Cruise control will not respond at all for a while when I get on the freeway (or anywhere), then it will suddenly engage several minutes after I have decided that i will have to do with out. Usually it will engage and be stuck in acceleration mode until I hit the brakes, because nothing still responds on the control stick.

After I hit the brakes, it will usually work ok for a while, but a bit sluggish at first in responding. It eventually begins working just fine and I dont have a problem.

Occasionally though, it will suddenly disengage and start over from square one again, and i will have to go thru everything again.

I have no idea what is causing this...

'94 325i

could be an electrical problem?? try disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it? :dunno

tried that, and to no avail...

bump

Is your auto or stick? You need to check the switch under the dash by the brake pedal and clutch. The clutch pedal engages this switch and the bracket that holds it probably is not aligned correctly.

Auto, I have had to change the brake light switch 2 times in the last 2 years. And lately I have been getting a "1 Brake Light Fail" a couple times lately, but it is intermittent and I dont have any lights out.

Auto, I have had to change the brake light switch 2 times in the last 2 years. And lately I have been getting a "1 Brake Light Fail" a couple times lately, but it is intermittent and I dont have any lights out.
That's a warning that the resistance through the top center brake light is out of spec. It could be as a result of an aged bulb or corroded buld base or socket. I don't think it would cause the cruise control malfunction.

Your problems might be a failure of the brake light switch, a bad speed sensor, a fault in the controller or in the throttle motor. There may also be a transmission switch that could be part of the problem. The fact that it tends to stick in accel mode makes me suspect the speed sensor, controller, or throttle motor. A flaky switch wouldn't do that.

My Bimmer is a '95 525i with 150K+miles. Have had the car 7 years and do my own mechanicking. 99% of everything works as it should. The cruise, however, sometimes will not engage. If I turn the car off and restart it, it will engage. Reading these posts, I think now that there was a temporal relationship between the tail light bulbs being out and this happening. I'll have to check this out further.
One other thing to consider...if you replace your bulbs with the brass-colored base bulbs, the car's sensors may not fully recognize it. You should always use "European" silver-based bulbs. Hope this helps. Tracker5950