[pjman20]

Hi All,

I just had my Valentine One that I was previously using in my M235 mounted to my M2 rearview mirror, but for whatever reason the laser detection is going off randomly and sometime for long periods of time. Valentine support said the M2 utilizes laser and would not work properly in a M2. Anyone heard of this? What laser functions does the M2 use?

thanks for the help.

[Prodigy.]

Works fine in my M2, i have it mounted to the side of the rear view mirror near the top of the windscreen though.

[Spa2k]

I've had the same problem with the V1 mounted anywhere near the center of the windshield, at any height of my '18. I can also trigger it sometimes by waving my hand in front of the rear-facing sensor. I don't have the Executive Package, so I don't think I have any laser units on the car, unlike my Volvo S60 that had an active laser safety monitor that lit up the V1 anytime it saw a street sign it thought was a truck I was about to rear-end.

[DrKevM5]

I have the Exec package and have zero problems with the V1. Have it hard wired and tucked under the sun visor.

[Lincoln30]

Originally Posted by DrKevM5

I have the Exec package and have zero problems with the V1. Have it hard wired and tucked under the sun visor.

No problems here on my 2017 with Exec package. Mine is mounted like this one but on the passenger side of the mirror.

[StephanieDiane]

Mine is attached to the headliner at the driver's visor. I don't have any problems with it. I used it in my M235 and I don't notice any differences.

(I am still keen to find someone who uses BOTH Savvy and the concealed display to see how you ran everything/wires/etc)

[emargul]

I have a ‘17 with exec package with no issues. I have my valentine mounted with the blendmount to the rear view mirror.

[pjman20]

Originally Posted by emargul

I have a ‘17 with exec package with no issues. I have my valentine mounted with the blendmount to the rear view mirror.

Mine is MY2018 M2, w/Exec package using a Blendmount to the rear view mirror.

Assume yours is also hardwired to the electrical from the rear view mirror?

I ended up disabling the laser detection on the V1, not ideal, but at least I can still use it.

[pjman20]

Originally Posted by Spa2k

I've had the same problem with the V1 mounted anywhere near the center of the windshield, at any height of my '18. I can also trigger it sometimes by waving my hand in front of the rear-facing sensor. I don't have the Executive Package, so I don't think I have any laser units on the car, unlike my Volvo S60 that had an active laser safety monitor that lit up the V1 anytime it saw a street sign it thought was a truck I was about to rear-end.

Ok good to know. Sounds like something with 2018 M2. Were you forced to disable the laser function?

[omasou]

I have mine tucked right above the P/S rear view mirror. Works fine. They told me to keep it way b/c some car sensors rain, crash avoidance, mess w/it but I have not had that problem in the X5 or M2. That said, I did upgrade tot he latest revision (prior to that I had a ton of laser falsing not sure it is related ) and I disabled the common X band to stop that from going off.

[ZM2]

Here are the settings I use on my V1. Definitely reduced the falses and increased Ka performance: https://www.vortexradar.com/2016/02/...or-the-iphone/

I also set a max out of the box K band frequency of 24.195. This mutes the radar cruise control systems on new cars, especially Acura’s. I’ve only passed one cop that was running K band that high that the V1 muted. Still had plenty of time to slow down tho, as radar cruise K band usually only gives a couple lights, while radar cop signals are much stronger.

[pjman20]

Originally Posted by ZM2

Here are the settings I use on my V1. Definitely reduced the falses and increased Ka performance: http://www.vortexradar.com/2016/02/h...or-the-iphone/

I also set a max out of the box K band frequency of 24.195. This mutes the radar cruise control systems on new cars, especially Acura’s. I’ve only passed one cop that was running K band that high that the V1 muted. Still had plenty of time to slow down tho, as radar cruise K band usually only gives a couple lights, while radar cop signals are much stronger.

In California, Ka band and laser are exclusively used by CHP (as far as I know), because of this I disabled X and K altogether. Now with the M2 causing my laser detection to go off like crazy, everything except Ka band is disabled on my V1. I've read city police use K band, but with so many false positives I ended up turning of K band. Hopefully I'm not exposing myself.

[ZM2]

Originally Posted by pjman20

In California, Ka band and laser are exclusively used by CHP (as far as I know), because of this I disabled X and K altogether. Now with the M2 causing my laser detection to go off like crazy, everything except Ka band is disabled on my V1. I've read city police use K band, but with so many false positives I ended up turning of K band. Hopefully I'm not exposing myself.

Depends on where you’re driving. If you decide to take a road trip, you are exposing yourself. The V1 Bluetooth unit is cheap, and I get much better Ka performance bc I can run Ka Guard off and get very few K falses bc of the out of the box programming.

And I should add, I’ve had Laser disabled for years. If you get hit with Laser you’re toast anyways, unless you have jammers and hit the switch damn quick. Even then the cops will still harass you bc they know you have jammers.

[emargul]

Originally Posted by pjman20

Mine is MY2018 M2, w/Exec package using a Blendmount to the rear view mirror.

Assume yours is also hardwired to the electrical from the rear view mirror?

I ended up disabling the laser detection on the V1, not ideal, but at least I can still use it.

Yup, it is hardwired to electrical from the rear view mirror. I am assuming it’s something with the 2018 models that changed and is causing your issue.

In my previous car, I had to disable x band because something in the car was setting it off full blast, which like you said isn’t ideal but better than not having a radar detector at all.

[Spa2k]

I wonder if it's the Dynamic Cruise Control. Is it controlled by a laser in the rearview mirror?

[pjman20]

Originally Posted by Spa2k

I wonder if it's the Dynamic Cruise Control. Is it controlled by a laser in the rearview mirror?

I don't believe the M2 has adaptive cruise control. It does have the Active Driving Assistant, but from what I've read it's a camera based system.

[pjman20]

Originally Posted by ZM2

Depends on where you’re driving. If you decide to take a road trip, you are exposing yourself. The V1 Bluetooth unit is cheap, and I get much better Ka performance bc I can run Ka Guard off and get very few K falses bc of the out of the box programming.

And I should add, I’ve had Laser disabled for years. If you get hit with Laser you’re toast anyways, unless you have jammers and hit the switch damn quick. Even then the cops will still harass you bc they know you have jammers.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into V1 Bluetooth unit.

Believe or not, but I think the laser detection saved me once while driving my old M235. I was speeding in the number 2 lane, while someone in the 1 lane was going maybe 1-3 mph faster than me. The cop tagged us both with his laser, but when my V1 went off I immediately slowed down, while the other driver continued speeding. Guess who got pulled over? Chances are cop will pull over the faster driver anyway, but I still like believing the V1 saved me.

[DocB]

My theory is that it is like duck hunting. The cop can only kill one per shot. You got lucky.

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by pjman20

I don't believe the M2 has adaptive cruise control. It does have the Active Driving Assistant, but from what I've read it's a camera based system.

You're right, my car doesn't have Adaptive Cruise Control - or the Active Driving Assistant. But it does have the Dynamic Cruise Control, which is standard on the non-Executive Package cars. Something in the car is setting off the laser warning on the V1, whether or not the engine is running and whether my car is in the garage or rolling down the street. This does not happen in any of my other vehicles. There's something in the electronics of the M2 that's setting it off.

[ZPrime]

Try powering the V1 from a different car or 12V jump box and see if it keeps falsing. If not, it's an electrical supply problem, not actual LIDAR/infrared interference.

If it's electrical interference, check out the V1 "B.O.B." - brownout booster. This is effectively just a giant smoothing capacitor which should take noise out of the power feed.

To my knowledge, the car has no infrared-based systems on it, unless the camera somehow uses IR projection to help it see road lines at night or something weird.

No M2 (Exec package or not) has adaptive (distance-based) cruise control.

[boostm3]

I have it too on my V1... Soooo annoying. Maybe its time for a Passport!

Or maybe its the Idrive screen? The Valentine web site mentions this as a possible interference issue with Laser. They also say to aim the laser sensor away from it. It also says the electrical systems in some cars will cause it, as will red neon lights from some cars.. Where is the laser sensor in the V1? Maybe some radar detectors are better at rejecting these signals? Should we just turn laser off? Or, buy something else? My unit is 18 yrs old, so maybe its time, only I dont want to have the same problem with its potential replacement.. Wish we could nail down the cause.

[Spa2k]

What version is your V1? Have you had all the updates done? Mine is a second-year unit, and I've had all but the latest update done, figuring if I was going to spend that much I may as well buy a new V1.

Proximity to the iDrive screen seems to cause more laser alerts, but I can't tell yet if the V1 is the problem or whether it might be the power cord. I'm going to run a power cord to an out-of-car 12-volt source this weekend to see if it makes a difference.