Parking sensor dead after small bump

haz

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Tesla Model S 75D BMW E39 Wagon
So I backed my E90 BMW 325 into a wall today at a very very low speed, (was barely moving) and I can?t even see a scratch on the rear left sensor at all - only a small scratch on the bumper right next to the sensor.

Now I have a "PDC sensor failure error message" and the PDC does not work.

Any tips on a fix? Can the error code be reset without connecting the car to a board or do I need to replace the broke(?) sensor? I can?t see why the other 3 rear and 4 front sensors being affected by 1 faulty sensor??

Any tips is helpful.
 
Front sensors shouldn't stop working if the rears are damaged but then it is a BMW so it's programmed to bring you into a garage by any means necessary... Normal procedure is repair broken sensor then reset error with one of these:

 
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Will reseting the error code make the PDC system work again? Is that what you are saying? Since these boards usually are most handy finding what's wrong and where that fault is. In my situation I know that the rear left sensor took a small knock. What I want to know is can I replace the sensor myself without removing the bumper or can I can reset the system knowing I have one sensor not operating.
 
Those sensors are pretty fragile IIRC. Time for a new one, me thinks.
 
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Time for a new one, me thinks.

If I need a new one - then I need a new one :)
I just want to rule out any chance of reseting the system + lliving without one for a while.. (that blinking is so f*ckin annoying :) )
 
Clearing the code and checking if it reappears is my first suggestion too. You obviously need a BMW-specific diagnostic tool for it.

If it doesn't work then the bumper needs to come off.
 
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Clearing the code and checking if it reappears is my first suggestion too.

Thanks, I have a buddy with diagnostic board so that shouldn't be a problem to check for that option. But it's always nice to check these great boards for peoples experiences also :)
 
Those sensors are pretty fragile IIRC. Time for a new one, me thinks.

My friend tells me that one can be disabled by a tap from her high heeled shoe, they're that fragile. She also has an E90.
 
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So this is what happend in the end:


I actually had a bumper paint appointment two days after my bumper incident due to another accident a few weeks back (someone backed into me). After I picked up my car at the car painters, I started up the car - and wouldn't ya know - the PDC button flash had stopped! And the PDC was working as before I hit the it.. so I now have a fresh rear bumper and a working PDC again! Must have been a bad connection or sth?
 
Happened to me in my Audi (rear sensor, but still). The sensor snapped in half, even though it wasn't a big shunt. A ?20 replacement from ebay fixed everything.
 
Happened to me in my Audi (rear sensor, but still). The sensor snapped in half, even though it wasn't a big shunt. A ?20 replacement from ebay fixed everything.

Gotta love easy DIY fixes especially when they involve a fully working and fine ?20 eBay part. For me it was a free fix, as what must've happend here is that the sensor connection just got snapped out of its socket or sth.. (they had to remove the rear bumper when repainting the bumper, that means the sensors had to be unplugged and replugged again).
 
I'd still keep my eye on it. My sensor did still work occasionally, when the planets aligned and helped it make contact. Then I took the bumper off to look at it and ended up with two half-sensors.
 
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