Topic: BMW E9x - all things maintenance and repairs

[Dante]

The blower fan on the BMW started to make noise intermittently in the past few weeks. Typically at low fan speed; seldom, but annoying when it happened. Fix was to turn off the climate and turn back on. It would be quiet for a little while but eventually start again. One interesting thing was that the noise also happened sometimes when I was pushing the brake.

Anyway, first impulse was to look for a new blower but then while watching a few YT videos on how to replace the fan, most of the guys were only cleaning and lubricating.

Since weather was nice today I gave it a shot. Few things I learned in the process:
1. Definitely DIY although you need to be quite flexible to take the fan out and put it back in as the working position is quite uncomfortable. Took me more than 5 min to take it out, but once you get a hang of it, next time should be quicker.
2. Once the fan is out the rest is easy. Only  2 x T20 and 3 x T10 to take it apart. Clean and lubricate....
3. You DO not have to take half of the dash apart like you may see in some YT videos or some shops may tell you. Only the trim piece above the foot well which is held in place with 2xT20 screws.
4. If you only need to replace the resistor, you don't have to take the fan out as the two T20 screws and the connector are accessible once the trim panel is out.
5. Anyone that tells you it takes more than 30-40 min tops, to replace the blower fan and/or resistor,  doesn't know what is talking about, never did it before or well.... simply overcharging.
6. The OEM fan and resistor are both Valeo and you can find them at Rockauto at good prices ( $138 fan, $92 resistor).

Hopefully the clean and lube will do the trick long term. So far is whisper quiet.

[Dante]

Questions:

Did you change the battery in your BMW and if yes, how long did the original one last? Did you go OEM or aftermarket for replacement (if applicable)?

If OEM, what was the cost, including the famous programming/registration?

[Gurgie]

Questions:

Did you change the battery in your BMW and if yes, how long did the original one last? Did you go OEM or aftermarket for replacement (if applicable)?

If OEM, what was the cost, including the famous programming/registration?

Not yet... still nursing the factory original from 2011... its slowly dying out, but still good enough for Bella's small usage at this point.

I looked into batteries & was gonna get one from Canadian Tire that would work. She's only gonna keep the car another couple years at the most so we're not gonna go crazy on a new battery. Costco had some good ones as well, but more costly, but that might be an option for you as you're gonna keep the car longer. My plan was to swap the battery myself & then drop if off to my Indy for the programming BS.

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[Dante]

Questions:

Did you change the battery in your BMW and if yes, how long did the original one last? Did you go OEM or aftermarket for replacement (if applicable)?

If OEM, what was the cost, including the famous programming/registration?

Not yet... still nursing the factory original from 2011... its slowly dying out, but still good enough for Bella's small usage at this point.

I looked into batteries & was gonna get one from Canadian Tire that would work. She's only gonna keep the car another couple years at the most so we're not gonna go crazy on a new battery. Costco had some good ones as well, but more costly, but that might be an option for you as you're gonna keep the car longer. My plan was to swap the battery myself & then drop if off to my Indy for the programming BS.

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My battery is OK, no signs of weakness yet but not sure if original or has been replaced as it's BMW OEM anyway. I cannot see any label with the manufacturing date and don't plan to take it apart only for that.

Anyway, I was running a "what if" scenario and looked into it a bit over the past few days. It seems like BMW used various batteries on E90s depending on model, region, year, etc. White ones are normal wet batteries and the black ones are AGM. They also used some Exide batteries, but for warranty only (!?)

Direct replacement for mine is $261+tax (EP Battery 90AH, P/N: 61212353810) from BMW so not too expensive IMO, especially since many people on the forums got 10+ years out of the original ones. The BMW IBS thingy must have something to do with the long life of these batteries I guess. I typically got 7-8 years from the batteries on other cars.

Not sure how much cheaper the Costco or other half decent batteries for the BMW are, but the one I got this fall for the Outlander was around $160 or so IIRC (non AGM).

Based on what I gathered, you only need coding/programming if you change the battery type or characteristics. This indeed requires a more advanced OBD tool which can do coding. Probably you need to pay someone to do it... unless you have one or know someone with one.

However, if you do straight replacement with an identical OEM battery (same P/N) you only need to register the new battery - basically tell the ECU you have a brand new battery of the same kind so it resets its charging/monitoring algorithms. In this case, you can register the battery yourself if you have a BlueDriver, Carly or other similar OBD2 device which has Battery Registration feature for BMWs.

[rrocket]

So what's in the BMW battery that makes it cost $100 more?

Unicorn bone and fairy tears?

[EV Dan]

So what's in the BMW battery that makes it cost $100 more?

Unicorn bone and fairy tears?

It's not that expensive, comparatively speaking. The one in my former Genesis was an AGM type and IIRC it was $239 or so from Costco, more from CT. $261 is a good deal but I'd suspect the dealer counts on screwing ya with "registering". Having that OBD gizmo seems like a good idea.

[rrocket]

So what's in the BMW battery that makes it cost $100 more?

Unicorn bone and fairy tears?

It's not that expensive, comparatively speaking.

You must be rich if you think something ~60% more expensive....isn't that expensive.   

[Dante]

So what's in the BMW battery that makes it cost $100 more?

Unicorn bone and fairy tears?

Different battery I guess. Not all batteries cost the same as I'm sure you know. I did not look at the equivalent aftermarket battery but again, if it's good for the rest of the life of the car, few bucks might not be that bad. Plus, if I save the cost of having it programmed, it evens out or maybe even cheaper in absolute $$$. No idea what an indy shop would charge to program the battery but I wouldn't be surprise to hear .5 hrs or so which could work out to $50+.

Thing is I heard scores like $400-$500 to replace a BMW battery but I think a good chunk of that amount is labor at dealer rate whatever that might be.

[Dante]

Costco - Energizer Group H8 AGM - $290. It's a big beast - 35 cm long....

[EV Dan]

Costco - Energizer Group H8 AGM - $290. It's a big beast - 35 cm long....

Yup. 26 kilos of spine adjusting amps    Especially fun when it's further down the trunk 

Princess auto appears to have them, maybe not AGM though.

[Dante]

Costco - Energizer Group H8 AGM - $290. It's a big beast - 35 cm long....

Yup. 26 kilos of spine adjusting amps    Especially fun when it's further down the trunk 

Princess auto appears to have them, maybe not AGM though.

At this price, and if indeed all it takes is to "register" the new battery using the BlueDriver OBD2 (which Santa will bring anyway), I would simply stick to exact OEM replacement. No brainer for me.

I think the only reason to pay more for AGM is longer life, but since the "normal" OEM gives you long enough life, why bother paying more (AGM + programming).

[rrocket]

I would simply stick to exact OEM replacement. No brainer for me.

Bought from a dealer??

[Dante]

I would simply stick to exact OEM replacement. No brainer for me.

Bought from a dealer??

Nope. My battery is fine. Just running "what if" scenarios out of boredom.... no car work to do, on vacation....

[rrocket]

Nope. My battery is fine. Just running "what if" scenarios out of boredom.... no car work to do, on vacation....

I don't remember a Show and Shine.

Maybe you could facking do that!!   

[Dante]

Nope. My battery is fine. Just running "what if" scenarios out of boredom.... no car work to do, on vacation....

I don't remember a Show and Shine.

Maybe you could facking do that!!   

Guilty as charged. I carry the load of this unfulfilled duty every day. I think it's time. The only drag is I don't have good pictures - the car is dirty at the moment, winter tires.... But yes, since I'm on vacation so have some time to burn and everything is done as of this evening will do it.

[rrocket]

Nope. My battery is fine. Just running "what if" scenarios out of boredom.... no car work to do, on vacation....

I don't remember a Show and Shine.

Maybe you could facking do that!!   

Guilty as charged. I carry the load of this unfulfilled duty every day. I think it's time. The only drag is I don't have good pictures - the car is dirty at the moment, winter tires.... But yes, since I'm on vacation so have some time to burn and everything is done as of this evening will do it.

Since you're on vacation, you can pull the winter wheels off and putting the summers on...just for the Show and Shine photos!!  Will give you something to do!!   

[Dante]

I have another practical question for you peeps:

So, for last few days I drove the car like I stole it at times - not sure why just for fun I guess, shifting close to red line in several occasions.... In the process, I found out that you can almost hit 100 km/h in the 2nd gear, before red line.

However, not sure if this had anything to do with it, but I also noticed today that the oil level dropped a bit from where it was for few months since I had the car (middle of min-max interval). I know because I've been constantly checking the oil to get a sense of an eventual oil consumption - no dipstick as you know and this engine is known of burning some oil aside from leaking (which it does not).

Anyway, not sure if the oil level dropped for good or not - need to monitor it in the next few days since I've seen it before where the level went up from one check to another (didn't think it makes oil but rather a reading flaw), but the bottom line is that I'm about 3,500 km away from the next oil change so I may need to top it up if indeed the oil level drops consistently over the next period.

Now the wrinkle is I don't know with certainty what brand/grade of oil I have in the car. Don't ask me why provided I did an oil change at our common friend's shop after I got the car, so I should know for sure, but the reality is I don't. It should be BMW OEM (this is what I asked for and told it was done), but by other accounts, could very well be Motul as I was told in another occasion.
However, the grade is totally unknown and unverifiable at this point after few months from the oil change.

So, this car could take 0W-30 (I learned from my local dealer that this is what they put in if you go for an oil change at the dealership), 5w-30 (original BMW spec), 5w-40 (commonly used by shops for German cars and this one in particular). Even if the oil is BMW OEM and not Motul - the grade could be any as BMW sells them all and I don't know for sure which one they might've put in.

Now, IF I find myself in the position where I have to top it up until the next oil change, what oil should I use? I'm pretty sure none will do no harm to the engine, but still... need to pick one out of three possible grades. What should I pick?

[Gurgie]

Really!? If you need to top it up... doesn't matter, oil is oil, it will all mix in together & the car will survive.

Same time, any oil leaks? Pretty sure you had the valvecover leak when you bought it, or maybe that was someone else? The big leak that this should be getting right about now is the oil pan... 8hr job for that one... Bella's will be done early next year when I'm off skiing in BC & she can use the Passport for the week while I'm away.

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[TheHire]

Now the wrinkle is I don't know with certainty what brand/grade of oil I have in the car. Don't ask me why provided I did an oil change at our common friend's shop after I got the car, so I should know for sure, but the reality is I don't. It should be BMW OEM (this is what I asked for and told it was done), but by other accounts, could very well be Motul as I was told in another occasion.

It is 100% BMW OEM. We use Motul full-synthetic unless otherwise specified (because from my experience it's some of the best stuff out there), and in your case it was specified otherwise.

Really!? If you need to top it up... doesn't matter, oil is oil, it will all mix in together & the car will survive.

Thank you, I'm glad I'm not going insane over here, haha... I also did communicate this to him 

[rrocket]

What should I pick?

1) Make a tag with each oil's name
2) Drop the tags in a bag
3) Close you eyes and draw a tag from the bag
4) Put selected oil into car.


For the record, my Porsche doesn't have a dipstick either and the electronic oil level check is stupidly sensitive to how level the car is sitting.  Ridiculously so.