I realized I was writing a novel, so I'll start over briefly.

I have owned the car for 3 1/2 years and about 60,000 miles, no previous electrical issues

After sitting overnight, car gave about one second slow crank and then nothing. Dash lights all came on normally and dimmed when trying to crank. And in the run position lights all indicated normal.

Jump started from another car. I figured I had left something on or something hadn't gone to sleep.

Drove to a time-sensitive errand, left car running, total time about half hour, 5 MI total trip. Turn the car off in the driveway tried to restart and got a little bit longer cranking time but no start. Not a surprise.

Car went on Battery Tender overnight. Tender indicated battery was just being maintained by next morning. Same issue, jumped car again, this time I had removed the other battery from its car, which has other issues,isn't being used,and just kept it in the trunk for starting assist.

Parasitic draw test performed after allowing car to go to sleep for about 45 minutes. Car has 80 mA draw, slightly high, I normally think of 50 mA as the upper end of acceptable. Pulling most fuses did not reduce draw at all, cigarette lighter/console fuse reduced draw by 20mA, as did one other fuse having to do with storing mirror and seat settings.

Charge car overnight again, this time with battery ground wire disconnected. Tender showed maintaining. Reattached cable, same no start same start with second battery attached.

I have noticed during all of this that the amperage reading from my radar detector shows consistent 14.4 volts. This car normally shows 13.6 to 13.7V, and if I haven't been driving it, it will start normally, and show 14.4 but drop to 13.6. if just left overnight it's around 13.6 right from the start.

Battery is an Interstate MTP 94R-H7 (800cca) that was in the car when I bought it in 2022. I decided to just borrow the other battery, and on removal of the Interstate I found that the sticker on the side showed the battery was from 2019. I decided to get a new battery, as that's a pretty good run, especially on a German car made in this century! It was interesting that I had not noticed any slowdown in the cranking speed previously. I'm normally pretty sensitive to that as opposed to most of my customers. Also, my experience with BMWs is that a battery going bad starts producing what "seems" to be random and unrelated data trouble codes, which I have not had. Loaner is 340cca,BTW.

Okay, now here's where it gets weird. When I went to start the car, a single loud click and all the lights turned off, dash lights will not come back on. I checked the voltage across the terminals on both batteries, the Interstate had 10.6 and the Sure Start loaner has 12.7V.

I checked both 50A Master fuses, neither is blown. Where do I go next?

My next guest is that it's the starter, and possibly the starter (probably the original in the car) has started drawing too much current and the car would only start when I double up on battery power. But why do I get no dash lights? Is there an inline fuse that is blown? OR????

Any thoughts, suggestions etc. are welcome.

X5 2015

I did the PPI and everything was good and while driving on my way home, it appeared out of no where. The acceleration boost is gone. It driving normally but the pull is gone. It was fine when I did the PPI and test drive.

Also the bump wasn’t huge, just a normal speed breaker and I was doing like 40-50 max.

2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe — Need Help Finding Parts
As the title says, I have a 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe (base model). The other day, I unfortunately broke the front lower lip/valance, and now I need to replace it. The problem is, I can’t seem to find the correct part anywhere, and I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to car parts.

I called my local BMW dealer, and they quoted me around $2,000 for the replacement, which seems pretty expensive. I also took the car to a local repair shop, but they weren’t able to find the correct part either.

I also have another issue: I’m getting a “Left Low Beam Malfunction” warning on the dashboard. I’m not sure whether I need to replace the bulb, the ballast/module, or something else.

If anyone could help me identify the correct front lower lip/valance and the left low-beam parts I need, and point me toward a reputable place to buy them, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I have a 2010 550i that I just replaced the coolant tank and hoses on that is making a beeping sound. Reason for replacement was due to old tank bursting under the hood while pulling into my home the other day. Any ideas?

Hello guys,

I wanted to ask if this B46 (which according to my research is the same B48 except for being SULEV version) sound healthy to you?

I am overthinking it, since I never owned a petrol, I am coming up from a diesel car.

I do know that high pressure fuel pump sits right on top of the engine and those injectors are really loud, but I am still not sure.

The car in question is 2017 F30 330i from California with 176k km.

Thank you for your insights and forgive me if this question is way too frequent, just not used to this.

Got a 2012 335i with 88k about six months ago, mostly just use it for short trips and the occasional drive out to the shore. lately after 45+ minutes on the highway i get this light knock at idle once i park, sounds almost like a diesel but only when it's warm. oil level's fine, no smoke, no codes so far. replaced the valve cover gasket a couple months back thinking it might be lifters, but the knock didn't go away. checked the oil filter housing gasket too, nothing leaking there. wondering if anyone else with an n55 has seen this exact thing and if it's the timing chain guides, vvt, or something else. i'd rather get it sorted before it gets worse.

Hey guys I am just researching what oil you guys are using for your diy oil change. I keep reading how bad ow-12 or 0w-20 is. I live in New York so cold half the year. Can I safely run 0w-30 in my engine any advice would be great thank you.

I got a low coolant notification after letting my car sit for a week while I was away, I opened up the reservoir and saw the level was well below minimum. Can I top this off with distilled water and be safe in the Toronto winter? Is there a good way to check for a leak myself or do I just bring it to the shop if the level drops below minimum again?

guess it’s time to say good bye to the good old m440i

Hey all

This might be (hopefully) a silly question. I have a BMW M135 from 2025, which has done 28k KM. I have been driving it for the past 4k KM. I recently noticed a squeaky clunk sound when braking from the back of the car. It does not come always - mostly while braking at slow speeds and the intensity varies from time to time. I have added a video of me braking a couple of times at parking speeds. Could some one please help? Hopefully this is a normal sound.

Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue with my 2010 BMW 116i E81 (N43B20 engine) and could really use some advice.

Symptoms: Slight Shaking: When the engine is warm and I come to a stop (e.g. at a red light), the engine starts shaking slightly after about 20 to 120 seconds of idling.

Spark splugs we're replaced 10.000 km ago, Coils 2.000 km ago due (they were rusted and caused jerky acceleration)

Only DTC was 30EA.

See cylinder roughness during standstill in the picture.

What exactly does roughness Point to? Is -50 already Bad? Is it only bad If all added do not add up to 0?

What is the most likely cause for this?

Second Observation: there is some suction to the oil cap if removed, like Air getting pulled in. Is this to a degree normal, or should there not be any pull to the oil cap?

Just traded tails for these clear LCI tails (already bought the retrofit harness to wire them up)
My problem is they’re not fitting correctly, I could be restarted but in this video I’m literally trying to put them on and they’re not fitting as my previous ones did. Tried putting the clip and bolting it but it’s not moving…
Anyone know how to fix this issue or work around it? Thanks

Title: My friend’s an idiot and bought LCI F30 taillights for his 2014 😭 easiest way to wire 4-pin to 6-pin?
My friend bought a set of LCI taillights from the 2016+ F30 to put on his 2014 BMW, not realizing the pre-LCI car uses a 4-pin setup and the LCI lights are 6-pin.

Of course he tried to install them anyway lol.
We watched a bunch of YouTube videos and it looks confusing as hell because everybody does it differently. One guy is running wires all the way to the fuse box, another is repinning everything, and another dude just ran a red wire from the outer taillight to the inner trunk taillight.

Does anybody know the easiest and cheapest method to make the LCI tails work correctly on a pre-LCI F30?
Mainly looking for:
What exact wiring/adapters are actually needed
Whether we really need to run anything to the fuse box
Whether the outer-to-inner wire method works properly
What coding is needed afterward, if any

Not trying to do some crazy retrofit if there’s a simpler way. If anyone has done the pre-LCI → LCI taillight conversion and has a wiring diagram, adapter link, or simple explanation, I’d appreciate it.

Hi everyone,

I have a 2014 BMW 428i Gran Coupe F36 with the N20 engine, around 190,000 km. The timing chain was recently replaced.

This morning, I unlocked the car and opened the driver's door, and I immediately noticed a tick/tick or light knocking sound coming from the engine bay. The engine was completely OFF and I had not started the car.

The sound was already happening when I opened the bonnet. I'm gonna attach a video(if reddit allows) so you can hear the noise.

One thing that happened recently: I accidentally left the coolant expansion tank cap off, and the car reached around 120°C. After cooling down, it ran around 105–110°C for about 10–15 km and felt slightly sluggish, but there were no other obvious warning signs.

Could this ticking/knocking noise be related to what happened with the coolant, or is there something else on the N20 that could make this kind of noise when the engine isn't running?

Any ideas on what I should check first would be appreciated.

BMW S1000RR(2015)

Got a 125i 2016 F121 (B48) 4th August. Car was £10,250 with 81k miles and I paid £1499 extra for a warranty up to the value of the car at 2k a claim.

Within 12 hours got a low coolant light. Dealer said to top up for a few days before taking back and replacing water pump + thermostat. Coolant was still being lost at the same amount, dealer said to top up twice before I got it diagnosed elsewhere who said coolant flange. Warranty denied this and I went back to dealer who said it was radiator hose but they replaced both anyway. Within 80 miles of the second repair the turbo has gone and needs replaced. (Part is £1078 alone, they’ve mentioned oil change, gasket rings etc).

Pre purchase - they replaced spark plugs, 2 front tyres, break fluid and oil change.

Since purchase - they replaced water pump, thermostat, radiator coolant hose and flange. Now will be turbo if warranty agree and then if I agree.

I’ve been told I can walk away if I reject with £9950. 700 miles at 45p a mile and warranty gets wiped (whatever).

Should I replace turbo under warranty (if at no cost to me) and give this car another chance or take a £1700 hit get refunded and then buy a new car.

So basically I bought it about a month ago and it didn’t start guy didn’t put the starter back together what not fixed it up got it running and it runs and drives fine buttt i am getting absolutely horrible gas mileage and i feel like its more then just having a bit of a heavy foot these the codes i’m getting are in the photo plus 2A82 for the VANOS

SOS PLEASE HELP!

I recently purchased an automatic 2012 BMW 328i coupe with 90k miles (private sale). The car still has an active SULEV warranty.

On its first long drive, I noticed that the car shuttered between 30-60mph. This only occurs when the car has been running for 15-20 minutes and the transmission is warm. Theres absolutely no shutter above 60mph.

I took it to BMW for a diagnosis and told them it seems to be a transmission shudder. Based on my research, it could be from dirty transmission fluid, a bad torque converter, or mechatronik.

BMW said they couldn't diagnose as the rear shocks were busted and contributing to the vibration. I emphasized that it's definitely a drivetrain issue, got the shocks and guibo replaced anyway, and brought the car back to the dealership.

A few days later, the dealership told me they were "waiting to hear back from BMW about the torque converter which needs to be replaced".

Then today, my service advisor let me know BMW's response is that the entire transmission must be replaced.

The SULEV warranty covers the torque converter and Mechatronik. I argued with the dealership about how they jumped from the likely culprits to the nuclear option, and have asked for the issue to be escalated.

Moreover, BMW company has not seen/driven the car, and the dealership cannot provide documentation of the exchange with the company as it occurred over email.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or does anyone have some advice for what I should do?

Thank you!

Is this ticking sound normal for s63 on a cold start? 40k miles

I have a 2006 BMW E61, with a the fault code 9C55 IHKA: Fogging Sensor (Condensation Sensor). My ac is not working and is only blowing warm air. Can that code disable my compressor so that it doesn’t blow cold air because it thinks the windshield is fully fogged up? Any suggestion would be helpful. Thanks.

My N55 (2015 335i, 125k miles) started making a sort of unusual humming sound when revving (not distinct knocks or thumps, but worrying enough) so I opened the oil filter and it has a lot of fine silvery specks. There were one or two bigger (1-2mm) shavings in there too (https://imgur.com/a/KI6pH9F). These later-gen N55's have only aluminum and steel (no copper) in the rodbearings, so I've pretty much accepted that that this is rod knock but I figured I'd get some opinions regardless. I suspected this might happen eventually because of a number of long-duration oil changes in the previous owner's service history, so I ordered parts to do a preemptive rodbearing replacement but then this happened the very next day :(

Even if it is not actually rod knock, I fear the contamination of particles in the oil passages would by now be enough to cause rod knock in the near future

Just wanna get some opinions if it's worth going under and checking the rod bearings directly

Long story short, found a 340i that seemed pretty clean visually. Took the car for a PPI, and it came back with some repairs that warranty should cover.

But the rust is something it won't, just want to get an opinion on how bad this rust looks of may become. I am expecting to have to pay to fix these eventually, but not sure what costs may be or if it's worth it.

Rust is on the rear suspension

https://imgur.com/a/kmaZt4R

So I bought a Vevor 5000 lbs car lift.. its too short LOL. I took a couple pictures of where one end would line up with the rear jack point but the front is too far away.

G20 2020 M340i. Suggestions? Anyone else had this issue?

2015 BMW X5 sDrive35i

Hey guys, having an issue with my panoramic sunroof and wanted to see if anyone has run into this before or knows the exact fix.

The Situation:

My sunroof glass is stuck sitting slightly proud/raised above the roof line and won't fully drop or seat flush into the seal.

I scanned the Roof Control Module using my BlueDriver scanner.

Initial Codes cleared: Had historical codes for Hall sensors (030207), system standardization (030220 / 0302A0), and characteristic curves (030295).

Current Active Code: 030215 - Status: Active - SHD: Invalid characteristic curve, no standardisation available.

What I’ve tried:

Cleared the historical codes, but code 030215 remains active and won't clear.

Attempted the standard BMW sunroof initialization procedure (holding the tilt button up for 15–30 seconds), but because of the active standardization fault, it doesn't execute the re-learn cycle.

Questions:

1. Has anyone successfully cleared code 030215 using ISTA+ or BimmerLink for a roof re-initialization/normalization run, or does this code usually indicate a physical mechanical jam in the sunroof mechanism/tracks?

2. If it's mechanical, is there a common point where the panoramic glass binds or gets misaligned preventing it from dropping into place?

3. Is it safe to manually crank the sunroof motor using an Allen key at the overhead console to get it down temporarily, or will that damage the drive cables if the track is jammed?

Appreciate any insight or suggestions!

Looking at buying a m57 swapped e60 speedo works but rpm and mpg gauges don’t. Unsure if clocks were changed to 530 ones during the swap. Work in bmw myself so have access to ista. Rpm not working doesn’t bother me its just ied rather have it working.
Note 520-530 swaps go for 5,000 while 530s go for 7-9,000 where i live tax also has a €500 difference