Dear fellow E46 owners,

Couple of small and minor irritating issues on my new E46. The engine is a peach, I'm averaging 25mpg with 100% town driving so far, all the electrics etc seem to be working exactly as they should with a couple of small exceptions...

- Passenger side window drop;

When I open the passenger side door, the window doesn't drop the required few mm to allow the window to go back into the seal when closed. This means when closing the door I need to push the glass slightly forward so it slips under. Not a huge issue but slight concerns that I might forget to tell a passenger resulting in damage.

Having read up on this issue it would appear that there is a method to reset the relay that I will look at afterwards. The other thing I will be looking at is whether the door open symbol illuminates on the dashboard when the door is open and whether the interior light comes on.

Some people report that it doesn't which tells me that the car doesn't know the door is open which makes sense as to why it won't drop. Also, the window won't auto up and down with one touch, as if the door was open.

Anyone had this problem and how did they sort it?

- Gear stick spring

This happens especially when cold. The gear stick doesn't always spring back to centre when you let go of it, it sometimes sticks over towards the driver i.e. below 5th. I'm told this is a spring issue and a cheap fix, with the exception of the gearbox having to come out which is labour intensive. Not a huge problem as my brother works for a BMW indy, but even so, the less money spent the better and my brother is an apprentice so there are labour costs for his boss to look at it, albeit at a reduced rate.

Any thoughts?

- Window seal

Sometimes when you lower the rear windows, the seal pops off, i.e. when you put the roof down. I was told this was a case of needing new seals but a decent glue that will expand/contract will do the job in making sure it works fine?

Other than this, I'm more than happy with my purchase, touch wood. It's low mileage for it's age and the engine was checked over by my brothers work and declared in fantastic condition with brakes, suspension etc having been done recently, bodywork spotless etc and electrics fine.

Somehow we missed the window drop issue though and I was told the spring in the gear box was an easy fix. I just hope he's right.

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Are there any other common issues that owners seem to have come up against that perhaps some preventative maintenance rather than reactive fixing would help with?

I wouldn't bother fixing the gear stick spring. There's been a few threads on here of late about it and they all seemed to conclude that's it's not really a problem and won't hurt anything if left as is.

The gear shift fix is cheap in terms of parts, but requires the gearbox to come out the car :-) So I'd leave it for now. Mine does it when cold, but it's OK after the car has warmed up.

Regarding the temperature gauge. Mine gets up to the midway point within a few miles and stays there. It has a large dead-spot when the gauge is reading in the middle (which basically means "normal", rather than telling you a precise temperature). So if, once the car is warmed up, it goes to the left or right of "normal", then something is most likely wrong. Probably a stuck thermostat, which I think is very common. What's your MPG like on a run? I believe there is a way of bringing up the current coolant temperature somehow on the OBC screen (hidden menu). So you could probably use that to get a precise reading.

edit: sounds like this guy has/had the same problem with the door ajar sensor? http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=8712... - Maybe there's a mechanical switch as part of the lock assembly that has become stuck?

The door issue will be a problem with the door lock mechanism, will require a new door lock if you want it fixed.
Not cheap.

What sort of cost am I looking at for that little lot?

Also, I agree re: FAQ. I rarely go on any other forum, feels weird signing up to other forums as none of them seem as good and easy to navigate as this one!

The 330 lump can take a while to get upto temperature.

Mine can take 30mins to get upto temperature (middle, 12 o'clock) in the mornings when driving to work.

Also, mine sits around 1/3 on the motorway (about 60 deg C according to the OBD2). I thought that this was low but the manual says it's within normal operating temperatures and the needle never gets above the middle (85-90 deg C) when just left ticking over. Fan kicks in as expected etc. so I've not worried about it too much.

Mine is certainly not the same as this. It will be up to temperature (middle of gauge) within 3-4 minutes (never going above 3k rpm) and stay there for the rest of the drive.

Mmmm, maybe I should look again then. Oil looks an ok colour though, MPG is about 33mpg on a motorway run at 75mph-80mph. What else should I be checking? I don't have my heater above 17degC so that shouldn't be cooling anything. I'm loathe to replace the stat just for the sake of it...any other tests I can be doing?

As an aside, I'm told all 330Ci Convertibles had the HK stereo? Not sure mine has! It certainly doesn't appear to have the sub between the rear seats.

Quite important I get mine sorted then!!!