baboum68

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the precious information on this forum. I am looking forward to contributing as soon as I receive my car.

I am about to receive my 2nd hand E61 525xd on Monday. Unfortunately, the car doesn't have PDC. The dealer told me that it is not possible to retrofit the original PDC, even if I replace the bumper. Is that true?

Next question is then: I see on the accessory catalog that it is possible to retrofit a rear camera. Besides the price, would you say it is a good alternative if we can't get the PDC installed? I guess I would still not get any beeps, but the image would be precise enough for me to stop at the right moment?

Given the size of the car, I think any help such as PDC or else would be useful.

Thanks in advance

thedreamshop

I have done the rear camera retrofit a few times and it gives a clear picture for reverse. It can be expensive though since you need an interface as well as a rear camera. The factory interface is the ACM unit, and you can purchase the factory rear ( and front if you want ) cameras or use aftermarket cameras. There are also aftermarket video interfaces that allow front, rear camera and video in motion as well. As for the PDC retrofit the main issue would be the wire harness. You can buy the PDC unit, sensors, bumpers, but the wire harness might be an issue since it is not pre-wired. Here is a quick picture but you can search for more info as this topic has been covered a few times.

baboum68

Thanks Man! I think I'll go for the cam. Do you think it is easy to install yourself or does it need coding, BMW dealer to do it? Any tutorial somwhere?