Hey guys,

So I've recently bought an '06 530i in great shape, only 110,000kms and has all the gadgets one could hope for, only issue that I've found in the entire car is that there is a PDC fault.

I've been scanning the forums and have found a few topics pertinent but none of the normal fixes have helped as yet.

What I have found is that when I engage reverse the idrive outline of the car appears, but is entirely grey surrounding the car. The light above the PDC button in the centre stack flashes - indicating it is not working. Listening to the sensors the back four all 'click' when reverse is engaged, but no sound ever comes out of the front four sensors.

I have opened up and accessed the PDC Control Unit in the spare wheel well, and have disconnected all three module, started the engine and then reconnected, but to no avail.

Anyone have any ideas as to the source of the problem/where to look next?
Thanks guys.

 

There's basically two ways to go about troubleshooting a pdc error, from what I've heard.

The first is get a code reader and pull the codes. That will give you which specific one is giving the error. The description of which one it is will be the German initials describing it's location.

The second is what you did, where you activate the sensors and see which one is clicking. It sounds like all 4 front sensors aren't working for you. Seems weird they would all go out at the same time but anything is possible.

I suggest going to realoem.com putting in the last 7 of your vin and finding the correct sensor part number, then making the choice of buying 4 new sensors for around $150 usd or getting some from ebay for about $50 a piece. I wouldn't trust the Chinese ones that are like 10 bucks.

One of my rear sensors just went out and I ordered one, already painted the correct color, from a German seller by the name of pdc_sensor_shop. Unfortunately there's no tracking provided and I haven't received mine yet but he had a 99.9% positive rating, so I took my chances. Good luck on whatever you choose to do.

 

+1. Based on the symptoms you describe it would appear that there is a connection issue between the front sensor array and the PDC unit, perhaps a disconnected/broken feed line.