BMW 7-Series Maintenance and Repair

bdr127 · November 2005

Take a cash... Don't put extra money into a lease if you don't have to. Car_man goes over this all the time: If your car is totalled tomorrow, then that cash down totally disappears, plus the cash down doesn't reduce the total amount you pay over the course of the lease, so there is really no reason to do it.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2005

Yep I'm no lease expert but I do know that putting cash into a lease is crazy for the reasons stated above---that is lost money.

sltools · November 2005

All, I agree. If I apply the cash to the write down of the Adjust Cap the only "real" benefit I would get is a small reduction in the interested charged on the financing of a reduced Cap price. The reduction in the Cap otherwise only gives me the same cash back spread monthly over 24 months due to a smaller Cap-Residual. Good point and well taken. Thanks.

S

jmindes · November 2005

I have exactly the same problem with my 2000 740il sport package. I took it to a tire shop and they pointed out that the tires had flat areas that was causing the problem. It wasn't an alignment problem. Probably because the wide rims require Z rated tires which are considered soft. I haven't replaced the tires yet but now they have some that aren't so soft. The current tires are less than 18 mos. old. Have you had someone tell you why you are having your problem.

jmindes · November 2005

I have a 2000 740il with factory installed GPS. The know that controls the navigation system is the same knob you use to set the clock. This knob, although it turns regularly, only allows me to select between two on-screen options instead of being able to scroll through all of them like it used to. Now I am unable to use the GPS or to even set my clock because I can't access anymore than two letters or numbers when I turn the knob. Anyone have any thoughts on what the problem is or how to fix it?

92735i · November 2005

I now have 220k miles on my 1992 735i.
I paid $30k in 1994 off a lease, it had 30k miles.
Repairs:
Radiator and fan clutch @150k miles
power steering hoses (both) twice in 11 years
radio (replaced with another OEM)
headliner @ 140k miles
Drive shaft @ 220k miles
Fuel pump @ 160k miles
bulbs every now and then
top-end freshen up @ 160k miles ($3000)

Car runs perfect, no open maintenance or repair items pending.

I change oil every 3k and use synthetic. I change Tx fluid and filter every other year ($120 at dealer)

Use OEM for everything and always go to dealer.

I really like the 2001 740i spt pkg but can't justify spending $30k when my car has plenty of life left in her.

Happy and loyal BMW owner.

lloyd7196 · November 2005

I love my 2001 740il and have Timesport 8000 Motorola telephone but I am concerned if its lost, stolen or breaks down, since its discountinued, it is possible to find a BMW dealer in US or other source to buy one? would like to find one as a back-up now since years later it may be harder to find

(and to answer one other posting about getting service, I was able to at Verizon, they set up a new tri-mode tele and then called that tel lost and got tel # off that tel and then put in on my BMW tel, it works great,

bdr127 · November 2005

Not only are those phones hard to find since they have been discontinued for years, but they are not 911-compliant, so the cell carriers won't activate them. You might be able to bribe them, but they aren't supposed to activate them due to the FCC regulation.

johnbob1 · November 2005

I've been told that could be the problem...the new tires are Kumho ECSTAs that are supposed to be as soft. Didn't have the problem with the ContiSports that were on the car when I bought it, but they were noisy. It's frustrating to have it happen. I'm going to drag it to the dealer to see what they say. Thanks for the info.

jmindes · November 2005

Let me know what you find out. I'm scheduled to get new tires in a few weeks.

scholder · November 2005

Speaking of weak batteries, I have to ask if anyone else thinks that a battery for a 2001 740i at $250.00 plus $150.00 installation is being a bit greedy by the dealer when I got a compatible battery installed free for $90.00? I know they have to make a profit but.....

scholder · November 2005

I recently purchased a 2001 740i and had a similar problem. Turns out that if it is from the earlier part of the year they have no retrofit harness to accomodate bluetooth but later year model does. You may want to contact BMW for info. Have you heard any good news to help?

scholder · November 2005

I feel for you as I have a 2001 740i with 62,000 and the battery has gone bad and they wanted $400.plus to replace it. What a ripoff. I found a comparable installed for $90. So far, so good. I still have a CPO until April. Any other problems with this car? I want to buy a 2001 740iL and have been tracking Ebay to search for one.

92735i · November 2005

I also owned a 2001 740iL not spt pkg but did have the BMW Spt 18" rims with ContiSportContacts.

Your symptoms are tire related. If suspension is "true" you have a tire issue, period. I had Kumhos on my 735i and they were the worst tires I ever had.

All performance tires will become noisy with wear, and will shimmy with wear. You have to adjust tire pressures accordingly to your driving habits.

Try increasing tire pressure to 38psi. See how the vibration travels throught your speed curve and adjust to where you are most comfortable.

Then buy quality All Season tires.

eric312 · November 2005

I have a 2001 740i with about 55K 50/50 highway and city miles on it.
At what point are you supposed to get Inspection 2 done? I know the manual says to wait for
indicator to light up but I usually get an oil change before the indicator lights up and
I am wondering if, when they reset the oil indicator they also reset the Inspection indicator by mistake.

Also, Service Engine Soon light went up and some of the crystal squares on the digital clock got burned out. Are these common problems? I hope they are covered by the certified warranty.

Thank you for your replies.

92735i · November 2005

Do it now.

Also have the transmission fluid flushed, yes, even at 55k miles. Also have the radiator flushed and the brake fluid flushed.

You'll thank me at 100k miles and well beyond.

johnbob1 · November 2005

I took it to the local dealer, Macon BMW, and they balanced the tires. Probably got 90% of the 50-60 mph shimmy out!! The tech said the tire shop guys use balancing weights measured in ounces and they use weights measured in grams. Just don't know. I've driven at all speeds and it seems to have solved the problem. Of course they mentioned the that they didn't know much about Kumho tires. I went to the parts window to ask for a quote on tires...$299 for the front and $326 for rears for Michelin Pilot Sports. I figure if I'm only going to get 18-20K per set why spent the extra $600. Frugal or just cheap...your call, but I'm satisfied at this point?

johnbob1 · November 2005

Good points. The sport package essentially dictates an asymetric tire package, different sizes from front to rear, so no rotation of the tires is possible. Under normal driving conditions 20K miles per set of tires is "good."

nicka1 · November 2005

Hi,
This is my first BMW.
I have just bought 740IL with 80000 Miles car seems to have no problems did change the air filter and the spark plugs can somebody suggest me over the Transmission oil and differentiol oil or any other thing should I get done on this car to keep running it smooth like it is running.Is it a good car as over all or very un relaible.
Thanks and looking for feed back.

my740il · December 2005

I own a 1995 BMW 740il with 205k for the mileage, and its going through some problems right now. When the car is started it shakes really bad, and will not stay running for long without me giving it some gas. Sometimes the car starts up, runs fine and after being driven for a while and then shut back off again, it will not start back up for up to two hours sometimes. Any suggestions on what may be causing the engine shakes and the car from not starting back up right away?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2005

Got any codes from the OBD system?

quigs · December 2005

I have a 1990 735iL (204,000 miles) that needs a new transmission and has a power steering reservoir leak. It will only be driven for fun, about 10 miles a day. Is it worth putting $2,000 into it. Or should I expect to keep putting in $200 a month into it as I've been reading.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2005

Well it's an old car that has, at least statisically, run just about as many miles as the engineers planned for. So its "natural" life is over, I mean statistically, and so you must expect maintenance costs to increase.

But with such minimal use, I don't see how you could consume $200 a month driving just 300 miles a month. You'd have to have really bad luck, or you'd be plagued by old problems you still haven't repaired.

So if the REST of the car is tip-top, then $2,000 isn't so much for such a nice ride...but if the car has other issues, this may not be a good idea because at 200K, anything can happen.

woodwrkr2 · December 2005

For anyone interested in my service issues in the first 6 months and 4,000 miles of ownership, read my post #75 in the 2006 BMW 750i/750Li forum.

bmwthad · December 2005

I WENT OUT OF TOWN FOR 4 DAYS & WHEN I CAME BACK MY 2001
BMW 740IL WOULD NOT START. I GAVE IT A HOT SHOT TO START IT. IT STARTED RIGHT UP BUT I NOTICE THAT THE NAVIGATIONAL DISPLAY SCREEN, MY TRUNK RELEAST & ALARM WOULD NOT
COMING ON. A FEW DAYS LATER THE ALARM & THE TRUNK RELEAST
MAGICALLY STARTED WORKING. BUT THE SCREEN IS STILL NOT DISPLAYING. THE DEALER SAYS THAT THE SCREEN IS GETTING SOME POWER BUT THEY ARE NOT SURE WHY IT IS NOT WORKING. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME? BECAUSE THE DEALER COULD EASILY SPEND A FORTUNE TRYING TO FIND THE PROBLEM.

vchiu · December 2005

Dear all

I am the owner of a 2000 740i I bought second hand in february 2005. I drove it about 6K miles and reached about 110K miles overall.

My main problem is that the "Check Engine" light is always on.
My early mistake is that I did believe the salesman who told me that this was an unimportant glitch and that the Engine works well.
Indeed, it went through pollution test with success, whereas the engines revs smoothly and silently. I am just a bit disappointed by the car overall performance, as I would have expected more torque and brisker speed pickup.

The BMW repair agent is unable to give me any explanation for this light. It seems his computer does not give much over standard figures. 2 Lambda sensors have been exchanged and "check engine"light reset, but it light up again after 30-50 miles.
I had the card serviced immediately after buying it (in the BMW network) and no issue was diagnosed.
Twice, the light went out itself for a few minutes, when I was going at slow speed, but it lit up again and solid.

The on-dash computer gives me too optimistic figures by a consistent 6%. My average fuel consumption must be around 18 MPG ( 14l/100km), 20% city,50% highway, 30% smaller roads.

Does anyone has a clue?

Thank you for your inputs

Mr_Shiftright · December 2005

Try posting with CAPS LOCK off. Most people find this type of posting very hard to read and skip over it.

thanks

MrShiftright
Host

bmwthad · December 2005

I went out town for 4 days & when I came back my 2001
bmw 740il car battery was died. I gave it a hot shot & it started up but I lost the display on my navigational screen, the truck release and the alarm would not work.

Magically a few days later the alarm & trunk release started working but the navigation screen still would not come on. the dealer briefly look at it & seems to
think that the screen is not bad because it has power & sight illumination. Can someone please help me. the
dealer could cost me a fortune trying to find the problem.

key2bimer · December 2005

i have 99 bmw740il, the light comes up. i know i have to get it done soon because it has 59k right now. Is there anybody know what does it require to chnage or fix when you do 60k maintain service?

cardrx · December 2005

I have an identical car 2000 740IL and know that the scroll feature to select is clumbsy and difficult. I am sure you have probably tried to click the knob in to see if that free's up the problem. My computer did hesitate often and pause sometimes for long periods of time when entering selections and it was frustrating, but not as frustrating as when it recently just died and the screen faded to black and has not come back. In addition, Navigation System FAILURE - HELP!!I have an identical car 2000 740IL and know that the scroll feature to select is clumbsy and difficult. I am sure you have probably tried to click the knob in to see if that free's up the problem. My computer did hesitate often and pause sometimes for long periods of time when entering selections and it was frustrating, but not as frustrating as when it recently just died and the screen faded to black and has not come back. In addition, the radio will play for about 2 minutes, and then it shuts off automatically. I have to double click the on\off knob and the radio comes back on, but then 2 min. or so it shuts off again....and so on.

I know the radio must be caused by the navigation system problem but my dealer has no intention of trying to solve the problem, they want to sell me a new car at best or at worst, a new navigation system for thousands. Somehow I think there must be a better and more reasonable solution.

I am afraid your small problem could be the beginning of a bigger problem like mine.

I bought the car new, paid well over $70k when all said and done and after 5 years, this system should not be failing and if so, there should be a reasonable fix available.

Sorry I couldn't help you, but I am having similar problems. Others say when you disconnect the battery or get a jump, that is what causes the problem, but I did not have any electrical issues that could have caused this.

I recently brought it to the dealer to fix a low coolant level situation, brakes (front and back) a suspension problem, wipers, brake light and oil service (over $4k) and he tells me another $2,600 or more if I want the Nav system replaced.

HELP

scholder · December 2005

How about checking on this for me with (2) 2001 740i models, one with 3/00 production date and one with 12/00 production date. This is concerning the telephone interface issue.

tigs · December 2005

Hi everyone, I have a 1994 E38 730i and it has just one tiny problem: every so often the brake lights stick on. It's not the switch, that's been checked and on the diagnostics machine no fault comes up. The local dealer wants me to pay £75 plus VAT per hour to have an apprentice check it out until he finds something or nothing. Not a hope of me agreeing to that one. Anyone had a similar problem?
Thanks

vypurr · December 2005

I paid $400 a few months ago for a pump. 3 days ago my 1990 735il would crank but would not start could it be my fuel pump again?

vypurr · December 2005

my bmw cranks but won't start.I'm wondering if anyone have any suggestions

spersels · December 2005

I have almost exactly the same problem. I've had some kind of electrical drain that has caused three battery replacements in the last 5 years. I have a 2001 740i with 105000 miles. All the miles are highway. The battery started failing again a month ago, the trunk softclose stopped working, the trunk open warning went off as soon as the car started moving, and the car alarm would not engage properly - but the navigation screen continued to work! I brought the car into the shop (Prestige BMW in Ramsey NJ) for a regular service. They replaced the battery, performed a normal service, fixed a number of other items and detailed the car. When I started the car on pickup, THE SCREEN WAS BLANK but backlit. This was rather upsetting. This was a GLARING issue and one they should have caught before I drove all they way out to pickup the car (it's a 45 minute ride between my house and Prestige BMW). My service representative (Jason) was very apologetic (obviously) and suggested the I drive the car for a couple of days and perhaps it would clear up on it's own.

On my way home, about 20 minutes into the ride, the screen started to flicker and came back partially. It was shifted to the right with a blank non-backlit strip down the middle. It also had lots of wiggly lines flitting across the screen. Over the next couple of days the wiggly lines stopped and I was left with a split screen (shifted right) with a 1.5 inch blank strip down the middle.

I brought the car back to Prestige BMW the following week. After a couple of days of diagnosis work they called me back with the BAD NEWS. THE DISPLAY WAS SHOT. However, that is not really the BAD news. The BAD news is that THEY decided there was nothing THEY did to cause this. It was all just an unhappy coincidence.

To compound that, the replacement part is $2000 and the labor quoted at between $200 and $300. The initial deal they offered was for me to pay them their cost ($1500) and theyd pickup the labor. There is NO WAY that this part just coincidentally happened to fail while it was in their shop. To me, it doesnt matter whether or not they know what they did to cause the failure, they should still be liable for the damage. Im going with the preponderance of the evidence  and I dont believe in coincidences.

After walking up the management chain a bit, I got them down to $1200 (my cost) to replace the screen. This is basically splitting the full retail cost down the middle. Although a closer look will reveal that they are eating the labor (~$150 their cost) and paying $300 of the $1500 cost of the part. They pay $450, I pay $1200.

The fact that bmwthad has almost the same problem makes my case stronger. I strongly believe there is a FLAW IN THE DESIGN of the 2001 740 that makes the navigation screen vulnerable to battery voltage and current fluctuations. If I can find other similar issue in 10 minutes of searching on the web (Thanks bmwthad) then BMW has to have seen this problem. At a minimum, there should be a service bulletin that helps the technician avoid this failure when changing the battery and perhaps even a recall to fix the problem.

And I still think they should have replaced the part a no cost to me.

Im interested in what others think about this and welcome any recommendations regarding how to pursue a more equitable resolution.

thubeav · December 2005

Clue: I recently spent a great deal of energy, time and $ on the check engine light in my 2000 X5. The oxygen mass flow sensor (something) was finally replaced and fixed this problem. I could not get an emission sticker and therefore could not renew my tag with this light showing.
It took a very good private mechanic and his mechanic buddy's shop to figure this out.
Ouch. But all better now.
I still would not drive another make.
Thubeav

tozie · December 2005

I own a second hand BMW 740I with which has 89,000 miles on it. the service engine light just came own. I was told after the 60,000 mile service, that the next service was 100,000 miles by the BMW agent. If this true or I have to get the service done at 90,000 miles to get the service light swtich off

tozie · December 2005

Yougot an awesome deal. I bought a black 2001 740 I with 70,000 miles on it for $24,000 back in march.

I now have 85 on it and I have had no problems with it. The only annoying this is the cup holder.

How many miles intervals do you change your oil? 5K or more?

sooner842002 · December 2005

My 1994 740 iL transmission just quit (103,000 miles on the car). It has been explained as a problem with a ball that moves to a different place for drive than reverse. When I go into drive, it is like the car can't decide whether to go back or forward, so it just goes nowhere. Works OK in reverse.

Dealer and usual repair shop say replace. Local transmission shop thinks a rebuild will work.

Any thoughts?

Mr_Shiftright · December 2005

No! This is a common problem and USUALLY a "valve body repair kit" can fix this---it replaces all the little springs and detent balls in the valve body. A tedious job but often repairs the problem and a lot cheaper than a new/rebuilt transmission.

elight · January 2006

I had the same problem; a Version 25 (V25) software CD has to be loaded & installed where the Nav CD goes. This CD is a spacial tool that has been sent to all BMW dealers. V26 is also now out.

mimeo · January 2006

mr shiftright or others,

I want to replace the brake pads on my 2001 740i w/ 69000 miles. I do not care for the local BMW dealer and am looking for an independent in Memphis. Can I use any premium aftermarket pad or is the OEM pad superior? Suggestions? price paid for job?

lpdavis · January 2006

See message #343. Similar problem with 1993 740iL.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2006

I think any premium German pad would be fine. Be prepared however to replace the rotors if they don't meet minimum thickness or are roughed-up. You don't want to be cutting rotors on a car of this size and power. If you needed four pads/four rotors you could easily hit $1,500--just pads, maybe $300 per axle something like that..

ps8318 · January 2006

I have the exact problem witht he radio and nav system. Wondering if anyone has sourced this out and found a solution?

kdubbs · January 2006

hello all. I purchased my 740i about 6 months ago.
And I noticed that it had 3 garage door opener buttons.
Unfortunately there was no manual with the car.

So I have to use my Genie Garage door opener (which of course is bulky and messes up the over all interior look of the car).

I was planning to purchase a manual, but in the meantime can anyone help? THANKS

mimeo · January 2006

You can download or view a .PDF version of the owners manual in the "owners" section of the BMW site. Much easier/ cheaper than buying manual.

Thanks to Mr Shiftright for brake pad info!

bdkinnh · January 2006

>"You don't want to be cutting rotors on a car of this size and power."

You mean cutting them below minimum, right? As long as the rotor is within spec, do you think there would be a problem with grinding them?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2006

I'm not even sure BMW allows you to cut rotors on that model no matter what....I suppose you could clean them up a little of course but if I recall there is no cutting allowed even if you make it to spec. You'll need to double check that but I personally wouldn't cut rotors on a car like a 7 series unless I really needed to be economical (and I've had to do things like this now and then).

jmindes · January 2006

My problem is that the knob to use the navigation system doesn't fully work and I don't think it is a mechanical problem. Are you saying that the software CD you referred to is able to fix some of the problems we are having with the Nav computer?

BMW 7-Series Maintenance and Repair

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