problem. There should be an audible alert if your vehicle is in reverse at all. You shouldn't have to look at the screen to see if there are red flashes. If those are going at the same time, no problem but sound is the best thing to alert us. I wish BMW addressed this in an update. Any other thoughts on this?
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11-22-2020, 07:15 AM	#2
CruiseControl Captain 217 Rep 814 Posts Drives: 2020 BMW X7 40iM Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	Yeah this is a problem, I've noticed it as well. It seems that this only works when in reverse and in motion and a vehicle is approaching. It's not clear how close the vehicle must be before an alert will sound. My wife's 2019 Mazda CX5 does this well. As soon as you reverse if there's a vehicle approaching an audible alert sounds.
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11-22-2020, 07:31 AM	#3
huskerdoc2020 Captain 383 Rep 841 Posts Drives: BMW X7 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: U.S.A. iTrader: (0)	At least make this an option. Would be MUCH safer.
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11-22-2020, 01:15 PM	#4
danchee Lieutenant 136 Rep 453 Posts Drives: 21 X7 40i Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Rainy City iTrader: (0)	Yeah. It's worse if you enable auto braking. No warning whatsoever and the car just slams the brakes on as you back out of the garage and the garage door is tight for example. I had to disable that feature. The old (2016) CX9 would beep and if your foot is already on the brakes, it won't slam on the brakes for you.
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11-22-2020, 04:27 PM	#8
Joemac8 Private First Class 56 Rep 142 Posts Drives: 2019 X7 40i Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Midwest iTrader: (0)	BMW totally blew it on rear cross traffic alert. My 2015 Suburban was MUCH better.
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11-22-2020, 09:23 PM	#10
gsobol First Lieutenant 260 Rep 395 Posts Drives: 2021 X7 M50i Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Apparently some car manufacturers do hardware better, others do software, and others suck at both ...
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11-23-2020, 01:38 AM	#11
Wanderer73 Major 673 Rep 1,021 Posts Drives: X7 M50i Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Colorado iTrader: (0)	100% the biggest miss I've seen in this car. My daughter's Kia blasts you with audible and visual indicators before the crossing car even comes into the camera view. The X7 has some blind spots that are an issue for me when I'm backing out of my driveway (busy city traffic). I end up checking both ways at least three times. I will say that the cross-traffic alert did save me in a parking lot a few weeks ago. I was slowly backing out (blind spot got me), and the red light came on and an audible alert—enough time to hit the breaks.
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11-23-2020, 08:41 PM	#12
crackerjack15 Captain 840 Rep 993 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 50e Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: West Virginia iTrader: (0)	On my wife's Volvo, not only does it ding for a close object, but it dings through the speakers at the corner you are close to. So the dings move around the cabin!
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11-23-2020, 09:29 PM	#13
huskerdoc2020 Captain 383 Rep 841 Posts Drives: BMW X7 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: U.S.A. iTrader: (0)	Surely they can fix this with software
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06-04-2023, 10:34 AM	#17
007 G07 Private 46 Rep 75 Posts Drives: '20 X7 M50i, '05 Odyssey EX-L Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Bentonville, AR iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 BMW X7 M50i [10.00] 2005 Honda Odyssey ... [9.75] 2017 Acura TLX Adva ... [10.00] 2019 Mercedes-Benz ... [10.00]	Yeah I agree on this ... Our 2017 TLX does a better job with early detection and audible sound just when in reverse, regardless of movement. Although I know it has activated before, I can't even remember how the audible alert even sounds like in the X7 - that's how late it is. This is not case with the TLX. Speaking of parking/reversing aids, I also feel as though the top-down camera view of the car can be a lot sharper; I've noticed this on all new and older BMWs I've been in. My wife's 2019 GLC has way better resolution and sharpness to the image. I've tried cleaning the cameras on the X7 and everything, but it's still nowhere near (but still okay). I feel like it has something to do with the instant image processing - I feel like Mercedes "applies" lighting effects to show a sharper image with parking lines and anything in its field whereas BMW uses more natural light when there is natural light like in the day since I've noticed the images are a bit more comparable in the night between the two. Hopefully, BMW can better its rear cross traffic with a software update as well as the image processing although I'm not sure about the latter.
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