Autosmanual

When starting BMW 3 Series in the cold do you wait for the radiator sign to go to the middle?

I have to leave my car outside now on the drive and when I first turn it on the radiator gauge is all the way to the left because the weather is so cold, so should I wait for it to go back to the middle.
Car is a BMW 3 series, petrol.

- When you first start your car you should let it warm up a bit. This may give you time to get the ice off of you windsheild and do a walk around to make sure nothing is covering your headlights, and especially your tail-brake lights so other people can see you. By allowing your car to warm up this will insure that the engine is well lubricated as when things are cold the clearences are tighter than normal in the engine and damage can occur if you just take off. A 5- 10 minute warm up will do if you can afford the fuel for this. Otherwise suggest a heated dipstick or block heater be installed if possible or available in you area which you will plug into your electric at night when you park.
- ll engines have what are called squirt holes in the connecting rods at the crank shaft journals,in extremely cold weather the oil is to thick to properly squirt from these holes onto the bottom of the pistons and cyl walls for proper lubrication of the piston skirts and rings and will cause premature wear of these parts. In mild weather 5 min.In extreme cold 10 min to let the oil have time to thin out a little and squirt right at high RPM’s.
- You should probably wait until it reaches the middle. If you turn it on before that, it will just blow cold air instead of warm.

What causes car steering to shake on 03 BMW 3 series?

I have 03 BMW 3 series and recently I started noticing that the car’s steering shakes in low speed. When the speed gose faster it disappears. I have changed tires not so long time ago, so I am thinking maybe it needs alignment or rotation? Would you please tell me?
- One of your new tires isn’t round, but it is balanced. Try moving the front ones to the back and see if that makes a difference. It’ll still shake, just not the steering wheel.

All these folks saying balance are totally wrong. When tires are out of balance on an ordinary car, they shake at 50 mph. Always. There aren’t exceptions. The reason is that the suspension will oscillate really nicely at that speed. Every system with a sprung mass in it has a speed at which it’ll oscillate naturally. On cars, that means they gotta shake at that frequency, and that’s somewhere around 40-50 mph.
- Your tire need balancing where you take it in and have them put weights on each tire so that they will be rotating evenly on the road. Aligning of tires is done when the car is pulling to one side. Balancing should be done as soon as possible so the tire will not wear down uneven and cause further problems.
- Low-speed vibration through the steering wheel is almost always caused by a front tire problem, usually a ply-separation or very uneven wear. It doesn’t matter how new they are. I’ve seen this exact symptom maybe a few hundred times so I can speak with some authority on this matter. Every time I tell the customer its the tires and they insist it isn’t. And every time we put new tires on the symptom disappears.
Wheel alignment does not cause a vibration through the steering. It can cause unever tire wear which in turn can cause the vibration but its still the tires doing it.
If the tires are not the culprit then check the suspension. 3-Series BMW’s are notorious for front suspension bushing and ball joint problems.

Do I need to get 2002 530 BMW serviced at the dealer?

My 2002 530 BMW has 117,000 miles. Do i need to continue to get it serviced at a BMW dealership or would a “regular service station” be capable of servicing it?
- well know but you can always go there to get serviced by the dealer! but a reg service station can service you just as well i am sure
- you’ve payed up the nose for taking it to the dealership, but with that many miles on it there is probably no warranty to void, so take it to you local guy, its not like the do anything special at the dealers.
- BMW is a very intricate vehicle. I would strongly recommend taking it to a BMW dealer, unless it is something simple like a light bulb. But anything that involves engine or transmission, drivetrain components needs to be dealt with by a dealer.
- So what kind of warranty coverage does a BMW have. If it’s out of warranty, I’d go to a trusted service station or “quick lube” place and have the oil changed at the designated intervals and have the other maintenance done according to schedule. If you keep all of your records to document the maintenance, you shouldn’t encounter your problems. But, then, I drive a Ford, not a BMW.

Where can I find the correct air pressure for BMW tyres?

They are 16″ standard BMW alloys with 225/40/16 tyres and I just temporarily filled a punctured tyres with Holts Tyre Weld from Halfords and I was told to inflate the tyre to the correct pressure after doing this.
- the only way is to refer to the manual, or if not check the pressure on the other tyre or tyres and match the psi
- well driver door has what pressure the company recommends but its up to driver to watch for wear and adjust look at tires side wall will have max pressure and what driver door as and somewhere between is what you can use still up to driver to adjust for wear.
- First of all, tyreweld is just a temporary answer – you need to get the tyre repaired properly by a qualified fitter, using a plug patch repair. If the tyre is damaged internally from running underinflated you will need to get it replaced as soon as possible. Please do not take any risks – the tyre is the only contact between the road and the car!
As for correct pressures, there is usually a sticker on the car (on the door pillar or inside the fuel filler flap), or in the car’s handbook.
Alternatively, any tyre dealer will be able to look it up for you.
- For the best tire life use the tire manufactures recommendation its on the tire. If you want a nice ride and your not worried about the life of your tires use the car manufactures recommendation its on normally on the drivers door.

Whining noise and flickering battery light on 2003 BMW 325 Sport?

My car has recently started making a constant whining noise which can be heard at all revs, especially at low revs. It basically sounds like the engine is more high-pitched than usual. I have also noticed out of the corner of my eye whilst driving that occasionally the battery light flickers on for a fraction of a second and then goes off again. I’ve checked the oil, and have recently replaced the battery, so they aren’t a problem.
I don’t know much about cars, but does this sound like an alternator problem? That would make sense to me as the pitch of the whining noise increases with the revs in the engine, so it must be something that’s being turned by the engine.
If so, any idea how much it costs to get an alternator replaced?
- It could be your serpentine belt. check to see if its that and sense you light keeps flickering could be a comp. problem your could just make it easier if your worried about your alternator and check to see if its still good…….. or maybe a pulley is froze up and that would be your winning noise and if it would be the pulley for the alternator then THERE YOU GO

Which car does not have this hesitation problem when you accelerate?

I have a BMW and it needs 3 seconds before it gets going
- What your referring to is probably the lag from the Electronic Throttle Control, which there is no physical connection from the gas pedal to the throttle body, instead the gas pedal is actually the Throttle Position Sensor, connected directly to the computer, which then digitally controls a servo motor that operates the throttle. All cars made since the middle of this decade have ETC, no way around it except to get an older car. BMW has had ETC since 1988 (7 series)
I don’t know where this “all automatics have hesitation” is coming from. I have an automatic (a Hydra-Matic 200-4R) and I press the gas and the car goes, no hesitation, no questions asked!
Most BMWs DON’T have turbos. Get your hat.
- Anything that is turbo-charged is going to have a lag. If you’re looking for quick acceleration, why don’t you look into a car that is supercharged? It’s the same type of principle, but without the lag.
- basically any car that doesn’t have a turbo. The trubo needs to spin up, which is why it takes a few seconds to kick in after you punch the gas. Also, most BMW’s use turbos, so that is why they seem to have the most delay.

Auto transmission jamming in high gear on BMW 525 1991?

Twice in past 6 months ‘trans program’ comes up on screen and my car does not want to go in 1st or 2nd it will drive but has to pull off in 3rd (possibly 4th). prior to this happening i get a very heavy clunking sound and jerking on gear change for about 30 miles, then it just gets stuck in high gears (it does still change gear though from 5th to 4th to 3rd and back up) i have had the gear iol levels checked, it is ok and the oil is not sludgy looking. before i go to the expense of having the gearbox stripped and /or new gearbox does anyone have any ideas what is causing this.
- there are electronic switches within the gearbox. when these go a^se over the gearbox drops into a get-you-home mode. they are relatively inexpensive, but the cost to strip your box, missus, and rebuild it makes it not worth doing.
Get a second hand box, but consider selling yours back to him, or even weigh it in for scrap to offset your costs
- I had same problem on mine (1991 bmw 525) several years ago when the car was around 180K miles. Took it to my usual repair garage… they tried their best to fix it replacing several solenoids. Problem would come back, sometimes when driving it back from garage !
Then I took it to dealer who said they checked it all out but did not know how to fix it after several days, they said all they found was a miswired cable ! I was not charged but since they fixed the miswired cable I have not had the problem again for the past 3 years, I now have 225K miles.
- Tranny is sensing low pressure. Be it sensors or wiring or a dirty filter and is entering safe mode.
There is no simple answer, only more questions. Use the kiss method of trouble shooting and keep it simple stupid. Start simple and cheap and work your way up until the cost of parts becomes more than simple.

Whats the best car engine oil for BMW?

I need some good engine oil for my BMW whats the best one out there?
- For standard oil, I recommend Pennzoil. I have had five vehicles go 100,000 miles with no problems and the people who bought them from me drove them for many more years because I would see them from time to time.

If you want a really GREAT oil, I would suggest AMSOIL synthetic. I read some independent labratory tests on that stuff and it was amazingly better at protecting metal parts then all the others. But it is a bit expensive. You CAN run it for more miles than Petroleum oils so it costs about the same in the long run. I switched my Harley to Amsoil and it ran quieter and cooler. That should tell you it is better then the “dinosaur” petroleum oils.
The second best synthetic would be Mobil one.
- In this day and age , theres not much to choose between them, if you buy a 20/40.which means it stays good ( or keeps its viscosity) at 20 below c and 40 above, if you buy cheep, change it more often , which wont hurt anyway, for me that GTX is well over rated, on high mileage cars its got to be changed every year.

How can the clock be changed on a car and still show more mileage?

How can the clock be changed on a car and still show 149,000 even though the true mileage is 82,000?
I was going to buy a car (BMW) and the seller says the true mileage is 82,000 but the clock shows 149,000 this is because a “new clock” was fitted.
How can this be true? If it is a digital clock can it not be set accordingly?
Is he trying to pull a fast one, he sounds Greek.

- I know that if you fit a new clock to a peugeot the milage the car had will show up on the new clock but if you fit a second hand clock off a car which had higher milage the clock will show the higher milage, dont know if this is the same for bmw, i would stay well clear of the car, plus 2500 for it i wouldnt look twice although it does look like a nice car.
- You don’t say how old the car is or what year. If he has the paperwork for any mechanical work done by a certified mechanic, ask him to show you the paper work. This sound shady to me and personally I wouldn’t buy it. A good rule of thumb is 12 – 15000 miles driven per year.
- Its ilegal to change the mileage on a car and you can be arrested for fraud. and it is quite hard to change the mileage.
And yes i believe he’s lieing and looking for the cash, So if you havnt already brought it, don’t buy it or from anyone that talks like this again.
- The question you really need to be asking yourself is “Why would the owner want to replace the clocks in the first place?”
It sounds to me like the seller is trying to lie about the mileage on the car to get a better price for the car.
Ask him for all the past MOT certificates to see what the recorded mileage is? Second examine the interior of the car to see what the wear and tear on the seats/peddle rubbers. This is will give you a good indication of the age of the car.

Is it normal for newly installed brake pads to squeak a little on 2003 BMW 325Ci?

I had them installed this afternoon and they seemed fine–but when I left work the front brakes were squeakin’ and squealing just before full stops. Will that go away or what? (2003 BMW 325Ci)
- Yes it can happen Brake pads come with a small tube of lithium grease to apply to the BACK of the pads to prevent it. I guess your mechanic was lazy. The squeak will go away eventually.
- it’s perfectly normal. it should go away within a day or so depending on how much you drive your car. it could also be that your brakes were wet. if it doesn’t go away within a week i’d take it back and have them check it.
- Sqeaking is caused by the pads rubbing on the rotor, or the caliper piston. Normally a little anti-sqeal compound on the BACK of the pads (not the part that contacts the rotor) where it meets the caliper pistons will stop it. Sometimes I’ve even slightly chamferred the edges of the pad with a file, so there isn’t a square edge on the pad where it does contact the rotor.
- The only time mine ever did that was when we were trying to save a buck and hubby installed them…and would they squeal!!!….If you had them professionally installed, call them and tell them the problem.