Greydog

You can check the Voltage at the charge points under the bonnet with a Voltmeter 12.5v is a Good Battery any thing close to 12v would indicate discharged battery below 12v would indicate a dead or dying battery. Hope it is a simple fix Dave

Morning Chris Could be a number of issues, I would start with the Battery, is it fully charged and holding it ? A diagnostic will show up stored Fault Codes but if the underlying cause is low Battery Voltage many could be caused by low voltage. Test voltage at the charging point under the bonnet anything below 12.5v is low below 12v I would suspect the battery. Engine running you should see 14 + v that should confirm the Alternator and charging circuit. Dave

Hi Arfan If there are no drive train Faults recorded it is very likely just the gearbox being sluggish when cold Dave

Hi Paul So I would guess it is all there, I hope this isn't like VW with the ID3 where you have to pay a subscription to keep things like Heated Seats or Heated Steering wheels working !! Keep us up to speed please Dave

Afternoon Arfan The gearbox should be serviced between 60k to 100k kilometers according to ZF who make the box. It may be that as your box has not been serviced that when the Gearbox is cold it is sluggish on down changes (25mph would be 1st/2nd gear territory) in higher gears engine revs would hardly register A diagnostic scan will tell if there are any Fault Codes stored for the gearbox, peace of mind Dave

Hi Paul First check yourself using a BMW Vin decoder (if you haven't already) I work on the old "in God we Trust everyone else we check on principle 😅 There are LED light sources in each door light is fed to the door handle by a Fibre Optic cable, when the car is unlocked the area below the handle is illuminated they call them Welcome lights. Inside the car there are Ambient door lights above the door pockets and in some cases speaker lights If your car was built without them you will probably find a Dealer sucking their teeth and explaining what a difficult job it is £££££ If they are important to you I would find a good BMW Specialist (there is a Register) and talk to them The real question would be if the wiring/power source is there if it is then it should be a fairly straight forward retro fit and coding process Dave

Morning Arfan Welcome to the Forum Some questions, 1. if you rev the engine what happens ? 2. how many miles has the car covered ? 3. when was the gearbox serviced ? It could be that the box is holding a higher gear so a 25mph is showing idle speed as the box warms up it changes. A Diagnostic scan would help understand what's happening Dave

Morning Paul If you know someone who has INPA/ISTA just plug in and the program will let you know what equipment the car was built with (list and codes) your dealer could do it but it sounds like yours falls into the "can't be bothered to help a customer" category You could also use a BMW Vin Decoder several online to pull up the same information I must say I thought pretty much all top of the range Beemers had them so worth a search Dave

Hi Paul Welcome to the Forum As your car is basically new have you had a conversation with your BMW Dealer ? Normally the door lights are as tough as old boots, my X5 2009 vintage has them and they all still work (that's jinxed them) Dave

Morning Annette Welcome to the Forum I would ask who the Warranty is with? or is it just from the supplying Garage ? I would be talking to them about the sale of goods act as the the car is "not Suitable for purpose" in it's current condition, Get tough with them. I am not sure which engine you have so just checked www.realoem.com BMW online parts list the 2.0d inlet manifold complete with new gaskets is available from several sources for less that £100 so £1350 is taking the proverbial even for a BMW Dealer Check yourself on realoem just put the last 7 digits of your Vin number into the search box Good Luck Dave

Morning Jessica Welcome to the Forum There are many sellers on line how ever make sure that who ever you buy from they will give Technical support. I brought my first copy of INPA many years ago (late 90's maybe early 2000's) then upgraded to ISTA 2006 then last year upgraded to the latest version of ISTA all my copies were supplied by DJWW Auto Diagnostics he is UK based and will give 100% back up and support. An internet search will find him I am sure Good Luck Dave

Morning Ged Welcome to the Forum As your car is so young (possibly still under Warranty) what is BMW's response ? I would be having strong words in writing with the Dealer (copies to BMW Customer Services) as failing lights make the car Unsuitable for purpose. Under the sale of goods act you could return the car and ask for all monies back. Good Luck let us know what happens Dave

Morning Lou Welcome to the Forum Your hand book for the car will indicate where the recommended jacking points are. If you are using a trolley Jack there is a reinforced lifting point at the front of the the front subframe, or under the Diff at the rear then place axel stands under the cars jacking points. It goes without saying the car should be on a solid level base with wheel not being lifted chocked to prevent any movement. Dave

Morning Graham Welcome to the Forum You say you changed the Headlamp did you change for a "new" or "used" unit if used is it correct for your car ? If you are not aware you can check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box the search lights Realoem will also have small exploded drawings showing how bits fit together Dave

Morning Paul Wow that stirs the old grey matter I take it your familiar with www.realoem.com check the Classic section or BMW have a Classic section try their Customer services (I am told they can be slow) If I recall alarms were not a standard fitting back then so you may find Baur fitted it when they retrimmed the car Maybe a question to Baur in Stuttgart I am sure they will have an Archive Good Luck Dave

Hi John Considering the low temperatures over the last couple of days condensation vapour is normal, also as it clears after a few minutes driving and coolant levels are stable it would indicate no leaks. You need some warm weather to see if with warmer temps it should almost disappear Good Luck Dave

Morning John OK so if I understand the situation the car was purchased from a Car Dealer (Non BMW) you had a fault which you reported to the supplying dealer which they couldn't identify/fix. They sent the car to a BMW Specialist who diagnosed an EGR fault, the car was returned to the supplying dealer who then replaced the EGR or was it the EGR cooler they are separate parts ? So first question are you still seeing white smoke/mist from the exhaust does it clear or is it constant ? Next question have you checked the coolant level again ? Last question I have assumed your car is an E84 model with the N47N engine (1.8 or 2.0d) Dave

Morning Ste You could try using one of the BMW Vin Decoder sites that would give the same information Or try an internet search for BMW Specialists (there is a register ) you should be able to find one or two near by one of them may be helpful and certainly cheaper than BMW Good Luck Dave

Morning Dave Welcome to the Forum Has it been removed or moved and taped up somewhere ? I ask because one of our sons friends has a 1 series drift car when he brought it no OBD socket as the roll cage was there. We were going through the same thought process when he found it taped up by the steering column. You need to download a wiring diagram or if you can get access to INPA/ISTA you will find them included in WIS (Workshop Information Systems) Tino on here has gone through a similar issue he may be of some help Dave

Hi Andrew Neighbour just brought a Foxwell NT501 Elite from Ebay £120 (I think) it is DPF capable among lots of other stuff there is also iCarsoft V2 for about the same price I know that is capable of regen activation I also believe you can register a new/other DPF with it, Best is BMW INPA/ISTA but that needs to be loaded on to a Laptop but is definitely the best I have read 2 instances recently where the Ash content is high and the (BMW set a % limit) that also could be the issue maybe a chemical clean and reset will do the trick Good Luck Dave

Hi Ste Your car is indeed very rare if there are only 2 registered BMW are great aren't they, all you need is someone with INPA/ISTA plug in and it will give you month and year of manufacture plus the full original equipment build sheet How far away from West Sussex are you ? Dave

Morning John Welcome to the Forum White smoke can be caused by Condensation or a Coolant leak, Grey smoke is normally over fuelling Black smoke Way to much fuel. Does the smoke smell ? So who Diagnosed EGR issues ? Who replaced the EGR (BMW or an Independent) when the EGR was replaced was the EGR Cooler replaced? Have you checked coolant levels to see if your losing any? Loads of questions I am afraid before we can try and help 😁 Dave

Morning Ste Welcome to the Forum There is a website "How many are left" that should let you know how many are still on the road just being Manual makes it a little bit like Rocking Horse manure 😅 (It is full manual not DSG) I did read a couple of months back of a 540i 6 speed late 90's model with a price of £14k just make a search now and then to see what pops up Enjoy Dave

Hi James PDC = Park Distance Control that's the sensors in the bumpers your screen normally shows a graphic of the car with Front and Rear warnings If there is no camera fitted you will probably need the Camera Control unit Take a look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box then look at the Distance systems section that should help you understand what's needed plus the part numbers then search the internet for the bits you need. Often the internet will help with some "How Too's" as well normally the wiring and plugs are there already just taped up so fitting will be plugging in and fitting fuses if needed plus registering/programming the new unit to your chassis/car. That's the bit where you will probably need the help of someone who has access to a BMW capable Diagnostic program if you don't have one yourself. Dave

Morning James Welcome to the Forum If your car originally had a camera fitted and the one you have purchased is correct for your car it should be straight forward. I have read that sometimes the trunk operating button needs changing (I have never done the job so can't comment) If your car originally had the acoustic PDC with an image on the screen you will need control unit for the back up camera, that is what the camera plugs into. Then that module will need programming to the car so the screen receives the images. Hope this helps Dave