Keeping the Dust off of Your iDrive Display – Car Screen Cleaner or Wet Wipes?

In modern BMWs, the iDrive screen is pretty much everything – but this honestly goes for any brand of vehicle nowadays. Touchscreens are where you get information about the status of your ride such as oil levels and tire pressure, how you select what tunes you want to listen to on your journey, how you watch your favorite videos* (when in a parking lot of course), and so much more.

What happens when that screen gets dirty? Is there a problem if you leave it too long? Is there a right way and a wrong way to clean it? Glad you’re asking these questions here because from this article, you’ll learn: 

• What is the best car screen cleaner?
  
• How to clean your BMW iDrive display?
  
• How to protect your screen?

…and much more! So, let’s get started.

*By the way: did you know our Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto MMI Prime and Pro makes it possible for you to watch Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services in your BMW, MIN, or Supra? Okay, okay, shameless promotion done… For now!

The Longer You Wait, The Harder It Gets

As humans, we are all guilty of saying we’ll get to something later. However, when “later” becomes “never,” sometimes it can lead to adverse effects. A dirty screen is no exception in this regard. 

The obvious concern is that this will make your screen harder to see when you need it the most. Fingerprints, dirt, and other grime can build up and make your screen contents difficult to see from certain angles and in certain lighting conditions. This may obviously lead to dangerous situations if you try to spend too much time trying to make out what’s on your screen instead of driving.

Another issue is the damage this can cause.

iDrive screens in BMWs (and most other makes) are much more resilient than you may think, but that doesn’t mean they can endure everything. We encounter many saddened customers who purchase replacement screens from us because of something they could have easily avoided.

One such danger is the fact that oil and grime can bake in the sun, causing your screen to wear out more rapidly. Excessive amounts of dirt and debris can lead to scratches, especially on a touch screen. Speaking of which: a build-up of all that was just mentioned could lead to the touch screen being less responsive. Let’s face it… That ALWAYS tends to happen just when you need your screen to work. Murphy's Law, right?

Finishing up this section is one of the most obvious points about why it’s better not to let all this stuff build up: it’s harder to remove and requires more aggressive methods to do so. Speaking of which…

The Challenges of Properly Cleaning Your Infotainment Screen and How to Clean It Properly

Like with cleaning anything, different types of mess require different methods of tidying up. You don’t want to just go after your screen with whatever’s at hand… You’ll need to know which screen-friendly cleaner to use, is a touch screen cleaner different, which cloth you should use, and so on. Guess what? We’re covering that!

Fingerprints or Grease

If you have a touchscreen, you already know all about this. 

It’s almost impossible to keep any glass surface you have to touch clean. Doors, piano black trim around your gear shift lever, your phone, and of course your car’s screen. The best way to clean something like that would be a dedicated screen cleaner and a clean microfiber towel. While a standard “glass cleaner” can work in a pinch, regular glass has different properties compared to display screens (more on that later).

To clean fingerprints and grease off your screen:

1. Take your dedicated cleaning solution and spray it over your screen. You want to cover its whole surface with the spray, saturating all of it, but not to the point where it’s dripping.
2. Then take a CLEAN microfiber towel and gently wipe the screen off. Do not apply a great amount of pressure! Excessive force could potentially damage your screen. 

One important thing worth remembering is that the towel must be clean, as any debris caught in the fibers could scratch the screen. Repeat these steps as needed for any troublesome areas. As soon as you’re done, throw the microfiber in the wash – for the same reason you want a clean one to begin with.

PRO TIPS

You might want to wear rubber/Latex gloves when you do this too. What good is it cleaning fingerprints off your screen if you just add more right when you’re done? It’s also good to protect your skin. Pro Tip: do not place your washed microfiber towel in a dryer. Let it air dry. The heat from a dryer could potentially damage the fibers in the towel causing them to lose their integrity. They can become harder and not as absorbent.

Cleaning Solution Streaks or Smudges

These are a pain in the butt, right? You just tried to clean your screen and it seems like you made it worse! First off, what causes these? Well… Like with most seemingly straightforward answers, there is more to it.

1. Using the wrong cleaner: If something is not made for glass, it could smudge and smear by default on glass.
2. Using the wrong towel: The wrong towel could fail to absorb the cleaner and debris/grease, causing it to smear across your screen.
3. The surface is too hot: If your screen is too warm, it could cause your cleaner to react poorly and potentially evaporate too quickly, leaving unwanted residue behind (it could also damage your screen over time).
4. Your screen is damaged: While not as common, a warped or scratched screen could lead to your towel not picking everything up the first time, causing smudging.

The fix to these problems is honestly the most straightforward answer of this whole article: use the right tools for the job! A dedicated car screen cleaner, a quality and clean microfiber towel, and a cool (and preferably undamaged) screen! Did all this and you STILL have residue left over? Spray it down again, flip your towel around, wipe, and you should be all good.

Scratches and Chipping

This one is not fun, but sometimes it happens. A lot of times it can happen due to improper cleaning (so, let’s make sure you follow the steps above to avoid this). Other times this happens because you might be moving something around in your vehicle and you hit or scrape the screen.

Depending on the type of screen you have and how bad the scratches are, there is a chance you could buy some type of scratch remover to help get rid of them. This would work better on softer screens but will be almost useless on harder glass ones. The very last thing you could try to resort to in the latter instance or when the scratches are deeper is some kind of screen protector. Properly applied foil or BMW Protective Glass should make even the bigger scratches disappear.

If your screen is chipped or cracked, there really is nothing you can do besides replace it. If you drive a BMW, at least BimmerTech can help with a replacement screen for your BMW! Obviously, it’s not what you want to hear, but if the damage is that bad, this is really the only option.

If your screen is not scratched or chipped, what can you do to help prevent that from happening? We’ll again refer you to the screen protectors, which are a must, especially for vehicles with touch screens. 

These things simply stick over your screen, much like a protector on your phone. All you have to do to apply them is clean your screen, stick it on, and you’re done. Curious how this works? Check out BimmerTech’s protective glass installation tutorial video.

Not to keep pitching products, but if you have a BMW or Tesla, we have you covered in this department. BimmerTech offers BMW Protective Glass for BMW iDrive displays and Tesla Screen Protectors for the Tesla Model 3 & Y infotainment screens. They are easy to install (as you can see in the video) and will give you peace of mind.

What is the Best Car Screen Cleaner? A Quick Comparison

We touched a little on this before, but the right screen cleaner is super important. What is the best screen cleaner for your car? To keep it brief, you’ll want one that is specifically designed for a screen and it’s even better if you get one just for a car.

Let’s quickly go over why some cleaners may not be best for your screen:

• Water – while water may be the universal solvent, it won’t easily work out the tougher fingerprints, causing them to smudge.
• Regular glass cleaners – while this may work, glass cleaner is designed usually for window glass, so it can be a bit more aggressive (e.g., due to some alcohol contents). Unless you’re confident in the cleaner, I would avoid this on in-car screens just to be safe.
• Single-use screen wipes – these can be hit or miss… While they are designed for screens, they can have the tendency to smear stuff around, dump too much product causing you to have to use something else to soak up the excess before it dries, or not have enough product, causing you to need to use another one.
• Alcohol – this can be a great cleaner, but it can be too aggressive for screens, so it’s best not to use it.

A dedicated screen cleaner will be the best product for such an application. It will not evaporate too quickly, be safe for touch and non-touch screens, and will be most effective at cleaning the common dirt and grime that normally gets on screens.

BimmerTech’s Car Screen Cleaner not only does all this but is the perfect size to keep in your glovebox, center console, or other storage compartments in your vehicle. It’s safe to leave in vehicles that get very cold and very hot. In addition, it’s safe for both touch and non-touch screens. Heck… You can even use it on your phone or laptop!

To Sum It Up…

So, there you have it. You’re now a screen cleaning expert: you now know what’s best to use and how to use it, and you know what NOT to use. Of course, you also know that BimmerTech can offer you a screen replacement or upgrade for your BMW if your factory screen is damaged, protectors for your BMW or Tesla to keep them safe, and that we offer the BEST screen cleaner. Duh.

All biased comments aside, we hope this helped you keep your screen looking new. Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel for other helpful maintenance and DIY-focused videos for BMW, MINI, Supra, and Tesla.