rodrad

Digi

Money can do about anything, but it would definitely be more expensive than the $2300 cost as an option from the manufacturer. Some issues I have with it are: 1) in most of the US, it will only work in the fall or winter when the outside temperatures are below about 77 degrees (25 centigrade). I wish there was some warning in rural areas when living objects are detected. I can imagine in the city too many alarms would be detected by every pedestrian, but in the country, I need more warning of any animal near or on the road. Unless you are looking at the screen itself, you will not know about living objects until they are directly in your path. Also, in my neighborhood under about 35 miles and hour, there is no warning of living things right in front of me. Maybe it senses they are not immediately going to be hit, but I think it should give me a visual or audible warning of their presence. I notice Mercedes stopped offering this feature, as they will just stop you with the collision assist like any other object (person, deer, or car) it thinks you might hit. No sense in giving you a vague visual warning that is flawed in the first place.

Twglasgow

MP4.2+6.0

FWIW, not really my experience--hardly at all. Do you have it in your D4? At least where I am in coastal CA, it works on 99% of evenings, summer or winter. It really generates approx. zero nuisance alarms, city or country. It ties into heads up display, so you don't need to drive around staring at screen. It puts a box around objects if you do stare at it--animals or people, and flips from yellow to red if it thinks they will cross the car's path. Same basic symbols light up in the heads's up display, which with an MMI update also got somewhat larger in size. And if it thinks you will cross paths with it going red, and does not sense you are on the brakes, as I recall from an incident or two it will cut in to brake if needed--like the vehicle distance + speed tracking. It was enhanced IIRC for 2015 (to add the animal detection and symbols IIRC), so maybe you are discussing the older flavor? Basically, if I am in any of a country road situation, an interstate known to have deer, or a city difficult pedestrian area, I switch it on. I would get it again, though in a pecking order some other features are higher on the list.

As far as retrofitting, pretty doubtful with the various sensors and integration. And if no heads' up display already in car anyway, way more down the path of forget about it as any practical matter--since that is also a whole new upper dash change out and then adding in the HUD gear.

Digi

I have a 2017 A8L. I live in a rural area with hot summers. The night vision indicates it is not functioning for 4 or 5 months during the year due to temperature limitations. I drive rural roads where people and deer are the main hazards along the road. While I am looking at the dash, I see deer and people in the little yellow squares all the time near the road. The heads-up display only alerts when the object is a direct hazard and is red, not yellow. When there are deer right next to the road, I would like to know about it before they are in front of me, and without having to study the dash video, taking my eyes off the road at a critical time. Deer tend to move quickly. The night vision is a very cool feature, and somewhat helpful in the months it is working because of the temperature limitations of the technology. The system design needs more user control to allow for a rural or customized setting to warn of objects near the road before they are a direct hazard, and while they are highlighted in "yellow" in the dash display.

andrewmr

I have it on my car and it picks up a deer every now and then before I see it in the bushes/on the side of the road.

Even more important, it has notified me of people walking on the right side of the road when I didn't pick them up right away. Why someone would wear black at night and then walk on the wrong side of the road......

FWIW, I've used mine to see (the side of the road) when blinded by really bright lights from oncoming vehicles.