Common Problems With Your E46

Stued · February 12, 2012

I have come into ownership of a 316 1.9 Sallon, BMW build date Aug 2000 on an X plate.

When i first got it home i lifted the bonnet and noticed that the pipe to the thermostat from the radiator was stone cold whilst the one to the expansion tank was red hot, and there was no heat coming from the heater. been a tale of woe since............. can't seem to bleed it, going sort of crazy

BMWayne · March 3, 2012

Just upgraded my Disc's to some crossed & drilled & found the front wishbone rear bushes are worn 130k. Will upgrade to Powerflex

March 4, 2012

I have come into ownership of a 316 1.9 Sallon, BMW build date Aug 2000 on an X plate.
When i first got it home i lifted the bonnet and noticed that the pipe to the thermostat from the radiator was stone cold whilst the one to the expansion tank was red hot, and there was no heat coming from the heater. been a tale of woe since............. can't seem to bleed it, going sort of crazy

Water-pump or sticky thermostat...

March 4, 2012

Just upgraded my Disc's to some crossed & drilled & found the front wishbone rear bushes are worn 130k. Will upgrade to Powerflex

You won't regret it matey ;)

Alex Bentley · March 13, 2012

my air mass sensor just screws everything up!!! but apart from that its fine

Northern Tony · March 14, 2012

got 330 ci msport 04 plate why cant you get Angel eyes to fit for this model ?

Cmoggy · March 20, 2012

318 SE 2000 had the car 2 years and found the DISA valve rattles a lot,any one tried running without one

JimRyan · March 23, 2012

I have 1999 323 seci and so far have found it very reliable.

like other people i find the central locking and window drop tempremental on the pasenger door.

If I had to complain about the car it would be the tendency to rust on the wings especially the arches. this is a very common issue with the e46 as many other cars have the same rust spots

Beeemeeer328i · March 23, 2012

aint been on here for ages but still hi everyone! :D i have a 1996 e36 coupe but i was thinking of gettin an e46... my mate has 2 down his yard atm but they have problems e.i 1 dosnt start for some reson and the other has a noisey engine where its grinding and has black smoke coming out the back. it does it at idle and when driving, i was wondering if i could swap my 328i lump into it? id rather not have to do loadss of work other than a straigt swap or do we think the current lump just neeeds some little work to get it running sweet....

March 24, 2012

Swap the lump, keeping the ECU's with each engine...

Making a good one out of the two !

martin318i · April 11, 2012

hi can anyone help? my problem is my drivers side turning light stays on all the time.............. not flashing unless i want to turn has also blown 2 headlight bulbs on that same side. thanks in advance. martin

Snoopdougwright · April 26, 2012

I had issues with my 330Ci M-sport (steptronic) stalling when pulling away, the revs would drop off as you touch the accelerator. turns out the crank shaft sensor was loose. not a clue how, to minute job to clean it up and plug it back in! drives like a new car now.

slakin57 · May 4, 2012

E46 318i SE July 2003 (face lift model I believe) 4 door, 85k miles. Had it a month and knew I would need to spend money on it as it was cheap for the miles and condition! Here we go then, these are the issues I have discovered in the last month...

* rear offside light warning on on dashboard when bought (but off now!). [Light came on again. Husband fitted new light cluster which did not remove the tell tale light immediately. He also said there are rusty connections. Pleased to say light has now gone off again so not a problem at the moment]

* driver side front window works on the key but not on the centre console button (have already had some advice on this one - thanks guy). [Husband fitted new switch on centre console - a 5 minute job 1 and it now works perfectly]

* trip meter reset does not work

* red battery warning light came on twice - checked out by RAC and no problem with v-belt or alternator. Has not happened since.

* red/amber brake warning light and 2x yellow tell tale lights for ABS come on (tends to happen in rain/wet conditions?) - radio often cuts out/goes off or crackles/quietens at same time

* airbag warning light partially illuminated

* Air con is not cold - may need re-gassing. [Not a regassing problem - have had it looked at by an air con engineer who tells me it has plenty of gas. May be a compressor problem (hope not - expensive!) but suspect it may be a control or temp sensor fault. Diagnosis and resolution in progress]

* Exhaust mounting loose - rattles. [Fixed by local garage - mounting had rotted. New one fashioned and applied]

* handbrake needs adjusting - holds right at top of reach. [Common BMW problem. Handbrake adjusted by local garage and now holds after only 3-4 clicks]

* dipping near side mirror does not work (not sure it should?)

* I'm sure the engine sounds rougher/noisier than it should at speed. Sounds ok at low speed or when idling at rest. Could be road noise but unsure

I just wonder wether some of the issues are basically electrical ones (ie most of the stuff relating to non-working electrics and dash board faults/tell tale lights???)

Also can someone tell me what oil I should use - the manual only recommends BMW oil but I'm not made of money (especially given above fault list!) so need to know what common or garden oil I need to buy!

[My brother also looked at the OBD codes - will post these somewhere else as I need some help on what they mean. No engine faults, no air con faults but there are airbag and other fault codes]

slakin57 · May 4, 2012

Oops posted twice by mistake

welchy · May 5, 2012

My 325ci conv is idling first start up from cold. When i push the throttle it stalls . Any ideas ?

Snoopdougwright · May 9, 2012

My 325ci conv is idling first start up from cold. When i push the throttle it stalls . Any ideas ?

Get the Crank Position Sensor checked out, I had similar issues with my 330ci.

Tobias James Goble · May 15, 2012

Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice really have 99 316i se usual probs with i oil filter housing seal perished and also flush plug in housing fixed no more oil leak, :) put car in for mot on wed last week and failed on rear pads, headlights aiming to low ? (how would i adjust these ?) and excessive play in rear suspension bush pin rear o/s had a look at rear shock mount seems intact and bottom bushes all seem fine any advice would be great dont wanna spend any extra then i need to thanks tobi

bonner 330ci · May 16, 2012

heAd lights are a 5min job the buggers could have ajusted while doin the test!!! not sure if you can doit yourself as a workshop has the leveling machine that gets them to the right angle of beam?

him · May 16, 2012

2001 e46 330ci M-sport since last August:

Leaking front shock

Hand brake (needed new pads discintigrated, new disks & brake pads)

Rear clonk (worn rear bushes and cracks in boot floor!)

Front Control arms, Bushes and top mounts (now squeaks GRRRRRR)

Thermostat

Waterpump

Alternator

rear brake bulb.. lol

its a hell of a lot for a 80k car with FBMWSH..

Still love it though!

acrybb · June 6, 2012

Hi,

Just thought i would ask this for a mate. He has a 2000(or somewhere in that region of time) plate E46 323i. When he does long distances at speed He gets out the car and smells hot/melting rubber on the rear passenger side. He has had it a BMW specialist who cant figure it out. So has anyone here had this symptom and found out what it was? There isnt any wear on his tyres etc. Possibly a rubbing brake heating a wheel and in turn heating anything attached to the wheel?

Im outa ideas :)

Andy

sarbmw · June 7, 2012

Hi you all,

Most common problems on the 330d and the 330Ci are the brake pipes that go

over the petrol tank.Why don't they teach mechanic's tocut pipe before tank and push

new piece over.Also changed front suspension rubbers on both,and tend to burn up front

pads. Other than that I love them both.The 330D has low profiles so sticks well on bends.

The 330 Ci has normal rubber but faster pick up on higher gearswhich means I have to drive

itround bends. Have changed filter on Ci to K & N and added chip.Filterjust needs a wash

out now and again,so makes it much cheaper.Have also changed spare for a normal wheel.

Thats me lot so far.

Kelly Ann Mccullough · July 10, 2012

I've had my BMW 318ci 75k for just over a week and if the cars cold it cuts out ??? Even when driving! Anyone else had this problem?

brume dave · July 16, 2012

I have only had my 3 series 318i se touring since Nov 2011. The problem i have had is the handbrake wont hold on moderate slopes. I went to BMW main dealer, who found the brake shoes were severly worn and needed to be replaced. Now the handbrake works great. Also the electric radiator fan only works on fast spin. Not to bad for a 10 year old. Since then rad fan replaced, expansion tank replaced. small split leaks when hot. Front near side suspension bushes replaced. Rear near side coil spring replaced (spring broken). Rocker box seal replaced. Sump seal replaced. Long time leak. Drivers airbag module replaced, under national recall. Car now 12 years old, most things are age related. Next year car will be a teenager 13 yrs old, what next ?

J4M3S · July 21, 2012

air bag light on constantly told it most prob seat occupancy mat in passenger side , heard there is some sort of bypass you can do but thinking new one prob best but apperently these cost a small fortune to have done