[darrenbmw]

Hey .. has anyone had problems with the compass on the mirror saying the WRONG direction. I will be going West and it says SE on the mirror.

It does this for a while and after a couple turns, it will straighten itself out again. I had the dealership look at it a month ago and they had the technician push a button on the bottom side of the rear view mirror and then had him drive it in a circle 10 times and it worked fine.

But, I noticed it does this every once in a while still. Doesn't show the correct direction I am going .. ???

Anyone know or hear about this before?

[msimon18]

have it replaced !! should only need the claibration thing once..

[BK]

Interesting. Most electronic compasses on handheld devices only need recalibration when you change batteries or when you use the unit near a powerful magnetic field. You recalibrate by putting it in calibration mode, then turning it in a circle.

The compass in the car mirror is a magnetic compass. I wonder if it works on the same principles? I mean - I wonder if your mirror power is spotty or something, or if you live or drive near some unusually powerful magnetic field?

Also - the car has an electronic compass built into the nav, which is how it can tell which way you are pointed even when not seeing satellites. I wonder if that is the same one as the mirror uses. Probably not, since electronic compasses are cheap and you can get the nav without the compass mirror and vice versa. But if it is, you'd see strange things on your nav (map pointed the wrong direction) when driving around an underground parking garage, for example.

I don't know if any of that helps, but you got me thinking. I bet it's something with power going to your mirror.

[darrenbmw]

Hey .. Guys ..

Thanks for your words of help .. I will take your advice and head to the dealer .. AGAIN .. Thanks so much ..

[Potty_Pants]

in the manual there was a config setting for the rearview compass...

depending on your location in the world it will need to be adjusted. its possible this wasnt set right from the factory or dealership...

read the manual it may save you a trip

ppp

[drkeng]

I've had this problem intermittently, too. It eventually corrects itself and the nav is always correct. I'd be afraid the dealer would just f something else up. Not worth the time.

[darrenbmw]

Originally Posted by drkeng

I've had this problem intermittently, too. It eventually corrects itself and the nav is always correct. I'd be afraid the dealer would just f something else up. Not worth the time.

Man, you and I think VERY much alike. I do NOT like having the car at the dealership. I've seen the YOUNG 18 to 20 year olds they have working on the cars to "hand wash" them. NO WAY in hell do I trust that. I have had them put on a note that they are to NEVER wash my car. I appreciate the offer, but I DO IT myself by hand.

But, I just don't like the dealership ever touching the car .. the least amount possible, and for maintenance is bad enough.

Thanks .. I like how you think .. but, at the same time, I realize they will at some point do things and HOPEFULLY they do them correctly ..

Thanks for ALL responses .. I GREATLY appreciate it ..

[drwtsn32]

I took delivery of my car a few days ago, and noticed that the compass was off a bit. The manual tells you how to set the correct zone for your compass and also do a calibration. I checked this morning and my zone was way off. I also did the calibration and it seems to be working fine now.

[Gort]

Mine hasn't done this, but it has done the disco light demo twice.