Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: If you have a later model BMW you know a little about the “Condition Based Service”. The concept of the Condition Based Service, (CBS) is to allow for economical maintenance and service intervals. Let’s take an ’04 545 for an example: Your Service Indicator systems are determining the maintenance service intervals based on your BMW’s fuel consumption, thereby assessing when it’s time to change the oil. That is the main function. But, along with the monitoring the fuel consumption, there are also sensors that are detecting wear conditions of the oil, Microfilter, and the Front and Rear…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Well everyone who eventually has to get brakes, (isn’t that all of us) just got a slight reprieve from the CA legislature. It seems that CA is going to implement SB346 that will change the friction materials that is used in your brakes. The intent is to reduce the copper content in the brake pads. At one point the bill was going to add a minimum of $1.00 fee on each set sold, with no guarantee that it would not increase. Of course, it would have been collected by the brake installers or retailers and passed on the…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Unless you are an owner of an upper high end car, such as a Lambo, Ferrari or Audi R8, you probably don’t have much experience with carbon fiber. If you own a plane, perhaps. Carbon fiber technologies may be a part of BMW’s answer to the weight issue. (Yes, even cars have to go on a diet) BMW has committed to a carbon fiber body for the MegaCity electric vehicle for 2013. These lighter weight materials are going to be necessary to help offset weight of 96-cell lithium-ion battery packs and other electrical components that…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. Was I the only one taking a moment to be “thankful and grateful” for my BMW? Why not? It carries what is most precious in our lives. . . our loved ones, ourselves. It takes us to our work every day. It is probably the most expensive purchase you have made besides your home, (or maybe a private education). Our BMW lets us live! It takes us the beach or the snowy mountains, to our schools, to our holidays. Same can be…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: For those of you wanting to spiff up your car for the winter driving, don’t forget your BMW or MINI windshield. If your windshield is chipped significantly, the cold weather, (think Tahoe) can make a chip turn into a crack in no time. The modern BMW’s windshield is not just protecting your cute face from bugs. It’s another part that plays a significant role in the structural integrity of your BMW or MINI’s body. When it comes to the BMW roadsters or the convertibles, that windshield is even more important to the body structural integrity. In some cases, a…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Recall -sshhhhmmmeeeeeee call. I will always love my BMW. Maybe it’s due to the Toyota fiasco in dealing with the problems, but, it appears some car makers seem to be a little more on-board with getting the facts to NHTSA and dealing with all of it ASAP. There are a lot of recalls out there and it’s not just BMW’s, for sure. Within a few days, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should have more info on the recall by BMW of both BMW and Rolls Royce due to a leak in the power brake system. You will be…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: What is going on? My BMW is pulling to one side. It’s time for an alignment. Other signs that you may need an alignment is if your steering wheel feels loose or you have to keep moving your steering wheel to keep driving straight. Are your tires wearing uneven? Is your steering wheel centered? OK, so what’s the big deal? Hunter Engineering the maker of premier alignment equipment, gave this example; “a car with the toe alignment just 0.34 degrees, (just 0.17 inches) out of specs has basically dragged it tires sideways for more that 68 miles…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: 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….

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: 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…

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: 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…