custom rotary – Frustrated with the feel of BMW’s iDrive rotary controller, a hobbyist built a custom alternative using a Crowpanel 1.28-inch rotary knob with an integrated ESP32-S3, screen, and push-button encoder—then wrapped it in a 3D-printed interior housing to control l
Spend enough time in a modern BMW and you start noticing the same thing: the iDrive controller is there to help you navigate, but it can also feel fiddly—“goofy,” as one hobbyist puts it—like the interface is fighting your hand.
So he decided to replace it.
[Garage Tinkering] set out to build a better rotary controller for his own car. The starting point wasn’t a redesign of the software first. It was the knob itself. He landed on the Crowpanel 1.28″ rotary knob. a single integrated component that combines a push-button encoder. a round screen. and an ESP32-S3.
From there, the project turned into something more hands-on and more tactile. [Garage Tinkering] designed a 3D printed housing meant to fit into the vehicle’s interior. along with a diffuser ring for the knob’s built-in LEDs. He also planned additional buttons so the new controller could do more than just rotate and click.
The purpose is bigger than swapping one gadget for another. The rotary control is intended to serve as the human interface for a broader system taking shape in the vehicle—one built around a larger infotainment screen and multiple digital gauges. In that setup. the custom rotary controller would let the driver switch functions like interior and underglow lighting. while also displaying other vehicle parameters.
There’s also a quieter reason projects like this pull people in: when you build your own gear. you can make it match the way you actually want to use it. The hobbyist behind this build points to that kind of “make it work exactly the way that suits you” spirit that’s shown up in other car hacks as well. including a separate car data display project shared in the same post.
A video embedded with the build shows the concept in action, and the core idea is simple—take a frustrating interface, build something that feels better, and connect it to the richer digital dashboard the car is already heading toward.
BMW iDrive rotary controller Crowpanel 1.28 ESP32-S3 3D printed car interior car interface digital gauges underglow lighting DIY automotive tech