Front Parking Sensor Fell Off

[Antartic]

Hey guys - I backed out of my garage and drove to a store today, and when I turned on the parking sensor to park at the store, the sensor showed I was close to hitting something. That was not the case as I was pretty much out in the open.

Stepped out and saw this :

Looks like the parking sensor fell off into the bumper or somewhere out. Any ideas on how to access the back without taking off the bumper?

Or is this something that I can take to a dealer to have it covered under warranty? Thanks!

[DeadM3]

Id personally say the chances of them changing this under warranty may be unlikely.. my tow hook cover fell off on the freeway due to a bump and they said tough break a new one will be 175 and when I said F that they said they could do it for 80. this is odd though :/ Good LUCK!!

**** Ill also add though- This seems like an easy fix.. may have just fallen in the bumper and they should be able to just plug it back up. keep us updated

[jailonacs99]

You're unlikely to have lost it, it's connected to a cable so is probably just in the bumper. If the tab/clasp is broken you may need to secure it another way.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by jailonacs99

You're unlikely to have lost it, it's connected to a cable so is probably just in the bumper. If the tab/clasp is broken you may need to secure it another way.

+1 it's probably still there and easily repairable. I had the same thing happen to me after hitting some road debris on the highway. Body shop was able to find the sensor dangling and secure it back on.

[Antartic]

Thanks guys - this helps and reassures me that it's not that big of an issue. I have an appointment with the dealer next week, so let's see what they say.

[nickl630]

I had a Model S with the same issue, dealer replaced it right away. They are held on with double sided tape and a plastic molding on the back of the bumper. It'll have to be removed or at least partially removed to fix.

[SD ///M4]

I was searching for something else and just happened to come across this post.

A few weeks ago I ran over something on the freeway that apparently knocked out the right front parking sensor and the right front camera. It didn't seem that serious when it happened but when I got home I noticed the hole in the front bumper cover where the parking sensor was and that the right front camera was missing.

To fix the right front camera I put my car up on my QuickRamps and removed the RF wheel and the top and front screws that hold the fender liner in place. After peeling back the fender liner and holding it back with a bungee, I saw that the camera had been knocked out of place. This is held in place by an adhesive border, much like the front side reflectors. I pushed it back in place and it seemed to hold. I checked it out and it seems to be working correctly.

The right front parking sensor was more problematic. You can't get at it from above or from below. It finally became obvious that the only way to get to it was to pull off the front bumper.

To do this I removed the LF wheel, removed all of the 8mm screws along the bottom edge of the bumper cover, including the right and left under engine panels, and the oil cooler cover. For good measure, I dropped the oil cooler by removing the 3 torx bolts holding it in place to see if I could reach it from underneath. I couldn't. On the top side, I removed the rubber molding at the leading edge of the engine compartment and the Torx screws underneath. (In BMW's infinite engineering wisdom, the six Torx screws in the middle are the same size, but the farthest one on the right and the farthest one on the left side are a different size. ). The last thing to do is with the fender liners pulled away on each side, reach up under the joint between the fenders and the bumper cover and remove the 2 long 8mm bolts on each side. Once this is done, the bumper cover has to be pulled away from the fender until the aligning pins are free. Then with my wife's help, we pulled slowly pulled the bumper away from the car. I didn't have to remove it, I just had to pull it away enough to reach down, locate the sensor, and pop it back in place.

Once everything was properly back in place, and since I now had access to the lower front grille, I finally installed the BMW CCA 100 Year BMW Anniversary grille badge that I've had for 3 years.

Everything was put back together in the reverse order. Both sensor and camera have been working fine since. Unfortunately, the front bumper got scuffed up by whatever I ran over, plus there's a lot of road rash underneath from scraping, so I'm going to have a body shop remove the bumper and do a re-spray.

Here's a few photos, but not really DIY detail:

1. View of the RF side camera back in place, stuck to the inside of the bumper cover.
2. View of the parking sensor back in place. You can see the back side of the tow hook cover.
3. I think that this is another view of the parking sensor, possibly before I put it back in place. Not sure.
4. Closeup of the right fender/bumper cover joint. You can see the two locating pins and the screw holes for the 8mm bolts, as well as the hole for the corresponding locating pin on the fender.
5. How the bumper cover looked when pulled away. This was enough to reach down inside and pop the parking sensor back into place. The rubber gasket that covers the bumper cover bolts on the top is on top of the engine. I didn't take a picture of the right side, but I've circled the corresponding parking sensor and camera on the left side.

[IB M]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I was searching for something else and just happened to come across this post.

A few weeks ago I ran over something on the freeway that apparently knocked out the right front parking sensor and the right front camera. It didn't seem that serious when it happened but when I got home I noticed the hole in the front bumper cover where the parking sensor was and that the right front camera was missing.

To fix the right front camera I put my car up on my QuickRamps and removed the RF wheel and the top and front screws that hold the fender liner in place. After peeling back the fender liner and holding it back with a bungee, I saw that the camera had been knocked out of place. This is held in place by an adhesive border, much like the front side reflectors. I pushed it back in place and it seemed to hold. I checked it out and it seems to be working correctly.

The right front parking sensor was more problematic. You can't get at it from above or from below. It finally became obvious that the only way to get to it was to pull off the front bumper.

To do this I removed the LF wheel, removed all of the 8mm screws along the bottom edge of the bumper cover, including the right and left under engine panels, and the oil cooler cover. For good measure, I dropped the oil cooler by removing the 3 torx bolts holding it in place to see if I could reach it from underneath. I couldn't. On the top side, I removed the rubber molding at the leading edge of the engine compartment and the Torx screws underneath. (In BMW's infinite engineering wisdom, the six Torx screws in the middle are the same size, but the farthest one on the right and the farthest one on the left side are a different size. ). The last thing to do is with the fender liners pulled away on each side, reach up under the joint between the fenders and the bumper cover and remove the 2 long 8mm bolts on each side. Once this is done, the bumper cover has to be pulled away from the fender until the aligning pins are free. Then with my wife's help, we pulled slowly pulled the bumper away from the car. I didn't have to remove it, I just had to pull it away enough to reach down, locate the sensor, and pop it back in place.

Once everything was properly back in place, and since I now had access to the lower front grille, I finally installed the BMW CCA 100 Year BMW Anniversary grille badge that I've had for 3 years.

Everything was put back together in the reverse order. Both sensor and camera have been working fine since. Unfortunately, the front bumper got scuffed up by whatever I ran over, plus there's a lot of road rash underneath from scraping, so I'm going to have a body shop remove the bumper and do a re-spray.

Here's a few photos, but not really DIY detail:

1. View of the RF side camera back in place, stuck to the inside of the bumper cover.
2. View of the parking sensor back in place. You can see the back side of the tow hook cover.
3. I think that this is another view of the parking sensor, possibly before I put it back in place. Not sure.
4. Closeup of the right fender/bumper cover joint. You can see the two locating pins and the screw holes for the 8mm bolts, as well as the hole for the corresponding locating pin on the fender.
5. How the bumper cover looked when pulled away. This was enough to reach down inside and pop the parking sensor back into place. The rubber gasket that covers the bumper cover bolts on the top is on top of the engine. I didn't take a picture of the right side, but I've circled the corresponding parking sensor and camera on the left side.

Wow - thanks for sharing the detail. Dealer would charge a lot to do what you did at home.

PDC creates a lot of complexity and if the sensors do break they are also expensive to replace. For that reason when I buy a car to keep long term I avoid PDC like the plague. On a daily driver the functionality is worth the hassle/risk and I use it often on my 17 ZCP.

Have to question why smart, talented BMW engineers ever made PDC on the purpose built M4GTS a standard feature. PDC is also part of Exec Pack or other option combos so unfortunately it's hard to spec out at times.

[dallastide]

Originally Posted by DeadM3

Id personally say the chances of them changing this under warranty may be unlikely.. my tow hook cover fell off on the freeway due to a bump and they said tough break a new one will be 175 and when I said F that they said they could do it for 80. this is odd though :/ Good LUCK!!

**** Ill also add though- This seems like an easy fix.. may have just fallen in the bumper and they should be able to just plug it back up. keep us updated

I would absolutely raise hell if they tried to not cover a PDC sensor falling out under warranty. It is a defect.

[Antartic]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

I was searching for something else and just happened to come across this post.....


...... the top is on top of the engine. I didn't take a picture of the right side, but I've circled the corresponding parking sensor and camera on the left side.

Thanks for the write up! This definitely helps.

I should've updated the thread- the dealer took care of it under warranty. Said that the sticky tape that holds the PDC failed- they re-attached it. They did have to remove the bumper to take care of it.

[backagain]

Originally Posted by IB M

Wow - thanks for sharing the detail. Dealer would charge a lot to do what you did at home.

PDC creates a lot of complexity and if the sensors do break they are also expensive to replace. For that reason when I buy a car to keep long term I avoid PDC like the plague. On a daily driver the functionality is worth the hassle/risk and I use it often on my 17 ZCP.

Have to question why smart, talented BMW engineers ever made PDC on the purpose built M4GTS a standard feature. PDC is also part of Exec Pack or other option combos so unfortunately it's hard to spec out at times.

Vast majority of cars in China are equipped with PDC due to tight parking spaces (and the regulation of the backing into parking spots). Over the course of 10 years that I drove there, I had not heard many owners complaining about PDC repairs, so I think it is a pretty mature technology.

Side note: Once conditioned to relying on PDC, it takes some retraining to back out without it.

[dallastide]

Originally Posted by Antartic

Thanks for the write up! This definitely helps.

I should've updated the thread- the dealer took care of it under warranty. Said that the sticky tape that holds the PDC failed- they re-attached it. They did have to remove the bumper to take care of it.

Sticky tape huh? There's the German engineering we all know and love.