BMW and M Power Owners

[Armageus]

It's rarely just a regas. More likely to be a stone through the condenser imo

 

[jpaul]

Mr12Volt supports MOST, and therefore would be my choice for a complete digital transmission & sound quality.

I don't know if it supports the latest idrive 8 MOST format , but, although it's providing carplay&Aa, it's not a dsp/amp with potential to by-pass HK amp equalisation,
and provide bit-perfect from your lossless/high-quality source;
the versatility of the multimedia interface screen is a lot lower priority to me than the continuously experienced audio quality ... I'll listen to most musical genres swift if it sounds good.

 

[ShivP]

Hi Guys,

I'm after a bit of advice if possible, I bought a 2018 330e with 62,000 miles in January, however I've only just realised that the aircon does not blow particularly cold, its basically just the ambient air temperature. I guess I didn't really notice this as the outside air temp was cold enough to mask it originally, however with the warmer weather its revealed itself. The aircon light does light up, however there is no click from any relays or the compressor. Is this worth a regas initially? From what I've read, the HVAC systems on the BMW hybrids is quite complex as it cools the battery too? I'm guessing if this isn't a simple regas then I could be looking at some chunky bills?

You might be worth going to one of those places that offers a refund if the regas doesn't last very long, as they are supposed to search for leaks before regassing (they never do).

 

[mjt]

It isn't noticeable in mine either so I recommend you try a 330i or something as well as it's probably just the gearbox is better than you remember

Impossible.

 

[Cristian]

matchup and fisher are pretty obscure on the lack of digital throughput on their aftermarket offerings .. in the absence of those I won't be looking for HK on my intended 3 upgrade,
spending the money on a speaker upgrade (as i did with existing 3) and one of their amps is a better investment - news to me anyway,
if you want decent sound rather than artificial surround sound processing

I would agree with you but you must remember that a car is inherently a very compromised space to listen to speakers and all speaker enclosures are also very compromised, especially for BMWs. As such DSP makes a huge difference in trying to compensate for that. I've been on quite a journey in terms of car audio:
E46 - custom MDF enclosures in door (not door panel) for some JL audio speakers and a side subwwofer enclosure in the boot together with a 4 channel Kenwood amp (with the rears bridged, powering the sub for more oomph)
E92 - Alpine Hifi Retrofit kit and earthquake SWS8 subwoofers
F30 - Focal 100 KRS, Earthquake SWS8 and JL Audio XD 300 v2, coded the base system to HIFI to flatten output
E92 - Eton fronts, Gladen underseat subs, JL 10w6 in the boot in a fiberglass side enclosure all powered by an Alpine PDX V9. This sounded pretty good and obviously had decent power (car started with a flat HIFI system as base so had a reasonable source). But you could tell there was a lack of DSP
Currently driving an Audi S4 with the B&O system, after removing the parcel shelf sub, fitting in a JL 10w6 in the boot with a fiberglass enclosure and powering it with a 500w hertz Amp I can safely say it sounds... much better than the e92. The stock B&O DSP really helps, I guess so des the better enclosures in of the door speakers (they're stock but had some dynamat treatment).

The G30 question was for a friend, after doing some further digging I'm recommending:
- Focal Impulse 4.320
- Focal Inside BMW 2.1 IMP Speaker Harness for Impulse 4.320 4 Channel Amplifier
- Gladen one 201 BMW

Obviously this contradicts the whole DSP sermon above but there was a request to keep the budget in check. with a bit of patience the above can be sourced for around £600-£650 (less than an Audison Prima 8.9), I can fit it on a Saturday and should be very much plug and play. Just need to look for some ideas on where to locate the amp, I'm temped to put it under the passenger seat as it's tiny.

 

[IC3]

F series 330D, oil consumption after 3000 miles, seen loads of talk about it on BMW forums.

Not sure how much that might be, topped it up, but haven't checked yet. 2nd time this has happened, only difference is, I switched from Shell oil to Millers, same grading and viscosity. I don't see any leaks under the rocker cover (apparently the seal likes to fail round the back? Mines dry) and had a quick look around the engine without the cover to see, if there are any signs of oil. But its all dry... Next will check the intake pipe for oil residue, some should be ok, but puddles will indicate seal failure?

I service it around 5k miles, the leftovers from last service (roughly 500mil) easily last till then. Car is on just under 100k miles. Anyone having similar issue, or experienced oil consumption? It's not alarmingly high, I've seen one post stating the the owner had to top-up 1l every 1000 miles. lol

 

[Cristian]

I bought my old F30 330d at 105k miles and ran it to around 140k miles. Lots of varied driving including some autobahn blasts across germany where I was sticking to 8th gear 3000rpm (about 130mph?) for extended periods. Never used a drop of oil in that time, I was changing it around roughly 8-10k miles at the time.
I remember it was meant to take 6.5L and I was essentially doing another 1 / 2 changes in between the dealer services myself. I was basically putting in 6L only and it would land bang in the middle of the dipstick, then it would remain at the same level for all the time until I changed it again.

It did help that it was 3.5 years old when I bought it and that it lived on a motorway all its life...
My M57 engined cars (330d and 335d) were both the same - not a drop of oil used even though they were at 100k miles plus, all 3 with a map as well. The e46 330ci on the other hand... easily over 1L per 1k miles, used to keep 5L castrol receipients under the bonnet with an extra 1L bottle for easier measuring.

 

[IC3]

We bought ours when it was around 3.5 years old too, 2nd owner, servicing was done around 10k at the beginning, but when we started doing euro trips etc, I started doing oil changes every 4-5k. Car was built in Jan 2015, pre-lci early model. What year was yours?

Edit:

Did a bit more digging, PCV and breather pipe are common, I already did the breather pipe last week as it literally disintegrated in my hands... I'll order the PCV repair kit and see what happens.

 

[Cristian]

We bought ours when it was around 3.5 years old too, 2nd owner, servicing was done around 10k at the beginning, but when we started doing euro trips etc, I started doing oil changes every 4-5k. Car was built in Jan 2015, pre-lci early model. What year was yours?

Edit:

Did a bit more digging, PCV and breather pipe are common, I already did the breather pipe last week as it literally disintegrated in my hands... I'll order the PCV repair kit and see what happens.

Mine was 2012 / 62 plate, one of the earliest models. PCV is definately worth looking into at this age!

 

[IC3]

Another question would be oil, what is everyone using with the N57D30A?

 

[ChrisD.]

Another question would be oil, what is everyone using with the N57D30A?

Whatever BMW recommend and not some stuff commonly recommended on forums by people who have no clue.

 

[Housey]

My local BMW dealer fitted my lovely new headlight for crazy money this week and also diagnosed that I 'need' a DPF replacement....which is another 3K on my 2018 530D. For whatever reason I stopped the warranty on this car (I know...) and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months that has zero impact and seems fuel related.

It also passed it's MOT a few months back (light was off then) and had zero issues.

Thoughts, suggestions, options?

 

[MrRockliffe]

My local BMW dealer fitted my lovely new headlight for crazy money this week and also diagnosed that I 'need' a DPF replacement....which is another 3K on my 2018 530D. For whatever reason I stopped the warranty on this car (I know...) and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months that has zero impact and seems fuel related.

It also passed it's MOT a few months back (light was off then) and had zero issues.

Thoughts, suggestions, options?

Lube isn’t too expensive these days. I’ve got a 20% off discount code for Lovehoney due to them being my main sponsor on my OF - let me know if you want it

 

[IC3]

Whatever BMW recommend and not some stuff commonly recommended on forums by people who have no clue.

It looks like anything with LL04 and C2/C3 rating will do, but at the same time those are not the only things that should be taken into consideration when choosing engine oil.

My local BMW dealer fitted my lovely new headlight for crazy money this week and also diagnosed that I 'need' a DPF replacement....which is another 3K on my 2018 530D. For whatever reason I stopped the warranty on this car (I know...) and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months that has zero impact and seems fuel related.

It also passed it's MOT a few months back (light was off then) and had zero issues.

Thoughts, suggestions, options?

DPF Delete.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

My local BMW dealer fitted my lovely new headlight for crazy money this week and also diagnosed that I 'need' a DPF replacement....which is another 3K on my 2018 530D. For whatever reason I stopped the warranty on this car (I know...) and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months that has zero impact and seems fuel related.

It also passed it's MOT a few months back (light was off then) and had zero issues.

Thoughts, suggestions, options?

Unlikely it's the DPF at fault, more likely you have an issue that is causing excessive soot that is getting caught in the DPF. Wouldn't be surprised if you have exactly the same fault after a new DPF.

There is a mobile mechanic on YouTube called O'Rileys Autos who is great at diagnosing issues and the amount of cars from dealers which have already had several thousands pounds worth of parts and new DPFs which ultimately are simple faults like split hoses/faulty pressure sensors/sticking inlet manifold flaps/faulty EGR valves/glowplugs is eye opening.

It needs a proper diagnosis of why the DPF is getting filled up quickly.

 

[Cristian]

My local BMW dealer fitted my lovely new headlight for crazy money this week and also diagnosed that I 'need' a DPF replacement....which is another 3K on my 2018 530D. For whatever reason I stopped the warranty on this car (I know...) and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months that has zero impact and seems fuel related.

It also passed it's MOT a few months back (light was off then) and had zero issues.

Thoughts, suggestions, options?

I would say you really need to triage the root cause which led to the DPF blockage (could be a broken thermostat, broken DPF pressure sensors, some odd vacuum hose, etc) Unfortunately ignoring that warning light didn't help, most likely the car wasn't doing regens properly and it might have increased soot levels to a point where it couldn't do it even if forced to do so. I would look for a reputable BMW specialist (among the lines of BM Connected Ltd, ADC Vehicle Services, I'm sure there's many more) that can help you pin the issue down before aiming the parts cannon at it.

Another question would be oil, what is everyone using with the N57D30A?

I remember reading an extensive thread on it where there was a guy going through all the detailed spec sheet and pointing out that the some of the "fully synthetic" stuff had mineral oil it and so on. The conclusion I took from there was that Fuchs is one of the best value fully synthetic trusted ones with Millers if you want o spend some extra money. Has been my go to ever since for all my cars and those of friends (obviosuly with the correct compliance - C3 and LL04, etc). I was using Fuchs on the 330D when it wasn't using a drop in between changes.

 

[dlockers]

and have had an on/off emissions light for 6 months

 

[shiver]

Anybody purchased BMW Insurancy Warranty recently? I'm trying to for our X3 M40i and the website seems to flunk out at the Buy Now stage.

Also, it seems my ConnectDrive service has expired, specifically "Map Update, Amazon Alexa Car Integration, Connected Package Professional". Checking on the BMW portal, it's £79 for a "BoosterPack" that gives:

Connected Parking​

Making sure you arrive at your destination: Connected Parking helps you find a parking space quickly and easily.

BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant​

The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is your personal expert Operate numerous vehicle functions using voice input.

Connected Music with Spotify​

Thanks to Connected Music with Spotify, your favourite music is always on board. Stream tens of millions of songs from your existing Spotify account.

BMW Online​

You don’t need a smartphone to have the latest information on your journey with this online-based mobility service. News is simply shown on the control display.

Amazon Alexa Car Integration​

With Amazon Alexa Car Integration, you can take advantage of many of Amazon’s voice features at the wheel just as conveniently as you would at home.

Voice Control With Online Speech Processing​

With Voice Control including, online speech processing, you can control many of your vehicle’s functions using voice commands.

Connected Navigation​

Connected Navigation impresses with high accuracy of the predicted arrival time, extremely fast route calculation and simplified destination entry.

REAL TIME TRAFFIC INFORMATION​

Get to your destination fast. Make confident decisions with real-time traffic information to the nearest 100 metres.

Seeing as my wife and I pretty much always use CarPlay, none of the above seem worth it to me?

 

[Housey]

To be clear, I did not ignore the warning light, twice its been in for diagnosis and both times come out with clean bill of health. It was in last week, light came on again and this time they located the above.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Seeing as my wife and I pretty much always use CarPlay, none of the above seem worth it to me?

If you really do just use CarPlay then you are right, none of that is worth paying for.

Personally I think the way the whole thing integrates with the instrument cluster and head up display perfectly, including Spotify, without even needing to go anywhere near my phone, is well worth the money. But if you agreed with that then you'd probably already be using it, so I doubt its worth it for you.