BMW and M Power Owners

Marvin · 25 Oct 2016 at 18:30

My E86 drove me almost insane with the multitude of rattles and squeaks.

Traffic_Warden · 25 Oct 2016 at 20:33

So the parents e46 320 petrol (2005) is using oil..Around 1L every 1000 miles (more some times). This can't be good....I've read on a few of the enthusiast forums that this is not uncommon for this model of bmw. Has anyone had this issue before. It's only done 75k...

[TW]Fox · 25 Oct 2016 at 20:59

Most of these seem to drink oil. My 530i had a similar thirst.

xs2man · 25 Oct 2016 at 21:07

Traffic_Warden said:
So the parents e46 320 petrol (2005) is using oil..Around 1L every 1000 miles (more some times). This can't be good....I've read on a few of the enthusiast forums that this is not uncommon for this model of bmw. Has anyone had this issue before. It's only done 75k...

1L per 1,000 miles seems reasonably normal. I'd be more worried if you had to top it up every time you filled the petrol tank.

Uncle_Gravy · 26 Oct 2016 at 10:05

Marvin said:
My E86 drove me almost insane with the multitude of rattles and squeaks.

Probably BMW's worst interior build quality wise they've ever made, Something I won't be overlooking the next time I'm finding myself after a new car.

badgeruk · 26 Oct 2016 at 10:58

Mines not too bad, odd noise here and there. Most come from the rear and the roof mechanism which is to be expected I think. Don't think the harsh drive helps it though, go down a bumpy road and it will rattle for a little while afterwards before settling down again.

Still think the interior is lovely in design only let down by the lack of a decent non ipad screen but that's down to its age so cant hold it against it really.

Steedie · 26 Oct 2016 at 11:27

I can't get over how epic this car is...

Could someone please explain what happens with Eco Pro mode? I'm addicted to using it and getting that bonus range up...will have some proper fun in Sport plus mode this weekend

It almost feels like the car is coasting and has some power going to it when I take my foot off the pedal. It loses speed so much slower than I'm used to say with the Jag, where as soon as you stop applying any throttle, the car loses speed quite quickly. Also, with the EfficientDynamics, what is actually "charging" when I apply the brakes?

Uncle_Gravy · 26 Oct 2016 at 11:31

badgeruk said:
Mines not too bad, odd noise here and there. Most come from the rear and the roof mechanism which is to be expected I think. Don't think the harsh drive helps it though, go down a bumpy road and it will rattle for a little while afterwards before settling down again.

Still think the interior is lovely in design only let down by the lack of a decent non ipad screen but that's down to its age so cant hold it against it really.

I like the interior, it suits the car, just a shame almost all Z4 interiors rattle and squeak, well from the hundreds of complaints/how to's on the Z4 forums I've seen.

lack of a decent non ipad screen

I'm sure I saw someone did a little project stuffing a small android tablet where the Sat nav pop up screen is.

gord · 26 Oct 2016 at 11:52

The noise in my M is starting to get to me. When I got it, it felt so much better than the 2003 3.0 I had before, but it's heading the same way. I suppose it's inevitable on the roads I drive, it gets shaken about. There must be some guides on the Z4 forum about noise dampening the cabin. My keen ears have pinpointed several rattle spots.

1. The sun visors when folded up vibrate against the plastic giving that leather sticking to plastic sound. I'm thinking some velcro tabs stuck in the corners might space it enough to stop this.
2. The wind deflector (which I never remove) has clips either end and it appears one of mine is moving about. Need to investigate, maybe a bit of grease required.

peige · 26 Oct 2016 at 12:02

Steedie said:
I can't get over how epic this car is...

Could someone please explain what happens with Eco Pro mode? I'm addicted to using it and getting that bonus range up...will have some proper fun in Sport plus mode this weekend

It almost feels like the car is coasting and has some power going to it when I take my foot off the pedal. It loses speed so much slower than I'm used to say with the Jag, where as soon as you stop applying any throttle, the car loses speed quite quickly. Also, with the EfficientDynamics, what is actually "charging" when I apply the brakes?

I'm not sure which car you have but on the newest with the ZF gearbox it does indeed roll when you take your foot off, the gearbox is not "in gear" and revs drop to idle and the car rolls (at a surprising rate I might add). One of the Eco stats will tell you how far it has rolled actually. When you touch the brake or retouch the accelerator the engine speed matches and then drops back into gear. Other that that it changes the gear change profile, throttle mapping and then turns down/off things that sap electricity, I stopped it turning off air con but like the rest.

As for charging, your still charging the same battery, all be it a big one.. its all maths after that I believe as it takes the amount you charge the battery by and uses this excess to start the engine when its turned off during stop/start.

[TW]Fox · 26 Oct 2016 at 12:13

Steedie said:
I can't get over how epic this car is...

Could someone please explain what happens with Eco Pro mode? I'm addicted to using it and getting that bonus range up...will have some proper fun in Sport plus mode this weekend

It almost feels like the car is coasting and has some power going to it when I take my foot off the pedal. It loses speed so much slower than I'm used to say with the Jag, where as soon as you stop applying any throttle, the car loses speed quite quickly. Also, with the EfficientDynamics, what is actually "charging" when I apply the brakes?

Eco Pro Mode:

a) Gives you a bunch of captain obvious driving tips
b) Massively kills the power to discourage excessive acceleration
c) Reduces the power used by certain aux systems, ie the air con
d) Enables Coasting Mode whereby the car will disconnect the engine from the gearbox and coast at idle if the cruise control isn't active.

The battery is charging when you brake etc.

btw, I told you how good these cars were before you bought that last Jag, but you didn't listen

Havana_UK · 26 Oct 2016 at 12:13

Peige has explained what it's doing in Eco Pro mode, and the coasting function (where the car automatically engages neutral when you're rolling without your foot on the accelerator pedal) took me a bit of getting used to. It's quite intelligent and linked to information contained in the nav system (such as upcoming speed limits, roundabouts, junctions, etc.) so won't always coast when you lift off approaching things.

As for stop/start, I believe that BMW use super-capacitors and not the main battery for this function.

Eco Pro is nice IMO and in my M135i I can stretch the range/fuel efficiency by up to ~10% on a decent run by using it well.

Steedie · 26 Oct 2016 at 12:20

Thanks guys

the coasting feels really nice, takes some getting used too but makes driving more efficiently a breeze.

The gear box is just brilliant, it's so much better for town driving than the XF. Gone are the days of random kick downs or delayed acceleration while it works out what gear it needs to be in when coming off roundabouts or sharp turns etc

It's just a dream to drive in comparison, and the smoothness of the engine for a diesel is just crazy. And have I mentioned how good the HK sound system is?!

badgeruk · 26 Oct 2016 at 12:54

gord said:
1. The sun visors when folded up vibrate against the plastic giving that leather sticking to plastic sound. I'm thinking some velcro tabs stuck in the corners might space it enough to stop this.

This is one I do have, I just tap it once and that normal stops it. Most of the interior noise is drowned out by the engine noise (good noise or vanos tapping).

Uncle_Gravy said:
I'm sure I saw someone did a little project stuffing a small android tablet where the Sat nav pop up screen is.

I've seen something like this before, not sure how good it is though and mines not got the satnav as I wanted the basic stereo so I could easily upgrade it.

wozzizname · 26 Oct 2016 at 13:55

Steedie said:
Thanks guys the coasting feels really nice, takes some getting used too but makes driving more efficiently a breeze.

The gear box is just brilliant, it's so much better for town driving than the XF. Gone are the days of random kick downs or delayed acceleration while it works out what gear it needs to be in when coming off roundabouts or sharp turns etc

It's just a dream to drive in comparison, and the smoothness of the engine for a diesel is just crazy. And have I mentioned how good the HK sound system is?!

Glad to hear that, as I've bitten the bullet and will be making the change from an XF-S to a 530D M-Sport . Hoping to pick it up Friday week.

Steedie · 26 Oct 2016 at 14:11

Yeah I made the same switch and you definitely won't be disappointed

Even the ride is infinitely better than the XF, it actually makes the XF seem like a very cheap car in comparison.

Jez · 26 Oct 2016 at 14:34

Steedie said:
Yeah I made the same switch and you definitely won't be disappointed

Even the ride is infinitely better than the XF, it actually makes the XF seem like a very cheap car in comparison.

You can see why a lot of us dont think Jags are very good

chroniclard · 26 Oct 2016 at 14:40

Managed 43 mpg in the 340i using eco pro mode the other day. Albeit there were large stretches of 50mph roadworks.

Uncle_Gravy · 26 Oct 2016 at 16:25

badgeruk said:
This is one I do have, I just tap it once and that normal stops it. Most of the interior noise is drowned out by the engine noise (good noise or vanos tapping).

I've seen something like this before, not sure how good it is though and mines not got the satnav as I wanted the basic stereo so I could easily upgrade it.

Yep, I get the same with the sun visor, small tap and it stops for a few mins, stupid plastic visors, I also get a really annoying squeak behind me when the roof is down, I have no idea where specifically or what exactly is causing it.

I have the sat nav but I'd never attempt anything that results me butchering something, I don't have the balls for it.

mrk · 26 Oct 2016 at 16:48

For the visor tapping noise, get sticky back foam pads from any home-store, and stick 2 each end of the visor (on the roof bit not the visor itself), so when it's closed, it rests on the foam.

Easy!