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BMW 5-Series Maintenance and Repair

2734 messages,  Last post on Mar 25, 2013 at 4:00 PM

You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 5 Series, Electrical, Engine, Sedan, Wagon

    
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Messages Page 260 of 275

#2583 of 2734 follow up to my oil gauge by gardis

Dec 29, 2010 (10:19 am)

Dear KYFDX
Thank you for your insight. Yesterday, as I was parking the vehicle, again that oil can icon appeared in the dash as I turned off the vehicle. Nothing while driving came up on the iDrive screen. I called my tech rep, and asked her if they had checked the fluids when they had the vehicle for a minor inspection two weeks ago. She called me back and said, no they did not check the oil, it needs a "top off" and bring it in they will do it immediately for me, and she apologized to me ("my mistake, sorry"). I brought the car in and the service rep said, BTW, when you add oil between services, we charge you for that oil" but said it in a kind of apologetic way, so I said, go ahead, no problem. They added 1 QT (so she says, I didn't see her add it), charged me $6.89
She said to me that it was nothing to worry about, BMW actually says the vehicle could burn 1 QT every 1,000 miles. I thought that was a lot of oil to burn, what do you think about that?
 
I was surprised they charged me, given the vehicle is still under the service warranty until JUN2012. I wasn't going to argue, I was happy they took care of adding it for me. Otherwise I"m pretty satisfied with this dealership, and have been dealing with this service tech for years also on my previous 3 series. She herself owns a CPO 7 series 2006 and I feel that is a vote of confidance in the brand, don't you? She puts her money where her mouth is I think.

#2584 of 2734 SMG Question by sirdarby1

Dec 29, 2010 (3:30 pm)

#2585 of 2734 SMG Transmission Ques by sirdarby1

Dec 29, 2010 (3:33 pm)

Yesterday we had the dealer check out a 2005 545i with SMG from a private owner and we later purchased. One of the paddle buttons is defective and will cost about $300 to fix. Not a problem.
 
My wife has been driving it her second day and is getting used to it. She only drives in the automatic mode but she swears the gears are switching from auto to manual by themselves. So in auto (D1) she says is going back to manual (1).
 
As a remedy, she is pulling overtothe side ofthe road, pressing the brake and moving back to Auto mode.
 
Is there a problem? I think she may be hitting the paddle accidentally but not sure. Does she have to stop completely when going from manual to auto or can you switch back and forth while driving without hurting the transmission

#2586 of 2734 Cold Mornings idle issues by heavywilliams

Dec 30, 2010 (1:54 pm)

2000 BMW 540i starts fine on cold mornings but runs rough (at idle) and seems ready to stop.
Got tune up (new plugs, fuel filter, etc.) still have issue. When temp guage hits normal, problem goes away. It's only a cold start up that there is a problem. Suggestions?

#2587 of 2734 Re: Cold Mornings idle issues [heavywilliams] by helpmenow

Dec 30, 2010 (2:05 pm)

Replying to: heavywilliams (Dec 30, 2010 1:54 pm)
I had a similar problem on my 2003 525i. It went away on its own. At least one time, the car DID STOP running at idle! My mechanic's guess over then phone was that the fuel intake valve may have been clogged.

#2588 of 2734 Wow by snowallergy

Jan 08, 2011 (3:47 pm)

I was considering picking up an 08 535i off lease vehcile. But after seeing all of these problems, no way!

#2589 of 2734 PS hoses... by lovemyclk

Jan 24, 2011 (10:05 am)

Hi all. Had both PS hoses and fittings replaced on my '03 530i in July 2008. Bought the car new, so it took 5+ years for any leaks to appear.
 
Had a total cooling system overhaul with all components replaced. Radiator, fan, shroud, expansion tank, water pump, thermostat, etc. all replaced. SInce I had this done in Nov 2010, I have noticed a pretty good leak from the PS hose from the lower fitting.
 
Question is whether or not the PS hoses must be disconnected in order to perform the cooling system replacement. Given the nature of this current leak, the techs at my indie BMW shop would HAVE to have noticed something in November. I noticed the PS fluid on the floor in mid December. Fluid dripped onto the under engine "tray" for some period before it was of sufficient quantity to make it to the floor of my garage.
 
Taking it into the indie shop tomorrow, as the dealer that performed the original work while under CPO Warranty wnated to charge me $159 just to put it on the rack to look at it. At least my guys did not charge me to find the problem and even topped of the ATF fluid. Don't want to "accuse" them of not sufficiently tightening the pressure clamps on the hose (if that is the prob), but if these hoses needed to be disconnected to do the cooling overhaul, then I want them to do the right thinkg by me.
 
Any thoughts as a sanity check before I take the car in tomorrow will be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

#2590 of 2734 Re: BMW 530i 2004 water leak!! [045] by usdbimm

Feb 07, 2011 (6:03 am)

Replying to: 045 (Feb 11, 2010 12:33 pm)
...This is exactly what happened to me...it rained and all of a sudden the car smelled like stagnant water...like it was submerged in a swamp...It was driving me nuts . I checked the floorboards and the front passenger as well as the rear compartment carpet was soaking wet. I took my car to a local shop specializing in bmws and they drained a bucket of water out of the front passenger area ( I didn't see exactly from where ). They told me that some drainage channels were clogged with debris and it caused the water to overflow into the interior of the car , pretty much. So, to the tune of about $120, they drained some water out of the car that should not have been there in the first place . I know that german engineering can do better than this... I mean if some debris causes this kind of problems...ummm...i'm going back to a civic.

#2591 of 2734 Re: BMW 530i 2004 water leak!! [usdbimm] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 07, 2011 (9:38 am)

Replying to: usdbimm (Feb 07, 2011 6:03 am)
Probably a clogged drain in the fresh air vent system---pretty typical. Leaves or other organic matter get past the screen in the cowl vent (under your windshield wipers) and eventually form a "goop" that plugs the vent drain---and then you have a fishtank in there, which will eventually spill through the firewall (which is not meant to be a fishtank) into the passenger or driver area.
 
it's really not the fault of the car. It's more of a maintenance issue and where you park and live.

#2592 of 2734 Re: BMW 530i 2004 water leak!! [Mr_Shiftright] by mhutchinson

Feb 08, 2011 (10:41 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 07, 2011 9:38 am)
Is there a simple way to check for risk of clogging before we find water in the carpet?
How do we unclog the vents? I'm guessing we remove the screen cover and try to drag the debris out of the vent cavity?...
Is there a simple way to access the drain?

Messages Page 260 of 275

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