New Bimmer? (new to me)

[K-Clive]

Hi ALL,

I am looking at a 2010 535xi wagon (E61?) it has 250,000km on the odo

Wondering how to ask the car how it's doing...? & things to look out for...?

I am from a Subaru world - I'm on my 5th a 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT 280,000km

I have them pretty much figured out - I don't understand a lot about the bimmer - the electronics are more complex

I'm pretty much sold on the 535xi - I tried a few 328xi wagons and they were a bit dull, the 535xi is brilliant, once I get over the

electronics, key fob, automatic trans (Can't find a 6-speed manual wagon in Toronto) I could get used to this for sure!

Thanks in advance!

Cheers Clive

 

[Greydog]

Hi Clive

Welcome to the Forum

Nice looking Legacy, my wife's car is a 3.0 Outback with a full Perrin Engine upgrade now on 140k miles, 400+ whp is addictive 😈 Porsche's are easy meat.

Great choice of car, you soon get used to the Auto but always have the manual setting when you need it. There is an onboard diagnostic (hidden menu) that can be accessed through the Idrive or OBC several Videos on You tube about how to get in, that should give you some good basic information on how the car is feeling.

My first advice is if you are joining the BMW brigade the first essential for me is to get a BMW specific diagnostic program of your own. Cost is not as much as many think often less than a single diagnostic session with a Dealer. Look at the big auction sites loads there.

Top of the list (for me) is INPA/ISTA which is dedicated BMW but it will allow full Dealer level diagnostic and coding capability then the easiest to use PAsoft BMW 1.4.0 my everyday tool, allowing almost as much access as INPA, both will allow access to all control modules in the car including transmission. But there are many others such as 

FIXD™ All-system Diagnostic Tool – FOXWELL NT510 Elite Multi-system Scan Tool. AUTOPHIX 7810 OBDII Diagnostic Tool. Original Carly for Wifi OBD2 Adapter iPhone iPad. MAOZUA Latest V7. 7 Creator C310+ OBD2 Scanner. iCarsoft i910 Diagnostic OBD2 Scanner. Carly for BMW OK to use but it is expensive as it is subscription based. 

A couple of websites that may be helpful along the way www.realoem.com a BMW online parts list just put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model. Lots of small exploded drawings that show where stuff is plus of course part numbers if you need to source spares. A US site wwwpelicanparts.com has some great "how too's" with pictures and for you may be a source of sensible spares.

As I have always had the "need to know what makes things tick" and carried out most of my own maintenance (I use the Dealer/Specialists for annual service and MOT it keeps the service record stamped) I have programs for Land Rover, Volvo, Mercedes, Toyota, BMW and Subaru on a laptop I keep in the garage so I can stay on top of things and make decisions as to whether it's a Garage job or a home one. Not many I can't tackle at home but as I am in my 70's sometimes it is easier on the old bones to let the garage take the strain.

Like all AWD cars the BMW is sensitive to tyre choice preferring the same size/make front and rear. If your new choice has a staggered set up (wider rear wheels/tyres) then making sure tyres are correct is more important to avoid trans wind up which can damage the transfer box.

Good Luck with the car hope this helps

Dave

 

[K-Clive]

Thank you Sir!

I like the sound of the 400hp SUBY

I will look into the diag stuff and see what I can get into

The car has 18" (after market rims?) and no stagger 245/45 tires all the same brand I liked the trailer hitch as I tow my dirt bike on a little trailer

Cheers!

[Greydog]

Morning Clive

Very tasty looking car the wheels look like they could be M Type 135 Double spoke which are a BMW wheel just been refinished in Black. If you take off a wheel there will be cast marks on the rear of the spokes that will confirm.

Good news they are same size all round less hassle when choosing tyres. Enjoy your Beemer

Dave

P.S. The Outback is fun as it looks bog standard, sounds pretty much bog standard but goes like a scolded cat if you tread on its tail. The best bit is it hasn't had any effect on reliability it is serviced at our local Subaru Dealer once a year all the other stuff I do myself 10 years on and she still isn't bored with it.

 

[K-Clive]

Thank you Sir!

I like the sound of the 400hp SUBY

I will look into the diag stuff and see what I can get into

The car has 18" (after market rims?) and no stagger 245/45 tires all the same brand I liked the trailer hitch as I tow my dirt bike on a little trailer

Cheers!

[K-Clive]

Is the Outback a manual 6-speed?

I really like the 6-speed trans - 5-speed is a bit of a mutt,

clunky and weak in comparison. Mine is getting really loud in 5th, I guess it won't be long until it breaks again!

 

[Greydog]

No the Outback is Auto with manual select option. We haven't owned a manual car since the early 80's, smooth and quiet most of the time. But if we ever go where there is snow/ice (rarely see any in Sussex) or we want to play, pop it into manual mode and shift sequentially. Same with my 4.6is which I brought to tow a horse trailer slippery fields and muddy gateways just select manual 3rd gear and let the torque do it's thing. Never missed a manual box

 

[K-Clive]

I can't imagine the AUTO putting up with the PERRIN engine output. (Unmodified?)

I had a 1992 SVX (2x actually, identical cluster cars) and very shortly the 4EAT autoboxes were toast

I had a 5-speed installed in the first one to die... broke that 3x and then bought a 6-speed - that was a pretty nice setup

This PIC is the SVX 6-speed with my 1st real winter tires and we had some snow in Toronto

[Greydog]

When I pulled the engine to ship to Perrin I had the torque converter uprated and a higher stall speed, mileage at that time was 37k it is now 141k,

There have been no issues with the box (I do service it once a year) but early on we did have a cracked transfer case. Must have been the wife !!!

In truth it took some stick when I first got it back and on the road, out looking for victims (it just had to be done), it had 2 sessions on a rolling road to get the fuelling right and has been treated as a normal car since.  Volume of traffic where we live generally means she is governed by the speed of traffic around us. The Subaru gets a 400 mile round trip a couple of times a year visiting our Daughter unless we take the horses then the X5 takes the strain.

My X5 gets a much harder life (151k) with pulling the horse trailer in the summer and mild off road in the winter while out shooting. As said earlier our last proper snow (3 inches 7.5cm) was 8 years ago so the winter wheel/tyre sets I have for both cars are pretty much unused.

[K-Clive]

Excellent, nice to know the little auto will do the work (Broke once? Transfer case?)

I'm going to look at the 535xi today, the tire warning light is on so, I am checking pressures and looking in the trunk, battery and

under the spare tire for signs of water. This car has the dreaded PANO roof along with it's problems.

The rear door has some rust showing, bottom of the window and the gas struts are rusty looking.

I am not too worried about this stuff - the car is going pretty cheap $7k cad - the electronics would be a real issue.

(I had an issue with a SUBY double sun roof that was leaking/plugged and the problem was fixed when a tree smashed both the glass windows.

The cost to repair (no insurance coverage) had me remove all the junk and fit a roof skin on top. It saved weight and never leaked again!)

I will let you know what happens in the end.

Cheers!

[K-Clive]

OK I took the back of the car out, spare tire and everything I could easily remove, there are no traces of any water or damage

and it looked remarkably fresh under the floor and in the compartments.

Under the car likewise looks fresh and not rusty or corroded at all, for a 10 year old 250,000km vehicle it looks quite good.

I'm negotiating with the used car place right now - I may buy it "as is" and safety it myself plus do the transfer and plates myself.

I will keep you posted!

[K-Clive]

Also, found out the tire pressure alarm was on because the 17" wheels were replaced with 18" not run flat tires

and no sensors in the wheels.

I bought the car this afternoon $7500 CAD taxes included (13% here) I will be getting the road worthy certificate and change the plates/ownership myself.

Pickup Monday!

Cheers

[Greydog]

Morning Clive

Whoop whoop welcome to the gang.

One of the guys on the X5 forum in the UK brought tyre pressure sensors from Amazon and they worked straight out of the box, worth a look.

Or you can turn off the the tyre check program using a Diagnostic program, personally if it's there I like it to work. 

On my brother inlaw's 5 touring I used a piece of nylon coated washing line to clear the drain channels, done it 3 times now as he has to park near trees. 

Enjoy the new car

Dave

The transfer case on the Subaru had a crack allowing the oil to leak then low oil level triggered, the Subaru trans specialist who I got the replacement from had never seen it before. The thinking was there was a casting flaw that just gave up under the pressure of some brutal hard starts 😁 must have been the wife !!

[K-Clive]

Thanks Dave,

I will see about the program switch off/delete for now... seems pretty common to see the tire light

on these cars. I drove three cars here and all of them had the tire light combined with adequate tires and pressures.

I have tire sensors on my wife's 1998 C5 Corvette that work and report pressures on all front and rear tires.

I was a bit disappointed with the 2010 system not reporting pressures, primitive for state of the art.

Looking forward to getting some winter tires, maybe I can find some stock 17" rims that have sensors as well?

Thanks for your input, my Dad (RIP) would be really impressed with the Bahn Burner!

Cheers!

Clive

[K-Clive]

Ps.

Is there a good bluetooth phone app (Android) for BMW?

I have Torque and a bluetooth dongle that I have used for the SUBY and it is really easy/helpful.

I find it really nice to get on the phone, which I always have vs USB/laptop etc.

I reckon I need both setups.

Thanks!

[Greydog]

Hi Clive

Take a look at Carly for BMW there are few users on the UK forums who are happy with it, it's down side is it is subscription.  I don't know if there is a Torque app for BMW or what it is capabilities are.

Dave

[K-Clive]

I added OBD Fusion to my apps and ordered some USB OBD2 cable stuff for phone and laptop...

Looking for PA Soft 1.4.0. download and try that next..

[Greydog]

Morning Clive

If your buying PA soft make sure it is the latest version when BMW changed Bus systems from Ibus to Most it excluded a lot of readers that are good up to about 2006/2007 I have read that PA soft have a version 2.2 out so you should be able to find it OK

Dave

[K-Clive]

Hi ALL

I am running 2x sets of wheels - winter and summer - both do not have sensors.

I hear gong show bell alarms and das blinken lights all day long and I want it to stop.

I was poodling around in snow today, testing the new Toyo winter tires on 17" BMW rims, the car really handles horrible conditions.

Whiteout conditions, crashes all over town and our first day together was  quite pleasant.

The DTC alarm went off, I guess I should be pressing the DTC button? (Still looking at the manual trying to figure this stuff out)

The TPM alarm is lit and it gongs on a regular basis, sometimes flashes but, no reset because there are no sensors... can I pull a module or just shoot something in here?

(Cut the blue wire?)

Love the car but the constant reminders mean I will be killing the gong noise maker and putting black tape over the dash lights ASAP

 

 

[Greydog]

Glad your enjoying the drive, if not the music 😁 BMW bongs are "wallet alerts"

As soon as you have a diagnostic program you can turn off the (code out) the tyre warnings so you don't see or hear them. One push of the DTC button should put you in winter/snow mode it turns off part of the traction control just remember every time you turn off it resets.

I am not sure if you can turn off the tyre warning in onboard settings with your model, worth an explore

Dave

 

[K-Clive]

I put a piece of black tape on the TPM light, I am looking for ways to kill the bongs.

It took me a few hours to pair my bluetooth phone to the car - newby at iDrive navigating... getting better.

Never had a car that hooks to my phone, baby steps.

I have a sensor code: P0138 Powertrain O2 sensor circuit high voltage (Bank 1 Sensor 2)

I have cleared it a few times and it comes right back - used TORQUE to find the code and clear the code.

I guess I need to get a sensor and have a look.

Cheers Clive

[Greydog]

Morning Clive 

Check the Vac lines before spending your hard earned on a new sensor. You can test resistance on the sensor (just google) to see if it is down. 

Take a look at www.realoem.com you should find small exploded drawings of the inlet vacuum system that will help.

Dave

[K-Clive]

Roger that!

I will look for the vacuum stuff  thanks!

[K-Clive]

1st problem I ran into after getting INPA/K-CAN EDIABAS cable and software...

My laptop Lenovo Thinkpad is running Windows 7 (Ya I'm old and unsupported!) and I think it won't run this stuff for Windows 10?

Correct me if I'm wrong but, now I have a cable, I'm looking for the correct software INPA for Windows 7

Next I saw there is DEEP OBD for Android, I have one of those, downloaded and now I am going to try that either hardwire and or with bluetooth dongle.

I have a check engine now and getting messages from TORQUE but, I can't do anything about them!

A bunch of sensor rich/lean/stuck - learning to swear in German!

[K-Clive]

i'M guessing 5.02 INPA will run on Windows 7 but, this is a burned on DVD copy with cluge notes I can't get working...

Is there an online download that we know works?

I installed the DEEP OBD app on my phone but, I select bluetooth and it refuses to connect to my BT-Dongle!

Fun Fun Fun!