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Newbie here and tearing my hair out. 2012 1 series 118d cabriolet. Hood latch rusted and stuck, local mechanic got hood open and removed latch. He said cable was a bit knackered, So ordered new latch and cable. Latch fine, but cable clearly wrong, too short, though I ordered allegedly correct part. Of course it is 2 piece but only tried to fit front part, nowhere near. Old cable is too long, but works ish , so I wonder if someone previous had similar problem. Every supplier I have looked at (any) seems to offer what I have already got ie too short. So I am flummoxed. Any ideas. Rgds, Dave

Thank you! Let your mates know about it please 🙏

Thanks Trevor Try as I might I just cant get the mpg over 42.2 - I'm sure on the return of the first journey we managed 42.9 Make no mistake, no complaints...only that we paid Euro 1.53 litre in Greece and Euro 2.00 in France... That car will get us from Ancona to Essex on two tanks!

Hello Trevor, thanks reply and very good point - we put the X3 through main dealer for a full check and diagnostic for peace of mind. Initially they suspected an oil leak from gearbox or engine. They gave the engine and gearbox a jet wash and said come back in 500 miles. No sign of any leak. Still looks clean and dry almost five years later. We put a new set of CrossClimate2 on for the winter treks down to Greece. We would only end up doing that again! A decent power wash of the underside and replace any sensor/brake hoses looking a bit aged is definitley on the to do list.

I have found some information, the flywheel does not require timing as the ECU measures the reluctor so my remaining issue is the crankshaft holding tool alignment.

Morning Kevin The Star mark for BMW approved Tyres is more relevant to cars with 4 wheel drive it ensures that 4 tyres of the approved size from that manufacturer will have rolling radius that match the AWD system requirements and not cause damage to the drive train. Most Marques who have AWD have similar tyre requirements. If your 435 does not have AWD (X drive) using tyres of the correct size but not star marked is far less of a problem As an Aside I have Hankook tyres on my X5 E70 (non run flat) as they are far quieter than the Michelin run flats it came with Dave

Morning Rav To try and answer your questions in order If communication is disrupted it certainly would cause the re-flash to fail Haven't you got a Wiring Diagram in ISTA ? I believe your car has the Flexray Bus system normally very reliable but the terminal connectors can fail I have read but not had one to play with. I believe the Diagnostic Connector is linked to the FEM and DME by the D-Can and KL30 - KL15 links (Check ISTA for terminal locations mine were in the boot on the drivers side) I have made up several short connection leads with a pin connector on one end (1 male and 1 female) with a crocodile clip on the other. I can then test each pin individually following the wiring diagram Dave

Thanks Stu I will have a look at the head unit later today

ah,never knew. Cheers.

Morning Ricky Welcome to the Forum Tasty motor hope your enjoying it First check would be Battery Voltage check it at the charging point under the bonnet key out engine off you should see 12.5v engine running 14.5v + If you have less than 12.5v at rest then the battery either needs charging or if 11v or lower replacing. When the car is started current draw is high and the cars many control units shut down functions to protect them or save power. If the battery is good then you could try taking out the switch panel and cleaning it and it's plug with a good electrical contact spray, if that doesn't do it a diagnostic scan should point you in the right direction Hope this helps Dave

I have just had mine serviced, as when I bought it the box was buttery smooth. I could, lately just feel a bit of a change on the change down. As it was 6 years old and 50k miles decided to get it done and now back to buttery smooth. The old oil definately needed changing. There is also a filter in the gearbox, so surely that needs changing at some point. BMW say its lifetime, but will offer a service on it for about £1500. ZF say 6 yrs/60k miles. So I went to my local indie and had it done for £415. I guess it depends how the car is driven light or lead footed and motorway or town, and in some small measure luck of the draw.

Do you have any Battery Management messages appear when you start the car? My start/stop has never really kicked in as Sytner BMW should have really put a new battery on it before they sold it me. Mine only works if I have done a long drive (100+) and it's not too cold, and all the other parameters are met. It will only work on mine (G21 320d) in Comfort and Eco mode, Sport disengages it. Even a slight drop on the battery seems to stop it kicking in. When I first got it I drove in Eco mode all the time, and as my battery is "tired" it didn't really charge up enough. I believe it has an “intelligent” alternator so will only pull on it when really required. Eco prioritises exactly that - fuel economy - so will have alternator disengaged as much as possible. I know on my Golf when the start/stop has turned the engine off, the child can start it up by turning the A/C button on. Try charging the battery up over the weekend and see if that makes a difference. I'll be honest I find start/stop a pain in the ##### and usually turn it off. But it is annoying when a feature doesn't work properly.

Sorry, I have had time to sit down. The camshaft sensor can fail and cause sporadic issues. There is a pulley on the front of the engine which can split and cause the forward/ backward motion and misread the sensor. Check this by pulling the pulleys toward the radiator / front of car. They should not move!

Morning Peter First lesson don't go to BMW 😅 Have you used www.realoem.com to get the correct part number then use the Internet to search for the best price, check out the Specialist BMW dismantlers like Quarry Motors. Or there are now companies who will clean the original DPF if it is cleaned the software will be needed to be reset so the car knows it has a clean DPF Dave

Morning Charlie Welcome to the Forum As the thread is almost 6 years old and not closed out ?? However try the simple things first (1) Check the position of the adjusting switch if it to the right (Driver side adjustment) the nearside mirror should not dip on reverse. If the switch is set to the left to allow nearside mirror adjustment when reverse is selected the mirror will dip. If the problem persists check the Drivers door switch connector clean it with contact cleaner. If that doesn't do it then diagnostics are needed Dave

Excuse my typo/autocorrect that should be needs a dpf

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum. Try a Torx bit as greydog said. Where are you based? I’m in the wolds

Have done a smoke test and no leaks until it gets to the valve on top of the rocker cover, very new to ISTA but not diagnostics so still working through it, will try again tomorrow evening as England playing tonight. thanks

Morning Hamzza Welcome to the Forum I have read some stories about people having difficulty finding anyone who is capable of working on hybrid transmissions. You need to search www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will call up your model then search the gearbox section then you will have the part number. I believe some of these transmissions were in house BMW built so parts and service may tie you to BMW £££ But try the Transmission Specialists you may hopefully find one who can help Good Luck Dave

Morning Guy Remember BMW like most Manufacturers have thousands of parts suppliers around a 38% in Germany another 30% in Europe around 15% in the USA and 17% shock horror in China I ordered suspension bushes from Febi a couple of years ago (best price) and they came in BMW labelled boxes 🤣 So if you are not aware use www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model. Then search the sections for what you need once you have the part numbers search the internet for best price and supply. The gearbox is the only part where you may need outside help as it is a ZF manufactured item which BMW fit as a complete assembly service parts are available though. Good luck hope this helps and things go smoothly Dave

My wife loves her BTW 320d convertible, a couple of weeks back the roof went down but would not go back up. Oh dear I thought. (Well that's the polite version) Anyhow discovered rear window regulator was at fault, the reason being water runs down the window and fills up the void just behind the door which because the drain plug is blocked with accumulated dirt and bmw cover it with a plastic underfloor cover means water can't escape. Which by the way fills up and fries the battery or sound amp, depending on which side. In my case luckily not quite but did mean the window regulator was immersed in water and gradually dusted through the site which makes the window go up and down. Hence roof would not go up because window wouldn't fully retract. So got hold of second hand rear window regulator swap them over and it all works again. So please learn this valuable lesson unless of course you wish to part with loads of money, check the drain plugs covered by plastic underfloor covering located behind the driver and passenger doors.

Morning Paul Sorry that doesn't look like a BMW part number just looked on my copy of ISTA and to try and get it right I have chosen mid 2010 as the manufacturing date and it seems there are 3 choices and dependent on the lighting package here is what I have found Vehicles with lighting package S522A Bi Xenon Headlamp Left Part No 63127262721 Right Part No 63127262722 Vehicles with lighting package S522A or S524A Bi Xenon Headlamp Left Part No 63127262725 Right Part No 63127262726 Vehicles without lighting packages S522A or S524A Bi Xenon Headlamp Left Part No 63117199603 Right Part No 63117199604 You can check what lighting package your car has by using a BMW Vin decoder online however my guess would be you have S524A with adaptive lights Hope this helps Dave

Hi Ted Then I would suspect a loom problem if the signal is sent and assuming the sensors are OK then there is a reason the signal isn't arriving. So my logical old brain would start testing continuity checking all plugs and connectors cleaning them with contact spray I would also check the clutch air gap just to be safe if the garage that checked the compressors and clutches tested them by applying 12v to the terminals but in the car only 5v is applied ?? Do you know what Voltage should be applied to your cars compressor or do they? A quick look at the parts list in ISTA for a 2012 F31 tells me there were 2 types of Compressor 1 uses a magnetic clutch 64529216467 - RP A/C compressor the other with a Magnetic coupling p64506805025 - A/C compressor if I understand it these are replacement parts so require the correct Clutch or Magnetic coupling to be moved over So is the part correct for your car ? If you can't check yourself then you may need a good Auto Electrician or AirCon Specialist Dave

OK so I have a mate who had a scanner to read my codes unfortunately I have two: 244900 DPF full of soot and 273D00 crank/camshaft readings, so it’s a replacement timing chain and guides as well as a DPF soak kit as the engine has to be removed anyway

Morning Juli Welcome to the Forum Read as much as you can on all Forums just bear in mind most forums will highlight issues so don't just look at the number but look for specific Engine or Gearbox issues Good Luck with the hunt Dave