My wife recently backed into a post in a parking lot and it caused the BSM on the passenger side to work intermittently. As part of a 30k mile service at the dealer today ($425, my mistake), they indicated the BSM sensor needed to be replaced for $890. I passed on that and took the car home. Upon my own further inspection, the sensor itself appears to be working fine - as I indicated, it works intermittently, but that's when it's in the right place. It's not always in the right place, however, because the mounting holes broke off in the collision with the pole. It's easy to access this for diagnosis just behind the rear wheel whell. As a cheap fix, I have simply duct taped the sensor back to its original position and it seems to work just fine. Anyone know of an aftermarket bracket or other improvisation to help avoid a $890 bill for something seemingly so minor?
BSM dislodged by fender bender - $890 fix?
- Thread starter VA-Andy
- Start date
VA-ANDY, welcome to the forum!
I'm an insurance adjuster so fortunately I have some unique insight into this. I haven't actually examined how the CX-9 BSM modules are fastened to the back side of the bumper cover, but if it's like most vehicles, it may be secured via a plastic bracket. Most vehicles I have seen have a plastic bracket, which is integral with the bumper cover, and you cannot purchase the bracket, you have to buy the whole bumper. What I usually see is when the bumper gets hit, it flexes inward and the bsm bracket becomes partially un-sealed from the bumper.
They way they are usually mounted is simply via some sort of plastic welding or a real strong 2 part epoxy at the factory. Basically it's either melted to the bumper or glued on.
How to fix? JB Weld would be the easiest solution. You can buy it at walmart, home depot, lowes, etc. Its 2 tubes of paste that you mix together on a piece of carboard or similar material, and then apply as needed.
It's very strong stuff, supposedly it can used on engine block cracks. (urban legend)
Just be careful if you go about it this way that you don't get any on the actual computer module and I wouldn't goop it up too thick. You may want to sand the area down and remove the factory goop before applying any new material. Added thickness may reduce the effectiveness of the module. Try to match the factory thickness of whatever is there.
If JB Weld is too thick, which it usally is pretty thick, you could also buy a 2 part epoxy at home depot/lowes, as epoxy is usually a little bit thinner than JB weld and is also pretty strong.
OR, you could ask a body shop to do this for you, but since it is a "safety" system, they might want nothing to do with it out of liability reasons, in case you wreck or something.
Hope this helps.
Not sure why the dealer is telling you to buy a new module if it is just the bracket....unless the bracket is actually replaceable. Not sure.
I'm an insurance adjuster so fortunately I have some unique insight into this. I haven't actually examined how the CX-9 BSM modules are fastened to the back side of the bumper cover, but if it's like most vehicles, it may be secured via a plastic bracket. Most vehicles I have seen have a plastic bracket, which is integral with the bumper cover, and you cannot purchase the bracket, you have to buy the whole bumper. What I usually see is when the bumper gets hit, it flexes inward and the bsm bracket becomes partially un-sealed from the bumper.
They way they are usually mounted is simply via some sort of plastic welding or a real strong 2 part epoxy at the factory. Basically it's either melted to the bumper or glued on.
How to fix? JB Weld would be the easiest solution. You can buy it at walmart, home depot, lowes, etc. Its 2 tubes of paste that you mix together on a piece of carboard or similar material, and then apply as needed.
It's very strong stuff, supposedly it can used on engine block cracks. (urban legend)
Just be careful if you go about it this way that you don't get any on the actual computer module and I wouldn't goop it up too thick. You may want to sand the area down and remove the factory goop before applying any new material. Added thickness may reduce the effectiveness of the module. Try to match the factory thickness of whatever is there.
If JB Weld is too thick, which it usally is pretty thick, you could also buy a 2 part epoxy at home depot/lowes, as epoxy is usually a little bit thinner than JB weld and is also pretty strong.
OR, you could ask a body shop to do this for you, but since it is a "safety" system, they might want nothing to do with it out of liability reasons, in case you wreck or something.
Hope this helps.
Not sure why the dealer is telling you to buy a new module if it is just the bracket....unless the bracket is actually replaceable. Not sure.
Captain_Altair
Member
- :
- 2010 CX-9 GT AWD
2 years ago I bought my 2010 CX-9 GT AWD from the dealer with 20k miles. Before signing on the bottom line, we put it up on the lift at the dealer.
I saw the same damage you have - somebody backed into something on the right corner and the BSM module was swinging on its wiring harness.
It just happened to be pointing the right way (out and back at a 45 degree angle) so there were no symptoms. The BSM module had 3-4 metal tabs for
screws that held it to it's bracket that had all broken off. I refused to buy the car unless they replaced (not repaired) the module - which they agreed to.
If I hadn't noticed the damage I would have done what has already been suggested, but I would have used a marine grade adhesive caulk. The BSM module
doesn't weigh much, the caulk is more than strong enough and can easily be sliced through with box cutter if you need to replace the module in the future.
JB Weld is great stuff, but I think it is overkill in this situation.
Good Luck!
I saw the same damage you have - somebody backed into something on the right corner and the BSM module was swinging on its wiring harness.
It just happened to be pointing the right way (out and back at a 45 degree angle) so there were no symptoms. The BSM module had 3-4 metal tabs for
screws that held it to it's bracket that had all broken off. I refused to buy the car unless they replaced (not repaired) the module - which they agreed to.
If I hadn't noticed the damage I would have done what has already been suggested, but I would have used a marine grade adhesive caulk. The BSM module
doesn't weigh much, the caulk is more than strong enough and can easily be sliced through with box cutter if you need to replace the module in the future.
JB Weld is great stuff, but I think it is overkill in this situation.
Good Luck!
Fell off the face of the earth for a while, but back on the forum. Thanks very much for this suggestion. I am planning to give it a try this weekend.
My '08 CX-9 got rear ended and the right-side BSM stopped working. Turns out, the cover on the front of the BSM sensor must have fallen off in the accident and was nowhere to be found. The sensor got replaced in the insurance claim. I think the sensor price was around $600 on the insurance invoice.
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