The present investigation deals with the influence of pre-straining with or without bake hardening on the strain rate sensitivity of automotive sheet steels in typical crash conditions. The strain rate sensitivity m has been determined by means of dynamic tensile tests in the strain rate range 0.005-1000 s À1 and in the temperature range 233-373K. A bake hardening heat treatment at 170 8C for 20 min without pre-straining does not influence the m-value in comparison to the base material condition. A small pre-straining near plane strain condition, as commonly found in outer door panels, or a 10% uniaxial, plane strain and biaxial pre-straining, as typically used in formed automotive crash components, without bake hardening does not affect the m-value of sheet steels in comparison to the base material condition. Uniaxial 2% to 10% pre-straining, longitudinal or transverse to rolling direction with subsequent bake hardening, does not clearly change the m-value in comparison to the base material condition either. Small differences in the strain rate sensitivity behaviour are rather attributed to experimental scattering without real physical background.