Latest Posts

Morning Dan Welcome to the Forum As it isn't a BMW Part I am not sure there will be help here, unless a member on here has come across the same issue Maybe Google to see if there is a Harmon Kardon Forum to see if they have more information Good Luck Dave

Following further conversation with the owner, he has corrected me to say its a September 1995 model. 5.4ltr V12 SWB. Apparently there were very limited numbers of this model in right hand drive. Any interest of advice please let me know.

Morning Cornel Welcome to the Forum Your Gearbox is ZF GA8HP45Z which I believe ZF advise should be serviced every 60 to 100000 km dependent on environment and use (Climate Towing etc) If you feel like teasing your local BMW Dealer service manager ask him if it's sealed for life why do BMW have a gearbox service kit on their parts list 😅 Transfer case is ATC 35L Personally if it is running well and at the low miles you have it isn't an urgent priority. 12 years is a stretch I would look for a good Independent or better a ZF Transmission Specialist if you can't DIY Dave

Morning Luis Welcome to the Forum You can check by using a BMW Vin decoder website put in your Vin number and it will bring up the build sheet for your car. If the car is Bluetooth equipped you will find either SA633 or SA644 codes, if they are there then the car is Bluetooth equipped. Two things will stop it working (1) The Bluetooth memory is full 4 phones I think. (2) the Telematics unit in the Boot/Trunk left side is not working If your not seeing a Bluetooth function then it will be the Telematics unit and its antenna. First check the boot area left side if the telematic unit is there unplug it and get the part number from it then use Google to source a replacement If your car was not Bluetooth equipped check the left boot are for a connector taped up in the loom in that area if it is there you may just need the parts. Then if you want it to be OEM use www.realoem.com to get the part numbers and source the equipment, it should be pretty much plug and play. The alternative is an after market Bluetooth kit Dave

Morning Matija Part of the Comfort access system then 😁 If you try www.realoem.com and put in the cars Vin (last 7 digits) it will bring up your model then reach the sections for the correct part and part number, once you have the part double click the part number and you will get a list of any alternatives and models they were used on Great find Dave

Hi Dave, Thanks for the reply and the welcome. Car has only done 33k miles with full service history - never any issues. The tuner in question will be DMS automotive, I believe they are established and have done various things with Carwow and Top Gear. Slightly on the higher end price wise but believe it would be stupid to cheap out on something like this. I also don't plan on being a boy racer, I just want the extra power for the odd over take and to prevent the delays from the automatic gearbox. Thanks again for the help! Seb

https://www.ebay.com/itm/205443605161

Sounds a bit like our house Wife Daughter(at least she only visits now) 4 dogs (Female !!) Horses (2 Mares) I have lived my life in a cloud of PMT 😂 You will get used to it 🤣 Always remember it's quieter in the Garage and if someone comes into the garage swear and they clear off 🤣🤣 Always works for me Dave

Morning Kevin In the South East Main Dealer rates are in excess of £200+ p/h even my local Specialist is over £100, I think that is a great incentive to DIY Cars have always been my recreational release and like you I only help Friends and Family Dave

Only selling as have replaced with a 2021 M135i xdrive

Morning James Google the Register of BMW Dismantlers (Quarry Motors have always been useful). For my E53 4.6is I used a local Carpet Fitter he made up a full set for me all edges trimmed and including non slip velcro patches. He used the OEM mats as patterns and off cuts from a Dark Grey High Quality Wilton carpet he had fitted, cost was less than half OEM gave the car a new smell for ages. Dave

Thank you for the explanation, much appreciated. I've booked the car in at my local garage.

Hi, Yes, I have now sold it. Apologies for not removing the post earlier. I can't figure out how to do it! Karol

Morning Trishul What was it like ? Good turnout ? Dave

Morning Vin Welcome to the Forum As your system is CiC and modular you need a Diagnostic scan to provide us more information Dave

Morning Mike Welcome to the Forum The Post is 3 years old and I am not sure if the original poster even still has the car? As said you can check pressure at the Low Pressure side after 15/20mins running anything below 30 psi points to low /no Gas. Most systems loose a little every year particularly if the system is shut down during the winter months as many folks do, the seals dry out and leaks start it's better to use the Climate Control and leave it running. If your topping it up yourself make sure the kit has the correct compressor oil as low compressor oil levels can give issues. If the water control valves are OK and working, the Climate Control unit is functioning correctly, then I would use someone like Kwik Fit to service the AC the systems they use are automatic and pre-programmed it will vac out the system, providing the system holds the vacuum for a measured time (no leaks) it will introduce the correct oil and re-gas the system. I expect to get mine done every 3 to 5 years depending on the car and AC performance Dave Note your car should be Type R134A you can't mix gasses

Morning Steven Welcome to the Forum If you have the original pump and module I would send it to ECU Testing (Derby/Nottingham area) if it is repairable it won't need coding when it goes back on. Brake bleeding is a straight forward procedure I always start at the nearside rear (furthest from the master cylinder) I use a vacuum pump bleeding kit (mine is old but they are about £20 or so) to pull fluid through. Make sure the Master cylinder is above Min at all times, once clear no bubbles or murky fluid lock it off and move to the offside rear and repeat. Then nearside front and finally offside front make sure you are using the correct brake fluid and as said never let the master cylinder drop below the Min mark. Now the only tricky bit is you will need the help of someone who has a BMW capable Diagnostic tool if you don't have your own to activate the ABS unit, job done. If the original can't be repaired the next point to check is "the unit that is fitted is it the correct one for your car" is/was it New or purchased second hand? check the part number of both the Pump and Controller carefully if they are the same as the OEM part then it should have been plug and play. If the unit was (a) Second hand is it faulty? (b) If it is an incorrect part then you will struggle to get it to work. However if it does need coding then again you will need the help of someone who has a Diagnostic program that is capable of doing it Hope this Helps Dave

Hi all, I have owned my 420D convertible for almost two years now and I am really pleased with her combination of performance and economy. However, two months ago I had trouble lowering the rear nearside window - it would not glide down smoothly but only operated in repeated pressing of the window winder button. Even when fully down I found the retractable roof would not fully open. My local BMW specialist garage advised that the problem was that the window winder mechanism on the nearside had failed due to being 'wetted-out' by water ingress to the sill from normal rainfall/washing. Apparently the sill does not have a means of draining away on the 4 Series convertible and eventually it 'floods' the window winder mechanism which sits in this area. My garage stated that this is a common problem on the convertible and they have rectified many of these cars by making a simple drain themselves. I paid £600 for the new winder and labour so was not happy but imagine my horror to experience the offside 'fail' as well ! I have now paid out @£1200 to deal with a 'common knowledge' issue that should have been subject of a simple recall to rectify. I have started an investigation with BMW UK and my local BMW Stratstone dealer to investigate this issue with a view to receiving some recompence for an obvious design fault. My question is, are there any other people/garages 'out there' who have experienced this issue with the 4 Series convertible so that we may form a group to petition BMW for financial retribution ? (I have noted several comments/pictures/videos on Google and Youtube so I know I am not the only one !!). Please feel free to contact me via this post or via my email at [email protected] Thank you !!!

I'm sorry to hear this, I cant even imagine the stress that would put you and the family under. It's wrong and it shouldn't be allowed to continue, it seems garages can walk away scott free doing this. From a buying point of view it doesn't look like you have much security only "luck" that a car is genuine from the previous owners. I am currently speaking with the BMW group, I have reported this to trading standards also (uk ecc) I hope somebody see's the forum and see's the car for what it is.

The X's have a unibody and there are not factory mounting point under vehicle. Possibly with some extreme engineering the factory one can be lowered.

Reason for noise was low oil level in the compressor. The noise only started after degassing of the aircon system. Oil topped up and all good now. Thanks folks

Thanks very much for your message Dave, it looks like that will be the solution. 😀

Hi Muriel Welcome to the Forum We have seen this here before, BMW say it is caused by condensation in the exhaust at initial start vapour is caused when the exhaust is hot no issue? One guy in Ireland spent a fortune trying to fix it check out the posts if you haven't already Hope this helps Dave

Morning Jay Welcome to the Forum I have read that Hybrids have very restricted towing capacity so my first thought is I doubt that it will fit. You really need to talk to a Specialist supplier or your Dealer (though the Dealer may not be much help if your planning DIY) From memory BMW OEM suppliers were/are Oris and Westfalia Good Luck Dave

Hi all, just an update to my previous post. Finally resolved my problem, with no help from BMW…… Had to replace the generator/starter/alternator unit to sort the problem, having 1st replaced the 48v battery to eliminate that from being the problem, which it wasn’t. So just over 3 years old, less than 70k on the clock and the MHEV system started breaking down. As time went on the issue got worse and resulted in numerous unexpected ‘shut downs’ whilst driving and on one occasion a complete electrical failure due to a flat 12v battery which wasn’t being charged. Lesson from that episode was that I constantly charged the battery when not in use to avoid a si,liar situation…. Hearing more and more people with the same problem and BMW parts confirming they are getting numerous enquiries every week for the component, so clearly BMW have a longevity issue with the system. Going to be a lot of unhappy customers. BMW of course denied there was an issue , weren’t willing to resolve the problem and instead said ‘take it to a main dealer have them identify the problem and if clearly a BMW design or manufacturing problem, they might consider a contribution to the cost’. I could see running up a huge bill at main dealer rates and then getting a minor contribution from BMW if I was lucky so opted to get it fixed by my local independent who was excellent with it. Fortunately, the vehicle was fixed and drove like a dream again, I forgot how good it was! But as the title says MHEV owners beware!1