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Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 17:34:21 -0500 Hi, I asked this question a while back and a few others responded and said to wiggle the key and all would be OK. Well... here is the scoop. Turns out that there is a plastic theft deterrent tab in the ignition mechanism. It is designed to break when some inserts say a screwdriver into the ignition and attempts to turn the lock. When it breaks the screwdriver will spin and spin. Well it turns out that if you DO NOT put your key in ALL the way you *could* break the same tab. Hence the spinning key. BUT if the tab is broken and you have the car's key insert all the way everything will work fine. Supposedly BMW has just (read: the other day) released a TSB on this subject. If you complain, and the mechanic CANNOT reproduce it, it will not be replaced. Usually the case. If you complain, and the mechanic CAN reproduce it. You will pay for it. BMW feels it is your fault or the fault of say a parking attendant. Either way it's your fault. Now if you have a good relationship with your dealer it might be submitted as "does not engage", which should be covered under warranty. At least until BMW reads this post. What happened to me (not read: will happen to you). I came home one Saturday, pulled into the driveway, turn the key, out it came BUT the car was still RUNNING. Luckily the dealer had Saturday hours and I was able to drop off the car, stall it (got a stick) and disconnect the battery. They had to get the part from the Mother land b/c of the coded protection thang. Thought it would take 5 days! Only took 3. Just thought you would like to know. BTW, I peeked at the price for the parts ~$200.
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