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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Rear view mirror compass
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      01-07-2014, 09:05 AM   #1
kthankzbye
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Rear view mirror compass

Why did BMW remove it from all the newer models? My bros F30 doesn't have it either. It was such a useful feature.
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      01-07-2014, 09:15 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kthankzbye View Post
Why did BMW remove it from all the newer models? My bros F30 doesn't have it either. It was such a useful feature.
I've read that there should be a button in the back of the rear-view mirror. It should activate the compass
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      01-07-2014, 09:23 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blazex4 View Post
I've read that there should be a button in the back of the rear-view mirror. It should activate the compass
I've read that too and found the hole on the bottom of my F10's mirror but I was scared to try it. Has anybody activated it in an F10?
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      01-07-2014, 01:28 PM   #4
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I assume as satnav make it unnecessary
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      01-07-2014, 01:35 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
I assume as satnav make it unnecessary
There are two flaws in this assumption: first, for years BMW has been building cars with both satnav and the compass; second, it's not that easy to determine the car's heading using the satnav. With the compass, all you have to do is look at it.
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      01-07-2014, 01:36 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrickem View Post
I've read that too and found the hole on the bottom of my F10's mirror but I was scared to try it. Has anybody activated it in an F10?
Courage! Let us know how it goes.
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      01-07-2014, 05:11 PM   #7
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It's in the navi screen. But, my screen is mostly on my radio/sat presets. I never noticed any hole, I'll try it when I find it.
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      01-07-2014, 05:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blazex4 View Post
I've read that there should be a button in the back of the rear-view mirror. It should activate the compass
This sounds like an urban legend...this would be incredible if it were the case, though. Pretty sure the only thing that is like a hole in the back of my mirror is a camera for the automatic high beams. One of my biggest frustrations with my car is the lack of a compass... I always navigate by cardinal direction and have been finding myself having to take out my phone and enable the nav more often that I ought to have to.
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      01-07-2014, 06:19 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
Courage! Let us know how it goes.
I'll take one for the team and stick a paper clip in the hole in the bottom of the mirror (it's in the bottom, not the back, the same place it was in my e92) and see what happens. It is under warranty, so it'll have a happy ending regardless.
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      01-07-2014, 06:58 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nirvana19 View Post
This sounds like an urban legend...this would be incredible if it were the case, though. Pretty sure the only thing that is like a hole in the back of my mirror is a camera for the automatic high beams. One of my biggest frustrations with my car is the lack of a compass... I always navigate by cardinal direction and have been finding myself having to take out my phone and enable the nav more often that I ought to have to.
Just realized blaze was responding in regards to the F30 which evidently does have a button to activate the compass...I checked on my F10 and a paperclip went straight through the hole and there is no button. My guess is that is a microphone or sensor...or maybe just nothing. Read on an earlier thread that the F10 simply didn't come with a compass but that there was an optional accessory mirror that had one...
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      01-07-2014, 07:05 PM   #11
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I've wondered about this too. I used it all the time to check general direction of travel. The sat nav screen is just a bit too cumbersome for this quick need.
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      01-07-2014, 07:58 PM   #12
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OK who knows the specifics about the accessory mirror? Or do we need a stick-on magnetic compass for the dash?
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      01-07-2014, 08:45 PM   #13
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Ideally they'd put a N/S/E/W in the HUD. That would be ever better than the mirror!
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      01-10-2014, 01:05 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass
I've wondered about this too. I used it all the time to check general direction of travel. The sat nav screen is just a bit too cumbersome for this quick need.
Yeah. The NAV only shows the N with an arrow but it doesn't show NE SW SE etc.
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      01-10-2014, 08:13 AM   #15
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Evidently you can get the mirror that includes the compass from BMW Accessories -- around $530 for the one that includes the rain sensor and the clown nose.
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      01-11-2014, 06:51 AM   #16
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Time to evolve navigation skills. I had a compass for 8 years. Never used it. Love the built in navi of the 5
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      01-11-2014, 09:35 AM   #17
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I've had nav for as long as I've owned BMWs... But that doesn't take the place of the simple compass to me. Some things are better left simple... Which is why we saw BMW reintroduce several hard buttons on the dash after initially removing them when iDrive came out. I think the compass will return too. Or like I said, put it in the HUD and call it a day.
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      01-11-2014, 10:16 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ErnestHouse View Post
Time to evolve navigation skills. I had a compass for 8 years. Never used it. Love the built in navi of the 5
You must have meant "devolve". Besides, in my car (which is fond of substituting a different destination for the one I entered), you can't rely on the navigation system at all.
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      01-11-2014, 02:22 PM   #19
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I suppose so. I know it's of little consolation but I also live in a very gridded area and my MY2014 iDrive takes 700 NW 4th Ave and similar addresses without a hitch either manually or Google Maps Send to Car.
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      01-11-2014, 06:04 PM   #20
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Quote:
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I suppose so. I know it's of little consolation but I also live in a very gridded area and my MY2014 iDrive takes 700 NW 4th Ave and similar addresses without a hitch either manually or Google Maps Send to Car.
A map update has been suggested to me. My car is a 2013 but was built in 11/12 and languished with the selling dealer for seven months before I bought it. I suspect (and plan to check) that the map software is not entirely current. The system is NBT but without the touch panel on the iDrive control.
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