[gthal]

It is dim but I haven't personally found it to be a problem. Seems like an unthought out design element for BMW.

[Chuck W.]

I just got back from Germany after doing a ED on my wife's M2. She drove a majority of the time as it is her car. But, during the time I drove the car I did find the speedometer and tach difficult to see. You should be able to glance at them and get a reading. At one point while accelerating on the autobahn I glanced down at the tach to ensure I was below 5500 RPMs. Due to the traffic and speed I never did catch where the RPMs were at. IMHO, this needs to be fixed.

[confusion]

Originally Posted by Robin_NL

And because of the FR weight distribution it's more playable than almost any 'exotic' , 991 included. The balance is incredible. Look at this. Fat piggy go! Fun has many definitions, this is one of them:

This video does a great job of demonstrating the problem. It's broad daylight on a race track and it is exceedingly difficult to see the actual needles on the speedo/tach.

[MINI135i]

I am pretty easy going when it comes to squeaks, rattles and minor stuff in cars and rarely make a big deal of them...BUT this instrument lighting issue is a major problem and quite debilitating when wanting some quick info from the tach or speedo. When doing high speed driving, which this car is made to do, quick info is what you want! Sunglasses exacerbate the problem as mentioned. The pictures posted in this thread are pretty representative of the real life issue. If you don't have your car yet, wait to speculate, because when you get your car you will see what we are all talking about. I have owned many BMW products, R53,R56,E82,E46 M3,E90 M3, E92 M3, etc., etc. and have never experienced something like this.

Just to reiterate what was already said: Even if you turn the headlights on and illuminate the instrument cluster the "auto dimming" kicks in immediately during daytime and shuts down any light from the speedo or tach, so there is no work around.

Definitely reporting this one, and hoping for a fix.

[tke743]

Originally Posted by Em-too

Anybody know if it's the same on the M235i?

This is not an issue on the M235i.

[jtfields]

Can coding solve the light dimming problem?

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by confusion

This video does a great job of demonstrating the problem. It's broad daylight on a race track and it is exceedingly difficult to see the actual needles on the speedo/tach.

Who needs to see the actual tach or instruments on the dash? Download an App and use the iPad on the dash !

[Corinne]

I guess BMW will just wait until they get sued by some poor git who has had a nasty accident because he was trying to look at his dimly lit speedometer and crashed into someone. If you're travelling at 70 mph and you need to adjust your eyes on the speedo, that's an awful lot of additional yards travelled while not looking where you're going...

[omasou]

Originally Posted by MINI135i

...
Just to reiterate what was already said: Even if you turn the headlights on and illuminate the instrument cluster the "auto dimming" kicks in immediately during daytime and shuts down any light from the speedo or tach, so there is no work around...

Can we just put some tape over the light sensor as a temporary fix?

[confusion]

Originally Posted by masou

Can we just put some tape over the light sensor as a temporary fix?

That's been suggested but no one seems to know where it is.

[Smiley1175]

I'm sure it's been mentioned but simply use the digital speed display. I agree there are times when the analogue display is hard to see, but it's not a major concern. The stuff happening out the front of the windscreen is more important to take note of!

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Smiley1175

I'm sure it's been mentioned but simply use the digital speed display. I agree there are times when the analogue display is hard to see, but it's not a major concern. The stuff happening out the front of the windscreen is more important to take note of!

This is correct which is why some think it's an issue needing to take their eyes of the road for an extra second or two while they are trying to figure out what the hell they are looking at in the instrument cluster.

[Smiley1175]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

This is correct which is why some think it's an issue needing to take their eyes of the road for an extra second or two while they are trying to figure out what the hell they are looking at in the instrument cluster.

You'd spend more time:
- Navigating thru iDrive for music, Nav, phone book etc
- Checking your phone for that message you just received
- Looking at the girl in the car next to you
- Looking at the girl waiting to cross the road
- Looking at the girl ...

The amount of distraction the dash poses vs every other distraction we have while driving ... it's really not that big a deal.

[MINI135i]

For me, it's doing 150 mph down the back straight at Circuit of Americas with four GT3's hovering around my front and rear bumper, and then looking to get all the shift points correct through the next complex WITHOUT a good visual on the tach! Do not want to spend a lot of time looking down at the gauges, as things can go bad quickly for sure. Street stuff, yeah maybe not as big a deal, but still a weird issue to say the least.

[Robin_NL]

Originally Posted by MINI135i

For me, it's doing 150 mph down the back straight at Circuit of Americas with four GT3's hovering around my front and rear bumper, and then looking to get all the shift points correct through the next complex WITHOUT a good visual on the tach! Do not want to spend a lot of time looking down at the gauges, as things can go bad quickly for sure. Street stuff, yeah maybe not as big a deal, but still a weird issue to say the least.

There is an M Performance steering wheel with red rev leds on the market.

And I'm not being sarcastic. It's true, the cluster is not very well readable at daytime. But the issue got 'bigger and bigger' reading stuff here.

There is also a way of 'feel' and 'sound' in our car which makes the driver aware of 'speed' and 'shiftingpoints'. Which doesn't mean the cluster lighting issue shouldn't be adressed off course! Speedo is important in daily traffic I know.

Cheers
Robin

[omasou]

Originally Posted by confusion

That's been suggested but no one seems to know where it is.

A quick search of the Internet and it appears the sensor for the DRL should be next to the rain sensor.

That said, I have typically seen a sensor/eye for the interior lights near the radio.

[pup73]

Originally Posted by Smiley1175

I'm sure it's been mentioned but simply use the digital speed display. I agree there are times when the analogue display is hard to see, but it's not a major concern. The stuff happening out the front of the windscreen is more important to take note of!

I agree to an extent, but what about the tach? I didn't think this whole thing was a big deal, but yesterday I was driving late afternoon, because of the glare I had sunglasses on, and the tach was absolutely unreadable. Now, some can argue one should know when to shift/downshift based on feel..but not me, I want to see my tach

-c

[Smiley1175]

Originally Posted by pup73

I agree to an extent, but what about the tach? I didn't think this whole thing was a big deal, but yesterday I was driving late afternoon, because of the glare I had sunglasses on, and the tach was absolutely unreadable. Now, some can argue one should know when to shift/downshift based on feel..but not me, I want to see my tach

-c

I agree it's not ideal and on the odd occassion it does get obstructed, but this thread is making it out like it's the end of the world and ppl will die.

So given you couldn't see your tach, did you manage to drive home or were you forced to hold the same gear until finally the car stalled?

[twin fed]

I do find it very distracting and dangerous at times. It should be much clearer to read at a quick glance and you should not have to fight to see your speed or RPM's. I am very experienced at knowing where the shift points are in reference to engine sound, but to me this is still a problem. To me this seem like it should be a coding issue. Not that is actually fixable through coding per say. But it should be simple and it is not. Just like the rev matching!!

[pup73]

Originally Posted by Smiley1175

I agree it's not ideal and on the odd occassion it does get obstructed, but this thread is making it out like it's the end of the world and ppl will die.

So given you couldn't see your tach, did you manage to drive home or were you forced to hold the same gear until finally the car stalled?

I pulled over and waited for sunset

And seriously, it is NOT a huge deal.. however I do feel it is a glaring oversight on BMW's part

-c

[DrKevM5]

Originally Posted by MINI135i

For me, it's doing 150 mph down the back straight at Circuit of Americas with four GT3's hovering around my front and rear bumper, and then looking to get all the shift points correct through the next complex WITHOUT a good visual on the tach! Do not want to spend a lot of time looking down at the gauges, as things can go bad quickly for sure. Street stuff, yeah maybe not as big a deal, but still a weird issue to say the least.

I've driven this car enough on the track to perceive the rpm levels by sound now. I'm more concerned about knowing the speed on the street. This car is deceptively fast and police in my area are really sneaky.

[omasou]

Originally Posted by pup73

I agree to an extent, but what about the tach? I didn't think this whole thing was a big deal, but yesterday I was driving late afternoon, because of the glare I had sunglasses on, and the tach was absolutely unreadable. Now, some can argue one should know when to shift/downshift based on feel..but not me, I want to see my tach

-c

I agree that one should be able to see that dash and that said, I never looked at the gages to decide when to shift.

Maybe we should get a group buy on these