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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions Window tint triggering auto-dimming on both displays during the day

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      11-14-2019, 06:29 PM   #111
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My M340i literally autodimmed when I went in a shady area lol and I have no tints. This was like 2 pm in the daytime.
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      11-18-2019, 02:10 PM   #112
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Did some experimenting over the weekend. For those of you who guessed the auto-dim sensor was IR activated, you were correct. In separate trials I applied predominantly white light, UV light, and IR light...IR had the strongest effect by far. As stated previously, this would explain why some tints of the same visible light transmission rating can exacerbate the problem more than others, as IR transmission rates surely vary widely among different films. Comparing the two photos you can see just how bright the backlighting can get in the day time when the sensor is saturated with IR.

Driving the IR circuit with stepped PWM, I was able to achieve 12 distinct levels of instrument cluster brightness. The brightest setting being significantly brighter than I've ever seen in this car during the day time, even on a bright sunny day before my windows were tinted.

The next step is miniaturizing everything and designing an unobtrusive case for it, then optimizing it to run off a small LiPo pack.

(And yes, I am fully aware how utterly ridiculous it is that I am resorting to this on a brand-new $50k car. But based on the feedback from my dealer so far, I have little hope this is going to be fixed via coding any time soon.)




Last edited by 2020g20; 11-18-2019 at 06:38 PM..
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      11-18-2019, 05:01 PM   #113
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So if IR is to blame primarily for the dimming issues would that imply that ceramic tints which block UV and IR more then basic tints could be to blame?
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      11-18-2019, 06:34 PM   #114
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pacman123 View Post
So if IR is to blame primarily for the dimming issues would that imply that ceramic tints which block UV and IR more then basic tints could be to blame?
Compared to cheap dyed tint, yes. Ceramic blocks everything better than dyed film.

Compared to carbon, probably not a huge difference. I'm reading 40% vs. 45/50% IR rejection. A far bigger difference than that would be how sunny your state is or what season it is right now for you. I know I wouldn't be noticing it as much here if it were July instead of mid-November.
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      11-18-2019, 06:38 PM   #115
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I'm in the northeast so it's dark by 4:30 unfortunately. Im worried about my tint causing this to happen. Leaning towards dyed tint at this point just to avoid this problem.
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      11-18-2019, 06:41 PM   #116
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Yes I have ceramic tint and noticing this problem frequently. Slowly getting used to it though. Thankfully, the HUD dimming is not affected - so still able to see all the vital information clearly.
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      11-18-2019, 09:12 PM   #117
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25% on all windows, nothing on windshield and have had zero issues.
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      11-18-2019, 10:18 PM   #118
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
25% on all windows, nothing on windshield and have had zero issues.
Which film is applied?
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      11-19-2019, 12:05 AM   #119
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15% 3M Fx Premium all around. No issues.
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      11-19-2019, 02:04 PM   #120
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Almaretto View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
25% on all windows, nothing on windshield and have had zero issues.
Which film is applied?
Suntek.
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      11-19-2019, 02:11 PM   #121
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Quote:
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Suntek.
You did the 25 CXP right? That's what mine is scheduled to get and what my previous Audi(s) had. Great "hybrid" film.
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      11-19-2019, 04:13 PM   #122
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
Suntek.
You did the 25 CXP right? That's what mine is scheduled to get and what my previous Audi(s) had. Great "hybrid" film.
Yes. It's great, no issues day or night.
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      11-19-2019, 04:43 PM   #123
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Has anyone figured out if this is just affecting the Pro cockpit or the regular one too?
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      11-19-2019, 05:29 PM   #124
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
Yes. It's great, no issues day or night.
That definitely goes to show you it's situational. I have Suntek CXP 35% (same film as you but lighter), and I see the dimming issue every time I drive during daylight. But the amount of sunlight we've been getting in ATL may be less than where you're at. Plus we have a ton of tree cover here and I live/work around tall buildings, so I'm constantly in and out of the shade as I'm driving.

I also get the feeling this is somewhat subjective. I almost always drive with dark polarized sunglasses in the daytime, so dimming behavior some people may label as "no issues," I would see as constantly fading between "marginally acceptable" and "unreasonably dim".
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      11-20-2019, 12:49 AM   #125
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Suntek.
That is good to hear. It is one of my favorite films and what I last used.
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      11-20-2019, 01:50 AM   #126
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What software version are y'all running that is causing dimming issues? Has anyone tried to get the software updated recently to see if it'll help?
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      11-20-2019, 06:45 AM   #127
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2020g20 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
Yes. It's great, no issues day or night.
That definitely goes to show you it's situational. I have Suntek CXP 35% (same film as you but lighter), and I see the dimming issue every time I drive during daylight. But the amount of sunlight we've been getting in ATL may be less than where you're at. Plus we have a ton of tree cover here and I live/work around tall buildings, so I'm constantly in and out of the shade as I'm driving.

I also get the feeling this is somewhat subjective. I almost always drive with dark polarized sunglasses in the daytime, so dimming behavior some people may label as "no issues," I would see as constantly fading between "marginally acceptable" and "unreasonably dim".
I am Miami/FT Lauderdale, the sunshine Mecca lol.
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      11-20-2019, 08:40 AM   #128
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I am Miami/FT Lauderdale, the sunshine Mecca lol.
Yeah, makes sense. I wouldn't expect folks in south FL or southern Cali to have as much of a problem with this.
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      11-20-2019, 08:43 AM   #129
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Received further confirmation from a local dealer that BMW knows there is a problem, but has provided no fix: "I’m sorry to hear that your experiencing some lighting issues in your instrument panel. I spoke with one of our shop Forman’s and unfortunately BMW North America hasn’t instructed a solution. They have however stated right now there’s not a specific coding remedy for your problem, but has said after market tint is most likely the cause. Any solution has to be verified by BMW first, we’re unable to rely on customer suggestions. Our best recommendation is that you bring the car in so they can take a closer look at the issue."

In other words, "We know what's causing it, but we definitely aren't going to fix it. But how about you take some time off of work and waste half a day bringing your car in anyway so we can tell you that in person?"


Last edited by 2020g20; 11-20-2019 at 09:01 AM..
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      11-20-2019, 01:40 PM   #130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2020g20 View Post
Received further confirmation from a local dealer that BMW knows there is a problem, but has provided no fix: "I'm sorry to hear that your experiencing some lighting issues in your instrument panel. I spoke with one of our shop Forman's and unfortunately BMW North America hasn't instructed a solution. They have however stated right now there's not a specific coding remedy for your problem, but has said after market tint is most likely the cause. Any solution has to be verified by BMW first, we're unable to rely on customer suggestions. Our best recommendation is that you bring the car in so they can take a closer look at the issue."

In other words, "We know what's causing it, but we definitely aren't going to fix it. But how about you take some time off of work and waste half a day bringing your car in anyway so we can tell you that in person?"

[img]https://i.ibb.co/n7KvB6G/unnamed.jpg[/img]
I am literally reconsidering leasing a G20 this week because of this thread.
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      11-20-2019, 04:05 PM   #131
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I have xpel 40% Ceramic film on all my windows but the front and I have noticed zero issues.
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      11-20-2019, 04:39 PM   #132
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hydrogen View Post
I am literally reconsidering leasing a G20 this week because of this thread.
As annoying as this is, I certainly wouldn't consider it a deal breaker. Outside of this and the no-remote-start-seat-heating issue, this is the sweetest car I've owned/leased to date (have made the all the rounds under $60k...Lexus, MB, Infiniti, BMW).

Maybe you should consider dealer-installed tint if you want to avoid the problem completely. That's probably the route I'd have gone had I known about this beforehand.
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