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      10-16-2020, 10:43 AM   #1
SUVfanforlife
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Bike rack hitch and PDC always alerts?

I put a bike rack on the hitch and now whenever i go into reverse the park assistant alerts I’m about to hit an object but it’s the bike rack.

Anyone know how to set properly?
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      10-16-2020, 11:14 AM   #2
Frankj9000
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You go into settings, car, i believe general, then there is a setting for trailer mode. Eliminates the alarm. Sorry cannot be more specific. Wife has the car today.

When you get there, you can save it as a function on the number buttons
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      10-16-2020, 01:37 PM   #3
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They don't tend to run into this as much in Europe, since anything on the back of the vehicle may require the use of an auxiliary light bar that gets plugged into the towing connector...that automatically triggers towing mode, and disables the alarms. ANything that obscures the lights or license plate requires one in many places there, and isn't a bad idea here, either. Some of the bike rack manufacturers include one like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thule-TH950...%2C261&sr=8-24

You can manually disable them, but you have to do it each time the car is started up if you don't plug in something to the towing electronics.

Last edited by jad03060; 10-16-2020 at 01:43 PM..
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      10-16-2020, 03:46 PM   #4
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This plug and the light idea is great.
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      10-17-2020, 08:42 AM   #5
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The setting for trailer mode worked. Thanks!
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      10-17-2020, 09:13 AM   #6
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OP, do you have factory installed tow hitch?

Trying to educate myself on the aftermarket hitch like Stealth Hitch.

If you don't have OEM controller and harness installed then you don't see the trailer mode, right? Do you need to plug something in using the Pollak connector or Trailer Coupling in order for the car to recognize there is something attached to the hitch?
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      10-17-2020, 12:07 PM   #7
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Trailer mode will not show up without coding or buying factory harness and computer. I did this for my m50i
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      10-17-2020, 05:19 PM   #8
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Unless a suitable module is plugged into the harness or, if it's aftermarket, attached to the CANBUS to emulate the factory box, the vehicle won't automatically detect that there's a trailer attached. There are lights only harnesses that will work in the vehicle, but they provide nothing other than the lights, and don't talk back to the vehicle so things like a bulb out, or the fact something's connected to it don't work...it's all passive without a recognized smart box in there.
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      06-06-2022, 07:08 PM   #9
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Chipping in, i have the factory retractable hitch installed and rigged up my Thule Easyfold bike rack.
Sensors still goes off when in reverse.
Enabling trailer mode helps but it has to be done every time i ride.
Trying to search for an automated solution to this.
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      06-06-2022, 09:40 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bavar-ian View Post
Chipping in, i have the factory retractable hitch installed and rigged up my Thule Easyfold bike rack.
Sensors still goes off when in reverse.
Enabling trailer mode helps but it has to be done every time i ride.
Trying to search for an automated solution to this.
Unless you have a lightbar and plug it in, the X5 won't go into trailer mode automatically so you have to do it manually.
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      06-07-2022, 02:24 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bavar-ian View Post
Chipping in, i have the factory retractable hitch installed and rigged up my Thule Easyfold bike rack.
Sensors still goes off when in reverse.
Enabling trailer mode helps but it has to be done every time i ride.
Trying to search for an automated solution to this.
The easiest thing to do is use voice command, “Hey BMW, trailer mode.”
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      06-07-2022, 02:37 PM   #12
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Strange thing was that although I had to manually engage trailer mode when I put the rack on last week (first time) the car gave me an alert asking if I wanted to disable trailer mode when I removed the rack. So the car must know something was in the receiver....
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      06-07-2022, 06:56 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john1200c View Post
Strange thing was that although I had to manually engage trailer mode when I put the rack on last week (first time) the car gave me an alert asking if I wanted to disable trailer mode when I removed the rack. So the car must know something was in the receiver....
If you didn't plug something into the trailer connector electrically, but turned towing mode on manually, that probably triggered it to look at the rear PDC sensors...when you removed the rack, it no longer saw any obstructions on the sensors, and that's why it asked you if you wanted to turn towing mode off.
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      06-08-2022, 04:28 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jad03060 View Post
Unless you have a lightbar and plug it in, the X5 won't go into trailer mode automatically so you have to do it manually.
My thule easyfold has signals.
Plugged in the 13pin and not in trailer mode automatically.
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      06-08-2022, 02:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bavar-ian View Post
My thule easyfold has signals.
Plugged in the 13pin and not in trailer mode automatically.
Interesting...it was my understanding that it was supposed to automatically switch when something was plugged in. I retrofitted that 13-pin plug on my last BMW, and it's a superior one than what the USA uses, but I just used it for a light bar, not towing a trailer.
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      06-08-2022, 05:05 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jad03060 View Post
If you didn't plug something into the trailer connector electrically, but turned towing mode on manually, that probably triggered it to look at the rear PDC sensors...when you removed the rack, it no longer saw any obstructions on the sensors, and that's why it asked you if you wanted to turn towing mode off.
Thanks. That was my other thought.
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