BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

5349 messages,  Last post on Apr 30, 2013 at 3:31 PM

You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

    
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#4407 of 5349 325i 2001 by hollywould

Oct 14, 2009 (8:58 am)

Hi, I'm VERY new to BMW's. I've always wanted one, and I believe I may be picking one up on Friday.
 
Currently I have a 04 Chevy Tahoe, (lifted monster truck) with 74k miles. I'm very tired of the truck feeling, so I'm going to go towards sporty with some luxury.
 
KBB on my truck trade in is 10-11k. I found a 2001 325i absolutlely beautiful BMW and the dealer is willing to trade me straight across. I know I'm taking a 1-2k loss, but I think it may be ok. I'll probably save that in gas in 1 year.
 
Now, my concern is that it is an 01 with 106k mileage. I am assuming this has no warranty. It appears to be meticulously maintained. I'd like your feedback on that since you all seem to be BMW enthusiasts and I'm new to it all.
 
My other question is, is what are your tune up/maintenance recommendations. My tahoe is like 30,60 and 100. So, I'm curious when the necessary tune ups are?
 
Any other tips, suggestions, warnings, etc...?

#4408 of 5349 Tire pressure sensors by qali

Oct 15, 2009 (7:42 am)

From reading on various forums, I think my 2007 335i has Tire pressure sensors on each tire that relay information to the in-car display. I am about to put on winter tires on a new set of BMW wheels that will not contain these sensors. My question is how will the Tire Pressure Monitoring System react if the new wheels/tires do not have any sensors? Is it possible to turn off the monitoring system?

#4409 of 5349 Re: 325i 2001 [hollywould] by kominsky

Oct 15, 2009 (10:55 am)

Replying to: hollywould (Oct 14, 2009 8:58 am)
Maintenance is key with BMWs! I would look for service records with the car, or I believe, you can take the VIN to a BMW dealership and they can get you a history of all maintenance done on that car by any BMW service department.
 
The onboard computer tells you when to do or have done the required maintenance... but a basic rule of thumb is:
 
every 15K is an oil service (I do mine every 7500 miles)
every 30K is an inspection I
every 60K is an inspection II
 
To see what's involved with each inspection, you can look here...
http://www.bimmerzone.com/inspection.htm

#4410 of 5349 Clutch Pedal Movement by jaj

Oct 15, 2009 (6:22 pm)

Clutch pedal on my '09 328 X-Drive jiggles from side to side when touched. Clutch operation feels normal and shifting is fine. Anyone else come across this?

#4411 of 5349 My car is possessed!!! by hoodoomusic

Oct 19, 2009 (10:05 am)

A few days ago, I pushed my defrost button and nothing happened. The display was fine but there was no air blowing. The next day, the fan just all of a sudden started blowing for no reason! I turned the car off, and the air just kept blowing!!!
 
I ended up taking out the fuse to stop it, but I have no idea what happened. Sound familiar to anyone???

#4412 of 5349 IBS problems by crayor

Oct 20, 2009 (11:45 am)

My 2007 328i coupe would not start last Friday I had to tow it to BMW. I was told that my car had problems with the Intelligent Battery Sensor and that they had to get a new one and then charge it. My car is still at the dealership and I was told today (Tuesday) that water was accumulating on or near the battery???
Does anyone know anything about this?

#4413 of 5349 Re: IBS problems [crayor] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Oct 20, 2009 (11:58 am)

Replying to: crayor (Oct 20, 2009 11:45 am)
BMW has had lots of problems with battery discharge, and yes the Battery Sensor could be involved, but the "water accumulating" sounds like nonsense to me. There are certainly plenty of known and far more plausible causes for this re-current (no pun intended) issue with BMW battery discharge.

#4414 of 5349 IBS problems by crayor

Oct 20, 2009 (12:58 pm)

BMW called me about an hour ago and stated that the water was coming in through the right rear tail light and that water was accumulating on or near the battery. A few months ago I had a new rear bumper cover installed. BMW is saying that who ever installed the cover did not seal the tail light? I did not have the tail light replaced. Also they want me to pay $1398.00 for this job!
I had three different tow guys come out to charge my battery before they towed it to BMW. No one mentioned water by or near the battery. I also did not see any.

#4415 of 5349 Re: IBS problems [Mr_Shiftright] by crayor

Oct 20, 2009 (1:18 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Oct 20, 2009 11:58 am)
Thanks so much for responding! Can you tell me what you know about the IBS? Or what I should know!! I posted another message about what BMW telling me how the water accumulated in the battery. Please let me know what you think!

#4416 of 5349 Re: IBS problems [crayor] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Oct 20, 2009 (3:20 pm)

Replying to: crayor (Oct 20, 2009 12:58 pm)
RE: Water in the trunk area. Why not do this? Dry out the trunk completely, then put some newspaper down in the trunk. Then run a garden hose---first over the bumper cover (I don't know how this can cause a leak, but I don't have the car in front of me), and then if no water comes in (you'll see wet newspaper) put the hose over the tail light lenses.
 
It is quite common to get a trunk leak through the tail light lens seal. A quick fix for that is to tighten up the tail light lens assembly (I think on your car you do this from inside, with some large "star" wheels.
 
If necessary, you can remove the entire tail light lens asssembly and then coat the gasket that seals it to the body with some LATEX caulking compound from a hardware store. I like latex vs. silicone because it's way easier to clean up (cleans up with water before it cures).
 
I don't see how a little water in the trunk is going to affect the battery. This is a non-sequitor to me.
 
The Battery sensor IBS could be defective if it doesn't tell the DME (ECU) the information the DME needs to switch things on and off as needed. (such as entering or leaving Sleep Mode) Or the interface could be defective.
 
But you should get warnings of low battery due to excessive drain.
 
Was any aftermarket equipment ever wired into this car (radio, DVD, NAV, GPS, etc)?
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