I've gone Bavarian! 2015 428i Gran Coupé

Well after getting an extremely concerning message popping up on the screen twice in the space of three days I caved and picked up the BMW Warranty. It's just ticked over 55k miles and is a September 2015 car. £483.00 with £250 excess and no roadside assistance which I get with my Premium bank account from the AA.

The messages were about a drivetrain fault, advising me not to stop the engine as engine restart would not be possible and to drive to my closest BNMW Service centre. Not ideal at 1am in Central Glasgow after seeing the Foo Fighters. It seemed to occur when the car was stopped at lights, using the auto stop. Not sure if the gearbox was moving out of Drive by itself but I always had to engage Drive to get the car to move off. Then the message disappears and nothing shows up in the Check section of the OBC. I'm just concerned that it's now happened twice in such a short space of time. I'm also considering a preventative change of the battery as it's 9 years old now, despite not having had any issues with it, although the stop start only remains 'stopped' for a minute or two, even without a large load such as heated seats on the electrical system.

The error was very similar to this one:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1618827 but with more red and yellow text or this one: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1642229

If it happens again I'll get it booked in to Eastern BMW in Newbridge and let them give it the once over.
 
the only thing i would worry about is if it's more than just a battery fault as the insured warranty does not cover pre-existing faults.
if they're being ********* about it, then they can very easily prove that you took out the insured warranty after the fault appeared
 
The BMW error messages on iDrive are very generic. Drivetrain fault can cover pretty much everything, so hopefully it won't be anything too bad. Could be something as simple as a sensor, or indeed the battery.
 
Insurance sorted for another year. Ridiculous rise considering I’ve made no claims. Gone with AA Platinum cover at £680, up from £450. Considering I paid £390 for my first years cover it’s a hefty increase given I’ve made zero claims.

Will consider a battery change later this year if my mechanic can code it.
 
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Car was having some issues thanks, I think, to a failing 12v battery. Errant messages about a drive train fault that would go away after a few seconds, an error about the 12v battery being low and the car being a touch lethargic to start some mornings made me decide it was time, lest it leave me stranded somewhere. Given it's 9 1/2 years old which is a pretty good life for a stop/start battery it's served the car well.

I got that changed today along with an oil change (OBC said September), brake fluid change (again September) and I had the Spark Plugs changed for the first time in my ownership. I supplied the battery (£183.39 inc VAT for a genuine Bosch item from Tayna batteries, CP4L wanted £365!) the Oil (Petronas 5L fully synthetic £30) & the Spark Plugs (£12 each) she's now back in rude health again. The bill for all the fitting, coding, new oil filter etc. came to £246.41.

There was mention of front discs having a bit of scoring on them and they said they felt a little bit of brake judder but I can't feel anything so may consider a disc replacement in the winter time, although the pads, changed in Feb 2023 at MOT time still both say 25k miles before replacement according to the car itself.
 
Forgot to add I updated the Satnav after BMW sent me a nice 15% off code, although it was 36GB in size so I needed a new 64GB memory stick and it took 45 minutes to update! Hopefully next time I go to Glasgow I won't be driving through a field according to the Satnav on the new M8 stretch.
 
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MissChief said:
Forgot to add I updated the Satnav after BMW sent me a nice 15% off code, although it was 36GB in size so I needed a new 64GB memory stick and it took 45 minutes to update! Hopefully next time I go to Glasgow I won't be driving through a field according to the Satnav on the new M8 stretch.
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How did you bag the 15% code? Asking for a friend :P
And did you need to drive it/keep the engine on, or did it update under battery power?
 
tamzzy said:
How did you bag the 15% code? Asking for a friend :p
And did you need to drive it/keep the engine on, or did it update under battery power?
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It took nearly an hour and I was waiting on my laddie coming out from his mum's this evening so started it then. it just finished as I pulled into my own street so the car was under power all the time. I doubt it would have lasted under battery power TBH.

I think I'd looked and put the sat nav upgrade into my basket 4 or 5 times but never went through with the sale so maybe that had something to do with it but I'm not sure.
 
MissChief said:
I supplied the battery (£183.39 inc VAT for a genuine Bosch item from Tayna batteries, CP4L wanted £365!)
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CP4L/ECP have become a proper joke price wise over the last few years. I remember when they were pretty much the best price for most car parts online - now I can't think of a single things I'd buy from them over getting it from elsewhere. It's not just that their prices are more, they're about 50%+ than eBay/online shops/Amazon
 
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