X5smw

…. I have a 5’ wife….. rubbish mechanic though! 😂

Right! I bit the bullet and have ordered an ews set. it will be here before Saturday, so any tips or help will be well received. I’m guessing the units are plug and play, just the key barrel and door lock are a bit of a pain? Dave, yet again, thank you for your time and advice 👍🏻

Hi Dave, tried that, still the same. It’s getting so bad the car is going into failsafe mode when it does finally start. took ages to get sorted at Tesco petrol station… queues were massive! 😂

Hi Dave, the vin is correct. …. The photos are hard to take and videos are a nightmare…. I need a longer usb lead! 😂

My car is a manual 3.0i

Hi Dave… it’s a manual 😊 Hi mate, my wife seems to think this works but it really is up to the car it’s really annoying me now! 😂

this is after turning the ignition off and locking the car, unlocking then no crank

…. Then it started… no errors

Hi Dave, next idea?? Lol. I have replaced the switch but it’s still the same. below is hopefully a video with live data off the ews unit IMG_2230.MOV IMG_2229.MOV

Hi Dave, yet again, your resources are second to none. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I have already synced both the dme and ews, also the ews and ilk units, still the same. on the ews live data, the top 3 (security coding) keep changing from green to red and back. And then go blank on the data boxes. the car seems to immobilise itself once I have locked the doors. If I don’t lock it, it starts no issues. the key has been coded to the central locking, all ok. could it be the reader around the barrel? I think I’ll order a spare key and see what happens, at least it will tell me if the battery is going on the key here.

Dme code D1 (209), 80 (128) ews Code 11(17), 13(19) anyone know if I can delete the ews using pa soft? Ews3 unit

Hi Dave, I only have 1 key which is key 1. I have synced ews to some and reprogrammed the key. I start the car, no issues, remove the key and lock the door, unlock and key doesn’t work, try and try again, then the car starts. check pasoft and it shows the errors. Clear codes and all good until I lock the car. It’s as if the rolling code isn’t being recognised.

…. Quick mind !Removed!…. stopped and started numerous times… all ok, removed the key and locked/ unlocked the car…. No start… checked the codes and dtc 11(17) wrong password, key 1 is up… 3 cranks later and starts… I think I’m getting somewhere slowly

Morning Dave, the starter seems fine. just replaced the battery and scanned everything, stopped and started… nothing, turned key back to position 2, tried again, nothing… tried again… fired straight up. No cranking beforehand.

Could the cause be this error, relating to the key? Does the immobiliser work off the key sensor on the barrel?

Hi all. the old girl is giving me issues… the car is too! when I put the key in and turn on the ignition, there is now a delay before the starter does anything. It’s like it’s doing a check before starting, usually about 3 seconds. now my wife has informed me it won’t start and she is at the supermarket. after a lot of shouting and swearing, I got her to put the jump pack on it… still the same, more swearing and it started! then she went home, her day ruined by the car (and not me for a change) she said it runs fine once it starts. But it’s been like this for the past week 🙄 I’m going to have to plug the computer in when I get home. this is the same car that the alternator failed on, so could it be the battery is now ducked (it’s less than a year old) the car seems fine once it’s running. cheers all stu

I would personally get the welding and body sorted first. I wouldn’t want to drive a car knowing it was rotten and needed structural work. You would probably need to remove engine bay stuff to weld anyway, so why do it twice? Build your house on strong foundation and it will not fall.

I had this on an older 5 series, it told me all the rear lights were off randomly. After testing every light, it turned out to be the check control unit on the light module which was located in the boot lhs if I vaguely remember. It was an older e34 mind, so it will be something completely different now! I needed to replace it for the mot and struggled to find one in a Yorkshire budget, so ended up buying a scrap car for £102 on eBay, changing the part and selling the car to the scrap dealer for £150!

Drumkit = x5. 👍🏻 I used to have to gig with an e36… I feel your pain.

First thing….. get EVERYTHING in writing… from all parties! I will tell you a horror story … a bmw 3 series was purchased through a finance company and it turned out to be a write off and repair which haven’t been picked up on a 127 point check…. Car went back, finance company was never told and after a few years, ex owner found they had been made bankrupt and nearly lost everything including family. secondly, take it back to the dealer you bought it from and tell them to sort it properly, contact the finance company and get them to make them sort it. It’s their car until you finish paying for it anyways. It’s clearly a fault that needs specialist equipment and in my opinion is not fit for purpose. please keep us informed of any action and please do not hesitate to use the finance company to help you with the dealership. good luck.

As Greydog recommends, buy the bmw software and plug from the well known selling site. It has proved invaluable for me and saved me a fortune! some things to look at. Check the ht leads and the coils to the spark plugs. A failing one will cause a misfire and sporadic Rev drop and a rough idle. You say it has a small oil leak. I would check where this is coming from. Do you have any white smoke or signs of head gasket failure? Any air gaps in the engine will cause all sorts of issues. fault idle control valve and air inlet sensor will cause lean running and uneven idle. where the air comes in through behind the air filter box is usually a round plug into a square black box with a pipe running through it. Try unplugging that and see what happens. thottle position sensor can cause some of the issues above and just needs resetting. the software will show all the problems and will point you at the problem. I really suggest you get a copy if you are a competent mechanic. good luck and keep us posted.

Makes me sing out loud every time.

I don’t trust water cooling in electrics.... I remember the water cooled pc’s coming out and thinking that running mains, processors and water in a box is asking for trouble! 😂

.... if it had lasted 11 I would have been at home! 😂😂 .... what a pain to get to the bottom alternator bolt. Top tip.: buy a 1/2 drive socket set with a knuckle jointed stubby adaptor. 16 and 17mm sockets and swear for about 3 hours and it will be sorted 👍🏻

..... about ten miles, as I found out on Thursday night.! the battery lights came on and I was driving home around midnight. After about 8 miles things started shutting down, the stereo, interior displays and dash lights... then the headlights... then the engine. I couldn’t pull over as the road had a ditch next to it so I just pulled as far over to the left as I could and rang the police. I was stranded on a country road which I’d a busy lorry route so luckily I flagged a passing car who took my wife and son home the last 2 miles. I put my triangle out and waited for the police to come and was amazed one arrived an seconds!.... only to find they were out looking for someone 🙄. I rang my insurance and they would arrange recovery, ... then my phone died. I used the last of the battery as a torch to warn oncoming speeding lorries and cars.... police arrived and they were organising transportation etc but no tow trucks arrived, I couldn’t get an answer from the insurance company as to why and the police ended up staying with me for 5 hours whilst it got light enough to push the car off the road to avoid the ditch... I got in at 6am, just in time for my alarm to go off so I could go to work! 🙄👍🏻 a big thank you to humber side police and the passing motorist for keeping us safe. no thanks to the insurance company or recovery firms for not bothering about the safety of their clients. I’m currently awaiting a call from their director and the police have raised a complaint to them for wasting resources. anyway.... ordered a replacement alternator on Friday, delivered at 1pm sat and fitted by 4.... all good now. 👍🏻