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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Amen to that, the battery in my TR-4A was mounted right behind the engine, those lasted about a year.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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 for the reply. I tried also, for what seemed to be forever to get the white tabs (grommets) back into the door trim piece slots, to no avail. I finally stopped at my local dealer in Sewickley, Pa. My hat's off to them. Specifically Chris (in BMW Parts Dept). He came out to my car (during his lunch hour, I think) and borrowed some type of blue tool from a mechanic and pulled the white tabs out and aligned them in the track and re-inserted the trim piece for me. Super Service from Chris and BMW of Sewickley, Pa.
I'd hate to have the dealership tear out the dashboard and cause other problems to surface.
Take it to the dealer if it's still under warranty; the R&R of the cluster is very simple. If not, see if the dealer will perform a good will repair.
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
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that BMW NA is only paying for parts when replacing the high level MID found on the E39 540i and M5. Still can't hurt to ask, I suppose...
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
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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Certainly worth checking though, excellent suggestion for any BMW making noise up front.
visiting host
However, it seems they are shot, every time they are checked... symptoms or not... :surprise:
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Thanks for all the replies.
Couple of things -- first, george. . . posted a month short of two years ago and hasn't been heard from since. He posted once -- if you put your arrow on the screen name, it'll tell you how many posts the person has, when they last posted, etc. You're very unlikely to hear from him, but there are others who prowl these boards regularly who may be able to help. Good luck.
Second, don't post your e-mail address in the body of your post. You can put it in your profile if you like & leave it public. The robots that troll for addresses won't find it there.
I can't help you. I'm just a BMW wannabe. Welcome aboard!
something is interfering with the fan blade. What
is the procedure to access the blower??
As I understand it, the repair at a dealership usually costs between five and six hundred dollars.
Let us know how you make out.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Your specific question regarding oil changes is fairly easily addressed, consider the following:
- Most six cylinder engines in the three liter range from most manufacturers have an oil capacity of between four and five quarts. Your new car uses seven.
- Most modern ULEV (or better) engines (engines that produce FAAAAR fewer combustion byproducts than older engines) are able to go between six thousand and seventy-five hundred miles between oil changes, on conventional oil. Your car requires the use of a very high quality synthetic oil (most synthetics cannot meet the BMW LL-01 oil spec, and not a single conventional or semi-synthetic oil can).
- Viewed as a whole, your very efficient (from a combustion perspective) engine with half again as much oil as most other engines of a similar size, and using only the best oil money can buy, can safely go the ~15,000 miles as recommended by BMW.
- One other point. BMW has now been recommending a 15,000 mile OCI since the introduction of the E46 3-Series back in late 1998. If the 15,000 mile OCI is bad for the engines, we'd be seeing hundreds (if not thousands) of posts clogging up these sites complaining about failed engines. I've seen a handful, and in every case the engine was abused (i.e. run WAAAAY longer than 15,000 miles before the oil was changed and/or run far too low on oil).
I hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Based upon my very unscientific observations, there seems to be a very hit and miss nature to this problem. Take two seemingly identical cars, driven in seemingly identical conditions and using the same oil, and you might could well find that one runs perfectly while the other will be barely able to maintain an idle. Go figure.
Best Regards,
Shipo
The absolute heaviest "cold" oil allowable (i.e. that meets the BMW LL-01 oil spec) is 5W-30. It would be interesting to see if the folks who've had the greatest incidence of problems are those that have used the factory BMW/Castrol 5W-30 engine oil versus those of us who converted our cars over to the thinner Mobil 1 0W-40 and/or Castrol Syntec 0W-30 oils.
Best Regards,
Shipo
At the same time another guy is trying to sell me a 97 MITS eclipse with 73 k on it, looks runs nice. Whats your opinion?
Best Regards,
Shipo
I am not sure I would call European cars' reliability as being horrible. Take it for what its worth, but My 2002 530i was the most reliable car I have ever owned (including the ownership experience by the person who bought it from me). My prior cars were 1981, 1989 and 1994 Accord, 1995 Integra, 1989 325iX wagon in Germany, 1993 Altima, 2004 Sienna, and 2003 M5.
The 530i had zero repairs and cost the least to maintain. The current owner probably has about 60,000 to 70,000 miles on it. Our 95 Integra and the 04 Sienna had more service visits and warranty repairs by same or less mileage. My 03 M5 probably has had about the same number of service visits for warranty repairs as the Integra and the Sienna this point (53,000 miles) but the M5 repairs certainly would have cost a lot more if it had been out of warranty.
Also, another sporadic problem -- every now and then my steering has a whatI call -- a glitch in it. Seems like it kinda skips a beat when turning every so often. That's the only way to describe.
It could be the door or window gasket; does it stop when you lower the RF window a bit?
My wife's E39 had a minor squeak and it turned out to be the door panel itself- rubbing against the metal of the inner door. It was especially audible if you pressed down on the door armrest. I took a piece of 3X5 card and sprayed both sides with Vinylex and then slid it between the door panel and the inner door. A small paint brush would also work. That cured the problem.
Also, another sporadic problem -- every now and then my steering has a whatI call -- a glitch in it. Seems like it kinda skips a beat when turning every so often. That's the only way to describe.
Is the PS reservoir filled to the proper level? If that's good, I'd next check the drive belts as well as all associated tensioners and pulleys. If they are good, then it is almost certainly a problem involving the pump or the steering rack itself.
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
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 think the "press hold enter" refers to programming the 1-6 buttons for different stations.
I don't see why you have to go to a BMW to free up the emergency brake...any competent shop should be able to figure that out. If the calipers froze that's a bit tricky. I bet it's not the first time that's happened in that car.
Was this vehicle stored for a long time?
Were it a Honda I'd say you could bear this type of expense out of warranty, but even smaller repairs on an aging BMW can add up fast.
I guess it depends a lot on the actual inclusions and exclusions and deductibles on the particular warranty program you're getting. You have to read it carefully and then figure out how your warranty would relate say to a new radiator at 80,000 miles, or a complete failure of all your power windows at 90,000. How much would be covered in those instances and what would you pay out of pocket?
I'd ask some pointed questions about all that to whomever is selling you the product.
Visiting Host
Of course, if you put 50K on in three years, then it might be worth it, but I'd still wait until I was closer to the end of the original warranty period.
or.. what he said..
regards,
kyfdx
visiting host
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Good to hear. I would tend to take your approach, and I'm glad it's worked out for you.