BMW E36 Blog

BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors)

4th February 2008

BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors)

posted in Electrical, Technical Info, Tips & Tricks |


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The guys at BMW have never stopped amazing me. I used to have a BMW E30 before and every now and then, I was discovering some facts that made me say Wow! The BMW E36 is no difference. I’m feeling that every now and then, I discover something that makes me say wow too!. Today, I’ve discovered that the BMW E36 cars have come with an optional Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors). It’s a rare option but what’s important is that it exists. Take a look at these photos which show how this toy is supposed to look on your BMW E36:


 

I think this option has came to life in 1995. Imagine that you’re parking your car and being able to know exactly when to stop. Before anyone asks, I’m very very good at parking, but I think that this option is really cool and makes you enjoy your car even more!

You can see the full diagram for such a system here in case you’d like to install one. I’m not sure whether it’s available but I think you can find it if you tried.

The one thing that I want you to notice is how creative BMW guys were in 1995. I’m not saying that they’re always that ones who invent new options and features, but they’re definitely one of the most important leaders in the car market. They just put the standards.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Electrical, Technical Info, Tips & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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There are currently 18 responses to “BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors)”

Why not let us know what you think by adding your own comment! Your opinion is as valid as anyone elses, so come on... let us know what you think.

  1. 1 On February 4th, 2008, Dennis said:

    It’s a pretty nice feature, i’ve got it installed on my bmw e36 320i touring from 1995. btw if you want it installed it cost around 240 euro, just need to drill 4 holes in your bumber and do some wirering (dunno if its prewired on some models?), and then you got PDC installed.

    Dennis

    posted on February 4th, 2008 at 10:17 pm

  2. 2 On February 5th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Hi Dennis,

    Cool! Is that the original PDC kit? Can you send me some pics of it please?

    posted on February 5th, 2008 at 9:16 am

  3. 3 On February 6th, 2008, Dennis said:

    Hi Tony

    Sorry for the late answer im installing a new M3 front spoiler at the bmw at the moment 🙂

    You can find the PDC kit at http://schmiedmann.com choose your language, select 3-series, E36, choose “Spareparts – electronic parts like window lifter/wiper-system/various parts”, select “Electronic-parts (window lifter/pumps/Hifi/relayes/doorlock-actuators etc.)” Choose the PDC sensor front/rear (park distance control) not painted. This is the original part used in the PDC.

    You can also buy the set from koed.dk, but i cant find an english version of the site (havent found a direct link to the PDC either). But i have a picture of the kit uploaded to my homepage http://2-people.dk/billede.jpeg

    The only BAD thing i can say about pdc is that i rely too much on it, so i dont really look in my mirrors when i reverse, which at some point might cost me a dented bumber 🙂

    Dennis

    posted on February 6th, 2008 at 6:37 pm

  4. 4 On February 7th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Wow! That’s great Dennis. I’m loving your contibutions with such great detail.

    Thank you very much.

    posted on February 7th, 2008 at 9:52 am

  5. 5 On February 7th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    The kit picture:

    posted on February 7th, 2008 at 9:54 am

  6. 6 On April 15th, 2008, mparallel said:

    ^^ That last pic is not BMW OEM.btw, thanks for “stealing” my pic of my car. That’ll be the black one. You had to pic that crappy pic?

    This one’s better:

    Cars are not prewired, but it’s not hard and instructions are clear. It just take lots of time. Well it did on my vert, don’t know about other models. I have to say it’s more than a toy as it really helps parking in hard and close spaces, like parking garages and such.

    posted on April 15th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

  7. 7 On April 15th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Cool! I’ve uploaded your new photo too 😀 . It looks really good! I absolutely love it.

    posted on April 15th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

  8. 8 On April 16th, 2008, mparallel said:

    ^^

    Ok nice, but I don’t really like my pics (as I took them, I own the copywrite) tbeing tagged like that.

    PS. this pic has my winter wheels on it. It’ll look much better when the new wheels are fitted.

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 2:07 am

  9. 9 On April 16th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Hi Mparallel,

    I understand that, so if you’d like me to remove them from the blog. I can do that for you. Please let me know about your decision.

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

  10. 10 On April 16th, 2008, MParallel said:

    You mean you take the pic down completely? So pics are automatically tagged when placed? Hmm I don’t think that’s even legal.

    Ok I know, the internet is a free-for all place and everything gets copy-pasted, but auto-tagging other people pics…

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

  11. 11 On April 16th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    No, the image is not tagged automatically. I will upload the original version of it

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

  12. 12 On April 16th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Done!

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 3:21 pm

  13. 13 On April 16th, 2008, mparallel said:

    thx. Ok nevermind the other pic, as it’s a bad pic anyways.

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

  14. 14 On April 16th, 2008, mparallel said:

    Here’s a pic of the original retrofit kit

    BMW no longer sells the kit for contertibles, but does for Coupes, Saloons and Tourings.The kits only differ in lenght of the loom and some brackets to mount the PDC module.I ordered the saloon kit and ordered the ‘vert specific parts seperately.

    posted on April 16th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

  15. 15 On April 17th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

    Do you know where this kit can be ordered from?

    posted on April 17th, 2008 at 10:12 am

  16. 16 On April 17th, 2008, mparallel said:

    Hate to sound like Mr. Obvious, but if you want the OEM retrofit kit, I wouldn’t know any place besides the stealer.

    posted on April 17th, 2008 at 9:05 pm

  17. 17 On July 4th, 2008, M_Parallel said:

    ^^

    Well or junkyard, but you have to be lucky then.

    posted on July 4th, 2008 at 9:07 pm

  18. 18 On October 14th, 2008, The Ugly Parking System | BMW E36 Blog said:

    […] horns), I found a car with an ugly backup system. I’m sure you all recall my previous posts BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors), Parking System With Camera For Your BMW about backup systems. This new system looks ok, but the […]

    posted on October 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm