I got my car back from the dealer today after a week in the shop. They had to replace the entire instrument cluster because I was getting a false airbag warning on the display. It took a week to ship the part in from the UK.

I noticed a couple differences between the old cluster and the new -

1. The clear cover over the display is much glossier on the new display - way too reflective compared to the old display
2. I found a new menu item under the vehicle menu - the ability to enable/disable the paddle shifters so that they work in either Sport mode or Drive & Sport mode.

Last year, in a software update, the ability to use the paddle shifters in Drive had been disabled so I had to request that they be re-enabled. Nice to see that they now allow you to switch modes by yourself.

 

This is interesting and informative in 2012 ......................

.................. in several years time when the owner of a used X351 is troubleshooting an issue, wondering whether a 2012 Instrument Cluster will fit an earlier model year and searches the forum, they are going to be very grateful to you for making this post.

Enjoy your paddle switch shift mode.

Graham

 

Can you please take a pic and post? Thanks.

 

As requested... ( Not sure why the pics are rotated to the left though - they display correctly on my PC )

 

Replacing the instrument cluster is definitely not a DIY job - I don't know all the details on what it entails, but there is some sort of security encoding within the cluster that is linked to the keyfobs. I had to drop off both keys to the dealer as part of the replacement process.

 

You should have also got the upgraded display with the hard buttons for Menu and Nav that was available for the 2012MY. It is also supposed to be somewhat more responsive as well.

 

does your 2012 have the gearbox paddle menu item?

No work was done on the Nav so the buttons and software were not touched on my car.

 

Nope. Maybe it was introduced as a software update on the MY2013. I'd like to have the option to change the ability to enable or disable the paddle shifters as a software update on my 2012.

 

Is the virtual display any brighter during the day? Is there any option to control the brightness of the display during the daytime?

 

it does not seem any brighter but hard to tell -- it is raining here in SoCal today so it was fairly dark. I don't see any other new menu items and nothing to control the display brightness.

I'm not 100% sure but I *think* the graphics look slightly different - I could just be imagining it and I dont have another car to compare it to but the dial needles look different than I remember. Might be a little grainier than I remember too - like it is a slightly lower resolution screen compared to the older ones. I could be wrong on this though...

 

Do any of the techs know if this software update is available to enable/disable the paddle shifters so that they work in either Sport mode or Drive & Sport mode on MY2012?