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I think the last time I added a quart of oil was ~ 1500 miles ago. I'll keep a better record going forward.
Yes, a 2003 E46 will call for an Inspection II at @60K miles. I think the quoted price is extremely high. My local independent BMW shop recently performed an Insp. II, a coolant service, a tire rotation, and a front end alignment on my 1995 318ti, and the cost was $592. Keep in mind that an E36 Insp. II is much more labor intensive, as it calls for changing the transmission and final drive oils, the spark plugs, and the fuel filter. In contrast, the only items replaced on your car are the engine oil, oil filter, cabin filter, and air filter. That said, if you plan to keep the car, I would change the 'lifetime" drivetrain fluids at 60K.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I did these myself and then brought the car to my local indy BMW mechanic and had the differential fluid changed, new thermostat, new water pump, new serpentine belts and new fuel filter put in. The cost for these items was ~ $600 (parts and labor).
My service plan for the car calls for oil changes every 7,500 miles (our half way through what the car recommends for an oil change via the OBC. I have the 3 month 3000 miles routine so ingrained with me I struggle waiting the 7,500 mile mark. I'll replace the inspection II items i.e. airfilter, cabin filter etc. myself and have a BMW indy mechanic look it over. My local dealer charges about $540.00 for inspection II which seems to be a glorified oil change.
I plan on changing the waterpump after 60,000 miles as per Mike Miller's recommendations in the Roundel.
On oil changes, how do you base your intervals on time or mileage? I've heard the 3 month 3000 miles for years and I drive this car about 14 K a year. Do you think half of the interval is sufficient? I had the oil changed last summer when the OBC was reading 7,500 to inspection II. Now I am about 2,400.
Thanks,
Mark
I think my car is a lemon. I just had it fixed the passsenger front door due to rain water leaking in and the rear passenger window has broken regulator ( to roll the window up and down) and today I found there is a pool of water near the driver door too after a long day and nite rain from the storm. Anybody has similar problem? I like the car but I am getting tired of leaving it at shop too often.
M.
Sorry, but you got hosed, plain and simple. I hope the service manager kissed you and sent flowers the next morning. My local dealer doesn't charge that much more for an Insp. II on an E46 M3- which includes changing all drivetrain fluids as well as a time-consuming valve adjustment. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I put off changing a noisy idler pulley on my wife's 128K 1997 528i, and in late fall of 2004 my procrastination was rewarded by the pulley bearing disintegrating and taking out both belts and the fan shroud. I decided to let my independent BMW tech handle the repairs. While he had the car we decided to replace the radiator, the water pump, and the remaining idler pulley as a precaution. My tech also found and replaced a bad tie rod and had the car aligned. The total cost of repair? $1161.
And one more data point: I had my dealer change the thermostat in my E36 3er just last month- $160
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Welcome! That's a great car; I almost picked up a five speed Touring on ebay, but I snoozed and lost...
On oil changes, how do you base your intervals on time or mileage? I've heard the 3 month 3000 miles for years and I drive this car about 14 K a year. Do you think half of the interval is sufficient? I had the oil changed last summer when the OBC was reading 7,500 to inspection II. Now I am about 2,400.
I'm a bit more conservative than some of the other members on this board, so I also perform a 7500 mile oil change. Just be sure to use a BMW filter as well as a BMW Longlife 01 rated oil. Some commonly available oils that meet that spec are:
BMW Synthetic 5W-30
Castrol Syntec 0W-30
Mobil 1 0W-40
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
You are right. My local dealer ripped me off. I guessed because I am a gal and know nothing about car so they easily scared me. Anyway, if you follow this forum you may remember a while back I asked for a referral to an independent shop in SF BayArea not only because of the high cost of maintenance at my local dealer, but I also feel they no longer treat me well.
I was autocrossing it using the stock 16" Michelins. Next season, I plan on using Bridgestone RE070 mounted on 17" E36 Style 24 rims. It should be interesting to see if the change in tires will improve my track times. This is a very fun car to drive and I am looking forward to the next season. I am participating in a BMW Winter Driving School in a couple of weeks. That should tide me over for awhile.
Actually, your experience is more the rule, than the exception.. There is a reason that BMWs got their reputation for being expensive to maintain.. It's a dealer network that charges astronomical prices for dubious repairs..
You shouldn't have to have an intimate knowledge of the mechanical workings of your car, to avoid being ripped off by the service department.. But, in many cases, that's exactly what you need..
Good job seeking out an independent..
regards,
kyfdx
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After years of searching, I've only found two really great BMW shops in the Bay Area, one in San Rafael and one in Santa Cruz. I'm sure there are more. Some have good "reputations" but they are very ego-driven and snooty, another trait I don't care for in an BMW indy shop.
One of my favorite indy BMW shops is run by a lunatic. If you catch him on a good day, he is BRILLIANT with these cars, but if he's on a bender, don't go near the place. LOL!
Does anyone know offhand the size of the caliper brake line bleed valve? I have an E46 2002 330i. I'd like to drive to the hardware store without having to remove/replace the wheel to check. If I recall from the last time I did it, its either a 7mm or 9mm fit (I ended up using a box wrench that time). What I do remember is that it isn't one of the sizes that comes in the trunk mounted tool kit.
Thanks.
Ignition system
* Fuel injectors
* Fuel pressure
* Running out of fuel
* EVAP canister purge valve
* Evaporative emission system
* Low compression
* Base engine problems
* Controle Module damaged
Was this error code P0301?
Here's a brief overview. On your E90 some services are determined by time, some by mileage, and some by the on-board Service Interval(SI) system(which calculates service based on driving conditions).
The time based services are: Brake Fluid(every 2 years) and Coolant(every 3 years)
The mileage based services are: Spark Plugs, ATF, and Oxygen Sensors(every 100K miles for all three).
The SI system has 3 levels of service: Oil Service, Inspection I, and Inspection II. An Oil Service is called for at @15K intervals(or every year, whichever comes first). It is just an oil change.
The Inspection I rolls up at @30K; it is an oil change, a cabin air filter change, and a comprehensive inspection of the car.
Inspection II occurs around 60K and is essentiall an Inspection I + an engine air filter change.
If you are planning on flipping the car in a couple of years I'd just follow the BMW schedule. However if you're going to hang on to it for a while I'd advise changing the transmission fluid(slushbox OR manual) every 60K at least. Ditto for the final drive oil. If you take your 330i to the track I'd reduce those mileage intervals by 50%. I change the engine oil at 7.5K intervals due to the fact that my 3er sees the track every so often and my wife's X3 chews up its oil in less than 9K miles(based on used oil analysis). Some people go 15K without any problem but I'm not one of them.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I have a 1994 318ic that needs a new (used) engine :sick: . I am searching around for someone local to do this and one of the options that has been presented is to put an older (1988) straight 6 engine in to replace my 4cyl. I am fine with this but I am wondering if there are any negative points or concerns that I should be aware of. Will this cause issues with the existing tranny/electronics etc? I love the idea of replacing the engine with something a little more powerful - and it would be more cost effective too, especially since this is a second car. Thanks-
The 4 to 6 is a pretty common swap, and it's not that difficult either. However, I would NOT use a 1988 vintage engine, as that will prove to be a much more complicated project. You want an engine from a 1992 or later 325i or 525i. In addition, you really need to find a good BMW shop to do the work as they will be aware of what needs to be done so that you don't have any problems later on.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Keith
Like it or not, you have a car with a high compression engine, and to get both the best power and best economy out of it, you need to feed it properly.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Anyways, after learning the cost and possibility of the rack being affected totalling $3000, I called BMWNA and spoke to Darci who was very receptive. I just told her the facts and informed her that we were actually looking to purchase a new vehicle (550 vs 535) in the next month. After a day, they agreed to pay for half the repair of $1400 (if it was just the power steering pump). I was ready to pay my half but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask so I politely asked her if there was anything BMW could chip in since I was told this partial payment was being comped by the dealer themselves. She said to give her a couple of days and see what she could do. We were on vacation in Hawaii so I had all time in the world but just wanted to see what she could come up with. Two days later, right before we're about to leave Hawaii, she informed me that BMWNA decided to do a 100% goodwill repair after speaking to the local rep. I took it as someone basically just gave me $700 so I was happy.
I asked her what made the difference and she said she and the local rep could see we had been faithful customers of BMW dealers(albeit different dealers as we had JUST moved to West TX three days prior and had no business with this dealership before). She suggested to the rep that we would continue to be faithful customers to this dealer although I think she was being very modest.
This has definitely kept me in the BMW family
I want to "hard-wire" my iPod in my E46. Any suggestions? Comments?
I've heard that the sound quality is better than using the devices that you plug in the cigarette lighter/fm radio station.
~slim~
ICARKITS.COM
or
NEOCARAUDIO.COM
I ordered from Icarkits.com....got a little black box with a few wires--on my 2002 330ci with Harmon Kardon system, it hooks up to the unused wires for the cd changer in car's trunk....i then ran wires under back seat and along interior trim and placed it under my driver's seat...the connector to ipod is right next to my emergency brake,,,i like this for easier access to ipod than in glove compartment.....
IT IS INCREDIBLE!!!! Can control Ipod from steering wheel to a certain extent--SOUND IS AWESOME!!!!
I do notice a VERY slight clicking like sound betwn songs--but i dont hear it when songs are playing....cost $ 190 WITH shipping...received it in 3 days!!!!
Let me know how you make out??
Good luck!
http://www.diceelectronics.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=DETE- ST01&Category_Code=DICE_IPOD_BMW
Thanks
Regards,
OW
Are you talking about all four corners or just one axle? Did the brake lining light illuminate?
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I pick up the car, get in, start the engine and SES light is on. Dealership pulls code and says an adjustment to the intake needs to be made and they need to keep it another day.
Thanks
With regards to your questions, if the white clip is broken or missing and the pieces it snaps into are intact, you should be able to buy the individual clip. Replacing the carpet isn't so much difficult as it is fiddly. You will need to remove the front seats as well as all or part of the console. Ditto for the door sill moldings and front kick panels.
If you are really interested in learning how to work on your 3er, you should buy the
Bentley Service Manual for your car. In any case, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
im new on this block, im looking to purchase a 97 328ic tomorrow, its as-is and in need. lots of minor repairs. living in arizona and im a little weary of overheating since the indicator screen is prompting check coolant fluid. its full.
at 140k its a decent fixerupper.
any words of experience or wisdom on any front for me and my first bmw.
shocks,springs,struts,doors,windows,timing belt, rear window, auto transmission.
thanks so much :
If the expansion tank is full, then the coolant level sensor is either bad or disconnected.
shocks,springs,struts,doors,windows,timing belt, rear window, auto transmission.
Shoot me some specific questions and I'll give it my best shot, though I can tell you right now that your car has a timing chain and not a belt. In addition, unless you know when all the vehicle fluids were last changed, I'd change them ALL- oil(Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol Syntec 0W-30, or BMW 5W-30), ATF(Dexron III or IV), Diff(any good synthetic 75W-90), coolant(BMW Coolant+distilled water ONLY), and brake fluid(DOT 4 only).
And as I told the gentleman above, get the Bentley Manual and join the BMW Car Club.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
i have taken note on all of your responses and i appreciate it.
since i am not handy and savvy with my way around cars, is this a good car to rely on or am i getting in over my head, its a great deal if im willing to take it on.
thanks again
The answer depends on the condition of the car and your mechanical ability. BMWs don't tolerate abuse or neglect very well. Why not have the car checked out by a good BMW tech? In your case I believe that it would be money well spent.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks and best wishes,
Ed
I'd go to bimrs.org and see if a member shop is nearby.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Regards,
OW