My car tried to kill me.

[Sprocket]

Ok, that's a bit dramatic, but it is how I felt when this happened. First, this car has been dead reliable since I got it over 5 years ago. The only things that have gone wrong have been minor (cruise control unit failure, leaky master cylinder, maybe couple other small things), and it has never failed to start or stranded me, with the freak exception recently (ironically) of a broken ignition tumbler that is a small thing, but nothing works if you can't turn the key. Simple (in the end) swap and back on the road.

Well, all that changed in a flash.

I was driving to work on a Sunday (yay, self-employment) as usual and on the 5-mile stretch of divided highway I take sometimes (usually go the back roads, but can't go as fast ) everything was operating normally. (Do you sense a "suddenly" coming?)

Suddenly, and that is an understatement, it was like I switched the key off. Almost a "bang", the change was so instant, but not really any extra noise, just no power (I keep hearing F1 radio "no power, no power"). Well, I happened to be in the left lane, as usual, and in a small pack of cars who are now trying not to hit me, thankfully, as a I try to find the flasher button and moving to the right and seeing if I can get something to come back on. Boy, the brain can find another gear if it has to. This stretch of divided highway has NO emergency shoulders by very poor design and where I finally ran out of momentum happened to coincide with a huge ditch sloping right after the pavement stops, so I can't get very far off the road and leave space for the tow truck (thinking ahead here) or rolling the car over. I just wanted to get away from the other cars flying by at 70+ mph. So, I am now stopped about 6 inches outside the white line, right wheels in the grass, listing at about 20 degrees before the drop-off. Great. There goes my Sunday afternoon. At least it's not raining.

"Get out of the dang car before I die", is my first thought. I have a short list of possible causes: fuel line popped off (no fuel smell...), broken throttle cable, and electrical connector. Problem is there is NO way I am even going to take 30 sec under the hood in that spot, so I call AAA. PSA: if you don't have a membership, get one now, it is cheap and can save your bacon.

Fun phone conversation with a lot of: "Sorry I couldn't hear you" because the big rigs and other cars blasting by. So, tow is arranged and should be there in less that 45min. Oh, well, so I sit on the ground against a tree in the woods, well off the road and behind the car just cringing with every 18-wheeler passing and thinking about all the dummies looking at their phones and if they drift just a little over.... Ok, an hour and a half later I call the tow and they say he should be there within 30m he is working another job... So, he shows up little later and suffice it to say this guy is a lunatic. Completely psycho. He parks halfway in the right lane and basically taunts the oncoming traffic by walking back and forth, IN THE LANE (easily could have just walked on the other side) and uses the controls on the left side of the roll-on bed when there are duplicate controls on the other side, all the time grinning at me like some horror movie villain. The car is dragged on the bed (with me steering from the passenger seat) and I get to ride with this guy to my house. Thankfully it is not far, and he has death-metal blasting and looking at his phone most of the way. I just want to get the car, and myself home at this point.

Finally, we back it down the driveway and roll it off. He looks around and says "you should install cameras out here". I am thinking, "yeah, now I probably should." It takes him 10min to do my credit card payment ($12!!, just $4/mile over 5miles) and drives off. I try to start it again, no go.

So, I open the hood, look around, check the throttle cable (good) pull apart and reconnect the crank sensor and it starts right up.

That connector is now super-glued (I don't care, it won't come loose again)

[hc1001]

How much do you tip the tow truck guy?

[DesktopDave]

Damn, glad you're OK. At least you found the problem!

I don't mean to criticize anyone right after a near-death experience like this, but I'd be oh-so-pissed if I found a glued position sensor. Of course, the low-quality plastic they use for those connectors will probably just degrade around the glue anyhow.

[Sprocket]

How much do you tip the tow truck guy?

about 20 bucks if I recall correctly, why?

[Sprocket]

Damn, glad you're OK. At least you found the problem!

I don't mean to criticize anyone right after a near-death experience like this, but I'd be oh-so-pissed if I found a glued position sensor. Of course, the low-quality plastic they use for those connectors will probably just degrade around the glue anyhow.

Thanks, but I don't plan to sell in my foreseeable lifetime. But never say never, and I would disclose all "issues" as I would expect someone else to do. I did not fill it with glue, just enough to know it would hold. Will probably not take much to separate the pieces when and if needed. I will have to complain about the poor design of the way this connector is held. It's great to put them in a bracket that is "right there" if you need it, but the larger lip that rests on the hole in the bracket is on the upper piece, so the lower piece that goes to the sensor is just "hanging" and a setup to work itself loose.

If it just caused a "limp" mode or CEL or misfire or something, that would be annoying but if it kills the engine in an unsafe situation, like mine, that is much more of problem.

[DesktopDave]

That came off sounding a little harsh...sorry about that. I totally agree with you about the design & materials of that dumb sensor. I especially dislike those wire retaining clips.

Given how rugged these motors are, it's odd that a single sensor would be that critical AND have such a significant failure rate. It's often the first thing I check on every new BMW project. I've even had a brand-new one fail right out of the packing box!

[IB635]

That made me pucker to read it. Terrible design on those damn things. Glad you're still in one piece!

[Sprocket]

That made me pucker to read it. Terrible design on those damn things. Glad you're still in one piece!

Thanks! Me, too. Check your connectors!