We call it “BMW Fever”. First glance and your eyes glaze over. It’s when all rationality and sense fly out the window when you see the “perfect” BMW. You are overcome with an emotional connection that totally defies logic and then you hand over your hard earned money to anyone who says to you, “No problem. Of course, this BMW will pass the smog check, just hand me the cash and I’ll hand you the pink slip”.
Seriously, buyer beware. In California, the SELLER is responsible for the BMW or MINI passing the Smog Test. The test is valid, (to you for registration) if they sell it to you within 90 days of passing.
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If you have a teen or young adult at home who loves to spiff up his/her BMW, MINI, (even the Nissan, Mazda or whatever) you might want to share this. If you are thinking about doing some on-line part shopping for your BMW this is for you, too.
For critical safety items for your BMW such as wheels, always use a trusted site that is operated by an established company with a good reputation. For example, you can pretty much trust that the wheels you might order on-line from a major company such as a TireRack are being sourced from suppliers that they check out for reliability.
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You have probably heard of the term “pulling codes”, or “reading codes”. The codes are initiated by your BMW or MINI by it’s very own “self diagnostics”.
There is a fallacy out there in the general public; that all a tech has to do is to “plug something into” your BMW or MINI and that a computer will easily tell the tech what is wrong. Part of this misconception may be from the tons of commercials from big box automotive places advertising their pulling codes for free, with some guy holding the little scan tool and making it look simple and easy. But, let’s look at the bigger picture.
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Yes, it’s an internal combustion engine, (except MINI e) but the main vehicle functions are being performed and monitored electronically with dozens of control modules. Seeing one of those warning lights in the instrument cluster of your BMW, MINI, or any car can be a bit unnerving, but keep in mind, that may be the only indication that there is an unsafe condition or something may not be working correctly.
Performing a diagnosis involving the various BMW control modules, (aka on-board computers) may be necessary to get to the root of a problem if a warning light does come on. In some cases the manufacturer will also require an update to any or all of the dozens of control units, too. These may be required for performance or other issues, just like your PC. Even if a battery is replaced, it has to be “registered” (in BMW speak) so that the battery resources will work with all of those 50-60 or 70 ECU’s. Diagnostics for your BMW or MINI should include the use of professional grade equipment that is BMW specific.
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Well the big news today is that BMW Group will sponsor the United States Olympics for the next 6 years. Of course this announcement comes will all of the joy and excitement that is always BMW. U.S. Olympiad, Apolo Anton Ohno, (also a BMW driver) was on hand for the festivities this morning.
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Your BMW or MINI is doing a self diagnostic every time you turn on the ignition. Of course you see those lights illuminate on the instrument cluster/panel upon start up and bulb check. Then the “self checking” begins and if all is OK, the lights turn off.
The units such as your ABS (which basically has a computer processor) are all going through a dynamic circuit check for you! It is monitoring the input circuits for any incorrect voltages and is also checking the output controls or messages. If there is a problem the computer will activate the warning light to you. If all of the hundreds of tests are passed, the indicator goes out.
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In the Netherlands, the government has proposed an 8 cents per mile tax. They are wanting to use GPS technology to track drivers use and tax accordingly.
Love that GPS technology! They could use this tracking to vary the tax by specific high traffic areas or times. They could also use it for advertising! (Just kidding – that was my U.S. America heritage coming out). But…the creepy possibilities are pretty endless aren’t they?
Happy Motoring!
Diagnostics is a system of tests and analysis to either rule out or determine a specific problem with your BMW or MINI. Because a diagnostic is best performed hands-on with your BMW or MINI, it is usually not done successfully over the phone or over the front counter.
The good part is that because we are BMW and MINI specific we can usually troubleshoot and get to an issue in a more timely manner. Even though we are very experienced and specialized, it is not in your best interest for us to “guess” what is going on with your BMW over the phone or via e-mail. When your BMW, (and most cars for that matter) were not as complex, it was tempting, and usually easy for a good mechanic to tell you what was wrong just by listening to your engine. After all, isn’t that what engineers do? Find that fix just by instinct – they know what to do.
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You may not think about the health of your BMW or MINI belts, but they play a very important part in the operation of your BMW.
The older models used V belts, but the modern BMWs and MINIs have the serpentine style belts that basically weave around the components they drive. Your belts have to have the sufficient grip on the mechanical parts such as the water pump, alternator, and AC compressor. If one of your belts should break while you are doing some highway driving, it can cause severe engine damage. That is just another reason why it is so very important to have your BMW or MINI on a regular scheduled inspection and maintenance program.
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I guess if you only had one or two pair of pants that needed to go to the dry cleaners, it would be very important that they are finished and returned the same day. Dry cleaning takes forever, like 5 days to a week! I don’t always get it, but I see alot of pants there besides mine. OK. But, it’s only a pair of pants and it’s taking a week to get dry cleaned?
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