[E36] Weird "Ignition" Problem/Story

[Eddie Ruvinsky <eddie.ruvinsky@xxxxxxx>]

Here's a little issue my car had with me yesterday...

Just after arriving at work, I parked my car and pulled out my key, but
guess what?  The car did not turn off!  Yes, that's right, either my car
was possessed or I had an ignition-related problem!  Additionally, once
the car was "turned off" and the key pulled out, I noticed a flickering
ABS sensor light on my instrument panel.  The flickering went away when
I put the key back in and turned the car "on half-way," so that the
instrument panel would become active again.

Well, lucky for me (I think), I work near a BMW dealership.  With the
key pulled out of the ignition, I drove the car a few blocks to the
dealership so they could take a look at the problem.  Their initial
estimate was ~$150 dollars to diagnose the problem (add possible parts,
etc.).  By the end of the day, they called me back and said that they
were still trying to trace down the issue and now I would be down ~$300
dollars.

Finally, they called to say that the problem was traced to a faulty
circuit panel on my instrument cluster (!), the part that contains the
instrument panel and sensor lights.  They said that it was
short-circuited and was passing a faulty signal to my computer as if the
ignition was still on.  The problem had nothing to do with my ignition
switch.

It looks like the total hit will be around $700 dollars!  A new
instrument cluster alone is costing me $375 there.  Moreover, since they
are replacing the cluster, they are required (by law) to put a sticker
on my door panel saying that the odometer has been replaced and log the
original miles on it.  Additionally, I could have the mileage on the new
instrument cluster coded to my original miles (currently 87k) for extra
$.

Should I get the instrument cluster for $375 bucks from them?  Also, I
don't know if it's worth coding my mileage onto the new odometer...

Eddie
'92 325i E36 (Possessed Edition)

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