OK so I was looking at my right front wheel when I notice this pointy black
plastic thing attached to an electrical wire poking out between the inner fender liner and the edge of the fender. It looks like a sharpened pencil on the end of a wire. Poked it back inside the fender liner. What the heck is that?

 

what year car? a picture would help ...

 

Brake wear sensor? Without a pic, is a hopeless guess..

 

I'm gonna guess external thermometer.

But yeah - pic needed for real help.

 

Outside air temp sensor, I like it. We should start a pool of guesses, who ever gets it right gets promoted an extra gear (ie 1st gear to 2nd gear, etc)..

 

Sorry, forgot to include the car is a 2011 Clubman S. No pic available as I'm not going behind the fender liner to fish it out again. No it is not a brake wear sensor. I said it was peeking out between the rt front inner fender liner and the edge of the fender, black plastic, shaped like the pointed end of a 2 inch long pencil and attached to a wire, in the vicinity of the fog light.
It's a sensor alright but which one?

 

It's so the NSA satellites can track you.

 

outside temp sensor looks like this



normally lives behind the grill and has a place to clip in to, holding it in place

"Factory replacement Temperature Sensor for all current R50/52/53/55/56/57/60 MINI models.
This is the sensor that is mounted behind the lower front grille and measures the outside temperature for your display."

minimania

http://new.minimania.com/part/NMX861...9-60-Cooper--S

 

Yep this guy got it

 

yep, that's it. Outside temp sensor. I will have to look for where it clips behind lower front grille. Thanks to all