BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

eman6628

I have the auto dimming mirror on my 04, 330. I also thinks it is a bit too dim. I never gets high beam glaring from it, I really wish the side mirrors have that feature too!

notinsane

When my power steering on my 2001 325i suddenly went out on a road trip, I thought it wasn't a big deal. Although the steering wheel was difficult to turn at slow speeds, it wasn't unsafe and I planned to take the car in for service once I returned to my home city the next day. Well, the next day, when I was about 20 miles from home and cruising down the highway, suddenly there was a grinding noise, a pop, and white smoke started billowing from the engine compartment. No warning lights had come on to indicate a problem, and aside from the power steering outage, there was nothing wrong with the car. I immediately pulled into the emergency lane and called for help. A tow truck came and took my car to a BMW dealer not too far from my house.

The BMW dealer tells me that when the power steering went out, the power steering pump kept turning but had no lubrication and, over time, tore itself apart, sending the pulley or other parts of the pump flying around the engine compartment, damaging the water pump and the radiator. This, in turn, deprived the engine of coolant and rapidly destroyed it. Again, I had no warning of any kind that this was taking place until it was too late. Of course, after the sudden problem I looked down and saw the temperature needle pinned in the red, but I don't normally check the temperature gauge while things seem to be operating fine.

The dealer says that even though my car is still under warranty, the warranty is inapplicable because I should have pulled the car over as soon as the power steering went out. The cost of repairs is $10,000! Youch! I cannot afford this. Has anyone heard of such a problem? Do you think the warranty should cover the damages? How was I supposed to know that a simple power steering outage could cascade into such a catastrophic problem? Thanks for your suggestions.

teach3

div2 -- thanks, that helps

here is another question for you or anybody with this issue: I have a new 330i with only 1k miles on it. The problem is this: it has started to turn a bit cold here (about 40 degrees farenheit) and I have noticed something new -- for about 10 minutes after I turn on the engine a noticeable (but not heavy) amount of exhaust (clearish to white, no smell) from the rear of the car. After about 8-10 minutes it goes away - part of this could be due to the colder weather (which is probably why I did not notice it earlier) -- but I wonder if part of it is also due to engine congestion of some kind. It could, of course, be normal for an engine such as this. But I am a bit apprehensive because I have a trip of 4k miles coming up in the next month. Any thoughts -- either to assure me its ok or to tell me to get it checked out, would be appreciated.

kdshapiro

notinsane - you have my sympathies. BMW and every manufacturer probably has an escape clause to cover this type of damage. If your engine, and components in the engine compartment need replacing I can only imagine a huge bill. Have you tried to get some additional estimates?

Good luck.

div2

The "smoke" is probably just condensation in the exhaust system. As long as all of your fluid levels are fine I wouldn't worry about it.

jaj

I would say there is no way you should have to pay for the repairs. As long as you're still under warranty BMW should cover the whole thing, especially in light of the absence of any warning lights. I would go to the wall on this one- take it as far up as you need to. Good luck.

shipo

There is a very simple way of determining if you have the "auto-dimming" mirror; twist the "Clown Nose" (try both directions) and see if the mirror tilts. If it does, you have a "Manual-dimming" mirror. ;-)

I have had the auto-dimmers on both of my Bimmers, and have never had a problem with the brightness of the head lights (even high beams). Just another data point.

Best Regards,
Shipo

alibajalajaula

Your're absolutely right.Yesterday I picked my car from the dealership and had asked them to check it out . They indicated it was not equipped. They indicated it was an option, but not one available separately, but as part of the ZPP. BTW, there's no dot, no hole...thanks for your input.

shipo

I know that this isn't going to be too much help, but here is my take. Even before I finished reading your second sentence I found myself thinking, "Yikes, if he had a fluid loss and keeps driving it, that pump is going to have a problem." Unfortunately it did. :-(

Were I in your shoes, I would escalate the issue within the BMW service hierarchy and see if you can get any relief, however, I wouldn't be too optimistic.

Best Regards,
Shipo

kyfdx

See? Just leave easy questions about auto-dimming mirrors to me.. and let shipo handle the hard stuff, like exploding power steering pumps..

Anybody else with questions? I can tell you how to find your spare tire.. (I just look down).

regards,
kyfdx

shipo

;-)

div2

There's probably a statement in the owners manual along the lines of: "Do not drive your BMW if you experience a failure of the power steering system." Like Shipo, I wouldn't expect much help from BMW on this one.

erickpl

Cool...

Just hope you mean cars w/o runflats! It'd be funny for somebody to go looking for a spare only to find out there isn't one.

-Paul

ed_ph413

I'm having the same problem now that it's getting cold. The car will only start on the second or third try. It happened last year and they couldn't find a code. Very frustrating.

teach3

yes, it does look like steam -- so its motors away to california -- thanks much

dhanley

I'd look for specific language in the manual telling you to not drive in this sort of situation.

If it doesn't exist, i think BMW owes you an engine.

I think the lack of warning lights is also a strong argument for replacement.

I'd contact the better business bureau, and if that fails, an attorney. But try to be nice but persistent.

dave

paule

Anyone actually try to take the spare tire out of the well? I have the sport package so it's a 17" tire but it's kind of tricky.
You can't just "tilt" the tire and pull it out. It will catch on the plastic trim. You actually have to lift the whole tire up about halfway and then tilt it up to get it out. Too much time on my hands.............

kyfdx

I agree... too much time... I looked at mine when I bought it.. to make sure it had the alloy wheel (bought it used).. That is about it.. If I get a flat, I'll call AAA.

Actually, I like new owners.. otherwise, I'd never learn anything about my car.. keep up the good work...lol

paule

BMW is kind enough to provide new owners with a little jewel. You get a DVD that explains multiple functions about the car.
One neat little parlor trick is to use the remote to unlock the car and then press and hold the unlock "button" on the remote a second time. After holding it down for a second or two all of the windows and the moonroof will open. Just the thing to impress all your friends and the neighborhood kids.

erickpl

scare somebody who's standing near it.

-Paul

alibajalajaula

The other trick: once you've opened all windows & sunroof, you may as well closed them at once by sticking the key into the driver's door knob, turning it 90° counterclockwise, holding it and...voilà!

kyfdx

My ten-year-old is going to be stoked when I show him all of this stuff!!

div2

I was helping conduct a Law Enforcement Diver Training School so my ten year old managed to score a few rides with instructors. His favorites were an E46 M3, a 330iZHP, a 325ti Club Racer, and a Viper GTS. Talk about stoked-he's ruined for life; my wife loves it when he asks her why she drives the 5er so slow...;)

paule

That's too funny!

Get him in a Hennesey Viper and he'll really be ruined.

dschek

rascale,

sorry this is not on bmw topic, but I found that

in july you complained about the narrow seat of

your 2004 accord. If I had to describe my exper.

with it I would had chosen exactly the same words!

Did you find a solution to this ?

Thanks!

cargal2

Hi,

 

I just adopted a pre-owned 325xi wagon with a sports package, etc. It had 12,800 miles. When the saleperson drove it down, scrolling through the stalk gauge indicated that the car was getting 23.5 mpg. I reset it. My driving speed has averaged about 40 mph.

 

I'm gulping because the gauge is now showing between 15 - 17 mpg. The gas arrow is going down quickly (a tad now, under half-way), despite the fact, it's been only driven about 92 miles.

 

What can be done to improve gas mileage? I'm being easy on the pedal. Could tires being underinflated affect gas mileage?

 

Does the sports package on the awd also impact gas mileage?

 

I mean, I was hoping to see better mileage with this car than a big SUV, or even a Hummer.

 

Oh, what does one do when your windows completely fog up, and the front defogger isn't clearing it. Also, why when I have the auto-climate control on, is the snow-flake lighting up?

 

Thanks from this newbie!

rhmass

We have a '02 325xiT and have found the gas mileage has been worse than any 3 series we have had. Other than in a sustained highway driving at 70 mile/h which we would get about 24-25/gallon, we usually get about 18-19 in combined city/highway driving. I think the AWD system with its additional weight may account for that. Our car is now over 18,000 miles and the gas mileage hasn't improved as one may expect.

In terms of fogging up windshield, you could either manually adjust all air directed to defog position or/and turn on the AC. The auto climate control directs and distributes air from a predetermined level which does not take into account of the specific conditions of the weather you have.

dhanley

Is that really the mileage to expect with AWD??

 

I virtually always get 30+ highway in my (RWD) 328i, sometimes significantly better.

 

Tuning on ac and recirc is the best way to defog.

kyfdx

Not enough mileage for a real-world mileage test...

erickpl

The sport package on the xi's is only cosmetic, not even the shocks are different from the standard 325i I believe. The tires are a bit narrower than a regular 325 as well.

 

My mileage on my 325xi (non-touring) is generally about 24 combined town/highway. My 2002 also has nearly 80,000 miles too.

 

-Paul

cpick

The car that is. I have a 2000 323ci that I love to drive. The car just does it for me. It has a great aftermarket stereo. I buy cars to keep for at least ten years, so whats the problem?

 

This car has had problems since new. 10+ trips to the shop for rattles, new fuel pressure regulator (no start at first try problem), cracked oil filter housing, faulty tranny software. AC popped a leak, etc. Probs were fixed by about 15,000 mile point. Car went to 48,000 miles pretty trouble free after that but then-no reverse and a new tranny needed-four months out of warrantee. BMW did step up for some of that bill.

 

What would you do? I hate to spend $$ to get another car that I dont like but how far can one be pushed?

rhmass

First of, I have to tell you I am speaking from a biased view on this matter as someone who had kept our first BMW for 16 years and now still have one '94 along with the '02 xiT.

I think you should definitely keep this car. Reasons being:

You love to drive this car (most important factor)

All the problems other than the tranny were rectified within the warranty period without money out of your pocket. Even the Tranny problem had been paid for partially by BMW. You practically now have a car potentially trouble free for the next few years. At least you can wait for a couple years until the new model is out to evaluate if the new one will excites you more in driving. Keep it for at least a couple more years is my opinion.

paule

I'm not sure I'd trust the computer totally on what you are getting for gas mileage. You should fill the tank, record the mileage, drive it until you get below 1/4, and fill up again. Divide the miles driven by the gallons used and check that against the computer. Do that for a couple of tanks and you'll have your answer as to your true fuel mileage. You can then compare that to what the computer says to decide how accurate it really is.

It also sounds like you're doing mostly city driving if you're averaging 40 mph. The EPA rates a 325xi (sedan) at 19 mpg city. I would hazard to guess the wagon would be slightly less.

I don't think 17 mpg would be unreasonable for a xiT with mostly city driving.

Tires being underinflated will affect fuel mileage to some extent. I would not think it would be drastic (4-5 mpg) though.

One last point, I don't own a Hummer but I would be surprised if they get over 10 mpg in the city.

Oh yeah, Hummers get hit on JD Power surveys for poor fuel mileage from their owners. Go figure. Who would have thought a 7000 pound vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick would get poor fuel mileage!

cargal2

reports from "The Little Red Wagon":

 

Combined City & Highway so far for two tanks of gas is: 20 mpg. Seems like every 200 miles, I have to fill the gas tank. I could well go over that in my '98 Saaaab.

 

Edmunds says that the 325 is supposed to drive "rock-solid" and hustle around those curves. Still wondering when this is going to happen.

 

Instead, I've been getting a lot of shimmying from the car -- almost feels like wind-buffeting -- on the highway, and as the week progressed even lower gas mileage. Tonight, I've noticed tons of brake-dust. Have to watch those curves, so the car doesn't run away (as it tried) into the outside of the curve. Not totally impressed with the brakes, yet, either.

 

Have changed the tire pressure several times to fix this problem. Controversy as to what the pressure should be, varying between 32/38, 32/32 (dealer), 35/35, or 35/41.

 

Dealer did not program the door locks in advance of the delivery. Went to another dealership this week, who wanted me to pay for what should have been done -- about $50, plus adjustment to the tilt-down rear mirror, etc.

 

Dealer who sold me the car will not give me an appointment until the 27th, and no loaner, even if I drive the car up the 45 minutes to an hour to them. I'm also expected to get there early.

 

There's supposed to be snow on Sunday/Monday. Now, what I'm supposed to do?

 

I'm hoping this bimmer, isn't a bummer.

 

P.S. Tonight, I went to a tire place to identify the shimmying. They took the wheels off to check the balancing, and a possible bad rim. Nothing. Maybe, it's an alignment. Cost $33 for something the original dealer should be taking care of, NOW(!)

 

Oh, for the gas mileage? One service person admitted to me the AWDs can get around 15 mpg/city.

 

 After months of trying to pick a car, I'm disappointed. I even enjoyed the Audi I took home for a couple of days more than this. Now, even with the 17 inch wheels, that Audi quattro wagon took those curves, like a bimmer baby should!

 

  

<sniff> Can you help fix this little red wagon, please?

paule

Huhhh? How can you be filling up every 200 miles? You have a 14.5 gallon tank + 2.1 gallons in reserve. That works out to 13.8 mpg.

 

20 mpg in combined city/highway doesn't sound too terrible to me if you're doing over 1/2 of your driving in the city.

 

Anyways, the owner's manual states 33 psi front/38 psi rear for an xi with 17" tires at max load. I'm assuming you're not driving at max carrying capacity so you should be able to drop your tire pressure by a couple of psi but I'd keep the relative difference the same. 35/41 is definitely too high. Verify the correct tire pressure for your car by looking at the sticker on your driver's door jamb.

 

Alignments and tire balancing/rotation are generally not covered under warranty so it doesn't surprise me that you would be charged for those services.

 

Also, you have a wagon so you very well may see some wind buffeting that you wouldn't necessarily see in a sedan. The "wind buffeting" that you feel on the highway may very well be exactly that!

dhanley

If i were you i'd be terribly upset.

 

It sounds as if your dealer, to put it mildly, sucks. I also have to wonder if your car was a returned "problem car" and that's why the dealer is being unresponsive.

 

OTOH, did you notice the poor handling/braking during the test drive?

 

I'd make noise, ASAP to BMW regional/national. There may be a time window in which they will be more likely to either fix the car or take it as a return. Unfortunately, they tend to do so more on verifiable problems, such as parts not working, than on poor mpg/handling.

 

The most you could hope for i think is to get them to take the car minus some use fee.

 

dave

ek01

I have a couple of nagging questions and was hoping someone could provide help. My car is a 2002 330i with about 76,000kilometers on the odometer. 1) The first problem is when I am backing up, the brakes squeal. This does not happen when I apply the brakes in the forward gears. 2) Second problem is that when I am listening to AM radio and at the same time the rear defogger is turned on, there is terrible static on the radio. No such problem on FM or the CD.

kdshapiro

There's something wrong. I drove both the wagon (not the xi though) and 325. In the wagon I couldn't even tell it was a wagon, handled almost like a sedan. Both the gas mileage in the wagon and sedan were extremely good in a mix of city and highway driving. You're getting worse mileage than a G35x. But in all fairness gas mileage starts to dramatically increase after the 1000-2000 mileage mark.

 

Did you ask the dealer if they have a loaner policy? I've never heard of a BMW who doesn't. You're in NJ cargal? The major BMW dealers, Open Road, Park, etc give loaners.

 

As for everything else, I would contact BMWNA and see if they can help. What dealer did you buy the car from?

dl7265

My former 1999 323 Sport got 23 every tank for 4 years in mixed driving. Yes im that ar to figure every tank, just habit. I got about 30 on one road trip and i think like 18 once.

 

cpick, never seen a aftermarket stereo in a E46.

 

DL

dhanley

On one road trip i kept to the speed limit, bit used the throttle to merge/pass. I got 36.1 mpg! Another trip i got 35 going from flagstaff to albuquerque.

 

This is in my '97 328i

 

I will be very dissapointed if BMW has reduced MPG.

 

dave

erickpl

Man, that is one straight drive on I40. Nice having 75 mph speed limits though.

 

-Paul

dhanley

Yeah, it's straight, but nice.

 

Santa Fe-Taos Ski Lodge is a phenomenal road, though.

 

dave

325ciguy

After owning this car for about 9 months with a clunk noise coming from the rear-end every time I stopped the car, it finally got silenced today. I took it in for a normal service interval to Tom Williams BMW here in Birmingham and they re-programmed the computer that is associated with the transmission. It now shifts into first gear silently. They did a good job and I am really happy about the silent shift.

ponytrekker

Steptronic clunk. Famous defect.

satish1

Three weeks ago I purchased my very first BMW. It is a 2005 330i. I got most of the options (sports, premium, nav etc). A week after my purchase I noticed that the steering wheel shimmered to the right and then left when ever I came to a complete stop. The car also pulled to the right. I took the car to the service department and they said the right tire was low of pressure. The shimmer in the steering wheel isn't as bad now but I still feel the right and left movement in the steering wheel and the car still pulls to the right. Any ideas what else could be wrong.

kdshapiro

The car shouldn't "pull", meaning if you let go of the steering wheel on a straight road the car will go to the right or left.

 

That is different from "tramlining" where the car will follow the grooves of the pavement. The 3 series with low profile tires seem a bit more sensitive to this condition. Unfortunately this is the trade-off to the super-duper handling.

 

If your car is tramlining there is little that can be done and you do get used to it and compensate. If your car is pulling the dealer should be able to diagnose and fix that condition ASAP.

webby1

Do you get any vibration at high speed when applying the brakes gently?

Also, do you know how long was the car on the lot?

Regards

Webby

04pilot

Thanks for the advice. The shimmering of the steering wheel definitely sounds like tramlining as it doesn't happen all the time only on bad road surfaces The car does pull to the right when on a straight road - so I will get that looked at again. Last night I drove my best friends 2004 530i and his steering wheel handled very differently than my 330i. His steering was loose (more luxury than sporty - I guess). My steering wheel requires a little muscle. That's normal right?

04pilot

No vibrations at high speed. I wouldn't even call the left and right movement of the steering wheel vibrations really - more like a small jerk - kind of like driving over a rail road line and the wheels are following the grooves of the road. The car was on the lot for about 2 days.

kyfdx

Your car shouldn't pull to the right.. But, with the sport package, as you brake at low speeds, the summer tires will tramline and you will feel the wheel move in your hand as the tires follow the grooves in the road.. Also, heavy steering is normal on a 3-series sport package, as well..

 

The pull to the right may be a tire pressure issue... That would be the easiest thing to fix, as well..