[Mewp]

The following are BMW 4 Series (F32) retrofit guides for rear PDC, a rear backup camera, and front PDC (based on a 2014 model). There's already guides for these retrofits on the forum, but they're for different models, the installations / parts are slightly different for the 4-series, these instructions are using individually sourced parts instead of a complete kit, and I got as close to following the official installation instructions as possible on the camera. I've also tried to provide a fairly exhaustive step-by-step guide to eliminate a lot of the guesswork I had to go through at various stages, which will hopefully save other people a ton of time. It's also written for people who have no idea what they're doing.

I'm splitting this up into multiple posts so it's not one super-gigantic monolithic post. This post contains the complete parts list for all three retrofits and the total cost I paid, and the following replies contain the separate guides for each retrofit and the individual parts list for that retrofit.


Big thanks to everyone in the following threads for their guides, providing part numbers for various components, providing official installation manuals, coding instructions, and general troubleshooting help. I'd have never attempted this nor been successful without them.

Rear PDC
Rear Camera
Front PDC

Just to put this into perspective for other people who are curious about doing these retrofits: I'm a complete novice at this stuff. I've never done any real work on a car before, at most I've changed an air filter. At best, I'm not intimidated by technology and taking things and part and wiring stuff. So you don't have to be some super-skilled mechanic to do this stuff.

As far as the cost, I've provided my cost. Your cost is going to vary depending on where you source parts. I'd say that for all 3 retrofits expect to pay $1300-1600. Not bad, considering you'd pay $3500+ and the cost of labor from a dealer.

As for where I got parts:

http://www.ebay.com
http://www.ecstuning.com
http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/
http://www.amazon.com

Total Parts List

Remember, some of these are 4-series specific. Check compatibility if you're referencing this list for another model.

• 8x Parking Sensor with O-ring - $205.12 (eBay)
• 1 x Rear PDC holder set - 51127387129 - $16.25
• 1 x Set of Mounts, front PDC / PMA sensor - 51117324343 - $52.30
• 1 x repair cable, rear PDC - 61119328747 - $24.74
• 1 x set of cables, front apron - 61129337191 - $43.83
• 1 x operating unit, center console [OPTIONAL] - 61319252912 - $114.44
• 1 x rear electronic module - 61359374506 - $239.56 - check the Rear PDC thread linked above to see if you need to actually buy this
• 1 x rear view camera w/ trunk handle - $175 (ebay)

  Camera part # - 66539240351
  Handle part # - 51247368753

• 1 x camera control module - $229.77 (eBay) NOTE: I bought a unit that also has connectors for side and top view camera because I could. If you only go for rear view, it will probably be cheaper.

  Rear-only part # - 66539302256

• 1 x bracket for camera control unit - 66539232797 - $7.02
• 1 x HSD camera wire - $226 - Not sure of the part #, I ordered the wrong one. You want one with a blue connector, I got one with green. You MUST match the correct color. The connectors aren't just colored for convenience, they're actually keyed differently to prevent them from plugging into the wrong sockets. Screwed by ergonomics. Technically, cables don't care what they transmit so I just doctored mine to fit into the blue socket and it works fine, but save yourself the headache and order the correct one.
• 10 x 25ft strand of 22awg wire - $15 - (eBay)
• 1 x 10 pin socket housing - 61139132577 - $7.55
• 1 x double flat spring contact - 61130009633 - $3.10
• 30 x socket terminal MQS - 61131383776 - $29.70
• 1 x 6 pin socket housing - 61138383300 - $3.87
• 1 x 10 pin uncoded socket housing - 61136909008 - $2.03
• 1 x 22awg ring terminal - $0.50 - hardware store
• 2 x 22awg wire taps
• 1 x Ethernet to OBD2 Ethernet Cable (with Esys software) - $20 - Amazon
• 1 x 18mm step drill bit - $16.19 Amazon

Total (Including Shipping): $1,520.03

This doesn't include my additional costs of a power drill, a set of drill bits, and miscellaneous things like electrical tape and socket wrench extensions. I also made some mistakes in sourcing parts and had to reorder some items, adding additional shipping charges. All told, I think I came in right around $1650. Your prices will vary depending on where you get parts, whether or not you need paint or other items, and whether or not you already have required tools.

If you look at the other threads, you'll see mention of retrofit cables for the rear camera and front PDC. They're impossible to find in the US and I didn't bother trying to track them down overseas. They're also like $200 each. The parts list above contains components to build your own cables. There will be instructions in each retrofit guide.

If you can figure out the correct parts to build your own HSD camera cable, you can probably knock $100 or so off of your price as well. I wasn't able to determine what I needed, though.

[Mewp]

REAR PDC RETROFIT

This is the first retrofit I've ever done, and I have to say it was actually relatively easy as someone who didn't know what they were doing. If you're in the same boat, I'd say expect it to take ~4 hours or so, maybe less if this guide saves you the guesswork I had to do.

Parts List

• 4x Parking Sensor with O-ring - ~$102 (eBay)
• 1 x Rear PDC holder set- 51127387129 - $16.25
• 1 x repair cable, rear PDC - 61119328747 - $24.74
• 1 x rear electronic module - 61359374506 - $239.56 - check the F30 Rear PDC thread to see if you need to replace this
• 1 x touch-up paint with clear coat [OPTIONAL] - $33.88 - NOTE: You can find paint at BMW South Atlanta by searching for Accessories and Apparel -> Touch Up Paint. The descriptions for each set of paint doesn't say the color and has some big wordy description. HOWEVER, that description does have the color code. Google the color code of your paint and match accordingly.
• 1 x Ethernet to OBD2 Ethernet Cable (my vendor also included copies of Esys and PSZData) [If you don't have one] - $20
• 1 x 18mm step drill bit [If you don't have one] - $16.19 (Amazon)

Approx.Cost (incl. shipping) - $452.62


Tools

• Power drill
• 18mm drill bit
• additional drill bit for guide hole
• [OPTIONAL] Drill bit for cutting through auto body metal to route PDC cables
• electrical tape
• masking tape
• deburring tool / exacto knife / sharp knife
• socket wrench + extension
• 13mm socket
• 10mm socket
• 8mm socket
• flathead screwdriver
• torx screwdriver / hex key wrench / allen wrench
• flashlight
• fine grain sandpaper (if repainting sensors)
• wire ties
• some kind of prying tool that won't scratch your paint. You can use your flathead screwdriver if you're careful
• a heavy blanket / floor mats/ rugs / towels to lie underneath the rear end of the car to catch the bumper
• laptop with Esys and PSZData installed.

Prep Work

PDC Repair Cable

You should find a yellow/blue wire about 3ft long with metal pins on each end and that isn't attached to anything. That's for your center console unit with a PDC button if you have one. Set that wire aside.

Wrap up the exposed portions of wire in electrical tape or some other covering for extra protection. The repair cable is just plain wires.


Sensor Painting

1. Gently sand off the original paint on the face of your sensor. I didn't bother with the sides. You can see how far down I sanded in the image. Keep in mind the exact construction of your sensor may be different, so maybe you'll have a metal cover and maybe you won't.
2. Apply a light coat of paint to the face of your sensor and let dry, ~1 hr. This paint is very thick, so you don't have to worry about leaving brush strokes. I applied 2 coats of paint because I could still see the metal of my sensor after the 1st, but your mileage may vary. Inspect it after the first coat and see whether you want a second.
3. Apply a light layer of clear coat and let dry, ~1 hr.

Guide

1. Look in the tunk
2. On the right side of your trunk, open the battery compartment by turning the plastic knob and pulling out. The whole compartment will easily tip right out, it's not secured by anything.
3. Using a 13mm socket, disconnect the negative battery terminal. It's bolted to the back of the car. I use my flathead screwdriver to pry it off of the bolt. You won't get electrocuted, don't worry. Mind the sparks, though.
4. On each side of the trunk you will see a black plastic molding covering the inner portion of the tail lights. Using a flathead screwdriver, remove the plastic screws holding the molding in place.
5. Remove the plastic moldings and set aside.
6. Using a 10mm socket, remove the nuts securing the tail light and the metal bolt in the bumper.
7. Remove the tail lights from their holders. The tail lights are removed by pulling them toward the rear of the car, however they don't easily slide out. They're held in place by a ball socket in the rear. WIth one hand, grip the area by the nuts (HEH), and with your other hand gently use a prying tool at the back of the light to pull the light towards the rear. Do NOT use the prying tool to wedge outwards away from the side of the car. You may shatter the light.
8. Disconnect the power cables on the back of the tail lights and set the tail lights aside.
9. Using a 10mm socket, unscrew 4 bolts in the center on the underside of the bumper.
10. Using an 8mm socket, unscrew 6 bolts on the left and right of the underside of the bumper.
11. Using an 8mm socket, unscrew the 3 outermost bolts in the driver's side wheel well. These 3 bolts are lined vertically up the side of the wheel well. You will see additional bolts further in, but ignore these. You may need an extension on your socket wrench to reach the upper and lower bolts. For the center bolt, I didn't have enough clearance from the tire to use an extension.
12. Peel back the lining of the wheel well and wedge it against the tire.
13. Lying on your back and using a flashlight, locate the silver torx screw inside the wheel well that was underneath the lining. It is securing the bumper in place. Remove it.
14. ) Repeat steps 12 - 14 on the passenger's side.
15. (IMAGE) On each side, the bumper is secured in place with a loop hooked around a little rectangular piece of metal. This little rectangular piece is on the upper portion of the car body. You need to pull the bumper loop downward so the corner of the bumper can be dislodged. Using a flathead screwdriver, pull downward on the black plastic portion of the wheel well to allow the loop to drop, then pull downward on the bumper to unhook it, and then pull outward. Try not to angle your screwdriver downward, because you'll be driving the tip upwards and holding the bumper in place.
16. Once the loop is released, gently pull the sides of the bumper outward until they clear the wheel well.
17. By the tailights, you'll see two tabs hooking the bumper in place. Push downwards on these tabs to unhook them and gently pull the bumper outwards so they don't pop back into place.
18. At this point, you're ready to remove the bumper completely. You can do it by yourself, just make sure you've got blankets or something on the ground so it doesn't get scratched. To fully remove the bumper, just keep pulling towards the rear of the car and it will slip off and onto the ground. If it seems stuck, double check that it's still clearing the wheel well.
19. Congratulations! Your bumper is off. Take a deep breath.
20. On the passenger side of the car, you should now see a big black plastic molding. This is where cabling is routed into the trunk.
21. Remove 3 torx screws from the plastic molding.
22. Using a 10mm socket, remove 2 10mm nuts from the plastic molding.
23. Remove the plastic molding and set aside.
24. On the interior of the bumper, you should see markings showing you precisely where to drill your holes. Place masking tape on the outside of the bumper where the holes are going to be to prevent excess paint from being stripped off.
25. Grab your drill, and get to work. Go SLOW. Don't rush it. There's no undo button, here. If you're using a step drill bit, TRIPLE-CHECK WHICH STEP IS 18MM. Burn it into your memory. You don't want to accidentally make a hole too big. I found it best to use a thin bit to drill a guide hole, then use the step bit to finish the job. I also found it helpful to stop periodically and clean out the hole.
26. Carefully remove the masking tape on the oustide of the bumper once the holes have been drilled. Clean out each hole so it's free of debris. Use a deburring tool or knife to remove any excess paint and material.
27. Grab a rear PDC holder, but don't remove the covering tape.
28. Snap a sensor into the holder. If you find yourself struggling to snap it into place, check the orientation. They're keyed to fit only one way.
29. On the interior of the bumper at each hole, you may see a long straight line extending off to one side. That is the orientation of the wire connector on the sensor. On each holder, you'll see a line cut into it as well. Align both the line cut into the sensor holder and the bumper, and orient the holder so that the wire connector on the sensor matches the direction of the long line on the bumper. Then check that the sensor snuggly fits into the hole you've drilled without any excess paint and debris in the way. Your sensors should be sitting horizontally.
30. Once you're satisfied you've got everything aligned properly, remove the covering tape from the sensor holder and firmly press the holder into the bumper. Repeat for each sensor.
31. Grab your rear PDC repair cable.
32. You've now got to decide how you want to route the PDC cable from the outside of the car into the battery compartment. The responsible way would be to drill a hole through the side of the car, pull the cable through, and use a rubber stopper or some kind of sealant to seal up the hole. I was lazy and just pulled it through the battery vent. Whatever you decide, do that.
33. Attach the PDC cable connectors to each sensor. As for which connector attaches to which sensor, it's pretty self-explantory based on the length of the cable. However, for reference look for the following wire colors connecting to a sensor:

    Driver side Outer: Yellow / Purple
    Driver side Inner: Yellow / Green
    Passenger side Inner: Yellow / Black
    Passenger side Outer: Yellow / Brown
    

34. Return to the battery compartment
35. (IMAGE) Remove the cables from the Rear Electronic Module (REM). To do this, there's a latch on each cable. Push the little button in the center of the latch, and then push the latch upwards. This should force the cables to disconnect themselves and they should easily slide right out.
    
    [Do the following only if you're replacing your REM]
    
    
36. Using a 10mm socket, remove the bolt holding the REM in place.
37. Pull the REM out.
38. On the corner of the REM where the bolt was, you should see the bolt holder clipped into it. Remove the bolt holder and reattach it into the same location on your new REM.
39. Slide the new REM into place in the battery compartment and bolt it in.
    
    [/End optional instructions]
    
    
40. Grab the left-most cable that was connected to the REM. You want to remove the brown connector from the black housing. The brown connector is held into place by a small tab on the side. Pull the side of the black housing outward, and then slide the brown connector forward.
41. Grab the loose pins on your rear PDC cable and wire them into the brown connector. The pins are keyed to fit one way and should easily slide in when oriented correctly. You should also hear them snap into place when they're fully in. You can see the pin numbers on the sides of the brown connector. Wire the PDC cable pins into the brown connector as follows:

    Pin 37 - Brown / Black
    Pin 38 - Yellow / Black
    Pin 39 - Yellow / Brown
    Pin 49 - Green / Black
    Pin 50 - Yellow / Purple
    Pin 51 - Yellow / Green
    
    See pictures and diagram
    

42. Slide the brown connector back into the black housing you removed it from
43. Gently reattach each REM cable and latch them into place
44. Reattach the black plastic molding you removed from the passenger's side with the two 10mm nuts and the 3 torx screws.
45. Reattach your bumper, but don't bolt it on. As you're putting the bumper on, you should notice a black wire resting in a cable tray winding around toward the passenger's side of the car. That's where you can rest your PDC cable.
46. GENTLY pull the excess PDC cable into the battery compartment. You don't want to pull too hard and risk straining the connection to the sensors. Once you've pulled in enough slack, coil it up and secure it some wire ties. I also used a wire tie to attach the coil to another bundle of cables so it wouldn't droop down onto the battery. Keep things nice and clean.
47. Reattach your negative battery terminal. We're going to code and test the PDC sensors at this point. Your car is going to complain about tail light and rear turn signal failures, but your car can shut its stupid face.
48. Using a 13mm socket, secure the negative terminal in place with the 13mm nut.
49. Grab your laptop, power it on.
50. Grab your Ethernet to OBD cable.
51. Get in your car, but DON'T START IT YET.
52. On the left side of the driver's side foot well, underneath the dash, you should find a connector for your cable. Plug the big fat end into that connector. It's keyed to fit only one way.
53. Connect the ethernet end of your cable to your laptop
54. Start your car.
55. Start up Esys
56. Click Connect
57. Select the proper list item to connect with. Since this is the 4-series guide, select F20. DO NOT select the item with _DIRECT.
58. Make sure the "Connect via VIN" radio button is checked below, and then click OK.
59. Click Expert Mode on the left sidebar.
60. Click on VCM.
61. At the bottom, click on the "Master" tab.
62. In the I-Level panel at the bottom, click on the Read button.
63. 3 textboxes should have populated. Record the I-Level (current) number. Ignore the other two.
64. Click Coding on the left sidebar.
65. Under the Vehicle Order panel at the top, click the "Read FA" button.
66. Right-click the FA folder, and select "Activate FA."
67. On a right-hand panel, click the "Read SVT" button.
68. On the list of modules that appear on the lower left, scroll down and find "REM"
69. Left-Click on the REM module
70. On the right hand side of the window, click the "Detect CAF for SWE" button.
71. A dialog with a list of CAFD modules will appear. Select the one inside the folder that matches the I-Level number you wrote down.
72. Click OK.
73. Right click on the REM module and select "Code."
74. At the top under the Vehicle Order panel, click the "Save" button to save your file. Name it whatever you want.
75. Left-Click the FA folder and click the "Edit" button.
76. In the new window that opens, expand the folders until you reach the "SALAPA-element" folder underneath "Type."
77. Right-click the "SALAPA-Element" folder and select "Edit".
78. In the panel below, you'll see a bunch of 3-digit values.
79. Add in 507. Make sure it's separated by a comma (no spaces) from other 3-digit items.
80. Click the Apply Changes button (it's a little icon button just above the panel).
81. In the top panel, right-click the FA folder and select "Calculate FP"
82. Press the disk icon to save the file.
83. Click Expert Mode on the left sidebar.
84. Click VCM on the sidebar.
85. On the bottom, click the "File" tab.
86. In the Vehicle Order panel, click the "..." file and load the file you saved earlier.
87. In the top left panel, right-click the FA folder and select "calculate FP"
88. Click the Master tab at the bottom.
89. Click the "Write FA FP" button. You should see a confirmation at the very bottom of the window.
90. Click Coding in the left sidebar. If you are prompted to reload the file, click YES.
91. In the list of modules, find HU_NBT.
92. Right-click and select Code. You will see the head unit reboot.
93. Find REM, right-click, select Code.
94. Disconnect the application.
95. Turn your car off.
96. Disconnect the data cable.
97. Turn your car back on.
98. Engage the handbrake.
99. Shift the car into reverse. You should see your screen change to show an image of your car with a rear radar.
100. Test your sensors. You can either get out of your car and test them yourself, or have a small, fragile child or trusting life partner stand behind your 3 ton car that you probably correctly applied the handbrake to. Probably. Alternatively, you can disengage the handbrake and try to back into something, like your neighbor's living room.
101. If your sensors check out, pump your fists in victory.
102. Put your car in park and turn it off.
103. Reattach your tail lights and the moldings.
104. Reattach the torx screws to the bumper in the wheel well.
105. Fold down the wheel well covering
106. Reattach all of the remaining bolts. Don't accidentally switch the 8mm bolts in the wheel well with the 8mm bolts on the underside of the bumper. The short pointy ones go in the underside, the long ones in the wheel well.
107. Close up the battery compartment.
108. Start your car up again and check that you don't get any warnings or failures.
109. Clean up
110. Have a drink

Troubleshooting

• If your REM doesn't show up when you're trying to code it, that's bad. It's either unplugged, or broken.
• If nothing shows up on your screen when you shift into reverse or other parts of your car stop working (your REM is responsible for things like your fuel level indicator and your rear windows [which you don't have because you're driving a coupe]) it's probably a programming issue. Try to follow the programming steps again and see if that resolves it.
• If you get sensor failure warnings, the sensors appear to behave erratically, one appears to be "stuck" on on your screen, or doesn't appear to work at all, you may have one or more bad sensors. You can check this by putting the car in reverse (HANDBRAKE) and putting your ear to each sensor. It's not enough to get close, you really do have to press your ear against it. What you're listening for is an unmistakable clicking or pulsing sound.
• If there appears to be a delay in the response time of your sensors, someone in another PDC thread said they resolved this by sanding it back down and applying a thinner coat of paint.

[Mewp]

OEM REAR CAMERA RETROFIT - (rear PDC required)

Parts List

• 1 x rear view camera w/ trunk handle - $175 (ebay)

  Camera part # - 66539240351

  Handle part # - 51247368753

• 1 x camera control module - $229.77 (eBay) NOTE: I bought a unit that also has connectors for side and top view camera because I could. If you only go for rear view, it will probably be cheaper.

  Rear-only part # - 66539302256

• 1 x bracket for camera control unit - 66539232797 - $7.02
• 1 x HSD camera wire - $226 - Not sure of the part #, I ordered the wrong one. You want one with a blue connector, I got one with green. You MUST match the correct color. The connectors aren't just colored for convenience, they're actually keyed differently to prevent them from plugging into the wrong sockets. Screwed by ergonomics. Technically, cables don't care what they transmit so I just doctored mine to fit into the blue socket and it works fine, but save yourself the headache and order the correct one.
• 7 x 25ft strand of 22awg wire - ~$11 - (eBay)
• 1 x 10-pin socket housing - 61139132577 - $7.55
• 1 x double flat spring contact - 61130009633 - $3.10
• 10 x socket terminal MQS - 61131383776 - $9.90
• 1 x 22awg ring terminal - $0.50 - hardware store
• 1 x Ethernet to OBD2 Ethernet Cable (with Esys software) - $20 - Amazon
• 1 x screw that will thread through your ring terminal - hardware store
• 1 x nut or locking washer that will thread through your screw - hardware store
• 2 x 22awg wire taps - hardware store

Approx. cost (incl. shipping) - $686.94

Tools

• flathead screwdriver
• Phillips head screwdriver
• precision flathead screwdriver. As small as you can get.
• socket wrench
• 13mm socket
• 10mm socket
• torx screwdriver / hex key / allen wrench
• electrical tape
• needle-nose pliers
• flashlight
• 1 x spare length of wire to use as a wire-pull
• sandpaper

Official BMW Rear Camera Retrofit Instructions

PREP WORK - Retrofit cable

Cable colors match the colors listed in the official BMW instructions. If your colors are different, adjust accordingly. These lengths are longer than they need to be just in case.

White - 6ft
Red - 6ft
Black (shield) - 6ft
Orange/Green - 11ft
Green - 11ft
Blue-Green - 25ft
Brown - 11ft (For official installation location. Length may vary if you change location. See below)

On one end of every wire, strip approximately 1/4 inch of the casing off to expose the bare wire, then slide the wire into a socket terminal MQS pin. You're not shoving the wire up into the rectangular head, only underneath the crimping areas. Use needle-nose pliers to crimp the socket around the wire. Be absolutely certain it is a tight crimp. Pull on the wire firmly to make sure it doesn't slide out. The last thing you want is to insert a pin into a plug and accidentally have a wire pull out.

Insert the wired pins into the 10-pin socket housing. On one side of the housing, there's a little "door" that locks the pins in place once they're inserted. To insert the pins, use your precision screwdriver to pop it open and fold it down. Slide the pins in in the following order:

Pin 1 - Brown
Pin 2 - Red
Pin 3 - White
Pin 4 - Black (shield)
Pin 5 - Orange/Green
Pin 6 - Green
Pin 7 - Blue/Green

Fold the locking door closed and snap it shut. Check the pins are secure.

If you really want to do this cable "proper," then next you'll want to prepare the shield wire. That entails stripping all of the wire casing off and exposing the bare wire along the entire length EXCEPT for approximately 2 inches on each end. The purpose of this is to absorb electromagnetic noise from other electronics. DON'T strip the casing off of the red and white wires.

Regardless of whether you stripped your shield wire, take your red, white, and shield wires and wrap them together in electrical tape, leaving approximately 2 inches exposed on each end. You can also wrap them in a shield sleeve, but you don't need a fancy one with a metal skeleton. I know for a fact the official cables don't have one. The camera module I received came with a connector with about 4 inches of cut wire, and the red/white/black bundle had a sleeve without any metal.

Apply socket pins to the other ends of the red, white, and shield cables.

Wrap your orange/green and green wires in electrical tape, except for approximately 2 inches on each end (possibly 3 inches on the unpinned ends). Cap the unpinned ends of the orange/green and green wires with some electrical tape or an actual wire cap if you can find one at your hardware store.

Strip approximately 1/2 inch of casing off of both your blue/green wire and double flat spring contact wire and splice them together. Wrap the splice in electrical tape. Just google how to do a proper splice if you don't know how.

If you're not going to do the official installation location for your ring terminal, then go ahead and apply your ring terminal to the brown wire, using your needle-nose pliers to crimp it shut. Check the wire is secure, and then wrap the crimped end in electrical tape, leaving the ring exposed.

If you're going to try for the official installation location for the ring terminal, I don't know how wide the bolt is that you loop the terminal around so that's why I'm not suggesting you to apply the terminal just yet. You'll have to see it for yourself and then apply the proper-size ring (assuming you have more than one size). The official installation location is in the passenger footwell on a factory ground panel. However, to access this you need to remove the footwell interior. This requires you to unbolt at least the front of the passenger seat because the interior is bolted underneath it. Go and check for yourself, you can see where the end of the interior is under the front of the passenger seat. That complete interior piece will need to be pulled out, there's no chance of folding it out of the way.

If you're not using the official location and plan to do what I did, you need to decide on a place where there's flat, bare car body. You're going to drill a hole there to insert a screw that your ring terminal will be looped around. Since the location is up to you, you can technically do this by the driver's side door so your brown wire would only need to be about 2-3 feet long. Up to you how you want to install this.

Guide

The official BMW instructions say this takes 4 hours. Maybe if you have 2 people and you both know what you're doing, or you know your way around the car really well. Otherwise plan to make an entire day out of this. 8 hours at least. You are going to have to take apart your car from front to back. It's a little daunting, for sure, but the ergonomics of everything is such that you really won't have a problem putting things back together again. It's less intimidating than you might think, just really involved and time consuming.

1. Unscrew your license plate and any frame you may have. This will make it easier to replace the trunk handle.
2. Move both passenger and driver seats as far backwards as they will go, and move the seatbacks as far forward as they will go. Hook the seatbelts around the headrests so they're out of your way. Leave both doors open and unlocked.
3. Open the trunk.
4. On the right side of your trunk, open the battery compartment by turning the plastic knob and pulling out. The whole compartment will easily tip right out, it's not secured by anything.
5. Using a 13mm socket, unscrew the nut securing the negative battery terminal. It's located on back end of the car in the battery compartment.
6. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. I used an insulated flathead screwdriver to pry it off. You're not going to electrocute yourself, don't worry. Mind the sparks, though.
   
   Now you're going to take your car apart.
   
   
7. Using a flathead screwdriver, remove the plastic bolts the trunk lid liner
8. Using a flathead screwdriver, remove the plastic bolt holders
9. Using a Phillips head screwdriver, unscrew the Phillips head screws from the trunk liner. The screws will not unscrew completely. They are locked into their holders.
10. Once the screws are out as far as they will go, use pliers to pry out each screw and its holder.
11. Detach the yellow interior trunk release handle from its holder so it hangs freely.
12. On each arm of the trunk lid, there are plastic coverings. Pop open the latches securing the plastic coverings, remove them, and set them aside.
13. Now you can start wrestling with removing the trunk liner from the trunk lid. It takes a bit of work to pry it out completely. I couldn't get the interior trunk release handle off of its wire, but this wasn't a problem. Once the lining was detached, I just wrapped it around on top of the trunk lid.
14. Go to the driver's side.
15. Along the bottom of the door you should see a big long black plastic door sill. Reach down and pull up along the length to detach it and then set it aside. It takes a bit of work, but it should pop off.
16. Using a 10mm socket, unscrew the nuts on the underside of the dash in the driver's side foot well.
17. Gently pull down on the trim to partially release it. It will still be held in place by a connector attached to a light and another connector attached to a speaker.
18. Unplug the light connector
19. I could not unplug the speaker connector, so I popped the entire speak out of its socket.
20. At this point, you should be able to remove the underdash trim and set it aside.
21. On the left side of the driver's side foot well, you should see a trunk release handle. Using a Phillips head screwdriver, remove the handle.
22. Underneath the handle, you should see another screw holding the trim in place. Unscrew the trim.
23. Gently detach the trim from the body. There is a button in the trim that is still connected by a wire, so you don't want to pull away too hard.
24. Disconnect the button and set aside the trim.
25. Go to the passenger's side.
26. Remove the door sill just the same as the driver's side.
27. Using a 10mm socket, unscrew the nuts on the underside of the dash in the passenger's side foot well.
28. Gently pull down on the trim to partially release it. It will still be held in place by a connector attached to a light and another connector attached to an outlet. You may have a little difficulty pulling the trim down because of the outlet. Just work with it a bit.
29. Unplug the light connector
30. Unplug the outlet connector.
31. Set aside the underdash trim.
32. On the door side of the passenger footwell is a plastic molding. Pull it off. It's secured in place by 3 plastic bolts, just pull firmly to pop them out. Set aside the molding.
33. Remove your dash trim, radio / climate control face, and pull out your head unit as per this video:
    The dash trim above the radio is one big solid piece that unsnaps, just work with it a bit. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE HEAD UNIT: In the video, you'll see the guy reach behind the head unit after he pulls it out and seemingly magically disconnect a giant cable connector. On the bottom of this connector is a latch that holds the connector into place. Reach underneath the connector and pull this latch upwards to disconnect the connector. I didn't disconnect any other wires because I thought it would be too tedious, so I just pulled the head unit out and tipped it down to rest on my center console.
    
    You have now released all the major pieces and parts to route cabling. Breathe a sigh of relief at this point in your epic adventure.
    
    
34. Return to the trunk
35. Grab a flashlight and look up underneath the trunk lid and find your trunk handle. The handle needs to be removed from the inside out. Make sure you understand exactly what is the handle and what are the trunk lights, so that don't accidentally start removing the lights.
36. On the existing trunk handle, you should notice several clips around the edges holding it into place. I actually didn't have much of a problem removing the handle. I found the best way was to take a flathead screwdriver and push in the clip on the right side first, then the bottom 2. The handle popped right out for me.
37. You need to disconnect the power connector on the trunk handle. Instead of unplugging the cable, which I'm not even sure Hercules himself could manage, I detached the entire connector assembly from the handle and clipped it into the new handle.
38. Snap your new handle into place. Make sure it's securely fastened.
39. Pull the handle inside your trunk to lower the rear seatback on both sides.
40. Climb into the trunk and up behind the driver's seat.
41. On the interior of the car, just below where the trunk lining meets the plastic seatbelt harness cover, you should see a plastic bolt. Remove this bolt and it's bolt holder with a flathead screwdriver.
42. Peel back the trunk lining. Looking through that hole, you should be able to see straight through out the back of the trunk.
43. Get out of the trunk and grab your HSD camera cable.
44. Attach the black end to the rear camera.
45. Using electrical tape or some other fasteners, route the HSD camera cable across the trunk lid, and down the empty arm of the trunk on the driver's side. Use the cable bundle on the arm of the trunk lid on the passenger side as a guide.
46. ) Thread the camera cable through the hole that the trunk arm disappears into.
47. Climb back up behind the driver's seat and reach into hole and grab the camera cable and pull it through to you.
48. Using a flashlight, if you look through the hole right behind the rear seat shoulder rest, you should see a bundle of cables being routed behind it.
49. What I did to route the cable was pulled the shoulder rest away from the body of the car and snaked the camera cable behind it and out between the shoulder rest and the car body. Then I pulled the entire cable through until there was no more slack left.
50. Wedge the cable down between the rear seat and the car body. You can pull up the rear seat to make it easier. It will pop right out.
51. If you peel back the lining on the floor of the car, you should see a bundle of cables. Route your camera cable along with them.
52. Continue routing your camera cable behind the interior lining until it reaches the location of the camera module on the left side of the driver's side footwell.
53. Slide your camera control module into its mounting bracket. It will only fit one way.
54. If you look up inside the driver's foot well on the left, past the OBD cable socket, you should see a little plastic hook extending down from the dash. The camera mounting bracket has a little bar on it that you need to clip into that plastic hook. The orientation of the module + bracket should be such that the blue camera connector is higher up and the black socket is lower. There's a picture in the BMW retrofit instructions you can use as a reference.
55. The official instructions say to screw in the mounting bracket, but I couldn't find a way to do it so I didn't. It was secure enough in the hook for me. Make sure you really snap the mounting bracket into place and that it's not just resting in the hook, though.
56. Plug the camera cable into the camera control module. Loop up and tie away any extra slack in the cable to make things nice and tidy.
57. Grab your retrofit cable and connect the black 10-pin connector into the camera control module.
58. Grab a spare piece of wire to use as a wire pull and thread it downward from the head unit hole into the driver's side foot well.
59. Using a piece of electrical tape, loosely tape together the spare wire and the ends of your retrofit cable. Whether or not you include the brown (ground) cable with the ring terminal depends on where you are going to fasten it.
60. Pull the retrofit cable up and out the front of your dash.
61. Grab the gigantic black head unit cable connector. Note the pin numbers on the bottom, you want 21, 23, 24. Also note that you have very little slack to work with on this giant stupid cable harness.
62. On the side of the black connector where pins 21, 23, and 24 are located, there's a blue locking bar with two holes in it. Use a screwdriver to pry it out. Be careful. I accidentally applied too much force, sending it into some black hole in my car never to be seen or heard from again.
63. Connect the black (shield), red and white pins as follows (FOR AN NBT HEAD UNIT ONLY):
    Red - Pin 21
    Black - Pin 23
    White - Pin 24
    Please be sure to route the wires behind the locking bar of the black connector.
64. Once the pins are connected, reinsert the blue locking bar and make sure it is snapped all the way in.
65. Grab your remaining retrofit cable wires you pulled through the dash, and route them behind the cables in the head unit hole and thread them down into the passenger's side footwell.
66. Reconnect the head unit cable to the head unit. Really make sure it's securely fastened before you latch it. I screwed up the first time and didn't connect it in all the way and had to take everything apart again to fix it.
67. Slide the head unit back into place.
68. On the right side of the passenger's side footwell, you should see the Front Electronic Module (FEM) and its cable connectors.
69. Route the wires you threaded into the passenger footwell up behind the interior floor trim and over to the right side of the car by the FEM.
70. Disconnect the 2nd-from-left connector on the FEM. Unfortunately you have little slack to work with.
71. Remove the gray connector from the black housing.
72. Locate the orange/green (Pin 52) and green (Pin 51) wires in the gray connector.
73. You're going to have to cut and peel back some of the cloth cable harness covering to expose enough wire to connect your orange/green and green wires. Don't accidentally cut open a wire.
    
74. Using a wire tap, connect your orange/green retrofit cable wire to the orange/green wire in the grey connector. Make sure your wire tap pierces the coating on both wires.
75. Using a wire tap, connect your green retrofit cable wire to the green wire in the grey connector. Make sure your wire tap pierces the coating on both wires.
76. Reinsert the grey connector into the black cable housing.
77. Reconnect the FEM cable to the FEM.
78. Route your blue/green wire down beneath the interior floor trim and into the back seat area.
79. Route your blue/green cable in a similar manner as you did the camera cable on the driver's side. Wedge it between the seat, and thread it behind the rear seat shoulder. Once it's behind the shoulder, DON'T route it through the trunk interior.
80. Lift up the trunk floor covering. It's not attached to anything, it will pull right up.
81. Locate the fuse box on the right.
82. Route your blue/green wire to the fuse box.
83. Using a 10mm socket, unscrew the nut securing the fuse box.
84. Gently pull up the fuse box and turn it over.
85. Insert your double-flat spring connector into pin 6 of the magenta connector. See picture for detail. (pin 6 is the top one with the green wire coming out of it)
86. Return the fuse box to its location and refasten the nut. Make sure the fuses are secured and one didn't pop out when you inserted your connector.
87. Coil up and tie away any slack in your blue/green cable.
88. Return your trunk floor covering.
    
    Now you're going to install your ground wire.
    
    If you're installing it in the official location, good luck. I have no instructions.
    
    Otherwise, go to the spot you've decided to install your ground wire. Drill a hole wide enough to insert the screw you're using.
    
    Sand away the paint around the hole. You need bare metal for a proper ground.
    
    Thread the ring terminal through your screw. Then thread your washer or nut onto the screw.
    
    Insert the screw into your drilled hole and securely fasten. Cover it with electrical tape.
    
    Your ground wire installation is complete. Holy crap, you can put your car back together too.
    
    
89. Return the side molding that was covering the FEM. Just align the plastic bolts with the holes and pound it in with your fist to secure it.
90. Return the passenger's side undertrim.
91. Reconnect the light and outlet connectors, and slide it up into place. Once it's aligned properly, you can pound it lightly to snap it back into place.
92. Using a 10mm socket, refasten the trim with its nuts.
93. Return the passenger side door sill. Slide it into place, and then just pound it with your fist. It should snap back into place. Make sure it's nice and secure.
94. Go to the driver's side.
95. Return the side trim that was covering where you installed the camera module, making sure to reconnect the button.
96. Screw the trim back into place with its phillips head screw
97. Return the trunk release handle and screw it back into place
98. Return the driver's side underdash trim.
99. Reseat the speaker.
100. Reconnect the light.
101. Slide it back into place and pound it lightly with your fist to secure it.
102. Using a 10mm socket, refasten its nuts.
103. Screw your head unit into place.
104. Return your radio face plate and screw it into place.
105. Return your dash trim.
106. Reconnect the buttons on the trim.
107. Once you have the trim lined up with the dash, you can pound it back into place with your fist. It will pop into place, just work with it.
108. I'm tired of typing all of this out, so reattach your trunk liner. By following the earlier instructions in reverse order.
109. Reattach the plastic trunk arm coverings.
110. Reattach the negative terminal of your battery. You can use your hand, just grab the thick black cable. Mind the sparks.
111. Using a 13mm socket, screw the terminal nut back into place.
112. Clean up a bit and breathe a sigh of relief.
113. Grab your laptop.
114. Attach the OBD2 cable to the connector in the car underneath the driver's side footwell, and the ethernet end to your laptop.
115. Start your car, engine and all.
116. Start up Esys.
117. Click Connect
118. Select the proper model to connect with. Since this is the 4-series guide, select F20. DO NOT select the item with _DIRECT.
119. Make sure the "Connect via VIN" radio button is checked below, and then click OK.
120. Click Expert Mode on the left sidebar.
121. Click on VCM.
122. At the bottom, click on the "Master" tab.
123. In the I-Level panel at the bottom, click on the Read button.
124. 3 textboxes should have populated. Record the I-Level (current) number. Ignore the other two.
125. Click Coding on the left sidebar.
126. Under the Vehicle Order panel at the top, click the "Read FA" button.
127. Right-click the FA folder, and select "Activate FA."
128. On a right-hand panel, click the "Read SVT" button.
129. On the list of modules that appear on the lower left, scroll down and find "TRSVC." That's your camera control module.
130. Left-click on the TRSVC module.
131. On the right hand side, click the "Detect CAF for SWE" button.
132. A dialog with a list of CAFD modules will appear. Select the one in the folder that matches the I-Level number you wrote down.
133. Click OK.
134. Right click on the TRSVC module and select "Code."
135. At the top under the Vehicle Order panel, click the "Save" button to save your file. Name it whatever you want.
136. Left-Click the FA folder and click the "Edit" button.
137. In the new window that opens, expand the folders until you reach the "SALAPA-element" folder underneath "Type."
138. Right-click the "SALAPA-Element" folder and select "Edit".
139. In the panel below, you'll see a bunch of 3-digit values.
140. Add in 3AG. Make sure it's separated from other items by a comma but no spaces.
141. Click the Apply Changes button (it's a little icon button just above the panel).
142. In the top panel, right-click the FA folder and select "Calculate FP"
143. Press the disk icon to save the file.
144. Click Expert Mode on the left sidebar.
145. Click VCM on the sidebar.
146. On the bottom, click the "File" tab.
147. In the Vehicle Order panel, click the "..." file and load the file you saved earlier.
148. In the top left panel, right-click the FA folder and select "calculate FP"
149. Click the Master tab at the bottom.
150. Click the "Write FA FP" button. You should see a confirmation at the very bottom of the window.
151. Click Coding in the left sidebar. If you are prompted to reload the file, click YES.
152. In the list of modules, find HU_NBT.
153. Right-click and select Code. You will see the head unit reboot.
154. Find REM, right-click, select Code.
155. Find TRSVC, right-click, select Code.
156. Disconnect the application.
157. Turn your car off.
158. Disconnect the data cable.
159. Turn your car back on.
160. Shift into the reverse, and you should see your new backup camera.

Troubleshooting

• TRSVC Does not appear in the module list when coding - Something is wrong with the wiring. Check your fuse connection, first. When I first plugged the contactor into the fuse connector, the fuse popped out. When I pushed the fuse back in, it pushed the contactor out of the plug instead of the fuse sliding into the contactor. If it looks good, then recheck your ground and the rest of your wiring / pin connections
• Shifting into reverse only shows the PDC screen - You messed up your coding. Follow the steps and try again.
• I Get a Rear Camera Module Failure Warning even though things work Someone in the F30 thread said upgrading to PSdZDataFull and recoding cleared the problem. I was able to finally clear the error by using the camera teach function in Rheingold.
  1. Shift your car into reverse so you can see your camera screen and then put it back into park.
  2. Connect to the car with Rheingold and read out the vehicle info
  3. Start a Vehicle Test to read out all of your ECUs and any faults
  4. On the Vehicle Test screen where it displays a map of your ECUs, click on TSRVC and then on the "Call Up ECU Functions" button on the bottom
  5. On the screen that appears, there should be some kind of Diagnosis Test tab where a camera teach option is listed. Double-click that option
  6. You should start seeing your camera image rapidly cycle. If not, switch to the status tab on the window that appears and refresh the status of the rear camera teach process. Your camera will cycle for several minutes. You may even see the parking lines disappear for a time. Just sit patiently and wait. Eventually the image should stabilize and the process will complete.
  7. Close out that window and return to the ECU function screen. Switch to the tab where you can activate individual functions, Delete Fault Memory, and select the option to Reset the Control Module
  8. Once the module has reset, shift into reverse and see if the fault has disappeared
• My windows don't bump up and down when I open/close the doors - They lost their calibration when you disconnected the battery. Turn the car on but not the engine, press the and hold the window down button until the window is all the way down, then continue holding for 5-7 seconds. Then pull and hold the button until the window is all the way up. Try the door again and repeat as necessary.
• When I shift into reverse, my camera shows images similar to the video tape they found in Event Horizon - Use E-sys or Rheingold to clear the appropriate fault code

[Mewp]

TODO: Front PDC

[jmekaeil]

did you ever do a write-up for the front? I'm actually just looking for the bumper removal instructions like you did for the rear

[dbed]

Hi...i'm new here. I've read this post and it's very detailed and professional. I have a question about the REM.....I've been trying to find a list of compatible REM's and cant find any kind of a list. The nearest part i have found except for the one specified is 61359293305. Can anyone advise if this part is compatible for my 2014 428ix with front/rear PDC and camera.

[jklau_NYC]

Very nice detailed post!

I'm looking to retrofit Rear PDC and just waiting for the retrofit that should be here by the first or second of next month.

I'm doing my research while i'm waiting. I picked up REM after confirming my REM doesn't have the 12 pin for rear PDC.

REM Part #61359866978. (https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...e/61359866978/)

Can you confirm that this REM pin out and wiring colors are the same as the 700 that has been mentioned in numerous posts?

Also, does the below step outline how to code the replacement REM?

Select the proper list item to connect with. Since this is the 4-series guide, select F20. DO NOT select the item with _DIRECT.
Make sure the "Connect via VIN" radio button is checked below, and then click OK.
Click Expert Mode on the left sidebar.
Click on VCM.
At the bottom, click on the "Master" tab.
In the I-Level panel at the bottom, click on the Read button.
3 textboxes should have populated. Record the I-Level (current) number. Ignore the other two.
Click Coding on the left sidebar.
Under the Vehicle Order panel at the top, click the "Read FA" button.
Right-click the FA folder, and select "Activate FA."
On a right-hand panel, click the "Read SVT" button.
On the list of modules that appear on the lower left, scroll down and find "REM"
Left-Click on the REM module
On the right hand side of the window, click the "Detect CAF for SWE" button.
A dialog with a list of CAFD modules will appear. Select the one inside the folder that matches the I-Level number you wrote down.
Click OK.

I Took have a 14' 428i x with sports line.

thanks and thank you in advance.