My BMW E65 745i

[2.5pi]

I'd be thinking coil packs as the root cause, I've had a similar issue on that engine in an X5 4.4, it was under warranty and in the end 3 coil packs were changed, bizarrely just swapping coil packs round was one suggestion made by BMW technical but I'm not sure how/ why that would help!

In my case the idle was slightly out of kilter as well, just a slight fluctuation in revs accompanied by a very minor vibration.

[E65Ross]

2.5pi said:

I'd be thinking coil packs as the root cause, I've had a similar issue on that engine in an X5 4.4, it was under warranty and in the end 3 coil packs were changed, bizarrely just swapping coil packs round was one suggestion made by BMW technical but I'm not sure how/ why that would help!

In my case the idle was slightly out of kilter as well, just a slight fluctuation in revs accompanied by a very minor vibration.

Thanks for this, I have noticed on occasion it has started a bit hesitantly; it starts fine but takes 1-2secs to settle to a normal idle, but it's only done this 3 times I think, and only ever from a hot start. Hope it's just a coil pack - no idea on cost but can't imagine it's a huge amount?

Thanks

[2.5pi]

E65Ross said:

Thanks for this, I have noticed on occasion it has started a bit hesitantly; it starts fine but takes 1-2secs to settle to a normal idle, but it's only done this 3 times I think, and only ever from a hot start. Hope it's just a coil pack - no idea on cost but can't imagine it's a huge amount?

Thanks

Can't help on costs as it was under AUC warranty, but a good indie should lessen the blow

Good luck

[S3_Graham]

E65Ross said:

Thanks for this, I have noticed on occasion it has started a bit hesitantly; it starts fine but takes 1-2secs to settle to a normal idle, but it's only done this 3 times I think, and only ever from a hot start. Hope it's just a coil pack - no idea on cost but can't imagine it's a huge amount?

Thanks

£60 from BMW for my '03 530

[E65Ross]

Just had it scanned by a mates garage who have far more sophisticated equipment.... Faulty air mass meter.

Looks like it'll cost around £200 fitted.... Getting cheap labour but the part is £160 plus vat.

[sparks_E39]

That's not so bad, my CCV failed the other week, £250!

[E65Ross]

sparks_E39 said:

That's not so bad, my CCV failed the other week, £250!

Yeah, I read that on your thread, sorry to hear it.

Well I've also been wanting a decent camera for a while so just spunked £400 on one with an SD card well so it'll be an expensive month

It'll get the new air mass meter Monday (not by my indy)......I've called the indy to say someone else is doing that but I'll still be going to them Wednesday to sort the passenger footwell leak.

[E65Ross]

Car back, all sorted and drain holes unblocked as well. The cause wasn't that one on the passenger side with the ball (there's also another one below that, by the way) but another on the drivers side which runs along the front of the car....but they unblocked all of them anyway just to make sure. I asked them I just want them all cleared so I don't have to worry in the near future about more bloody water getting in the car.

So....just insurance and probably new tyres next month

[E65Ross]

Still not paid for the mass air meter yet, but I'm sure I will have to soon enough.

Rear tyres are a touch below 3mm so I'll get all 4 done at once though I'm still torn on which to get.

I'm not sure how the Falkens wear compared to the Goodyears to be honest, but the wear rating for both is the same. I think I'll pay for insurance next month and see if I can hold fire on the tyres for another 1500 miles or so before getting new tyres.

Since getting the mass air meter changed the economy seems up slightly. I'm getting over 25mpg now and traffic was clear into work (save a few stop start bits on the M27) and it managed (from cold start) 28.2mpg, which isn't too bad at all.

[Ej74]

Falkens on my old car were somewhat quick wearing also the thing I noticed was there was quite a lot of road noise


Goodyear asymmetric - fantastic tyre - low road noise and hard wearing and most importantly confidence inspiring in the wet

[E65Ross]

Ej74 said:

Falkens on my old car were somewhat quick wearing also the thing I noticed was there was quite a lot of road noise


Goodyear asymmetric - fantastic tyre - low road noise and hard wearing and most importantly confidence inspiring in the wet

Think you've made my mind up. They are good tyres.

[Ej74]

Hunt around and you'll get a free fuel voucher as well

[E65Ross]

There is simply no denying the fuel economy is better now. I reset the trip computer Monday and last night it was showing 27.2mpg. Admittedly most of my driving is motorway to work etc but I'm really quite impressed with that.

It has been mentioned before by my indy and my MOT tester (and my driveway will attest to it) that the car has an oil leak (they all do that, sir) but I checked today and in the last 1200 miles (approx) it's used about 200ml.....so hardly anything major. It's currently running Castrol Edge 0W-30; should I stick with this come the next oil change, or is it worth going to 5W-30? Not sure it'd make much difference to be honest, the 0W-30 will give marginally better cold-start protection too.

Thoughts? I'm not sure whether it's worth fixing just yet.....it could (potentially) be quite a large bill for something that really isn't causing any issues. Once the oil consumption gets higher than yes, but for now....any point?

[JakeT]

E65Ross said:

and the old man asked me to clean his, but i couldn't be bothered and it's not that dirty

Funnily enough, living in Southampton I saw this very car the other day in instantly recognised it as 'E65Ross' dad's car'. Sakhir looks lovely on the car. Saw it near Debenhams and the royal oak.

[E65Ross]

JakeT said:

E65Ross said:

and the old man asked me to clean his, but i couldn't be bothered and it's not that dirty

Funnily enough, living in Southampton I saw this very car the other day in instantly recognised it as 'E65Ross' dad's car'. Sakhir looks lovely on the car. Saw it near Debenhams and the royal oak.

Yeah was probably him, can't imagine there are many M6s around Southampton in Sakhir orange! It's a really odd colour. It looks a lot more "burnt orange" than in my old phone pictures. I really think it looks nice and stands out from the usual white, black and silver (guilty as charged!). Hard to describe it without it sounding horrible, as orange is generally an odd colour for a car, unless it's a McLaren!

It's a nice car, just wish the engine had a little more character (though it was always going to be hard to match character after an E92 M3).

[gaz1234]

Not read all this.
Was looking at the 730. What should I look for?

[E65Ross]

gaz1234 said:

Not read all this.
Was looking at the 730. What should I look for?

Petrol or diesel?

General E65 items would include suspension checks (shimmy under braking, shouldn't make any knocking noises, the ride should be comfortable and compliant (well, mine is on 19s)

The gearbox should be smooth as well. They're supposedly sealed for life but ZF don't claim that. I had mine partially rebuilt for almost £700 and it transformed the box, it's very smooth. My only criticism of the box is slow speed crawling in traffic it will change from 2nd to 1st at around 10mph and you can feel this /increase in engine braking etc) and I'd rather the box stay in 2md,the V8 can easily pull away in 2nd....not a fault to look for just something I find irritating. Check that the box doesn't thud on kickdown or slip etc.

If it has it, check the automatic boot open/close feature works as that can be expensive to fix.

Obviously check all the electrics, Idrive etc. I think it's developed a bad reputation from those who say it goes wrong rather than there being common problems with it. They can fail expensively but they are quite reliable I believe


Other than that just the usual car stuff really.... Check for leaks, smoke etc (mine leaks a bit of oil, early V8s do that.... It's used 1.25litres in the last 6k miles so not too bad, that includes any it'll naturally burn, and I'm using 0W-30)

[JakeT]

E65Ross said:

Yeah was probably him, can't imagine there are many M6s around Southampton in Sakhir orange! It's a really odd colour. It looks a lot more "burnt orange" than in my old phone pictures. I really think it looks nice and stands out from the usual white, black and silver (guilty as charged!). Hard to describe it without it sounding horrible, as orange is generally an odd colour for a car, unless it's a McLaren!

It's a nice car, just wish the engine had a little more character (though it was always going to be hard to match character after an E92 M3).

I agree, it's an odd colour which doesn't show up on screen as well as in the flesh. But it's a lovely looking car. It was actually your dad's car as it was on the same plate also! I have a very odd thing for plates, so many stay in the back of my mind... I'm sure it's much easier to live with than an E92 M3. It's got a load more torque as is, and has it much lower down. Do you know how the DCT is in traffic? If I ever had the opportunity that would be the thing that would set me off them.

[E65Ross]

JakeT said:

E65Ross said:

Yeah was probably him, can't imagine there are many M6s around Southampton in Sakhir orange! It's a really odd colour. It looks a lot more "burnt orange" than in my old phone pictures. I really think it looks nice and stands out from the usual white, black and silver (guilty as charged!). Hard to describe it without it sounding horrible, as orange is generally an odd colour for a car, unless it's a McLaren!

It's a nice car, just wish the engine had a little more character (though it was always going to be hard to match character after an E92 M3).

I agree, it's an odd colour which doesn't show up on screen as well as in the flesh. But it's a lovely looking car. It was actually your dad's car as it was on the same plate also! I have a very odd thing for plates, so many stay in the back of my mind... I'm sure it's much easier to live with than an E92 M3. It's got a load more torque as is, and has it much lower down. Do you know how the DCT is in traffic? If I ever had the opportunity that would be the thing that would set me off them.

DCT is absolutely fine in traffic, certainly easier than the manual he had in the M3. It's an extremely smooth box when set to its relaxed setting..... Like REALLY smooth. Gear changes are insanely fast and imperceptible. When in full bore attack mode it does give a slight thud on upshifts which I personally haven't made my mind up on whether I like it or not. You can easily change it so it doesn't do it though.

But for traffic, it's just like a normal automatic really, only better when pushing on.

[gaz1234]

E65Ross said:

Petrol or diesel?

General E65 items would include suspension checks (shimmy under braking, shouldn't make any knocking noises, the ride should be comfortable and compliant (well, mine is on 19s)

The gearbox should be smooth as well. They're supposedly sealed for life but ZF don't claim that. I had mine partially rebuilt for almost £700 and it transformed the box, it's very smooth. My only criticism of the box is slow speed crawling in traffic it will change from 2nd to 1st at around 10mph and you can feel this /increase in engine braking etc) and I'd rather the box stay in 2md,the V8 can easily pull away in 2nd....not a fault to look for just something I find irritating. Check that the box doesn't thud on kickdown or slip etc.

If it has it, check the automatic boot open/close feature works as that can be expensive to fix.

Obviously check all the electrics, Idrive etc. I think it's developed a bad reputation from those who say it goes wrong rather than there being common problems with it. They can fail expensively but they are quite reliable I believe


Other than that just the usual car stuff really.... Check for leaks, smoke etc (mine leaks a bit of oil, early V8s do that.... It's used 1.25litres in the last 6k miles so not too bad, that includes any it'll naturally burn, and I'm using 0W-30)

Cheers. The petrol one.