BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

unboringuy · August 2001

For whatever it's worth, I have a 330xi, with sport package, and I do not have the titanium headlight trim. I'm not sure I really care that much, since my car is jet black and the black trim looks very nice with it. But my 2 cents says that the trim either should be there on all or none of the 2001.5 cars. Sounds like a BMW quality control issue to me. By the way, mine was produced in June 2001 and delivered in July.

mainsail2 · August 2001

Our dealer in St. Petersburg told us that our 2001 325i on order since July 13 is scheduled to arrive in port (Jacksonville, FL), August 31st. He did not know the name of the ship, but we know that BMW usually uses Wallenius and that the car was shipped from Bremerhaven. We went to the Wallenius schedules and found three ships scheduled to arrive in Jacksonville, but none on August 31st. The arrival dates noted on the Wallenius web site are: August 26th, September 3rd, and September 5th. My question is: How accurate are the arrival dates posted on the Wallenius schedules? Is it possible that a ship scheduled for the 26th to come in as late as August 31st, for example?

boelke · August 2001

Driving home from work the AC was not cooling the interior as it normally would and I saw the temperature gauge slowly creeping up to red. Fortunately we don't have heavy traffic where I work and managed to get home without the temp hitting the red mark. I popped the bonnet and lo and behold the aux fan was not working. Switched AC on and off and no dice. I thought I was safe from the aux fan problem as they replaced the fan before I drove the car from the dealership. It just got me that this may have been a problem that I never noticed since we don't have stop and go traffic in NC. Got BMW roadside to tow my car to the dealer (no waits) and they got to me in 25 minutes. What a way to go... long weekend and no car.... ARRRRGH. No rentals available... called dealer and got a 2001 Galant as loaner... Dealer was very accommdating... Took some time to prep the loaner but I got to look at the Z8, M3 and M5 they have in the showroom. That Z8 is one awesome piece of machinery.

Sorry board I just needed to vent some steam as the incident occured at the wrong time.

denright · September 2001

I also have a June 2001 330xi (PP, CWP, CD, manual, steel gray, gray leather) and it has the titanium headlight trim.

It looks great on the steel gray.

I LOVE this car.

carpevino · September 2001

I finally got my gas pedal replaced and what a difference. I can't beleive the smooth acceleration and what I've been missing. I highly recommend it to anyone with this problem.

I also got the alarm installed(talked the dealer down $100)and was wondering is there a way to lock the car without the alarm. I travel on a ferry to Connecticut frequently and too many alarms go off from the movement of the boat. Makes for an embarrassing announcent on the PA system.

daswolf · September 2001

There is a method used to de-activeate the motion sensor while activating the alarm by using the remote key. It is described in the Owner's manual under the alarm section. It allows the vehicle to be locked and the alarm to be to be turned on but without the motion and tilt sensor. I beleive they actually list using a ferry as on of the times you may want to do this.

Sorry, I don't have the manual handy at the moment.

mschukar · September 2001

Check out http://www.bmwusa.com/virtual/eurodeliv/overview.html

It sounds like you need to order the car 3 months in advance and it takes 6-8 weeks for delivery from Europe.

My wife and I are thinking of doing this. Flights from Wisconsin to Munich are less than $500. Unfortunately, I don't think we want to go to Germany in the winter, so April might be the earliest we would go:-( Maybe I can use the delay to talk my wife into upgrading to a 330!

-Murray

shipo · September 2001

Thanks for the info, my wife and I may see you there come April.

Best Regards,
Shipo

pat · September 2001

From the Wall Street Journal and Edmunds.com's Public Relations Director:

We're looking into how small sport sedans are taking over the market. Seems that high fuel prices and the teetering economy have more people looking at smaller cars. But they don't want econoboxes! We're looking at the likes of the 3-Series BMW, C-Class Mercedes and Jaguar X-Type.

The ideal example for my story is someone who recently traded in a big luxury car for a smaller one--like a 7-Series for a 3-Series, or a big Jag for the new small one. Any help is much appreciated! Please post your comments in the Talk to the Press discussion or send them directly to jfallon@edmunds.com. Thanks as always.

Note - responses should be made only to the links provided above. Jeannine Fallon, the PR director, won't see them if you reply here.

Thanks!

Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board

dparis1 · September 2001

I have 25,000 miles on my Conti Sports tires
330i - sports package

Fronts- 225/ 40 ZR 17
Back - 225/ 45 ZR 17

The dealer said this is impossible to have 40 on the front. Does anyone have these matching numbers on their new 330i.
Going to the dealer on tuesday

streetracer · September 2001

I saw an E46 3 series in a terrible accident yesterday. The car crushed up against a tree head on, about 30 feet off the road on some one's front lawn. The angle of the car suggested it had gone off the road, over some stone work and an embankment. The road was straight and dry with light traffic. They had lots of police, fire, and ambulance there, and driver was still in the car. Any thoughts on what might have happened?

There was a miatia without any damage pulled over. I am thinking maybe he was coming up on it fast, swerved to go around it, and lost control. The driver looked relatively young and alert, so ruled out heart attack, lost of consciousness, or intoxication.

The damage didn't look severe enough for him to be traveling so fast, that it would be easy to loose control in emergency maneuver or that hard braking wouldn't have slowed down in time.

shipo · September 2001

Why would you want to put 225/40-R17 on the front and not (what I assume to be) the standard 225/45-R17 tires? The tires with the 40% section width have a somewhat smaller diameter so not only might they look funny, they might mess up the balance of the car. If you want staggered rubber, go with what the later 330i rubber (225/40-R17 front and 245/40-R17 rear), however, you would need to buy new rear wheels.

Best Regards,
Shipo

dparis1 · September 2001

I have had the car since october 2000. Just realized that the tires are different sizes.
225/40 - ZR 17 on front and 45's on back.
25,000 miles on them and replacing them next week.
These were the original tires that were on the car when I picked it up at the dealer.
Can I use the mix up from the dealer to get a better deal on new tires(45's)?

Thanks for the help.

shipo · September 2001

OOPS! In my post I stated that the later 330i SP front rubber was 225/40-R17, sorry, it is actually 225/45-R17.

As far as getting a better deal because of the mis-match, HMMMM, I doubt it. You are probably better off getting a complete new set from TireRack (where tires in the 225/45-ZR17 size range from $106 to $217) than any other source. If you go back to your dealer, I suspect that even if he (she?) cuts you a "Deal", you will probably not do as well, but it is worth a shot. Keep us posted (pun intended).

Best Regards,
Shipo

dparis1 · September 2001

I have the conti sports right now.
Going for the same tires. Anything better on the market than conti's
Dealer quoted $225

shipo · September 2001

Just so happens that I still have the Tirerack.com web page open, the ContiSport Contact tires 225/45 ZR17 tires are $150. However, you must then have them mounted at your own expense, usually between $15 to $25 each. You might also want to call around your area and see what a local Continental dealer will sell you a set for.

You might also want to consider a tire like the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 which is an all-season tire available in the 225/45 HR17 size. These tires are $168 at Tirerack.com and should last at least 35,000 to 40,000 with only a minimal loss in traction.

Best Regards,
Shipo

eug · September 2001

I saw some messages a couple a days ago about miss shifting from 1st to 2nd. It's happened to me 3 or 4 times now, each time when the engine is first started and at low speeds, from 1st to 2nd. I've never have this problem otherwise. Each time, I could swear I have it in all the way, but the shifter get kicked out of my hand as I release the clutch. I thought it was my falt at first, but now I think there is a problem with the tranny. Has anyone else noticed this?

dparis1 · September 2001

Thanks for the info.
WIll let you know what happens.

roc50mg · September 2001

I am the one who originally posted about the missed shifting from 2nd to 3rd. I'm a novice to manual tranny, but i was doing okay until the other day when i mis-shifted 3 or 4 times in a row over 15 mins. I wasn't doing that before, but all of a sudden it started to happen. I vould have sworn that I put it into gear okay. I haven't quite figured out what I did wrong, but later today when i go driving i'll see if I can figure it out.

keks · September 2001

I just got my 325xi last friday and it's a beauty. any suggestions on how i can keep it looking new? (i.e. cleaning the dashboard, protecting the leatherette upholstery, carwashing, etc.)
i also wanted to add a dealer installed alarm. any idea how much it would cost?

brave1heart · September 2001

After you've locked the car, pressing the middle button (the one with the BMW logo) on the remote ONCE switches off the motion detector; pressing it a second time switches off the tilt sensor. I am guessing that the tilt sensor makes the alarm go off when a wave rocks the ferry. Try it - it worked on my car.

akinder · September 2001

I was reading in AutoExpress (an online and print UK car mag) that a new SMG (semi-manual gearbox) is being offered on 2002 M3's and on BMW worldwide site they say in the web special that the SMG will be available in the 325 and 330 in Europe. Anyone know about the availability of this GB in the US? Anyone know of any other major changes to the 2002 models (esp. the coupe)? Apparantely the sedan models get revised styling and the coupes/convertibles get a stiffer chassis and other stuff.
Andrew

carpevino · September 2001

Thanks daswolf and braveheart. I asked my service advisor when I picked up my car but he didn't have a clue. I assumed it wasn't in the manual. Doesn't say much for my service rep.

eug · September 2001

I think my problem is more like what hippo168 posted. I was surprised that he had exactly the same problem. I've been using a manual for awhile, I guess that's why I was surprised when it happened.
HIPPO168: any more problems?

cheeks · September 2001

Can anyone share their experiences driving a 3 series in the snow? I'm already thinking about winter driving and the thought of buying snow tires.

hippo168 · September 2001

It happened 2 or 3 times to me, but not lately. I've had the car for just 1 month...

I didnt pay attention to whether the shifter was "kicked out" after it went into 2nd, or I just didnt shift it all the way. But it certainly "felt" I had put it in 2nd. I don't know what the cause of that was.

stgreen · September 2001

I've got the trays for the bike from my old Saab, but wanted to know if putting the roof rack on will create huge wind noise...

any experience??

habitat1 · September 2001

stgreen,

Coincidentally we just returned from a two week vacation in NC. We have a Yakima roof rack on our Isuzu Trooper. Our friends have essentially same rack system on a new 5-series. The wind noise was more noticable on the BMW, primarily because the rest of the car was so quiet. Definitely takes the fun out of opening the moonroof. My buddy took the rack off during the two weeks we were at the beach and put it back on when they were ready to leave.

dtlee · September 2001

Recently, I had an opportunity to weight my 300i at a truck scale. It weighted 3340 lbs. (BMW spec: 3318 lbs.)

My spec: 2001 330i, 5-sp, SP, PP, in-dash cd, heated seats, HK, rear shade, & half tank of gas (no cargo).

cockroach1 · September 2001

I have a 2001 325Ci and just had the shifter detente disappear. Of course, this meant that when shifting I could not tell whether I was in 1st or reverse or in 3rd or 5th. I think the guy behind me was as surprised as I was when it looked like I was going to redesign his front end. The dealer was not much help in figuring out what was wrong so they are replacing the entire transmission. Bottom line is that I think you guys who are having shifting problems are not missing the gears, instead there seems to be some systemic problem with the transmission. I am happy they are replacing it, but I worry if it will still feel the same once fixed.

shipo · September 2001

I have had the opportunity to drive my 328i during the better part of three winters and so far so good. A couple of points:

I did not opt for the SP, primarily to protect my rims (NYC potholes look like they were transplanted from the Al-Can hiway) and secondarily to get the all season tires as standard equipment.

During a normal 2-4 inch snow, the only problem I encountered were in climbing steep hills (I live not too far from the Appalachian Trail, so it is fairly hilly around here) in the snow. For what it is worth, my previous front wheel cars did little better on the same hills in similar conditions.

The hardest time to drive is when the snow is at least 6 inched deep OR when the snow is wet and heavy. For the most part, there has been maybe only one day that I would have driven my previous FWD car (1995 Passat GLX) and not the 328i.

One last item, DO NOT turn off the DSC in the snow unless you have lots of room between you and disaster (like a nice big snow covered parking lot). I tried it coming up the hill on my street earlier this year on a day when we had >6 inches of very heavy snow (with at least 3 inches still on the road), and the car snapped into a spin so fast, I barely had time to catch it.

Best Regards,
Shipo

roc50mg · September 2001

drove my car for a little while yesterday and today w/o shifting problems i described recently. hopefully it stays ok.

gurumike · September 2001

I can read the board again! It went down on Friday night. Grrr!

Meg - I would have thought your Civic and Accord both used mast antennae. That's where the radio signal is collected. In the BMW, those vertical lines in the back window (right where the tint is!) are the antennae.

Denright - Do you have a sport package? If you have a later 330 sedan w/out SP it will have the trim.

And in conclusion of the on going debate on titanium head light trim......

Please people, it is not my guess or opinion that sport sedans don't have it, it is a fact. I know, several months ago, I'd speculated on the reasons why some did and others didn't but I have read the actual BMW bulletin on the subject. Granted I don't recall the specific date (early May production, possibly late April) but really, 330i Sport Sedans DO NOT HAVE TITANIUM TRIM !!!!!!!
Now can we please, PLEASE stop the trim topic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for being such good listeners!

orientblue330i · September 2001

could you please check the status of an orient blue 330i SP/PP/Xenon/CD/HS going to Life Quality BMW in Brooklyn NY? Thanks!

Anticipation is killing me...
I've been reading this board quite intently since ordering, and gained alot of knowledge, so thanks to everyone!

gurumike · September 2001

It gets into your VPC today. I'd guess you'll be picking it up from your dealer in about a week! The wait's almost over!

uge123 · September 2001

It's been a while since I've read or posted here. Residency has been a killer on downtime. But...at the end of a day...or 36+ hours, it's nice to climb into my 325iT and take off.

Windshield wipers: Are all 325i windshield wipers speed sensitive? I thought that only the PP wipers were? I do not have PP on my wagon and it has speed sensitive wipers. Of course, the wagon has all sorts of little things, like upgraded lighting, that justify its premium over the sedan.

Speaker rattle: Does anybody else have a little speaker rattle from the FRONT speakers? I noticed that during some especially complex classical recordings I get some buzzing from the left front tweeter. However, this only happens with the radio or certain CD's, never with tapes. The dealer thought that it was due to my CD player/adapter combo (no CD changer yet...saving up for that). However, when I used the same player/adapter on one of their loaner cars we could not duplicate the problem, which I did duplicate on my car's system. Ideas anybody?

Missing shifts: The only gear I seem to miss is 4th gear. It's actually rather disconserting, especialy when downshifting at high speeds.

Speaking for downshifting: Anybody else notice that the 325 does not engine break well unless you get the revs over 3500 rpm? I'm not sure why, but downshifting into 4th when going 60mph gets me little or no engine breaking. I have to go to 3rd gear for any significant breaking. Is this because of the engine managment program or because the rolling resistance of the car is so low?

Conti Sport Contacts: Are they unidirectional? I noticed the other day that the tires are not mirror images but actually seem to be identical from the back, as if right and left have the exact same tire. All tires have "outside" printed in the outside of the tires, though. Spekaing of the Conti's, anybody else take part in the Susan B. Korman Ultimate drive? They replaced all the Conti's with Michelin Pilots.

Milage: What kind of milage are ya'll making in daily mixed driving? I have yet to break the 25mpg mark. I usually drive mixed highway and traffic. Highway is a mix of 60mph and 80mph driving, but is consistent regardless of speed.

jrct9454 · September 2001

Emissions control parameters are the reason why engine braking seems to go away at times.

dave330i · September 2001

Don't know if this was discussed earlier or not, but has anyone tried putting lower octane in their BMWs and if so, what was your experience?

shipo · September 2001

Someone here WAY back around the 3000 mark (plus or minus 2000 posts or so {how is that for precision? ;-) }) posted that he had done a fairly extensive back to back to back comparison with different fuel grades. If I remember correctly, the seat of his pants was not able to detect too much difference in acceleration; however, there was enough of a difference in the mileage to justify the higher-grade fuel.

Maybe if Edmunds ever gets a search capability, we will be able to find the post.

Best Regards,
Shipo

uge123 · September 2001

I think that the final decision was that your car can handle the lower octane, but at the price of performance and milage. I know from personal experience putting regular gas in an older M-B, that the milage was terrible with regular and much better with at least silver.

brave1heart · September 2001

3340 lbs. with half a tank of gas sounds on the light side, assuming the 330i's 3,318 lbs base weight is unladen (the way I understand it, no gas). Half tank of gas would be 8 gallons, i.e. 32 quarts, or 64 pints, or about the same as 64 pounds. Add to this the options weight and the 330i's weight should be closer to 3,400 lbs under these assumptions. Any thoughts?

shipo · September 2001

One of the little tidbits one learns in ground school is how to calculate the weight and balance of an aircraft prior to every flight. Fuel is of course one of the items that must be calculated, and the general rule of thumb is the following:

Water = 8lbs per gallon
Diesel = 7lbs per gallon
Gasoline = 6lbs per gallon

Prior to my lessons, I just assumed that gas (and diesel) weighed about as much as water. An interesting side note; since the fuel load on an airplane counts as part of the "useful load", when you are loading a plane, more gas means less stuff (like passengers). With me so far? Diesel fuel, even though it weighs more by volume than AvGas, it has more power per pound than said AvGas. What this means in the real world is that if you take two otherwise identical airplanes one with a 200HP gas engine and the other with a 200HP diesel, the diesel will be able to carry a greater useful load the same distance as the more lightly loaded gasoline powered aircraft.

Sorry about the tangent gang, back on topic.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo · September 2001

I picked my car up late last week after the second service (29,050 miles) and I see a couple of interesting items on the worksheet in addition to the filter and fluid replacements that were scheduled.

They performed a "Brake System Flush"; I assume by this that they completely replaced the brake fluid in the car. I found that interesting because most companies simply recommend you top off your fluid every so often and some recommend a fluid replacement when a brake job is done. I guess BMW wants to make sure that our cars are ready for autocross anytime, anywhere. ;-)

They performed a "Suspension Diag", and then it says "Check Clunck in F/E, Ordered 2 Front Control Arms and Bushings". Hmmm, I never asked them to check for a clunk in the front end, I have never heard one or felt one, and even now that I am trying to hear it/feel it, I cannot. I wonder if their test equipment is so sensitive that it can feel a clunk that has not yet "clunked"? Either that or BMW has decided to retro all early production E46s (mine was 12/1998) with the heavy steering with the Light-Light steering that is being taken out of the early 2001 models. :-( I guess they just want to share the wealth. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

gurumike · September 2001

Never realized you were a pilot! I just got my Private Pilot rating last Tuesday! Now it's on to the instrument rating! I'm looking to go all the way!

shipo · September 2001

I wish I were.

Congratulations on your rating, my hat is off to you.

With a full time consulting business, a wife who is an executive over at Liz Claiborne (ie. long hours), two children, working part time at another business that I own with my mother (I look at it as her retirement policy) and attempting to get my patented ergonomic computer mouse into production and raise enough VC money for marketing, I have not yet gotten my ticket punched. I envy you that you have gotten so far.

Meanwhile, I am lusting after a 1954 Cessna 170 taildragger (still in highly polished bare "Duraluminum" with dark green accent paint) at my local strip.

Happy landings.

Best Regards,
Shipo

gurumike · September 2001

It has been almost a year to the day. And many, many visits to the airport (not to mention $$!!!). I'd only flown the 150 until today (yesterday). After chatting with my instructor for the first time since the checkride, we took the Cetubria out for about an hour - a semi-aerobatic tail dragger! What a handful to land !! Next lesson, I've booked the Arrow, a Piper complex airplane with retractable landing gear and 180HP ! I'm hoping to shoot some ILS missed's at Oxnard or Camarillo. I'm at about 70 hours right now and looking closely at getting a 150 or a Warrior for a time builder.

Everyone else - sorry to be so off-topic. If anyone ever has the chance to have a friend take them for a spin (not literally, ideally) around your local area, I highly recommend it! I'll avoid such non-BMW subject as best I can. At least until I get a multi-engine rating or such like!

jrct9454 · September 2001

All of the Germans, and most of the Japanese makes, have recommended periodic fluid replacements for the brakes. The Germans in particular have always been ultra-conservative about this, and as the fluid technology has marched on, the 2-3 year intervals they want seem more and more archaic.

In theory, because brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air, it can become dangerously unable to withstand heat over time, as it becomes more diluted. In practice, in a mild climate like most of the USA, this is a virtually non-existent problem, but it doesn't cost much to be safe.

allano · September 2001

Tires,
I'm not sure where you are going when you ask about unidirectional tires but from recent experience (this spring), I would not recommend cross-rotating any radial tires. I had a set of Mischlen XSEs on a Mazda 626 (60/40 weight distribution) for 3 1/2 years and put on about 65,000 (my wife drives a lot) while "rotating" tires front to rear on the same side about once a year. When I had the front brake pads and disk replaced and rear brake pads checked for wear, I had the tires cross-rotated. The resulting ride was very harsh and noisy -- like you were riding a a road with a pebbly surface. Given the tires previous smooth, cushioned ride and the now-smooth and cushioned ride with a set of MX4s, I will never cross-rotate any radial tire again.

Speaker rattle,
I have not experienced speaker rattle on my 325xi wagon at any volume. I would pull the grill and make sure that speaker mounting hardware is tight.

4WD wagon mileage,
I ride to work on two lane, 40mph max roads for about 16 miles with about 10 lights or heavy-traffic crossings where I have to either slow down or stop and get about 26.5 mph. When driving to Buffalo this summer, I clocked 29.5 mpg on the Mass Pike and NYS Thruway at about 74mph. Admittedly, I'm rather light on the accelerator 90% of the time but have about two merges where I press hard.

Wipers,
I believe that when the wipers on all 325's are set to continuous (2nd notch) and you stop, they become intermittent. Other than that, I have not observed any other speed sensitivity.

allano · September 2001

Brake fluid absorbs moisture!!!! One hot day I experienced the heart-stopping panic of a brake petal to the floor and never want that experience again.
Most cars have a thin, dome seal as part of their cap assembly on the master cylinder reservoir. This seal isolates air above the fluid inside the reservoir from outside air. When you leak fluid past brake seals, fluid in the reservoir replaces this lost fluid while air, inside the dome seal, replaces the reservoir's fluid. Outside air is allowed in the other side of the dome seal to allow it to move but this vented air never makes contact with the brake fluid.
Unfortunately, the car I was driving at the time did not have this seal so that over a two-year period, outside air with its moisture reached the brake fluid in the reservoir. On a particularly hot day after about 1/2 hours of expressway driving, absorbed moisture in the brake lines expanded enough to push brake fluid back into the master cylinder. My first brake petal application only replaced that fluid in the lines; a second (panic-filled) application applied the brakes and re-started my heart and breathing.
Not knowing the cause and without any mushy-brake symptoms, I drove timidly for about a week with solid brakes until another hot day repeated the experience, although this time I was prepared since I would test-pump the brakes before each application. Needless to say, I replaced the brake fluid every year after that and never had a problem.
I believe BMW uses a reservoir seal (my 1972 had one) so I am surprised with the maintenance action that replaced brake fluid.

reubencahn · September 2001

I had the same "front end clunk" detected by the service tech at my Inspection I although I had heard nothing. They replaced both the bushings and brackets for the control arms.

Contis are non-directional but assymetric.

BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

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