Horreya - My 530i

Replaced Air Filter

em — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:56:21 +0000

I’ll update this later with the exact date and product, but a few months ago while looking around the engine I noticed dirty air filters. I ordered the two filters online and replaced them, it was a simple fix.

Since then there haven’t been any issues with the e39. We had a major snow storm a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully Horreya was hiding in the garage. Since I purchased the car in March, this is officially it’s first winter with me and I’ve noticed the leather gets cold. Otherwise it’s tackling the cold like a champ.

Replaced Right Brake Light

em — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:54:06 +0000

A few days ago a light in the dashboard lit up indicating that the right rear brake light is out. I was impressed that the e39 not only indicated that it was a brake light, but on which side. I’ll post a picture of the indicator light soon.

Anyway, I drove around with it like that for a while risking a ticket from the friendly Fairfax County police, because I thought it would be a big ordeal to replace. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered all the lights in the back are incredibly simple to replace, without the need for any tools whatsoever. The trunk battery cover area just drops down, then each one of the tail light bulbs are easily removable by simply twisting and pulling.

So I replaced the break light yesterday (7/3/09) and in doing so gained even more respect and appreciation for BMW engineering.

Temperature Sensor Replacement

em — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:58:26 +0000

On Saturday 6/13/09, the temperature sensor was replaced on the e39. This is a common fix on these cars since they’re low to the ground and the sensor sits in the wheel well on the passenger side.

As always, there were numerous resources online for the fix. I ended up using these instructions, but any other will work just as well.

Replaced FSU

em — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:27:39 +0000

About ten days ago, right around the time the weather started warming up, the air conditioning (A/C) suddenly stopped working. No matter what setting I tried, manual, auto, etc., it was still being unresponsive.

A day later it starts working again normally, in all settings. Then later that day, it quit working again. By now it was apparent that either the climate control system was crazy, or I was.

After some online research, it was clear that my mental health was intact. The symptoms of the A/C fan working intermittently were well diagnosed as being a faulty Final Stage Unit (FSU). As always, there were a few very helpful write ups online on how exactly to replace the FSU.

So yesterday (5/30/09), after ordering the part from eBay, and following the directions in this post, the FSU unit was replaced. Now the A/C fan is working flawlessly.

Zune Car Pack v2

em — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:55:54 +0000

I recently purchased the Zune Car Pack v2 for my 80gb Zune to use in the BMW. While I read mixed reviews online, one review in particular stuck out, that by a BMW owner who mentioned that the Car Pack makes use of BMW’s built in RDS to transmit song information. So in theory, whatever audio file is playing on the Zune, if properly tagged, would transmit the Artist and Song information to be displayed on the BMW system.

This seemed promising and was the main reason I decided to go through with the purchase versus waiting and going the iPod/Dice route.

Well unfortunately after receiving the Car Pack, all that was displayed on the BMW display was “Zune Station”, and no matter which track I tried, it never changed. But even worse, reception was absolutely horrible, if I was able to obtain clear reception while parked, as soon as I drove the static started interfering.

I’m not certain if the two issues were related, but needless to say, the Car Pack was sent back today.

New Tires

em — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:15:26 +0000

On April 15th, after much research and debate, I finally installed new tires on the e39. Some last minute shopping had me deciding on the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position tires.

These tires are the highest rated ones on Tire Rack with plenty of excellent reviews out there. That and the price after a Bridgestone Visa Gift Card promotion, are the reasons I decided to opt for them and not the previously mentioned Yokohamas.

Its been three days and the difference is like night and day. The tramlining previously experienced as I was changing lanes, along with road noise and the shimmy at 60 mph have completely disappeared. I’m especially glad for the shimmy being gone as I was worried that that was the early signs of the suspension going south. Another concern I had with the previous tires was hydroplaning, and so far these tires are excellent in the rain with no signs of slipping–and I know because I’ve tried.

I also noticed I definitely feel the road a lot more than the older tires. This is probably due to the fact that the Bridgestones are high performance tires, and its not an uncomfortable or annoying feeling. I just feel the little bumps more than I used to. But all in all, I’m very pleased with the decision.

The Bumper Issue

em — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:34:30 +0000

A few days ago, I noticed the left side of the bumper sticking out a bit. I can’t remember if this is how it was when I bought it or if this happened after. The only possibility is there was one time when I was backing out of a parking space and I heard the bottom of the front bumper scratch on one of those parking space curb pieces.

I’ve tried “pushing” the bumper back in, but looks like there are tracks that it has to be put on. The only solution might be taking off the bumper and re-installing it, but I’m still looking into it.

Here’s what it looks like now:

Tire Search

em — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:53:54 +0000

I’ve been researching tires for the car this entire week, and it’s been a long and grueling process. As always the internet is full of information, but some of it–alot of it when it comes to tires–can be very subjective.

So I’ve spent a great deal of time filtering through the subjective rants and the objective facts to try and narrow down a tire.

Initially, I was interested in these four tires, as I had read some good about each in some way on some site:

- Good Year Eagle F1 All Season
- Yokohama ADVAN S.4
- Falken FK 452
- Kumhos Ecsta ASX
- Continental ContiExtremeContact

The Kumhos and Contenentals are by far the most popular tires for e39 owners. But just as there are those who swear by them, I found plenty of people who don’t like them much (to put it mildly). Price is the biggest factor for these tires, as they are both around the $100 mark. But after some research, I realized that I’d rather spend a little more for a tire that will last longer.

My actual criteria for choosing a tire, in order of importance, was:

Road Noise
Ride Comfort
Safety (i.e. hydroplaning resistance)
Treadlife
Handling (very mild driving style)

To make a long story short, after some research, I found that the only tire with little to no negative feedback was the Yokohama. So that’s what I’m getting ready to go with.

The process was frustrating at times, but I’m glad there were so many resources out there. Speaking of, one of the best ones was www.tirerack.com, they have numerous reviews by owners as well as their own comparison tests. Bimmerforums.com also helped as well as other BMW forums and feedback from real owners.

I will probably order the tires online and have them installed locally. That’s the next step in this puzzle, getting prices on mounting, balance and alignment from various places. That will begin tomorrow.

Reset Oil Service Light

em — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:35:24 +0000

The reason for the oil change a couple days ago was because the Oil Service light was on with a red indicator underneath it. This indicates that the car was overdue for an oil change.

So after changing the oil on April 1, today I reset the Oil Service light using the procedure listed here:

- Iginition OFF (POS 0)

- Press and Hold the trip odometer button while turning key to position 1 (ACCESSORY)

- Keep the button depressed (about 5 secs.) until you see “Oil Service” or “Inspection” with “Reset” or “Re” in the display

- *Note: On vehicles with “High” cluster, you will also see the amount of fuel (in litres) remaining until next service

- Press the button again and hold for approx. 5 secs. until “Reset” or “Re” flashes

- While the display is flashing, briefly press the button again to reset the Service Interval. After the display has shown the new interval you should see “END SIA” for about 2 secs.

Note that if the “Reset” or “Re” does not flash, then you have not met the minimum consumption level and cannot reset.

(Note: This was posted on 4/6/09 but was pre-dated)

First Oil Change

em — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:55:38 +0000

Today was the first oil change for the e39. I changed the oil myself using an OEM oil filter and 7 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil 5w-30. I learned that I need a socket wrench to remove the filter, and to always always order the filters online because they’re a rip off at the dealership. Similarly, Mobil 1 is overpriced, so that may be substituted for something else in the future.

More importantly, I could not have changed the oil or learned anything about the process without the help and guidance of Ma3hok, a member of www.bimmerforums.com, a great online community for BMW owners.

(Note: This was posted on 4/5/09 but was pre-dated)