BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

butmywife1

Two weeks out of warranty and coming home from a trip to Seattle, my 3er died! It completely lost power and now won't start. Had it towed to the dealer----closed until Tuesday so had it towed home. It is a sad sight.
At first, I thought it was out of gas but the computer said 67 miles left until empty. It happened on a pretty steep incline but when I backed in into someone's driveway (flat and level) it would turn over but not sustain any power. Then I remembered that while travelling about 75mph on the interstate I felt it "miss" for just a beat but thought nothing of it. Then I remembered that it "missed" a couple of weeks ago in town, too. So, It must have progressively gotten worse over time and finally given out. It has 36.8k and I had it serviced at 30k.
Any ideas out there what it could be?

Bummed,
ButMyWife

kyfdx

I wouldn't depend on the miles till empty readout. My wife's 325i fluctuates so much, that you can go from 120 miles to 60 miles left in the space of ten miles.

With hers showing 36 miles left and on level interstate, it hiccupped twice from just moderate throttle inputs.. Fortunately, I was coming up on an exit. Hiccupped again at the bottom of the ramp and again when I gave it gas to cross into the gas station.

But....if you aren't out of gas, it could be the camshaft position sensor. If it goes bad, it will put the car into "limp" mode to protect the engine. Ours went out at 8000 miles.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

If it is a major engine problem, and you are only two weeks out of warranty.. with the low mileage you have, you could ask BMW to pay for it. No four year old car with under 40K miles should have engine problems.

butmywife1

Thanks so much for the information. I'll try some gas and if it doesn't work, I'll tow it to the dealer tomorrow. I'll let you know the verdict when I find out.
ButMyWife

midtowneast

I believe the warranty is 4 years or 50 thousand miles witchever comes first, the 3 years or 36 thousand miles is for free maintenance. So you are still under if the car is not over four years old. Good luck.

butmywife1

How right you were! Yep, I didn't have 67 miles left until empty, I had zero. Plum outta gas. Thanks for that info. cause it saved me from taking it to the dealer (money and embarrassment). I swear I've taken it down to about 15 miles left on the computer and still had gas. I wonder what causes the variance in the readings?

M-east: I think you are right about the difference between the warranty and free maintenance. Thanks.

Anywho, my car is back and running smoothly and I learned something about the computer as well as my inability to rule out the obvious.

ButMyWife

riez

butmywife1... I never rely on just the trip computer. Also reset a trip odometer each time you fill up. That way you know how many miles you've gone in addition to what the trip computer says you have left to go. Then take both into account. Not to mention using the "low fuel" light. But being a guy, I love to push it to the limit. Love to see how far I can go on a tank of gas.

brave1heart

The OBC calculates the miles remaining based on the fuel consumption during the last few miles of travel and recalculates accordongly. If you've been driving on the highway and getting, say 32 mpg, and you have 2 gallons left in the tank, the OBC will show 64 miles remaining. You get off the highway and hit heavy stop and go traffic where you are getting 15 mpg, in a few minutes the OBC will drop to 30 mpg remaining (2 gal x 15 miles each). Using riez' guy logic, I have run it to 0 miles remaining and found out that it only had ~ 1/2 gal in the tank at that point. The BMW software engineers are not kidding when they say you have zero miles remaining ;o) On our A4, for example, I know that I still have just over a gallon in the tank when the OBC hits zero miles remaining.

kyfdx

The OBC also seems to be a little pessimistic right after a fill-up, extremely optimistic between 3/4-1/2 of a tank.. Then slowly returning to actual, before dropping like crazy the last few gallons. At least on our 325i.

My method... Start looking for a gas station after 400 miles, or any time the OBC shows 60 or less miles to empty.

regards,
kyfdx

kdshapiro

I fill up after the tank dips below a half. Makes me feel like I'm getting a bargain because I only fill up half the tank.

m4d_cow

theres one thing ive been wondering about, just out of curiosity, how many of you guys have more than 1 car in your garage?
a lot of people have been saying that they buy bmw 3 series as their 2nd car (or 3rd i dunno, but not the 1st), while the 1st one is for family use, the bmw is for fun purposes...

kyfdx

My wife has to drive hers to work...

shipo

We usually have two cars. Before our second child was born (and even a year or so after) we had two semi-practical manually shifted 4-Door sedans, however, when it became obvious that a guest or two meant two cars to go anywhere, we opted to go with only one fun car and one mini-van. Now however, due to title problems (since resolved) caused by our move from NJ to NH, we kept the old van when Mrs. Shipo got her second (complete with leather interior, DVD Surround Sound system, power doors and lift gate and even adjustable pedals) and are still using it as a utility vehicle. So, for the time being at least, we have three vehicles in the garage, two Dodge Grand Caravans and a 530i.

Best Regards,
Shipo

kdshapiro

Had three, now have two. The other family car seats eight. My car is also a family car, but I can't haul the big stuff in it.

blueguydotcom

The BMW is for weekends. The Protege for weekdays or for doing trips to home depot - don't wanna drive bark around in the 3.

Just me. If anyone else moves in, she better have her own car and be comfy with manual or she's only gonna drive her car.

div2

My wife drives her E39 528i to work; my work hack is a 1999 Wrangler Sahara. My 318ti Club Sport is my weekender/track rat. The E39 may yet get swapped for an X3 and I might add a used Triumph Sprint or Speed Triple to the mix-variety is the spice of life you know...

m4d_cow

just got my grey-green 330i, replacing my '03 A4 3.0. use it for daily driving all the time.
well i dont have kids i have to worry about, and my girl got her own beemer. Heck if i work hard enough i might be seeing a 911 or, hopefully a modena in my garage in a year or so, its still a dream for now though...:(
like i said, dont have much to worry about at this age lol.

bmw323is

I have a 2003 4Runner for my main vehicle (great in snow, offroad, and for hauling) and the BMW is around mostly for fun. I'm single and would probably get another car, if I wasn't limited by a 2-car garage. Ever try finding a 1 bedroom home with a 4-car garage?

erickpl

I had the Eagles on mine. I switched to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's. They are VERY nice and control very well. They are a directional tire though, so keep that in mind.

-Paul

raven

I bought my first BMW tonight (325i with 6 miles on it). I get about 10 minutes from the dealer and the car dies. I'm stuck in the middle of a busy highway and the car won't start. I then called my salesman on my cellphone and he says they will come get me right away. 45 minutes later I'm still standing there as my broken-down new car was almost hit on numerous occasions. Finally they show up, tow my car away and have me fill out paperwork in the dark for a loner car.

Question: Do I chalked this up as an incredible fluke or do I go ballistic and demand a different car?

Thanks for any advice.

-Steve

brave1heart

My '01 325i and my wife's '01 A4 1.8T. She's been home with our 2-yr old for a year or so, so I usually commute with the A4 and use the 325i for driving events. Junior get chauffered to class and the grocery store in a track-ready 325i during the week ) He's crazy about cars and recognizes them better than mommy already!! We'd like to have one more child but have no plans for bigger vehicles. Maybe a used 325iT some day. We rent a Home Depot pickup or a U-Haul van a couple of times a year if we need to haul stuff around.

div2

How's the auto-x season going? I finally got around to fitting a few new mods to the ti; I installed UUC Motorwerks' clutch pedal bushings, clutch stop v2.0, and RKII stainless steel shift knob. I really like the clutch stop; I was able to eliminate a couple of inches of wasted pedal travel. Fortunately my car doesn't have that exasperating clutch/starter interlock so there was no need to readjust or disable the switch. The SS RK II weighs over 20 oz.(!) and the increased mass makes the shift action smooth and precise. Now all that's left to do is install this bad boy:

butmywife1

Brave: That makes a lot of sense.
Riez: Great suggestion.
Kyfdx: I agree.
Raven: Your new car is out of gas.

ButMyWife

m4d_cow

as far as i know you get full tank of gas when you buy a car. I got mine w/ a full tank of premium unleaded. well in some occasions it depends on the deal though. better check it out first.
i say have them check the car for any problems and if theres any problem (mechanical, electrical, etc etc...), you deserve a different car. you can go ballistic then, since theres no way a BMW w/ only 16 miles on it can have any problems

m4d_cow

one more thing, does any of you have the HK sound system installed? its std in my 330i, but i dont really think its up to the premium quality it boasts. the std sound system in 325i is even less appealing to me.
cant really trust edmunds reviews though, as the A4's Bose isnt as good as they said (i got bose in my A4).
yet i cant replace the HU due to its..unsual size
any suggestions?

kyfdx

A brand new car is much more likely to break down than one that is a few months old. Why? It is the first time it has been driven extensively. It is pretty hard to find a problem on a car that is just sitting on the lot. They could have taken it for a 50 mile test drive to "shake it down", but you wouldn't have been happy to have a 50-60 mile car, would you?

I bought a used 325i (7600 miles) in December on a Saturday. My wife drives it to work on Monday, and it breaks down at lunch time. She freaks, and it was a pain, but they replaced a sensor, and it hasn't had a hiccup since.

Stuff happens.. It is probably something minor. Not that it matters, because it is your car now. The dealer isn't going to "take it back". Be glad it is a mechanical problem and not an accident. If you get your car smashed leaving the lot, then you really have problems.

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom

Is not that great. It's better than the base system but nothing special.

jamesspot

1. 330i ZHP 6 speed manual (me)
2. Toyota Sienna minivan (wife, family trip, shopping, baseball team car: 18k miles in one year)
3. Mazda Protege ES 4 cylinder automatic (daughter's car: reliable, somewhat sporty, inexpensive, easy to drive, good speed feedback, antilock brakes and side air bags)
4. Toyota Camry 4 cyl, 5 speed (15 year daily driver with 171k, soon to be manual shift trainer for daughter who is NOW motivated to learn to drive a shift <see car #1>, and my snow day car).

drddo

Just got my new 325xi a few weeks ago. It's my one and only, and will be for some time. In 5 short months I'll be getting married and my fiancee is currently looking at Toyota Rav4's, though I have a feeling she'll be "borrowing" my Bimmer quite often!

-drddo

brave1heart

It's been a great season - I'm 3 for 3 in class 'ES'

http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/results/2004/autocross-season.asp?cl- [non-permissible content removed]=*&headings=yes&firstlast=yes&model=yes&points- =yes

I just put in Turner Motorsport's front camber plates and that should help even more. Only running 2.1 degrees in the front but the handling advatage is very noticeable. Will have to see how the tires hold up.

I hope you'll be able to see the road with that big boy sticking over the hood )

div2

Strong work! I wish our chapter had an auto-x series, but there's simply not enough interest:( That picture shows a 1.8 liter M42 engine that was built for one of GT Technic's GT3 cars. How does 260 normally aspirated horsepower sound? My long range plan involves building a 2.0 M42 stroker engine. With the right cams and a custom Conforti chip I'm thinking that 200 hp won't be out of the question. A lot of ti guys have simply dropped a six in or fitted the Downing Atlanta supercharger, but I want to maintain the stock chassis balance as well as the OEM underhood appearance. Did I mention that I like sleepers?

erickpl

2004 Honda Civic LX - daughter's college car
2002 BMW 325xi - daily driver, trips, etc
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee - daily driver (alternate with BMW), snow car, ski trips, hauling
1997 Jeep Wrangler - total toy, around town driving, offroading, snow car, etc

-Paul

kyfdx

Did you ever wish you hadn't got the Xi, considering the two Jeeps?

creakid1

"...does any of you have the HK sound system installed? its std in my 330i, but i dont really think its up to the premium quality it boasts...i cant replace the HU due to its..unsual size
any suggestions?"

South Bay BMW in Hermosa Beach, CA, had an aftermarket system installed on one of their X5's by a local stereo shop that's specialized in European cars. This shop told me that they modify 3-series's stereo by adding amplifiers & a rear subwoofer & replacing front speakers, so the HU & steering-wheel buttons are unaffected. The total cost isn't too much higher than the HK option on the 325i & it should sound much better than the HK. I'm sure they also know how to modify the HK system, which, to me, still sounds mediocre & has too much distortion at full bass.

Our 325i is a leased vehicle, so...forget it. Besides, where's the mid-range control besides the bass & treble?

m4d_cow

true theres a lot of distortions w/ the HK, even more so in the std.

as far as im concerned the tweeters are doing fine, need replacement subs though. I like ones w/ clean sound instaed of just loud. Lexus's Mark Levinson is awesome w/ crisp clean sound, but im not sure if i can get it in stores.

so is there any brand i should consider?

gordonwd

A really bad way to start out ownership of any new car! But fortunately, this type of "hard" failure should be very easy to diagnose and fix permanently. It is those little "occasional stalling" or "unusual vibration" problems that can be very difficult to find.

At this point, I'd give your dealer the benefit of the doubt and let him fix the car for you. Repost to the forum here when you find out what the problem was.

erickpl

No, I don't wish that. We got the xi after the Grand Cherokee. Out here in CA, the gas is crazy and the GC just slurps it like crazy. The Xi is more efficient and a much nicer ride. The GC is used when we KNOW it is going to snow (or already has). The xi can handle the snow and ice just fine, but when it gets too deep, I'd rather be in the Grand.

The Wrangler is just a fun car. I use it for offroading and playing, but we CAN use it to go work.

No regrets about the xi at all. They all have their role.

For work or long drives, the xi is my preferred mode, unless I'm hauling my entire family skiing (rack on top of the Jeep and the cargo space). I take the Jeep when we go scuba diving (2 dive setups can take some space).

My only wish is that the xi's AWD was more dynamic and not a 68/32 split. I like the concept of the new xdrive.

-Paul

brave1heart

I am having trouble confirming that my alignment shop set my car's toe settings to what Turner recommended and I was wondering if you might be able to help me with that. What Turner specified was "1/8 toe-out for the fronts and 1/16 toe-in for the rears." If I understand it correctly, toe-out is a negative number and toe-in is positive. My fronts are set to 0.20 degrees total toe and the rears are set to 0.42 degrees (both positive). The factory spec for the fronts is 0.23 and 0.27 degrees for the fronts and rears respectively. The way the alignment shop explained it to me is that they take the factory-recommended setting as a base and work off of that. They think that zero total toe for the fronts is the factory-recommended setting of 0.23 degrees total toe and then they subtract from that number for toe-out or add to it for toe-in. I always thought that zero toe means I want to see zero in the total toe setting on the printout and that toe-in should result in a positive total toe value and toe-out should result in a negative value. What do you think?

div2

I think you are dead on. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but to me, 0 degrees toe should be read out as "0 degrees" period-no after the fact additions or subtractions. I think most alignment shops have trouble dealing with modified cars. They much prefer to deal with Camry Carl and Minivan Madge, people who simply want long life from the rim protectors fitted to their transportation appliances...

creakid1

the front alignment setting should be slightly toe-in for RWD & toe-out for FWD. So once the throttle is applied to power the car, the toe returns to zero. As far as for the rear toe-in setting on a RWD car...Heck, you need the extra toe-in for performance driving to counter the excess fishtail. What do you think?

In case you wonder what's that Nissan's HICAS motorized rear toe-in from the old Skyline & J30t was all about.

330volt

Hi,
I am planning to buy a used 2002 330i. Unfortunately, I can't find any of the 2002 models in the market. Any idea when do these cars come out? When does the lease on these cars get over? And can you please direct me to a suitable palce where I can find these cars?

Thanks.

hgeyer

Became available in the fall of 2001. Leases should start rolling off in the next few months.

pat

There are some links on the left side of the page that might be helpful - here are two of them: Locate a Dealer and the Search Used Vehicles

Good luck! They might be just what you are looking for.

brave1heart

The factory setting for the E46 325i with Sport package is as follows:
fronts: ~ 0.73 degrees negative camber and ~ 1/8 inch of toe-in
rears: ~ 2.03 degrees negative camber and ~ 1/8 toe-in

For performance driving with a RWD, you usually need max negative camber all around with the fronts ~ 1/2 degree more than the rears, close to zero toe all around and max caster in front. The more toe-in you have dialed in the rears, the more the car will understeer. That's one of the reasons why Turner Motorsport recommended going with 1/16 toe-in instead of the 1/8 that the car is set up with. You still need a bit of toe-in for high speed stability. I don't know how exactly the toe in the fronts affects handling but the car is set up with toe-in by the factory and you need toe-out for better handling. The drawback, of course, is that you will be eating up the inside of your front tires faster...

jbeckr

Hi,

I am the satisfied owner of a 2002 325i, sp,pp,xenon with 5-spd manual. I am happy with the car overall. It is time to replace the continental tires with 23,000 miles on them. Any thoughts as to a good replacement tire?

Thanks in advance.

aldubya

In writing about Michelin Pilot A/S tires, you stated "they are directional." Exactly what does that mean?

div2

"Directional" tires are designed to work properly when rotating in one direction only. Accordingly, such tires are marked with an arrow on the sidewall which indicates the proper direction of rotation.

jthorsen

I'm considering buying an '02 325xiT. The car has 39,000 miles but has only had 2 oil changes...I understand BMW says you only need to change the oil every 15,000 miles and it is synthetic, but this worries me. Even my Volvo with Mobil-1 gets changed every 7,500 miles under normal driving. How often do the rest of you change your oil?

Any other concerns I should have with this car? It's pretty much loaded (premium, HK, etc.) and has the sport package and optional wheels, with the original tires so they're probably due to be changed soon.

Also, was the warranty on the 02 4yr/50,000 miles? The owner thinks it was only 3yr/36,000. Did the '02 include free maintenance and for how long?

Thanks!

erickpl

2 oil changes for a 2002 at 39,000 is correct, if you follow BMW's service intervals. I'm at 70,000 with my 2002 and I am now changing every 7,500 with Mobil-1.

As for the warranty, it is 4/50,000, but the free maintenance was 3/36,000. That is probably where the previous owner is getting confused.

I have the 02 xi (non-wagon), and have only had one electrical problem (one month after buying) that was due to the computer control module. It was fixed and I've had no real problems with it. At 50,000, had my window regulators replaced (for raising /lowering the windows). You may want to check that before or right after you buy, since it is still under warranty.

Good luck with it.

-Paul

sunilb

how do you get the window regulators "checked"? I thought this was an item that either works or doesn't? Can a tech check these out to determine if they are about to go...?