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I have a 2015 335d LCI Touring in grey, changed wheels from 20s to 19s as pot holes are a nightmare but as a first BMW, absolutely loving it. The other thing I did was bought a spare wheel to keep in the boot as I don't want to ruin lovely wheels and tyres with the pump it in stuff, which also wouldn't be helpful for anything more than a standard puncture. Looking forward to being part of this community.

Hello all. I am trying to find a 88C or lower engine thermostat for my E38 735i to replace the 105C thermostat without much luck. I do know that there are lower temperature replacment outther, see it in other forums, but I ca not locate one .Can anyone help please. Many thanks a new member D

Hi again Dave. Yes - i suspect an hour or so of labour at circa £60.00 per hour ! I live in open rural countryside and on the flight path of some really filthy birds with bowel issues (it is a good job that cows don't fly !) Leaving the top open outside of my bungalow is not an option;as far as the hair is concerned that is not a real issue either because even with the seat at the high position I am not in the draught zone ! The convertible has a really neat feature that allows the hood to be dropped and yet the rear window can be left in place as a deflector instead of using the folding one that then turns the car into a two seater !! Yesterday I drove back from Fleetwood - a distance of some 40+ miles with hardly a hair out of place - yes,I am still well blessed with enough that I still use a comb No-longer do I have the Elvis and Billy Fury look with the DA and the widows peak; they have gracefully disappeared into oblivion - alas only evident in photographs of the late 50's and beyond.

Hi John Sounds like goodish news hopefully not expensive As the suns out you could just leave the top down, no noise then 🤣🤣 Me I don't even have a sun roof 🤣😂 so I can report no noises plus I don't have enough hair to allow the wind in it 😂 Dave

Hi again Dave. Well I went into Preston and saw my BMW Indy this afternoon and he immediately declared that the groan at both commencement and completion of the cycle to be the motor or motors that control the 'latching and unlatching of the hooks that secure the front of the convertible hood. I will get a 'fix it' date tomorrow when I ring him after lunch. He suggested that the moving parts within the motor/motors expand and contract with the heat and that they need stripping and lubricating and then they will work again as intended and without the very very audible groan from each of them.

Hi Dave, Thanks for the response, really helpful! Yes the E82 was a 120D - I always got it regularly serviced by the local BMW Independent garage but still had the timing chain issue unfortunately, and I quickly sold it rather than spending the £1800+ they quoted to get things all replaced and fixed! I'll bear it in mind about oil and filters - it's not long through the recent MOT but I'd likely take it to the Independent garage near me for them to give it a once over if I do buy it. Glad to hear the ball joints and bushes aren't too much of a worry and shouldn't cost too much - it looks like the rear coil springs were just replaced on it so that's something I hopefully wouldn't have to worry about either, as I've read they can be a bit of a weak point. I'll go see it and see if it looks as good in person as it does online! Thanks, Rob

Hi Rob Welcome to the Forum The 1 series you owned was it a diesel? I would at a guess it was a 118d or 120d, extended service intervals really caught many N47 engined BMW owners and BMW out. The engines that were getting oil changes seemed to fair much better The engine in the E46 is different N46 at the low-ish mileage 55k oil and filters would always be my priority to give the engine a better chance at a long life Lots of things effect ball joints and rubber bushes. Just helped a neighbour with a suspension rebuild he got a complete kit for £120 Lower wishbones track control arms and Anti roll bar links took around 3 hours with tea and biscuit breaks. Check the internet or your local motor factors for costs then use it as a negotiating point Good Luck with the purchase Dave

reeceandryancars@gmail.com

Hi all, I had a quick check through the E46 Buying Guide pinned post and that'll be really helpful if I decide to go and look at the car I'm currently looking at. It's a 2006 (06-reg) Coupe, 318ci with 55,000 miles - currently listed for £3,795 and I think that's a fairly decent price given the mileage... of course it still feels high because used car prices are still a bit silly but, I'd be relatively happy with it. I previously owned a 2009 1 Series Coupe (E82), and around 100,000 miles the timing chain started to rattle and I panicked and got rid asap! I just wanted to know really if the E46 Coupe would possibly suffer with the same kind of timing chain issue? Or are they generally ok? Any advice is really welcomed! I've asked for the car reg from the trader, as they've done the annoying thing of covering up the reg plates in the listing, so I can get a better look at the history once they confirm that. EDIT - got the reg, MOT is through to May 2025, and it has a few advisories. Both sides front suspension bushes and ball joints... not sure if that is a common issue and cheap/easy to fix? Thanks, Rob

It will be in the Boot then behind the lining trim. The lines you see are the Hydraulic lines If you are not confident then talk to a BMW Specialist or trusted Independent Dave

Morning David I have read quite a lot about folks having issues with the BMW App not a user myself can't see the point. I have seen fixes from reloading the App (several times) to getting the cars software updated then reloading the App Dave

No mileage shown on my bmw app. Fuel level shown. All other things work. Started about 2 updates ago. I have a F20 118d 2017.

Hi again Dave. Mine is the soft-top. This sounds to me like a technicians job as I cannot find anything in the owners manual !! Where are the lines located ? I cannot find anything specific on YouTube and the only one that looked as though it might help was buffering something silly !! I have looked into the storage area by stopping the action of the soft-top and cannot see anything other than a few neatly arranged bits of pipework on the NS & the OS but there is no reservoir or topping-up facility.

BMW car cover for Z3 two-seater $150 For sale is a genuine BMW (indoor) car cover. I used it for my Z3M for two winters in 2012—2013. I sold the car and the cover has been stored.

Hi John Is your car soft top or tin top ? The Soft tops have a hydraulic system 2 hydraulic rams (left and right) and 2 hydraulic tension rams the pump has a built in reservoir which if it is the same as the one I have seen it only holds a small amount of fluid (top up bottles are 250ml). It sits in the storage area for the roof First check all the lines run your fingers around them feel for any wetness/leaks check the rams are clean and all joints are clean If no sign of leaks then remove the trim in the storage area or boot to expose the pump. The pump has a nylon tank with minimum and Maximum marks on it (while you can unbolt the pump for better access DONT undo any hydraulic lines there is a fill plug on the pump body if the fluid is low before topping up look for leaks Check online You Tube may have some helpful videos Dave

Hi again Dave. Thank you but where is the hydraulic fluid reservoir ?

Wow what a saga still could have been worse I suppose you could have been waiting for the AA 🤣🤣 Might have been quicker to appeal to one of us 🤣🤣 and quite a few of us know more than the RAC or AA Glad your back safe Dave

Morning John Check the hydraulic fluid level Dave

Morning Taysir The more information we get the more it seems like either low fluid or overheating (or both) Hope you get a sensible fix Dave

Hi Dave Sorry for the delay in replying. We been having a very bad weather and lots of heavy flooding which didn't enable me doing anything with my car. I already stayed away from my mechanic and replacing the TCM and the fluid was diagnosed by another trans specialist despite no codes has ever appeared in his famous scan. They diagnosed replacing the TCM without even checking the trans fluid level. On Tuesday I'll take my car to another mechanic only to check the fluid level before I finally hit the BMW Dealership. The strange thing Dave is when I drive around the city nothing happened but when I go on the highway for a good while then I shut off the engine for no more than 5 minutes and come back to start it this is when the message appears in orange color then in red and when that happens the button start/stop goes dead and the shift lever gets stuck in P. By the way, back in 80th I lived in Churchdown near Gloucester for a couple of years with my British girlfriend until my mom got very sick and had to return to Chile. I still miss very much the good old pubs in Gloucester.

Sad to say I could not re-programme the fob

Another eventful night out… went to a marriage retreat for the weekend and Thursday night , we checked in, had a quick meet and greet and then me and the wife went off for a takeaway. …. First time child free for 5 years! Absolutely needed…. sat in the car, watching aeroplanes coming into land over our heads, just relaxing in silence and then….. pop! steam all over and water running down the road. opened the bonnet to see what had happened, but it was too dark, so put the bonnet down and drove it 100 yards to the petrol station so I could see what was going on. …. Then the bonnet stuck shut! 😂. Only solution was to risk driving it back to the hotel at the next motorway junction… car went about 300 yards before the temp gauge went up to top. Stopped on the hard shoulder and rang the rac. quoted me 7 hours wait until someone could come and look at it 🙄 the police soon arrived and got highways to move me as the battery died so I had no lights and I couldn’t get the triangle out of the boot as I couldn’t open it. anyway…. Got back to the hotel at 5am and the rac arrived at 9am to take me home (100miles away) … left the wife at the hotel so she could at least have a spa and go to some seminars and stuff only to then jump into my people carrier and go back to the hotel to carry on with my break…. Anyway, got home last night, managed to open the bonnet and take a look and it’s the expansion tank with a big split on the side… new one ordered and I’ll have another job to to this week! … as well as work out why the bonnet stuck and recharge the battery. great break from the kids… a much deserved rest! 😂😂😂

Thanks Steve. Sound advice - thanks :-)

Hi again to you all out there. Upon activating the hood there is an intermittent noise that sounds like a groan (but not Metallic). It sounds as though it is at the very front as the roof begins its cycle ! There is also a similar intermittent groan just before the roof lands in the 'latching' position and the hooks are deployed. Any help/advise would be much appreciated and faithfully applied.

Morning Kevan Welcome to the Forum The battery in the telematics unit is/should be rechargeable so the fault may lay elsewhere but the battery is easy to replace if needed If you have a little patience and ability at DIY you can change it yourself the only bit you may need help with is re-setting the Fault code First use www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box, it will bring up your model. Look in the communication section to get part numbers and the location of the Telematics unit. Removing the unit will need a little patience a very clean hands, The battery is under a cover on the Telematics unit Before starting disconnect the cars battery (Neg first) When yu have changed the battery in the Telematic unit and put it back reconnect the cars battery. it should with luck reset any codes. If not this is the point where you need either a Garage or member near you who has a BMW capable diagnostic programme to reset the Fault code If you really need a Garage Google the Register of BMW Specialists there should be one near you Good Luck Dave