Greydog

Well done Eric we will have to Nick Name you the "Sub Zero" for working in the snow and ice to get it fixed

Well said Eric, the situation here is not much different what is scary to me is in the UK according to Government figures there were 38.4 million licensed to use the roads in the UK in September last year. That figure doesn't included cars and trucks from the EU and raises the first question how clever will the system be as there are 2 speed measurements to be dealt with MPH KPH? Coming back to the UK registered vehicles how many are new and would be fitted with the device? A fairly small percentage I would think, the same of course applies to Europe. So we would have a situation where automatically restricted vehicles will be mixed with unrestricted vehicles on the same roads. Makes me wonder if this is a revenue raiser (automatic fines) or for our safety? Government figures again in 1958 the Road Research Laboratory was set up due to concern over road deaths with 7 million cars on our roads and just under 5000 fatalities, now we have 38 million cars and 1793 fatalities or 0.005%. The reduction is due to a mixture of better vehicles with more safety features for pedestrians and passengers and better roads plus improved driving techniques in my opinion we will struggle to reduce fatal accidents much further without stopping all traffic. The real issue with having 38 million plus vehicles on our roads is pollution, will slowing everything down really help pollution significantly as again not all vehicles have start stop technology? Ultimately and particularly in the UK we have so much congestion that speed is traffic regulated rather than legislated What if a vehicle fitted with the system malfunctions and a driver receives a fine? is the driver at fault? What position will insurers take in the event of an accident? Then there is the personal position imagine how the guy who just paid £100k+ for his new Lambo is going to feel when he is passed by the guy in the 10 year old Fiat Punto because his new car is limited and the Punto isn't, that will be fun to see. Big Brother and George Orwell spring to mind, we have more cameras per head of population in the UK than any other Country, we can be tracked by our mobile phones and soon our cars. They want us to have "Smart Meters" in our homes, to what end I fail to see as most of our housing stock is to old to be successfully made carbon neutral. Glad I am an old bloke but feel sad for my children and their families will they eventually legislate the fun out of life??

Hi Ant Based on what you say I think you should be able to get 2009/10 low mileage models or later depending on what mileage they have covered and specification. Engine size depends on the performance you want but the 2.0 litre is a pretty good compromise in my opinion for power/performance and economy. BMW AUC warranties are excellent but can be pricey but there are some good alternatives out there. Good Hunting let us know what you end up with Dave

Welcome to the Forum John Mega engine in the X3 Enjoy If your previous X was destroying the transfer box actuators it points to Tyre's or wrong diff at one end!! I did read of a 4.8 X5 brought cheap as it kept eating actuators turned out that a previous owner had replaced the rear diff with a second hand (wrong ratio) diff then pulled the fuse for the transfer box and traded it?? If your new X3 has the same size wheels all round they tend to be more forgiving but it is still better to change all 4 together and preferably from a reasonable manufacturer, if the set up is staggered then BMW recommend * rated tyres as they will have a very close rolling radius front and rear it doesn't take much variance to put stress on the transfer box. Reverse on a tight radius if you hear or feel clicking you will know. also if there is a clicking under the driver when you switch off. Dave

Morning Ant Welcome to the Forum £10k is a good budget, as with any used car condition and history are paramount. Modern Diesels are not lovers of short journeys as they don't get a chance to reach full exhaust temperature, so unless you are going to use the car for longer journeys at weekends a petrol may be a better choice. Then there is the spec, leather, electric everything, aircon, sports or comfort seats, we make our choice and pay our money. Same with performance better performance normally equals less MPG another choice. So I would put together a need to have and nice to have list that should help to narrow the choice, things like: Need to have's- Leather Seats, Climate Control, Sat Nav, Bluetooth, Body type/Colour, Alloys(style) Nice to have's- Engine (Petrol Diesel), Gearbox (Auto/Manual) Power/Performance, MPG, Warranty, Low tax bracket. Hope this helps Dave

Morning Rhys Welcome to the Forum They need an inline resistor, normally the "error free" lamps have it built in clearly not the case for you? You can buy the line resistors separately, one per lamp. If you put the original bulbs back does the error go? How ever you should be able to buy "Canbus Error Free" items from a good Motor Factors, Halfords (worth a try) or online from someone like HID's direct (my preference) then of course Ebay (but often origin uncertain) Dave

Very Nice Best engine as well (in my opinion) Welcome to the Forum Davie Dave

Before you get carried away have a look underneath the rear it may be that a previous owner changed the suspension to coil springs (not un-common) then turned off the warning. If you are still on the air suspension then it will likely be one of the ride height sensors, they are often put back incorrectly and cause the warning. Belt tensioner's are likewise often not installed correctly and will allow a squeal under load changing them wont break the bank just needs sockets and skinless knuckles !! Ask how I know

You buy two, it looks flash on the drive but one is for spares

I still think you will have codes there if there is an ECU issue, senor issue, fuel issue it will log a code you need a BMW specific code reader. I did read somewhere about the ignition switch barrel giving problems but I can't for the life of me remember what it was sorry. Dave

Make sure it is the right battery Eric the previous owner may have fitted an over-rated battery in due to the sticky starter, an over-rated battery will never reach full charge as the alternator output will not be suitable. I believe yours should be 70ah 760Cca (cold cranking amps) but check your hand book. There was a lot of issues recorded on forums here in the UK with starter motor failures but they tended to be pre 2005 and Magneti Marelli starters, symptoms were slow cranking or intermittent cranking but drawing massive current which fried batteries. I did read of one guy who measured over 900amps draw on cranking !!! Bosch starters were the replacement of choice. When I was in business we built a huge distribution centre for Honda in the UK just to give Dealers an overnight spares service it helped perpetuate the myth of them never breaking down?? With one of my AMG.s the super charger bearings at the nose pulley failed more than once, clearly the bearings and housing weren't up to the task. In the end I got hold of a nose section from a breaker and with the help of a friend with an engineering shop re-machined the nose bearing housing to take better bigger bearings and increased the oil feed. We also up rated the output with a 10% smaller drive pulley. I never had another failure and George sells upgrade kits for Range Rovers and Jags here. What was the old joke we all drive around in cars made up from 50000 parts all supplied by the lowest bidder!! No matter what they throw at us we will fix it and make it better

Morning Stephen I would check www.realoem.com often there are repair kits available from BMW. I would try a good electrical contact cleaner with a sliver of emery board (my wife loves it when I cut bits off her nail boards!! not) If the connectors are beyond saving then it is only 2 wires so a new connector should be 10 mins with a soldering iron and some shrink wrap Dave

My thought on the mechanism is something has made it wear oddly in the first place. Have a look at www.realoem.com it's a BMW parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box and it will bring up your model then search for the part it gives exploded drawings and part numbers helps to make sure it will fit. Also www.newtis.info it's a BMW technical information site as used by Dealers good for how too's etc Dave

Morning Andrew And Welcome to the Forum Sounds as though the heat shield around the Cat is loose and he has tacked it in place. Flickering lights is a sign of something loose(earth or power feed) I would check and clean all light connections (take care if you have HID) Your Mechanic is quite right if your battery is on it's way out that alone will trigger spurious codes. When you say "blanking plate" is that the EGR? or Swirl flaps? Good Luck and Enjoy Dave

Definitely looks like dead battery at 9 volts it should be 12+ at rest 14 with engine running and charging. I suspect that with very low voltage even getting an accurate code read will be difficult. I read codes with the engine running, clear and reset any codes then turn off and leave the car to go to sleep, in the X5 it takes around 15 mins for the car to go into sleep mode (all systems off) the gear selector light is the key with the X5. Once it's asleep I restart and re-read the codes if any have returned they are the ones I investigate and fix, most codes with the X5 have tended to be caused by electrical connections poor earth being the most common with mine. My X5 shows 2 at the moment Aux Water Pump and Open Circuit Drivers Door Mirror so Suspension swing arm bushes then go digging for the cause of the codes, lifes never dull with a Beemer.if my wife doesn't have plans the car does. Dave

Morning Micheal and Welcome to the Forum Very Pretty and just in time for Spring. With regard to the window issue replacing worn guides will never harm it have you taken off the trim to make sure that nothing is loose or out of kilter with the mechanism. Enjoy Dave

Morning Simon If the result is like my sons Toyota you will have smoother running engine and improved fuel consumption. I have just had to change the rear suspension air springs (1 failed) and then a water pump. While I was under neath I noticed the swing arm inner bushes looked a but frazzled so have ordered a set (BMW say you have to change the whole arm !!) so with the weather improving it looks like I might have a few weekends working through the suspension bushes. An X5 is not a car to let you rest on your Laurels it will keep you busy Dave

BMW's are famous for being power hungry beasts a low battery will trigger all sorts of spurious and seeming unrelated codes and warnings. So if your battery is on it's way another may solve a lot of issues. Dave

That's why you need the codes to point you in the right direction otherwise it's change parts and hope which is a wallet busting way to try and fix things. The list of possible culprits is long fuel filter, fuel pressure sensor, MAP sensor, MAF, Fuel pumps Dave

Morning Ian That's a new one, have you tried starting in neutral in case it is something like the inhibitor switch. To be sure you will need the codes read, no other lights or warnings? Dave

Check www.realoem.com search the model the parts lists all have small exploded drawings that will show where stuff is. www.newtis.info will also help. the Pelican Parts web site is also great for information how too;s and parts. Fingers crossed it's a simple fix Dave

Is something unplugged ? I would make sure the battery is fully charged then read codes and back track slowly over whatever I have done checking all connections and earths Dave

Good luck and good call with an MOT garage your right they see them all Dave

Hi Zach I just had a quick check on www.realoem.com BMW parts site (put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model) and www.newtis.info this is a technical information site used by Dealers (but not yours it seems?) Your engine does has an electric coolant pump, so it makes sense that after engine switch off the coolant circulates to aid turbo cooling, time would probably be sensor driven until below a certain temp. I am not certain but it seems logical to me Dave

Morning Zach, Welcome to the Forum When you say Dealer is it a BMW Dealer? if it is then that really doesn't give much confidence fr the future? The noise could be a turbo cooling pumps moving oil and coolant around ? just a guess but something similar I would suspect Dave