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BMW 7-Series Maintenance and Repair

831 messages,  Last post on Feb 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM

You are in the BMW 7-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 7 Series, Electrical, Engine, Sedan

Messages Page 79 of 84

#775 of 831 2009 750Li Issues by txbmwdriver

Oct 26, 2010 (8:10 am)

My 2009 750 has 13,800 miles. To date, I've added 5 quarts of oil. At my last service, the dealer said BMW spec is that the car could use up to a quart every 1,500 miles. I've never added oil to a car between service.
 
I've also noticed that my car sometimes has difficulty starting. It either takes a while or just times out and stops. Is anyone else having these issues?

#776 of 831 Re: 2009 750Li Issues [txbmwdriver] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Oct 26, 2010 (9:10 am)

Replying to: txbmwdriver (Oct 26, 2010 8:10 am)
Well if this were a Hyundai I might say "let's see how it goes" but on a car of this price category, I find it unacceptable. Have the dealer check for a defective oil separator (fancy German PCV valve). Also play a little game of role reversal on him. Tell him that you are the dealer, and that he has just bought a $70000 car that uses 5 quarts of oil in 13,000 miles. Then tell him it's perfectly okay and ask him how he feels about that answer.

#777 of 831 Re: 2009 750Li Issues [Mr_Shiftright] by txbmwdriver

Dec 15, 2010 (8:24 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Oct 26, 2010 9:10 am)
Great idea; unfortunately, it's $95,000.

#778 of 831 Re: 2009 750Li Issues [txbmwdriver] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Dec 15, 2010 (9:14 am)

Replying to: txbmwdriver (Dec 15, 2010 8:24 am)
Even MORE irritating. Hopefully, the oil separator is the culprit here.

#779 of 831 Re: Computer problem? [wahoo21] by c5boi

Jan 02, 2011 (1:54 pm)

Replying to: wahoo21 (Feb 01, 2005 11:08 am)
You definitely want to have the codes checked. The rough running symptom could be anything from bad gas to a fouled plug (possible leaking valve cover gaskets -they leak into the plug wells This occurs between 60k and 100k, depending on how hot the car runs and climate), or as simple as a MAF sensor going bad. Before doing any major work, have a good independent shop clean the MAF sensor wire..takes about 10 minutes. If the symptoms (and check engine light )go away and then return, replace this (150.00 from autopartswarehouse.com for genuine Bosch part that the dealer wants 375.00 for) . A bad MAF sensor can throw out erroneous codes that indicate overly lean mixture from leaking intake manifold gaskets. As far as the Power steering, it is controlled through the "servotronic" unit, that regulates the amount of assist pressure relative to speed (faster, less assist and slower, more assist). The speed sensor is related to the ABS control module (General Module). When this isnt working it will throw a code from to the OBD unit. A good possibilty is that if you had an ignition hiccup as noted above, the General Module could have cut off power to the Sevrotronic Solenoid. When this part goes bad. gets clogged with filings etc, it will fail to engage fully at lower speeds or at all. Most 740's will experience this at above 100k miles. REPLACE THIS FIRST BEFORE DOING ANY STEERING BOX OR PUMP REPAIRS; its 125.00 from autopartswarehouse.com and about 1 hr to install.

#780 of 831 Re: window shades anyone knows a site i can pick them up [georgebmw740] by c5boi

Jan 02, 2011 (1:56 pm)

Replying to: georgebmw740 (Feb 12, 2005 10:10 pm)
Bavarian Auto Recycling...on the web

#781 of 831 Re: Unable to unlock the 740 trunk [czma] by c5boi

Jan 02, 2011 (1:59 pm)

Replying to: czma (Oct 29, 2003 3:25 pm)
see E38.org for instructions on the reset sequence...a battery disconnect is also worth a try and will not hurt anything

#782 of 831 Re: 99 740i steering wheel vibration [johnbob1] by c5boi

Jan 02, 2011 (2:27 pm)

Replying to: johnbob1 (Nov 02, 2005 7:26 pm)
Its your FRONT CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS..all of the E38's develop this...the vibrations diminish as the tire warm up, but it will only get worse. You can get an entire front end kit from FCP Groton for about 270.00 you will be happy after getting the repair done....about 700.00 labor at an independent mechanic.

#783 of 831 740i Battery Drain (car sits a lot) by sysadb420

Apr 22, 2011 (2:08 pm)

I've got a 98 740i. I've developed a power drain from something lately, where if I let it sit a week without starting/driving I have to charge the battery. The battery is fine, it fully charges, and is 8 months old. I've taken to avoid locking it to save power, and that seemed to work for awhile (or at least I got 2-3 weeks before the battery lost too much power to start). But now the interval has shortened to a week as I mentioned. I'm pretty confidant it's not the trunk light as that goes off automatically after a period of time when the trunk is open.
 
What I noticed the other day is that the transmission selector diode on the console stays lit when the car is in park and turned off. I'm thinking that shouldn't be the case. Any ideas or does this ring a bell?

#784 of 831 Re: 740i Battery Drain (car sits a lot) [sysadb420] by toy4her

Jul 14, 2011 (3:28 pm)

Replying to: sysadb420 (Apr 22, 2011 2:08 pm)
I have a 2002 535 i that did exactly the same thing -- It was the alternator. The battery kept dying, I would recharge it, finally bought a new one since the service center said I had a bad cell -- that worked for about 3 weeks -- then the same thing started happening again -- It was not until the car died completely, overheated because the fan motor would not work that we discovered the alternator was bad. Replaced that and its been working great ever since.
 
We also thought about the trunk light, the alarm system, and did notice the transmission selector light stayed on when the car was parked and turned off -- The transmission selector light stopped doing that once the alternator was replaced.....so look at the alternator

Messages Page 79 of 84

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