Photo: Tiago Sperandio on YouTube
BMW of North America has seen better days, alright! According to NHTSA safety issue 19V684, “the lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.” This simple problem, which can be fixed with a simple re-flash of the software, prompted the callback of 257,481 vehicles in North America ranging from the 330i to the M850i xDrive, two Rolls-Royce models, and… wait for it… the GR Supra that isn’t a Toyota per se.
According to the Germans, the rearview camera’s brightness and contrast settings allow the driver to adjust the display in such a way that black would dominate the screen. This represents a failure to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111 for rearview visibility.
As such, more than a quarter of a million vehicles of all shapes and sizes, powered by four- to twelve-cylinder engines, will be updated with a few lines of code. The recall will start on November 19th, and in the meantime, owners may contact their closest dealerships for further information.
In alphabetical order, the NHTSA listed 51 affected products as follows:
- from BMW: the 330i, 530e, 530i, 540d, 540i, 640i, 740Le, 740Li, 745Le, 750Li, 840i, M340i, M5, M550i, M850i, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, Z4 from the 2018 through 2020 model years;
- from Rolls-Royce: the Cullinan and Phantom from 2018 through 2019 model years;
- from Toyota: the GR Supra for the 2020 model year;
The instructions set to service technicians are rather simple. “Program vehicle using ISTA 4.19.2x” and target integration levels should be “S15A-19-07-553 or higher” or “S18A-19-07-553 or higher.” The fix is as simple as plugging in a cable, pressing a few buttons on the laptop, et voilà! The software is already available and obviously enough, no replacement parts are needed to remedy the issue.
These being said, how would you feel about dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Cullinan only to find out that the software developers were too lazy to add a few lines of code to the rearview camera’s program?
As such, more than a quarter of a million vehicles of all shapes and sizes, powered by four- to twelve-cylinder engines, will be updated with a few lines of code. The recall will start on November 19th, and in the meantime, owners may contact their closest dealerships for further information.
In alphabetical order, the NHTSA listed 51 affected products as follows:
- from BMW: the 330i, 530e, 530i, 540d, 540i, 640i, 740Le, 740Li, 745Le, 750Li, 840i, M340i, M5, M550i, M850i, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, Z4 from the 2018 through 2020 model years;
- from Rolls-Royce: the Cullinan and Phantom from 2018 through 2019 model years;
- from Toyota: the GR Supra for the 2020 model year;
The instructions set to service technicians are rather simple. “Program vehicle using ISTA 4.19.2x” and target integration levels should be “S15A-19-07-553 or higher” or “S18A-19-07-553 or higher.” The fix is as simple as plugging in a cable, pressing a few buttons on the laptop, et voilà! The software is already available and obviously enough, no replacement parts are needed to remedy the issue.
These being said, how would you feel about dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Cullinan only to find out that the software developers were too lazy to add a few lines of code to the rearview camera’s program?
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