SMG - Not Starting

[tgurske]

Hey,
I have a 2003 SMG. Every once and a while the car fails to start. I am able to switch between neutral, reverse and 1st just fine but the engine will not start. And, it's really is changing the gears. I can hear it and feel it when I try to roll the car. The check engine light is not on so I don't think there are any error codes. The only way to get it going it to keep changing between reverse, 1st and neutral and trying to start the car over and over again. I also let the car roll a little bit and bounce it around a little bit while in gear. Eventually I can get the offending sensor back in the correct position.

Any idea what sensor is causing the problem and how to fix or mitigate the issue. It's really hot here in florida and sitting in the car for 20 minutes messing with it isn't fun in the summer. At least it isn't costing any money though...

 

[mac27040]

so when it doesn't start im guessing you leave it in D for drive, so you move it to Neutral, does the display show N or still 1? car will only start in N with foot on brake, may be its the brake sensor switch?

 

[tgurske]

Hey, I just wanted to post an update. First, thanks for your help mac27040! Your feedback helped me rule out some components.

I was able to switch the SMG from R to N to 1. The display and gears both changed properly so I ruled that out as the issue. The brake pedal does NOT need to be pressed to start so I could rule that out. I eventually ended up replacing the starter but it did not fix the issue. We finally tracked the issue down to a bad key. I started using the other key and the car works perfectly. I wish BMW would have made that error easier to troubleshoot. Maybe throw an error code or something. Although if they made it easy their stealerships wouldn't have as much repair business coming in...