# Im singing the BMW blues.......



## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

People

Its a 2009 328i. 

First- the instrument cluster showed ABS light/warning. I heard no way to get into the codes for abs unless one has a scanner. Does this usually mean the abs sensor is bad? If so, I can buy and install, and see what happens.

Second- A month or so later (like, NOW), warning icon - kinda looking like a guy sitting down, with a red colored sphere in front of him, while Im driving. Is this the airbag warning? Seat belt? (I had my belt on).
Got a chilton manual, so Im gonna be reading up o it tonight, meanwhile. 

Any tips/advice appreciated.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Oh- AZ said code reader for ABS is not OBD, but seperate $250++ scannner, which I dont have. he guessed it has to be a bad sensor........what do yous think?


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

Being as there is more than one sensor it will be cheaper to pay someone to diagnose it than guess the wrong one.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

One time, the ABS light came on on my Pontiac. Took it into the dealer. Turned out the brakelight bulb was burned out !!!


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

ABS light can be almost anything from a disconnected sensor (or frayed grounded wire for) to a fried ABS computer or actuator. Did you have a brake job lately or change wheels? If so, check the wheel sensors and connectors.

I would try signing up for a BMW forum to see if someone knows where to get/borrow the scanner and how to diagnose because going to the dealer with that one could be *painful*.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

no brake job done so far. I tried a bm forum- one guy advised that this is waaaaay too complicated for even a good diyer. to bring it to a bm expert, if not the dealer, which I will try my hardest to AVOID!!!!!!


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

Taking it to a good shop that works on European cars or the dealer just for diag then fix it yourself. A hundred bucks or so for diag is cheaper than guessing one part wrong.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

One other thing to try.... on many cars (not sure about BMWs) disconnecting the battery for a good while (like at least 5 minutes) will allow computers and faults to reset. It won't erase saved codes but might get a computer out of a "stuck" condition. Give ity a try. No cost and nothing to lose.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

raylo32 said:


> One other thing to try.... on many cars (not sure about BMWs) disconnecting the battery for a good while (like at least 5 minutes) will allow computers and faults to reset. It won't erase saved codes but might get a computer out of a "stuck" condition. Give ity a try. No cost and nothing to lose.


great idea- are you sure I wont blow up my cumputer disconnectimng the batery? Come to think of it, I will be needing a battery pretty soon, and I heard its not as easy as remove/pop it back in. car needs reprograming. What a pain.......feedback appreciated.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Update- think a new battery is needed, then I will get to the codes, some which may revert back to normal. . So, trying to search for the right one, and question:

Battery is acting funny, so since its been 4 1/2 years, figured why not just get new now and avoid a no start. Thing is, I heard since our factory batteries come with a "drain" fitting which has attached a plastic drain tube (draining corrosive gasses out/down underneath the car) should my new battery (Sams Club/AZ/Adv Auto) include such a fitting/configuration?

I ran this by a NAPA clerk, and Sam's club clerk, and they said basically, who cares- their batteries are "sealed" anyway, so no gases "gas of'. No worries/irrelevent. 

Whats the deal here, people?


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

If yours is under the seat inside or in the trunk then yes you need the drain. Sealed only means you can't check or fill the levels. It will still vent gasses and possibly acid when charging with the alternator. 
A gell battery is truly sealed though if you want to spend that much.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Woah, CJ, I didnt know that!! Good thing I checked on that here first. Man, some of those guys that work at sams, sheesh. Guess I'll be shopping for one of those gel batteries. I always thought they were hype/overpriced, but seems maybe they do have some logical reason for the $$$.....


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

cjm94 said:


> If yours is under the seat inside or in the trunk then yes you need the drain. Sealed only means you can't check or fill the levels. It will still vent gasses and possibly acid when charging with the alternator.
> A gell battery is truly sealed though if you want to spend that much.



OK, so is the gel the only alternative? I mean, do you think non gel batteries could have that quirky drain fitting on the side top of the battery?


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

Yea they are expensive but last longer and can be mounted on there sides even if you have limited space in custom applications


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## Chokingdogs (Oct 27, 2012)

first off....welcome to the "club" of bmw owners and electrical fun...

the chilton you have is probably scant, in terms of good usable info, so get a bentley manual.

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/bmw/repair-information/bmw-3-series-2006-2010-repair-manual.html

theyre not cheap, but you should be able to get one new off amazon for a decent price, or used on fleabay. the above link shows hardcover....not sure why, as mine for my e36 is softcover, and when i got it i think it was around 50 bucks new.

you might be able to get trouble codes through the radio display, not sure if that works on the e90s, google would be your friend in that case.

you didnt say what forum you tried, but if it wasnt bimmerforums.com, give that a shot. before you post any question, check out the stickied/parked threads for info

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?189-2006-2012-(E90-E91-E92-E93)

if you dont see anything there, then do a search for the issues. word of warning though, the search function on that site is a PITA, very hard to drill down to specific things, so be prepared to wade through a lot of posts.

if you do figure out what the problem is, say some sensor(s), do NOT get anything from car quap, retard auto parts, autozoneout, etc. only get genuine bmw stuff.

theres several places to get oe parts at good prices, no need to go to the stealer and get hosed unless it's something you gotta have like yesterday.

RM european, autohauzAZ, the bmw parts store, turner motorsport, bimmerworld, tischer bmw ( they go by getbmwparts.com ) pelican parts, to name a few. some of them offer free shipping on orders over X amount, say 75 or 100 dollars.

lastly, if you havent been to it before, cozy up to realoem.com

that site breaks down your car ( enter the last 7 of the VIN ) into all the various sections showing parts, what they are, where they go, and bmw part numbers. take the part numbers and plug them into the above sites to see what they cost, makes it soooooo much easier than trying to find them by name.

good luck!


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

Heh, BMW... *B*leed *M*y *W*allet. 

I've had several and they all ended up being blackholes sucking money. They're great fun to drive for 3-4 years, but when things start to approach service time... SELL.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

wkearney99 said:


> Heh, BMW... *B*leed *M*y *W*allet.
> 
> I've had several and they all ended up being blackholes sucking money. They're great fun to drive for 3-4 years, but when things start to approach service time... SELL.


LOL!! Seriously, even for a DIYer like me- you?? Cmon, cant be that bad.......


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Chokingdogs said:


> first off....welcome to the "club" of bmw owners and electrical fun...
> 
> the chilton you have is probably scant, in terms of good usable info, so get a bentley manual.
> 
> ...


Thnaks, Dogs- much useful info/links/resources! God tip on buying genuine. Does the bentley manual have good pictures like haynes? Thats one thing about Haynes- cant beat their quality photos. Soo helpful. Chilton is scant, like you said. 

Update- I thinking I ned new battery, to start. Then go from there. I got a good mechanic and hes helping me with his NAPA scanner. Hope to have it all fixed by say, next wek sometime. I will let yous know!!


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

noquacks said:


> LOL!! Seriously, even for a DIYer like me- you?? Cmon, cant be that bad.......


Yes, they're that bad. The 80's an earlier ones were reasonably serviceable DIY, but the current ones often end up requiring specialized tools or gizmos. All of which are money-sucking nightmares. I love the cars, they're great, but once things start going bad you want to get out from under them, quick.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

wkearney99 said:


> Yes, they're that bad. The 80's an earlier ones were reasonably serviceable DIY, but the current ones often end up requiring specialized tools or gizmos. All of which are money-sucking nightmares. I love the cars, they're great, but once things start going bad you want to get out from under them, quick.


Good to know your opinion, of course- perspectives are useful. If I can diverge slightly -

But, BM's are, like you said, nice cars. Why would one dump one just after 4 or or years?? Talk about taking a depreciation hit. What do you do then- buy another new BM? A new cadillac? Then dump the caddy after 4 years likewise? Do you think that is a smart economical approach to car ownership? 

I wish I had control over how thay build cars these days- so much nonsense catering to the stupid end user - "must haves" like bluetooth/parallel parking cams/sensors for dumb stuff like tire presure, etc etc etc. One dumb BM gadget introduced was the "mileagepergallonmeter". It was the height of the oil price market- mid 2008, they dumped the engine temp meter and replaced with the MPG meter. sheesh, pandering to people that know nothing about driving, period. Also, no more oil dip stick. Cmon. I bet 99++% of drivers never even read a book dedicated to driving a car, and know nothing of the REAL driving risks. 

BM's of today?? hey, yes, I wish they were the more simple cars of yesterday. But, kerney, what are we gonna do? Buy a new Jap car?? Like they have the same pedigree/quality/driving experience..........


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

My brother has a BMW habit but on a Toyota budget so he gets them used and they are always an aggravating $$ sinkhole, but he doesn't seem to mind. The electronics are a mess... I don't think I've ever seen one more than a few years old that didn't have one or more warning lights permanently on for no apparent reason.


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## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

My friend a few doors down is a BMW master tech. After hearing some of his stories about what goes wrong with the newer bm's, and what it takes and costs to fix them, it would be the last car I would want to own. Way too many computers and electronics. Half his time is spent reprogramming cars or diagnosing them with a computer. Not a real mechanic's type car that should be fun to work on. Buying oem parts is good advice. The [email protected] stuff doesn't seem to work on many of the higher end cars. Good luck, let us know what you find.
Mike Hawkins


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

It's either take the depreciation 'hit' or likely spend MORE money (and aggravation/time) on repairs.

Me, I drive a 13mpg beast of a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 Hemi. Sure, it doesn't corner like a bimmer, but straight line it beats the pants off anything else I have to deal with day to day. That and it climbs trails like a monkey in trees. Don't use that all the time, of course, but it's traction control makes for great off-the-line performance in wet conditions. Nice part is it doesn't ride like a truck. A few bits of suspension changes have done nice things to tighten up it's handling (not a lift, don't need it). 

Last thing BMW made that caught my interest was the 850i, but that was stupid expensive. Everything else has been, meh... just another sedan or an ill-fitting SUV. I agree, none of the asian imports hold any appeal for me either. They always end up cheaping out somewhere obvious in the passenger compartment. At least with Detroit stuff it's consistent (not always good or bad). Same thing with most Euro imports, they're interiors tend to at least have everything at the same level of expense. But that' just me being picky, but for what they cost these days, I damn sure will be!


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

good to know, people. thanks for all imputs. Update: bought a new battery- an AGM. Gonna have it instaled and "registered". Sheesh- register a battery- never woulda figured. Seems thats the lingo they use- you have to tell the cars comnputer you have a new battery, so it will charge it just right, I understand. 

Yup- my 87 sunbird- still running, still easy to fix. I will probably still have that after the BM......


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Ah, but not much beats the BMW suspension, brakes and steering.

Never heard about "registering" a battery. I can't believe you can not just replace it. What happens if you are on the road in podunk town and need a battery? Surely you can replace it and carry on.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I had to google it... here is an interesting thread.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=567915


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Thats a great link, ray!! I tried to search there and couldnd find anything! So much good info- now Im convinced, I gotta register it, to do things right, and not try to outsmart BM engineers cuz I think Im smarter. Thing is- I hope my mech with his high end snap on computer could do this- otherwise, I will cal around and ask maybe one of the local "German " car shops which cater to these cars- NEVER the dealer!!!


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

raylo32 said:


> Ah, but not much beats the BMW suspension, brakes and steering.


And how!! Brakes are out of this world. Interior quality is so exceptional. Not to mention, so much HP and 0-60 acceleration (5.6 seconds) for such a "small" engine- no one can match it and at the same time, deliver relatively great gas mileage. Exterior, tasteful sculptured beauty too. 

How do they do it.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

If it was me I wouldn't bother registering it, especially if it costs anything to do, to prevent a small theoretical impact to battery life. Any tweaks the car makes to the charging profile have to be tiny and I would think that individual battery variables might be more significant. To me it sounds like something BMW did because they can, not necessarily because it was anything that needed to be done.



noquacks said:


> Thats a great link, ray!! I tried to search there and couldnd find anything! So much good info- now Im convinced, I gotta register it, to do things right, and not try to outsmart BM engineers cuz I think Im smarter. Thing is- I hope my mech with his high end snap on computer could do this- otherwise, I will cal around and ask maybe one of the local "German " car shops which cater to these cars- NEVER the dealer!!!


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

There's something to be said for when engineers are left to endlessly tweak things. The little gains must certainly have numbers backing them up. Trouble is those same engineers don't always know enough to run the numbers on how negatively their actions may impact customer satisfaction. Little stuff like this adds up to a lot of negative opinions from owners to other potential owners. As in, one owner might love the car but his friends pick up on the niggling 'death of a thousand service calls' he has to go through... and steer clear of the brand entirely. All because some engineer thought it would be clever to make the electrical system "smarter".


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

You have to wonder... the engineers get to play around like this but then they use the "feature" to generate service calls. Get you in the shop and maybe try to sell other services.

Then they make almost incomprehensible changes to the regular service intervals. I have a friend that has a 2009 or 10 vintage 3 series and it has a 25k miles oil change interval using the long life synth. I think that came about due to the free routine maintenance service policy and them wanting to keep their costs low. Yeah, you will probably be fine for the usual time folks keep cars but what about the really long term? I always thought that 3k was too soon to change oil but no way I'd go 25k, no matter what BMW says. Just seems nuts to me....


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## Jdwilson112 (Mar 29, 2014)

Tip: sell it and buy American....believe me I made the mistake of a 2004 Mercedes even with 30k original mikes that car is a POC something major breaks about every other week. The older German cars are just complete crap, too much electronics for their own good and very expensive to fix...btw you will run into electronic repairs that you need the dealer to use their equipment to diag, some of it requires special scanners and tools


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## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

All cars have electronics these days, and all of them require using dealer-only gear to configure them. It's not unique to any brand. There's a pretty vibrant 3rd party market for interfaces and software for just about any make & model.


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