Car won't start when is hot

315

Asked by Olcountry Apr 29, 2018 at 10:11 AM about the 2008 BMW 5 Series 535xi Sedan AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My BMW 535i starts and runs great when you first get in it in the morning. After driving it
just less than an hour and if you stop and turn the ignition off after about 15 minutes it will
not start back for about one-and-a-half to two hours. Then the starter motor turns it over
and it starts very quickly no grinding no clicking and you're good to go. But if it is hot like I
said before all you get is a little bit of clicking from relays not from the starter. Anybody
help me?

1 Answer

103,085

"Heat soaked" is when starters absorb so much heat from the exhaust they fail to function until the cool down. Not sure if this applies to your case, you can look for a missing heat shield. BMWs have also been reported to have a problem with heat soaked crank position sensors, take a look on Bimmerforums.com for a thread titled "Crank Position Sensor Heat Soak?". When this happens your car will not start.

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