Changing your oil is a necessary part of routine maintenance for any car. While most car owners can get away with a cheap $15.95 oil change from their local repair shop, BMW owners are often charged upwards of $100 at a reputable shop. My local BMW dealer charges $109.95 for an oil change special on the E39. To be fair, some BMW filters can be a little more expensive and most modern models require fully synthetic oil in larger than normal quantities.
Some of the best upgrades you can make to maximize the fuel economy of your BMW include: replacing the spark plugs, keeping correct tire pressures, and replacing old oxygen sensors. The oxygen sensors before the catalytic converters – located in the exhaust manifolds – play a large part in controlling the fuel mixture for the engine. When they have high mileage or have failed they no longer send a clear signal to the engine’s computer, at which point the computer defaults to a base line map designed to protect the engine. This default map is a rich fuel mixture (extra fuel) which causes sluggish performance and decreased fuel economy.
Rumors have been circulating the automotive world for several months about the secret car-sharing service under development at BMW. Car share services such as Zip Car and Getaround have flourished in the last few years thanks to economic forces that put pressure on people’s ability to purchase or lease new cars.
Replacing the spark plugs and coil packs on your BMW is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to increase performance and enhance fuel economy. This job can be completed with just a few basic hand tools and an hour of your time. Factory Bosch ignition coil packs cost about $29 each and NGK platinum factory spec plugs cost about $7 each. At only $36 per cylinder, that puts a full tune up at $216 for a six cylinder and $288 for an 8 cylinder.
Last week I replaced my intake camshaft position sensor, which finally resolved the random stalling issue my E39 was experiencing. It’s very common for these sensors to cause stalling at traffic lights or during slow speed driving when they are starting to fail. Since my car has 135,000 miles on the original sensors, it is recommended that both the intake and exhaust sensors are replaced together. If the intake side failed, logic says the exhaust side is probably not far behind it.
Whether you’re purchasing a used car or are just curious about the age of your tires, it’s a useful skill to be able to read the information on a tire sidewall correctly. This ability comes in handy, especially when you’re about to purchase a used car and the seller is claiming the car has brand new tires.
Over the past seven months or so, I’ve had an intermittent issue with my E39 where it randomly stalls at slow speed. Thankfully the issue only happened a few times spread out over several months. The difficult part about this issue was that the service engine light never came on and provided codes as a starting point for diagnosis of the issue. I suspected that either the camshaft position sensors were starting to fail, or that the MAF was starting to fail. Both were very plausible considering the symptoms and original mileage on those parts, which is 135,000 miles.
Choosing a tire for your car can actually be a lot of work, with so many options and price ranges to consider. Will you take the car to a shop and let them handle it, or will you order online first and take your car to a trusted tire installer?
Changing the alternator in your BMW doesn’t have to be an expensive trip to the repair shop. One of the biggest barriers to entry for owning a used BMW is the cost of repairs and service, which I admit, is too high for most people. If you love the driving dynamics of a BMW as much as I do, then rolling up your sleeves to do the service work yourself is a worth while tradeoff.
If you drive an old BMW like I do (15 years old to be exact), it’s likely that your factory BMW BBS wheels are in poor shape. Rarely do the original wheels survive a decade or more of daily driving and curb abuse. If you’re lucky, you may have a perfect condition unused spare in the trunk- which is where my idea came from.
BIMMERZEIT 