My wife hit a pillar whilst reversing the other day. She says that the pdc failed. I find it hard to believe. I've searched the forum and whilst I've spotted a couple of pdc problems, there haven't been many. Is she fibbing or is this a real problem. If so, what will the dealers attitude be (or insurance company's) when I go to get the damage fixed?

Can I ask this to be fixed on warranty or will they just say she should not rely on PDC?

 

IMHO the pdc can fail if you back up to fast, I think the pdc needs a split second to "see" the object/wall and so you should back up slow to give enough time for the pdc to spot and alert appearing objects.

 

How bad is the damage to the bumper? Does the PDC not work at all now? Doubt very seriously you could get anything out of BMW, unless the PDC is somehow still functioning and you can prove that it showed all clear when in fact there was an object. I suspect that this will be dealt with between you and your insurance company. The PDC is there as an aid, but ultimately, the driver is responsible for judging the distance for themselves. Sorry to hear about the damage, hope it is not too bad! Good luck.

 

Sometimes it needs more than a split second...I have had cases where the rear PDC
was very late and/or not sensitive enough. Was not impressed. It seems sometimes
unreliable. The front PDC works very well.

My car is going in for a software update next week.

 

I'm sure both BMW and the insurance company would say that PDC should be used in addition / as a supliment to, not instead of, good old fashioned observation - i.e. how close am I to that pillar I observed as I got into the car, not "oh, there must be something behind me, my car is beeping" ;-)

 

I suspect she may have simply reversed too fast, although I may still push for a software upgrade.

The damage I guess will be ?3000 minimum.

 

Bummer about the damage. I get a sick feeling every time I see a pic of one of our cars with damage.

Did you get an estimate on that yet? I'd be surprised if it was as high as 3000 euros. Then again, you may know something I don't know about what's messed up behind there.

Look on the bright side, some people would pay you for those "customized" clear taillights!

 

Im betting she backed into it - at an angle PDC never had a chance. and she was probably not exactly slowly backing...

I could see my wife doing the same thing Bless her heart..

Sorry bout the damage

 

The ?3000 is just my guess. I'm basing it on the fact that both upper and lower bumper have to be replaced, as well as most of the taillight cluster.

 

sorry to hear and sad to see the pic :'(. i also believe your wife was backing a bit too fast. base on the damage, even w/o pdc, if not backing too fast, it shouldn't be that severe. i'm guessing she gets used to pdc and relies on it a bit too much. sometimes this is the bad thing about new technology :'(.