[JSY]

I'm pretty sure I've driven my car in more bad weather than good which was expected and welcomed since I figured I would notice issues quicker than having to wait until the cold season. Anyway, I've now gotten sensor errors multiple times during bad weather. Has anyone else been getting them? Admittedly it happens usually during bad snow, but it did happen once with really bad rain. I would get an error message saying to check the sensor and clean it if necessary. Usually the Frontal Collision Warning sensor and the Pedestrian Warning sensor are the ones that give me the error on the iDrive screen. Are the sensors that sensitive? The iDrive tells me that the sensors affected are either the twin cameras on the top of the windshield (that was clear) and/or the ACC sensor all the way at the bottom. However, the graphic on the screen seemed to indicate one of the parking sensors in the front, off center right. (Is this the only graphic it ever shows because it seems to always show this.)

Tonight was the latest time for the sensor error to happen again and it was during a bad snow storm. After I parked the car, I thought I'd walk out to check to see if I could visually see anything actually blocking any of the sensors... This is what I saw.. LOL Ok - maybe something was indeed blocking the sensors. This was from highway driving in a snow storm while driving against the storm, so the snow was flying in your face the whole way through. I thought you'd all appreciate how lovely and scary it looked.

This was the first time I also realized, shoot - I miss those headlight washers I had in my last X3! It may not be totally evident, but the headlights were totally covered with snow, and part of it then dropped off and you can see how much of the headlight was obstructed. I know the washers aren't wipers - but the hard spray probably would have kept the headlights clear. Not sure why this was removed, and I predict that this will come back in a future model.

[FCBayernFTW]

My wife's Mazda CX-5 gives the same message when snow builds up on the sensor. We also get a message when the sensor in the windshield gets obstructed by interior fogging.

Wow! Do you have concerns with the active grills getting damaged with so much buildup?

[JSY]

Originally Posted by FCBayernFTW

My wife's Mazda CX-5 gives the same message when snow builds up on the sensor. We also get a message when the sensor in the windshield gets obstructed by interior fogging.

Wow! Do you have concerns with the active grills getting damaged with so much buildup?

I don't think so - when I was driving, I assume that the grills were open and any snow would have just melted away. When I took these pictures, the grills were closed. I never thought about it freezing, though. I am going to assume that it would usually be too warm to freeze but what if it froze overnight? Hmmmmm.... Didn't really think of that.

[Slalom]

I have missed the headlamp washers too. I did not have them on my F34 either, but do have them on other cars and to me they make a difference with salted roads.

I too have had the pedestrian warning sensor error - mostly due to a lot of salt spray on the windscreen. I have yet to have a problem with the front collision sensor. I did have that a lot with my F34 though. In fact, before ordering I asked if it had been improved and was told that it had been updated with the addition of a heater in the sensor. Certainly there is no sign of that working on yours.

The pin-outs from TIS show a heater wire for ACC - might be worth a visit to the dealer.

[JSY]

Originally Posted by Slalom

I have missed the headlamp washers too. I did not have them on my F34 either, but do have them on other cars and to me they make a difference with salted roads.

I too have had the pedestrian warning sensor error - mostly due to a lot of salt spray on the windscreen. I have yet to have a problem with the front collision sensor. I did have that a lot with my F34 though. In fact, before ordering I asked if it had been improved and was told that it had been updated with the addition of a heater in the sensor. Certainly there is no sign of that working on yours.

The pin-outs from TIS show a heater wire for ACC - might be worth a visit to the dealer.

Hmm, I did not know there was a heater in the sensor. Interesting. Thanks for that info. It might be worth looking into for me if this persists. In the pic above, it actually does look a bit clear, but obstructed from the snow buildup in front of it it seems.