soulposition

Wondering if I'm missing something here. I went out yesterday to start my '07 550i (picked it up in September) to find that the car wouldn't start. To my surprise all the electronics are still functioning but the brake pedal will not go down nor will the steering wheel turn. Being that this is my first 5'er I'm wondering if this is normal operating procedure for when the car battery is dead or dying. I've tried jumping it with no luck so far.

I'm sure I didn't leave anything on in the car and the fact that the electronics all come on really has me puzzled. The tow truck is on it's way to take it over the service center right now but I'm just wondering if this what happens when a battery goes or is this a sign of more things to come.

dlevi67

The fact you cannot turn the steering or (after a few strokes) cannot depress the brake pedal when the engine is not running is absolutely normal. You have no power steering assistance or depression in the servo. Nothing to do with the battery as such. Any car with power steering and a depression-operated servo on the brakes would behave that way.

As to why the electronics are all working, but the engine is not turning, there are at least three possible scenarios:

1. There is enough charge left in the battery to get the (relatively low power) electronics on, but not enough to turn the starter
2. The battery is fine. Some electronics are not, and are playing up, preventing the starter from turning (e.g. immobiliser not recognising the key chip)
3. You have an auto box, and you are trying to start the engine with the transmission in R or D, and/or you are not pressing the brake pedal when starting

I hope it's #3...

soulposition

I wish it was #3 but I can't even get the brake down and the car is diffenitly in Park as now I'm not even sure how to get the car out of Park to get the car on the tow truck right now. I'm on hold with the service center hoping someone can tell me what I need todo.

erik

Dead battery is a known problem - try searching for it on the forum.
Basically its fixed in a software update. The car doesn't go into sleep mode properly at night and drains.
I had this happen to me on about 3 occasions until the correct software update was applied.
Surprised to find you having it on a 550. Thought it was fixed long ago.

soulposition

I hope it's as simple as that. The bimmer is on it's way to the service center right now. I hope to have this fixed by the end of today.

Thanks for the insight's.

aybeesea

So how did you get it moved?

ABC

doug_999

I've had it where my brake pedal will not go down and thus the car will not start - a good push on the pedal gives it enough movement to allow the car to start.

Ricracing

Sorry to hear!

Be sure the post the solution!

The car will not start if you do not push the brake pedal as you start?

Also you can have entered the car with your key, not the push buttoms in you key??

soulposition

It turns out that one of the Battery Cables has gone bad, the one that powers the essential systems. That explains how all the electronics kept working but the car didn't turn over. The tech told me how to get the car into neutral (which I won't post) and it was hauled onto the tow truck and moved to the Milford, DE service center (I.G. Burton).

They told me that they won't be able to get the part until Thursday morning which sucks because my car is now 120+ miles from my house at the moment and I'm currently driving my GF's Mini. I was hoping that they would take the part off another 5 but that was a no go as the Service Manager told me they don't have any 5's on the lot (I was not at the dealership at the time so I couldn't check).

I'm trying to get my dealership to, in "good faith", have the car towed from Milford to Sterling, VA so I don't have to drive another 2 hours to get my car. So far, no luck on that end.

I'm glad it's not a huge issue but still very frustrating.

soulposition

I tried getting into the car with the key and the FOB. At first it really seemed like the car had gone into some super anti-theft mode that won't allow the car to be started or anything.