Front Windshield Camera Overheating

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user 8033

Active member
Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
44
My i3 is becoming quite annoying. So apparently the windshield camera that operates the automatic high beams and probably other things is overheating and shutting down when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees or so here in the desert Southwest, USA.

I get in the car, hit start and I'm greeted with a warning message that the camera is overheated and can't function. Warning message refers me to the owner's manual. The manual says until the cabin temperature is cooled off, the camera won't work.

My BMW dealer says suck it up, I live in a hot place.

Sounds like more bad engineering to me.
 
I haven't had an issue in the i3, but recently was installing a new mirror in our VW and couldn't help but notice how incredibly hot the camera unit was, the car having just come back from a drive but on a temperate day. Kind of impressive, really.

Given the answer so far is "deal with it," have you tried parking facing north, or maybe cutting a small piece of mirrored clingy window tint to cover the glass over the camera? That would identify whether it's a cabin interior temp issue, or that combined with the exposure to direct sunlight.

Ultimately I'd think replacing the camera may be the solution. I don't recall seeing this complaint here or on the Facebook page, so perhaps your camera unit is more sensitive than the norm.
 
Considering the plastic enclosure holding the camera on the interior of the windshield is 6" to 8" long and 3" to 4" wide, covering it doesn't seem like a good option. But parking the car in the opposite direction is worthy of exploring.

The fact that BMW has documented the problem in the owner's manual, however, certainly means that I can't be the only one experiencing this issue. I suspect most people just don't complaining about it being that the warning alert directs them to the owner's manual, which in turn says to expect this to happen.

I still say the camera error shouldn't be happening with good engineering and good products. This type of weather lasts for months here.
 
The i3 camera module is fairly small and metal bodied, but with no cooling fins. The metal body probably helps it shed heat to ambient when in use, but when parked probably collects heat. In any case, a small patch of reflective tint, or just a taped-on piece of aluminum foil as a test, is probably a worthwhile experiment.

I'm wondering if you're up for it whether a small computer fan on a thermal switch to move air through the plastic housing would prevent this from happening. Of course, that's going to be a stretch for most any owner for a part that's just expected to work without fuss.

Having not explored this space, I also wonder if there's room to adhere a larger heat sink, but I don't know where it could "vent" to. But that plastic camera cover certainly can't be helping disperse heat.
 
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