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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

Why are the brake lines being replaced are the leaking ? or is it just that you want them changed ? BMW are not alone in fitting brake lines to a bare shell then putting huge assemblies like the rear subframe and axel in place to cover them up. My wife's car is a 3.0 Subaru Outback with a Perrin engine upgrade (400whp) she loves it and it has been a brilliant car 15 MOT's and it had it's first advisory this year. However she reported a soft pedal last year when I investigated I found signs of brake fluid leaking on the nearside rear. Now Subaru run the brake lines inside the car so they are protected brilliant, until they need to exit to reach the rear wheels they chose to do that in a place where they then mount the fuel tank ?? To drop the tank you first have to drop the Rear subframe (sound familiar) Cost at a dealer would be more than the car is worth (and she does love her car) so my solution run new brake lines inside the car into the boot area near the spare wheel well drill two holes for grommets and feed the new lines down and connect to the existing flexy pipes. A days head scratching and planning £30 worth of materials and brake fluid job done So a BMW dealer will have Labour rates north of £200 per hour so dropping the rear subframe will probably be 2 days work possibly with 2 techs for safety easy to see where the money goes. Personally I would run new lines in copper (no rust issues) and clip them to the rear subframe cut out the existing lines apart from where they are above the subframe. Same with parts Febi, Mehyle Bosch and many others are OEM parts suppliers to BMW who like all other Car manufacturers tend to make Bodies and Engines all the other thousands of parts are brought in. Buy those parts from BMW and you will find their markup is often 400% that's life. Maintaining our Beemers i top condition particularly the older models would become uneconomical very quickly if using dealers Dave

Morning Rick Welcome to the Forum By the description you give it would seem that the gearbox is ready for a full service and while it's out new clutch The poor old Gearbox is often the most abused part of the car Engine gets regular oil and filter changes while the gearbox is often never touched until it breaks Good Luck Dave

Potential new X1 owner here looking for any possible negative feedback I currently own an X3 but with all needed repairs suggested I feel it is better to go with a new vehicle. As I am reluctant to get into a monthly car payment I am considering buying a less expensive model and I am seriously considering the X1. Does anyone have any moderately negative experiences with the X1? Thanks!

Hi All hope your well So he we go I have a Bmw 1 series I currently having some issues with first gear it will goes in when stationary. The min I try to pull forward it jumps out of gear. So my thought was it was the slave cylinder how ever I went to my local parts store and he questioned if it was that . Which then made we question it. the only other systems are the clutch pedal doesn't always retract to high and there is some build near the gear rode "sorry no it's not call that" but unsure what its called everything works fine apart from that no noise from gear box . I have read on the internet that it could just need a fuild change is this a possibility or I am looking something more expensive ? please help I am going mad

Got my x6 sent into bmw for new rear brake lines fitted. £ 90 for the lines and was 2 hrs labour to fit. Car went into the workshop, and I got a call. Sorry, but it’s gonna be £2800 to fit as whole back axle has gotta come out! Plus vat!!! 3k for 2 piddly lines. This is extortion, and local specialists are quoting similar if not more. Other than scrap the car with over 4k worth of brand new parts on, what can I do?

Hi Stu, thank you for jumping in on this.. I've just had another mechanic come out who took the starter off and confirmed its still working. I also got the RAC out as I forgot I had a policy with them through my insurance. He tried the jump start, , attempted to turn the crank from underneath and believes its seized.. I've mentioned the alternator point back to the mechanic for his thoughts as I agree.. The engine warning light came on, the engine stopped and it coasted to a stop and never started again... There was no noise and the gear selector went into neutral.. As I type this, is that a fail safe designed within the car to stop the wheel locking up when the engine seized? Finally, if it is gone , it needs to go as I am not prepared to spend another penny on it.. Any enthusiasts out there who want to take it on?

Morning Dave, Thank you for your very helpful reply. I do not have runflats, as I think they are the Devils work. I have put a my details into realoem, but there are so many options it is confusing. I have tried Autodoc and found some Eibach springs but they seem to be for both standard and Msport, can not see how that works. I really want the softest option available as I just need the car for local journeys, as the roads where I live are like the Somme I am thinking of putting 225/55/16 wheels and tyres on as well. Cheers, Brian

Morning Brian Welcome to the Forum After 10 years the suspension is probably due a refresh, my own experience is often the shocks harden and so your getting little bump or rebound. Start at www.realoem.com if you are not aware it is an online BMW parts list. Put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will call up your model then search the front and rear axel sections for part numbers. You will see part numbers for M sport and standard springs then search the internet for deals. Front suspension is normally a strut assembly so changing springs and shocks will require a set of spring compressors or often a changing a complete unit is as cheap and less work. Also consider tyres are you still on run flat tyres they can contribute to a hard ride Good Luck Dave

Ok

I recently bought a 2015 F33 420i, it is fitted with Msport suspension. Suffering from serious back problems I find the suspension far to firm, if not crashy. I really like the car, is it possible to swop out the Msport suspension and fit standard springs and shocks. If so what is involved and what set up should I go for.

Hi Dave, thanks for the guidence It is most appreciated. Kirk

Hi Kirk Welcome to the Forum If I recall they have the same spigot ring size so should be OK I take it when you say mixed size you mean wider rear wheels than front ? If the 118d is front or rear wheel drive then wheels/tyres are cosmetic. The X drive cars need wheels and tyres that are matched rolling radius or drive train damage will happen quickly Dave

Hi, I have recently bought a 118d SE. I also have a 120d xdrive I am about to send to salvage. Can I put the xdrive 17" mixed size wheels on the 118d without any technical problems? Thanks

Welcome to the Forum Chris

Morning Chris Welcome to the Forum Not me (I drive a fat X5) but my Brother Inlaw is now on his 6th 5 series Touring he travels a lot in Europe. All his cars have been owned from new and serviced by BMW but with interim services/oil changes by us in my home garage, we change oil and filters at 5k intervals (for him that's monthly). All his cars have been larger engines (he likes the power) current is a 540d xDrive ECU tuned to 400hp, all his cars run to over 200k before trading in He has had issues early on BMW used to tell buyers Gearbox's were sealed for life ( we service to ZF standards at home) Infotainment system faults a whole list but not difficult to sort with DIY and a little thought Around 2007 BMW moved timing chains to the rear of the engine so any rattles here could be expensive as the engine has to come out ?? So as with any second user car Service History is key and the first thing I would do is carry out a full inspection and service check the oil drained from the sump with a magnet or pour it slowly through a paper coffee filter for any metal particles if there are any it could well signal issues to come Hope this helps Dave

Hey Stu I’m From Cork Ireland I’ve had audi a6 Passat American trucks dodge and Ford but bmw is 120 d coupe uk e46 318i I’ve had the pleasure of driving the M3 and 1M also there’s more cars just too long to list haha

Hello and welcome to the forum. Good bunch of folks here! Where are you based and what were your previous cars? Hope you find us a useful bunch. Stu

He has anyone any experience but running a touring 520i what Milage were ye getting ? And also any issues mine has 85k kms

Hey all I’m new here but I’m on my 4th bmw but my first 523i touring what I’m hoping to pick up this week - nice to meet you all

Morning James OK phone is running Android 16 what is the Droid running can you connect it to home Wifi and check for updates? Not necessarily a wrong connection just not a clean connection so remaking them after a blast with a good electrical contact cleaner may well be the answer I spoke to my neighbour (330i Touring) he told me he had some connection issues between his Android screen (brought from Amazon last year) and his Samsung Galaxy which sound similar to your issue, Bluetooth calls would not connect properly or not at all, his wife's Motorola connected fine and she is the main user. He remade the Samsung connection several times apparently then noticed his address book hadn't uploaded (as his wife's address book is similar he hadn't noticed at first) He cleared all connections on the Android unit in the car and the remade the connections to his and his wife's phones. His address book uploaded so did his wife's and both phones have worked ever since he has no clue what he may have done different but everything works even Android Auto Good Luck Dave

Thanks for the advice Dave I haven't had a chance to strip yet and phone is running Android 16 so not a phone issue it will play music via the cars Bluetooth etc as the screen doesn't actually control sound so I mush have either not connected it quite right at the back but strange music will play but in car calls don't?!

Bit of a long shot, but has the alternator failed? My x5 did and it did exactly the same, even with a jump pack and a battery charger, it wouldn’t fire or crank at communicate as the battery was fully fully flat. The warning lights came on, then quickly engine lost power. And the car stopped. Surely if the timing chain snapped it would have made a !Removed! big noise before stopping quickly, not coasting as the engine would still be engaged to the gearbox?

Hi Chris Sorry don't trust the AA my neighbour broke down (BMW X5 E53) the AA attended plugged in and their report said no communication with the Gearbox no drive total gearbox failure. Your car Model is F10 the engine designation is M57N He waited to be recovered to home I plugged in my ISTA diagnostics Gearbox fine Engine ran gearbox selected drive and reverse checked underneath and the Prop was spinning? My diagnosis Rear Diff failed he brought a second hand diff (Ebay) and we fitted it on his drive, he still using the car 5 years on Me I would get a second opinion before doing anything drastic. Remove the undertray and get a socket on the Crank shaft bolt and turn the engine by hand that will confirm if it is seized or not. No crank could be a multitude of other things from the starter relay to an ECU failure proper diagnostics are needed Dave