Best Drive Recorder From BMW?

Have you ever wondered if the $100 dollar BMW drive recorder is any good? You would assume so with car worth around $100,000 like this 2023 BMW M3 right? Join me in learning all about the new BMW drive recorder!

[@johnnyenglish583]

Brilliant video, this is just what I needed. Like you said, these cameras are just for when someone is tailgating you or if they hit you. So I'll probably set it up so as to record with the rear and side cameras (if possible) or just the rear camera, and continue using my old dashcam for the front for that cinematic quality.

[@jeffh1000]

Great breakdown and content. Thanks for sharing

[@DrivenReality]

Thanks for watching. Let me know what els you want me to review.

[@jylehr]

Doesn't seem crazy helpful to see licence plates at night but at least it's something for insurance anyway!

[@FastRedPonyCar]

Nah this is just for if someone hits you. Getting a real dashcam like a blackvue or Viofo is the way to go if you want high quality video and sound. We got my wife the A139 pro earlier this year after she was hit by another driver and they tried to say it was her fault. Cops found traffic cam footage proving it was the other driver but we felt like getting a real dash cam was cheap insurance if that ever happens again. I've got a tesla model 3 (lease expires in a couple months and I have an M340i ordered, hence me watching these videos) and one thing I wish BMW let you do was have the 4 cameras run when the car is parked. I've seen plenty of tesla owners posting videos of people in parking lots hitting their cars and being able to use that to get police to go after the individuals for damage. I can also pull up all 4 camera feeds on my phone app to view real time camera feed when the car is parked.

[@MiniMicJimmy]

Finally! Looking forward to this channel

[@DrivenReality]

Thanks man. Yes I know. Finally. Let me know if you ever want to make videos together

[@chrisnelson2728]

This is exactly the info I've been looking for!!

[@DrivenReality]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful

[@Porsche-Driver-Roblox]

We need a parking mode!!!!!

[@FRS2K]

Hey dude brah we want to seem some of that cabin fibre!!

[@DrivenReality]

I could do that! You want a review or beauty shots?

[@enricocolombo]

Good video and straight to the point. Only a missing consideration, the drive recorder is 100$ but you need to have the whole 360° 3d camera pack, ~2000$ and it’s not standard, even on the M3… I was considering it for my m240i but the quality seems low, but it’s way more convenient and just works, unlike a dash wich you have to wire it (ok from the console to the windscreen is not that complicated but to the rear and side cameras…

[@Snewpi]

Well the drive recorder is only 100 when spec’ed. this is better than nothing. Can’t expect 2k or 4k quality for 100.

[@HansGarage]

JWOWWWW!! I can't wait for more adventures!

[@DrivenReality]

HANS GARAGE! making a celebrity appearance in the comment section! Good to hear from you.

[@user-kd1go6rw5s]

could u see the license lates ?

[@kevinding0218]

This was awesome, but will BMW recoding all the time while I am driving? Otherwise, how did it detect an accident that would happen or gets ready to start recording when there is an accident.

[@DrivenReality]

I believe it does record all the time just in the background. BMW says once sensors detect a crash the recording is saved. Not sure how reliable it is but still.

[@scoutstanford833]

Great, helpful content!

[@DrivenReality]

Glad it was helpful!

[@darkmodedui]

Drive recorder just saved me from being at fault in a red light accident.

[@DrivenReality]

Heck yeah!

[@leslie_cars]

How do I activate it? Is it when an accident happens it just starts recording? Or does it record all the time like a normal dash cam?

[@DrivenReality]

I wish it recorded all the time. If there is something you want to record you can hold down the button. I have it set up to then record 20 seconds before I pushed the button. Honestly not the best way to go about it but Bmw tried.

[@inca4x4]

Great vid bud!

[@DrivenReality]

Thanks! I really appreciate it! Let me know what I should do next!

[@ramonlima8100]

Great review!

[@DrivenReality]

Thanks Ramon! What would you like me to review next?

[@nishantkumar-lw6ce]

Does it monitor when the car is parked to ensure no theft happens?

[@DrivenReality]

Unfortunately I don’t believe so.

[@jaclynbeberg7401]

👏👏👏

[@theone262]

Can you record directly onto a USB stick while driving ?

[@DrivenReality]

That’s a good question. I’ll try it out. I’d rather not have the usb plugged in the whole time though. If I’m drinking coffee or something I’d be afraid of bumping into it and breaking the usb drive.

[@torrmelling]

Not in the '24 BMW I4 xDrive40 and I doubt in other BMWs either.

[@nhtna4706]

does it have event recording feature like tesla?

[@DrivenReality]

Like if you were in an accident? It seams to have that but still I wish it would record for longer

[@nhtna4706]

@@DrivenReality no, Tesla does it for vandalism

[@DrivenReality]

@@nhtna4706 that’s cool! Here’s all it says from BMW. AUTOMATIC RECORDING: The recording is stored automatically when the vehicle sensors detect an accident occurrence. Is it reliable well hopefully I don’t have to find out!

[@nhtna4706]

@@DrivenReality yes, they should be leveraging the same technology for offline event based recordings that will be a cool feature, unless patented by Tesla,. Moreover, Elon says nothing of Teslas ideas are patented which cud be a false statement,.

[@G20Storm]

I had the trial and didn’t like it. Anyone know of a third party that can record pretty much 360 with different cameras?

[@DrivenReality]

Yeah I thought for bmw it would of been a little better. I haven’t found a camera I would recommend yet.

[@mirazimtuychiev8296]

They have another option for like $900, it records the front and rear in QHD apparently. BMW Advanced Car Eye 3.0 Pro with Display

[@torrmelling]

You're being far too kind, Josh. I expected BMW to match or improve upon any similar system in other manufacturers, but clearly it doesn't. I insisted on the Drive Recorder in our new $76k I4 xDrive40 we purchased a month ago expecting that it would have similar - if not improved upon - features as other vehicles, but it's not even close. Short, poor video quality, clumsy, manual activation if you want to capture an incident, no review of videos made while you're driving (unless you manually activate it to within 40 seconds of an event (and if you forget to activate it, you can forget viewing later) or you get into an accident), non-standard file type (requiring an additional third-party app to view, edit and save it as a usable file type for your phone or computer), and you must use an external thumb drive (which BMW doesn't even offer instructions on file system formatting requirements), NO ability to download it through the My BMW app (this is unforgiveable) makes this a waste of $100. The ultimate insult to injury has to be their monthly subscription model or $150 "lifetime" subscription that, I'd bet my life, does not transfer with the vehicle when it is sold (and I might add nowhere does it state that this feature is subscription based or costs additional money!). No sentry or dog-mode, either, so if you've searched the internet to research this feature because you're thinking about buying a BMW and want a built-in camera setup, consider a Tesla instead.

[@DrivenReality]

@@torrmelling you arnt wrong! I hope people see this comment. The technology is a bit dated strait away when it comes to the drive recorder. Thanks for watching as I do a agree I was a bit too kind

[@rayhuckle]

The former National Party of South Africa which is currently operating under secrecy has banned coloured/mixed raced individuals from owning BMW's. True Story!

[@DrivenReality]

I find that hard to believe

[@jlo6388]

$150 for unlimited “subscription” fyi

[@gilescain8903]

😥 *Promosm*!

[@carlosgrimaldi4318]

Drive recorder is trash on BMW rarly triggers, if ever.