[Kobiwan]

that's a good question - help
I'm new to the e90. Bought an 06 330i that I drove from az to atlanta. Put in 1.5k the first week on new thermostat, water pump and labor.

I want to stick with the car but it's 1 thing after another. From reading this forum I've learned about the windshield cowl/water/blower motor problem I have; the door lock problem (seriously BMW?) that I had to fix on a business trip to nc!. Thanks to all of your combined knowledge and the search feature.

I have the bad radio display and a bad wheel bearing as well.

Now after a cold spell and hard rain: the car started slow tuesday am but turned over (accessories worked fine). Went to work for about 5 hours, came back out to parking lot it turned barely once then not at all. Accessories still worked. Tow driver came and jumped it from posts and battery. No change - wont crank. Now at shop. Considering selling it and getting a 350z.

Any suggestions?

[cultr3]

Buy new cars within your budget, not other peoples sloppy seconds for the badge. Its not really bmws fault, fact is anyone who buys a car and sell it while relative new isn't likely to care for it for it to last in the long term.

[NjPrince]

If it is used it really depends on how your old owner used it there's so many factors from to buying cars from small things to big things...the way your car is now its probably best to hop over to another car it will most likely continue to give you problems :/

[Kobiwan]

Originally Posted by cultr3

Buy new cars within your budget, not other peoples sloppy seconds for the badge. Its not really bmws fault, fact is anyone who buys a car and sell it while relative new isn't likely to care for it for it to last in the long term.

ho hum. you don;t know me and hence neither do you know what you are talking about - but uh, thanks.

looking forward to the good technical advice i've seen on many threads in this forum...

if it wasnt clear by "any suggestions" i mean has anyone had a similar problem or a diagnosis? thanks so much.

[Kobiwan]

Originally Posted by Njprince0226

If it is used it really depends on how your old owner used it there's so many factors from to buying cars from small things to big things...the way your car is now its probably best to hop over to another car it will most likely continue to give you problems :/

thanks man i hear you.


fyi - i'm no stranger to repairs, maintenance, etc. but this is my first non japanese car in 15 years. i also have 2 mr2s (well 1 mrs 2 mr2), impreza wrx and an isuzu vehicross converted to manual.

so i don't mind working on things. i just don't want to throw money away.

has anyone had a similar problem with starting? does a weak battery prevent the starter from actuating in these cars?

[ENINTY]

Well, I'd be nice to know what mileage you have on the car now. It's an '06, so the battery going at 5 - 6 years seems normal (I just replaced mine). Water pump and T-stat are showing replacement at 100K + miles (Mine went in the 130 - 145K range). Door lock. Some cars had this issue as well. Blower motors go too. There are DIYs for all of them. You bought a 6 year old car. If you are used to Japanese cars, then get rid of the Bimmer because you'll never be satisfied with the reliability. If you are at 100K then start thinking oil filter housing profile gasket - that goes too. This is how BMWs are. If you don't mind working on things, then buy a Bentley manual and a BT Scan tool and have at it.

[Kobiwan]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

Well, I'd be nice to know what mileage you have on the car now. It's an '06, so the battery going at 5 - 6 years seems normal (I just replaced mine). Water pump and T-stat are showing replacement at 100K + miles (Mine went in the 130 - 145K range). Door lock. Some cars had this issue as well. Blower motors go too. There are DIYs for all of them. You bought a 6 year old car. If you are used to Japanese cars, then get rid of the Bimmer because you'll never be satisfied with the reliability. If you are at 100K then start thinking oil filter housing profile gasket - that goes too. This is how BMWs are. If you don't mind working on things, then buy a Bentley manual and a BT Scan tool and have at it.

thx. 106 now. got it at 101k 1.5 months ago. drove across country and to nc for work.

thx man.

[Kobiwan]

Originally Posted by Kobiwan

thx. 106 now. got it at 101k 1.5 months ago. drove across country and to nc for work.

thx man.

question: would accessories still run on bad battery, but starter be denied? not used to this level of computer involvement on past cars i've worked on.

[GuidoDoc]

If I remember correctly from my days as a grease monkey, yes the accessories could work but the car not start. The starter draws a lot more amps than a radio.

[Kobiwan]

Originally Posted by liborio

If I remember correctly from my days as a grease monkey, yes the accessories could work but the car not start. The starter draws a lot more amps than a radio.

thanks

[shanecarmaster1]

You seem to have EVERY potential problem a 330i could have, so once these are fixed, expect only daily maintenance items. They're extremely reliable and solid cars - I have not needed anything in mine since new except scheduled maintenance.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Kobiwan

thx. 106 now. got it at 101k 1.5 months ago. drove across country and to nc for work.

thx man.

The nice things about BMWs are, if they have a problem, it's usually consistant throughout a particular model line and has been documented somewhere; so you can count it as a normal event. Now that we have the internet, the information is so more readily available and quantifiable for confirmation.

If you like to fix things and have the time and tools to do it, owning an aged BMW is a good experience; most of the time the problems are simple and easy to take care of. My experience with BMWs; I've owned three - still have two of them - is they hold up well enough that repairs are not a waste of money. I kept my E30 for 18 years and 250,000 miles and did a lot of maintenance and repair on it. In its 18 year (2006) and at 256,000 miles it was in really good shape. However, it was time for me to psychologically get a new car and I wanted a sedan, so I replaced it with an E90.

Good luck with it.

[5tony]

Did you try to jump it at the battery or under the hood? I would try both. I seem to recall that there is a problem with a battery cable that sometime goes bad and needs to be replaced.

[roberts5831]

the dealership told me to never jump the battery from the battery itself. only from under the hood. there is a disconnecter that seperates the cable from the battery during an accident, and when you jump it from the battery it blows this! its not cheap to replace so i suggest you get that looked at.

[JBE90335]

the previous owner probably knew about all this stuff and sold it instead of paying to have everything fixed. So once you fix everything it should be a great car.

[krayzie089]

Should of just saved up for a younger car with less than 50k on it. Buying a BMW with 100k miles is not the same as buying a japanese car with the same milage. But as long as you do all your repairs you should be fine for another 100k. You just bought the car at the time when everything needs to be replaced. The money you will have to spend on repairs now could of been spent on getting one with much less miles and no issues.

[Kobiwan]

Helpful. I searched and read about the explosive battery terminal. Still have power to accessories so its not that that's preventing starting.

Let me say I love the way the car drives and its competitors (for me 350z, g35) weren't anywhere close. That said some of the electronics on my car seem under-engineered and ridiculous.

Again thanks - I've had lots of time to think about it over thanksgiving - we'll see next week.