simon fisher

just another electronic fault to deal with. I have the yellow steering lock fault up on the dash and a message in the I drive telling me the car will not start but it does and the steering moves ok once the key is in. someone tell me whats going on please

did the codes and discovered it was the driver seat belt tensioner that had a broken wire, it had been cut by the seat as it had moved. all sorted now thanks just the rear parking sensor playing up now.

I have been told that BMW now do not label the second and third number as the engine size as was always the case. my friend has a 325D but according to them they were told it is a 3.0lt engine. also the 535d is a 3.0 lt diesel but it has 2 turbo's and not the single large one as the 530d. its confusing. I am still not convinced but don't use the dealers so can't confirm but apparently this is the case so I've been told.

the saga continues with my 530d. yesterday the seat belt light and airbag light came on when my wife was in the car and stayed on regardless of the fact her seat belt was plugged in. did some checking and cleaned contacts in the seat pad sensor connection but to no avail. I have purchased a by pass device off Ebay to fit in the hope the problem is either the passenger of drivers seat pad indicating someone is in the seat without a belt on. anyone else had this issue before as it appears common from the comments on internet. also anyone had experience of these seat pad emulators. cheers Simon

Yes it is a remap, now up to 296bhp or thereabouts can't recall but close to 300 anyway with 500nm of torque. yes it does go like a stabbed rat when required.

E61 530d tuned I average 42.2mpg but at a steady 55mph for a 80mile journey my average for that one trip was at 62mpg. bored out my brain though but worthwhile experiment. note I get better fuel economy from mainstream garages, BP, Shell etc and only get 38 from supermarket diesel. pay more but get further.

Chris as for the tyre pressure monitoring this shouldn't be affected as its the tyre pressure not the tyre, you will need to keep the same profile etc as this is important. as for the lack of spare. many new cars don't have a spare and I belive that it is not a legal requirement. check with the AA or RAC type orgs to be sure.

all glow plugs were new in the last 6 months, had the codes cleared as it had apparently not done a full regen itself. lets hope that is all it was.

steve. what do you mean "throttle pot" as although I'm fairly good on stuff I am a little confused as to what you mean. where do I find it and do you have any pics of this item I can check please. also noticed a slight occassional misfire at idle but fine on normal run. could this also be a EGR potential fault? need to get fixed even if i do move it on as wouldn't sell a troubled car.

they were all cleared when the new dpf fitted so as nothing else has shown on the system I guess only the dpf failure. looking at audi A6.

genuine, at £1600.00 of genuine BMW version. looking at changing it as totally !Removed! off with the thing. spent over 6k in the past 3 months on new torque converter, new front suspension arms, new DPF and sensors, new donut in the propshaft and now had enough of the car. reckon i should go back to an older car I can fix without daft electronics. can't understand it.

can't ruddy believe it. only 3 weeks since a new genuine DPF fitted and there is now yet another DPF failure message. changed all the sensors with the new filter so ow just had enough of it. any help is much appreciated as at the point of binning BMW for good. advice welcome.

yeah, checked the seats and no wires to a element so leaving well alone.

I thought I'd ask the group. I have a SE spec 530D Touring 55 plate. it has leather seats but no heated seats. do they existing seats have the filaments in them and can they wired up or not. if not them I am not going to bother but if they do I may get round to connecting the element and having a warmer bum on these cold mornings.

yes I am aware but decided to follow the as original route.

as for MOT, it is one of the checks to make to see if it is there. of course some folk could remove the insides and weld the thing back up but if caught it is a minimum £1000.00 fine. also apparently the car needs the backpressure to be there or you have to reset the sensors or something. its my business car so went the replacement route. got my money back on the europarts one and now a very happy chap with a 100% car again.

yes, europarts so they should be ok but with silly season it's hard to get anyone to answer the phone, guess they may be off until the 5th. sort it then but I sure want my money back and the cost of the diagnostic at BMW and my old one back or some compensation for its value. we'll see but guns at the ready as not a happy man. lesson to not buy copy parts

just to update. fitted replacement original equipment discs and new pads and all is well. along with my DPF issues I should now know NOT to buy anything other than genuine parts as it would appear I have issues with anything but.

thanks Steve. old one was taken in part ex against the replacement part so no I don't have it and I'd guess its gone by now but have asked for it back already, don't hold out much hope. I think the only way forward IF old one not available is to replace with genuine part then. I have inquired with my local dealer and they are £1440.00 but come with a 2 yr warranty inc labor if faulty. I think I'll end up with that but we'll see if I can get the old one back.

guys. this may of been mentioned but beware. recently had a dpf failure message on my 530D E61, replaced the DPF with a aftermarket unit at £700 quid thereabouts. still the message remained and we couldn't shift it no matter what sensors and what we tried. eventually gave in and went to BMW for a full diagnostic thinking the software was at fault. after 4 hours the verdict. Faulty replacement unit was not allowing the correct back pressure and so the message kept coming back. I know it is illegal to remove it but now face the prospect of buying the genuine part at £1450.00. twice the price but with a 2 year warranty on all parts and labour I am considering the genuine item to replace the faulty aftermarket part. anyone had similar experience or I have been unlucky with a dodgy aftermarket part. I guess the question is. Do I replace it with genuine BMW part or try another aftermarket part??

rolling road indicated one side was warped, i did run them in and the N/S proves that but the O/S is so badly worn it needs replacing. decided to fit new discs and pads but Delphi this time. fit on the weekend.

ok. torque converter replaced at some considerable cost but what a difference it makes. drives lovely without shudder, just brakes to sort now, different thread.

yes, i guess it is more prominent at speeds over 50mph and then braking to slow of stop. Coming off the Mway onto a slip road is dreadful and it makes the steering shake, not excessively but shakes non the less. any idea's????

Thanks. I had thought that and so replaced those already. basically i had the wobble so replaced the discs and pads, it remained so replaced the front control arms, thrust arms, changed the wheels to ensure they were not the issue, new tyres to rule that one out and now back to discs. I am taking it to a rolling brake test tomorrow that can tell if the discs are worn, very new latest bit of kit. I hope it is the discs now as run out of idea's. oh yes and its peeing me off.

recently fitted new discs and pads, Pagid discs and pads to my 530d, not impressed as they are warped almost immediately. thinking of changing to Delphi, any negative of positive comments welcome on disc and pad choice welcome.