E46 330 Ci warning lights triggered in high winds?
Discussion
Morning gents,
Apologies for starting up another thread, but this is on a very specific topic relating to 'my' E46 that I've just bought.
The seller says the stability control lights (plural, I assume he means TC and ABS?) came on when he was driving over a bridge in the tail end of Hurrican Ophelia the other day. They remained on when he got home and restarted. Today they've gone out and the ESC switches on and off as normal. He thinks it was the high winds confusing the system with a mismatch between the steering angle and direction of travel.
It sounds plausible, but I couldn't find any evidence of that happening to other people. Does it rings any bells to anyone?
I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but what's the likely cost of getting a steering angle sensor replaced by an independent garage if it does turn out to be faulty?
Apologies for starting up another thread, but this is on a very specific topic relating to 'my' E46 that I've just bought.
The seller says the stability control lights (plural, I assume he means TC and ABS?) came on when he was driving over a bridge in the tail end of Hurrican Ophelia the other day. They remained on when he got home and restarted. Today they've gone out and the ESC switches on and off as normal. He thinks it was the high winds confusing the system with a mismatch between the steering angle and direction of travel.
It sounds plausible, but I couldn't find any evidence of that happening to other people. Does it rings any bells to anyone?
I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but what's the likely cost of getting a steering angle sensor replaced by an independent garage if it does turn out to be faulty?
DSC pressure sensor. Mine did this last year, light was intermittent for a few months but then stayed on. It's a common failure, there's two sensors at the back of the engine bay. It's recommended to only use genuine sensors but they are £120 each, so I got some low mileage used ones off eBay and it's been fine since. Don't think they are 330 specific either if I remember correctly mine were off a 320. It's an easy diy and worthwhile changing the brake fluid at the same time.
I've done a quick Google. As I understand it, none of the sensors themselves are massively expensive, but if it's something like the steering angle sensor it can be a significant labour cost unless you do it yourself?
Searching the forums on here, it also sounds like a lot of people have had this flick up once never to be seen again!
It's a complete impulse purchase. I've significantly blown my intended budget on what seems like a very nice, low mileage manual 330 Ci Sport, which is arriving on Monday. On the one hand, mention of warning lights makes me a bit nervous. On the other hand, I've spent months trying to find one. This is pretty much my dream spec and I'm hoping the cost of sorting the problem will be negligible compared to the fairly generous amount I've shelled out for the car! I realise there will be other bills in the future, but I'm just thinking of the current situation. Having pledged to buy the car I have no intention of quibbling over £100 here or there, but I just wanted to check it's not likely to be anything calamitous.
The wishbone bushes are fairly new, but the rear tyres are getting towards replacement, as are the front brake discs, so that might be upsetting things perhaps.
ETA: On a different note, is there anyone you'd recommend for insurance? It's a normal, unmodified 330 Ci so I presume Compare The Market is as good a place to start as any...
Searching the forums on here, it also sounds like a lot of people have had this flick up once never to be seen again!
It's a complete impulse purchase. I've significantly blown my intended budget on what seems like a very nice, low mileage manual 330 Ci Sport, which is arriving on Monday. On the one hand, mention of warning lights makes me a bit nervous. On the other hand, I've spent months trying to find one. This is pretty much my dream spec and I'm hoping the cost of sorting the problem will be negligible compared to the fairly generous amount I've shelled out for the car! I realise there will be other bills in the future, but I'm just thinking of the current situation. Having pledged to buy the car I have no intention of quibbling over £100 here or there, but I just wanted to check it's not likely to be anything calamitous.
The wishbone bushes are fairly new, but the rear tyres are getting towards replacement, as are the front brake discs, so that might be upsetting things perhaps.
ETA: On a different note, is there anyone you'd recommend for insurance? It's a normal, unmodified 330 Ci so I presume Compare The Market is as good a place to start as any...
Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 18th October 11:25
SebringMan said:
Are you on Twitter at all and is the car black with a tan interior?
Yes. Although it's blue with a tan interior.It's this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330Ci-e46-2002-/1729...
Not in the area, I'm afraid. I do have a friend who can lend me a diagnostic reader, it's just a question of whether it's likely to be anything big enough to make me think twice about completing the sale. Sounds unlikely.
You need to run a diagnostic check on it to be sure. All of the possibilities discussed here are valid. With just the TC and ABS illuminated orange my guess would be one of the brake pressure sensors. They can go on and off but the error code will be stored.
If the handbrake light was also illuminated it is more likely to be a wheel speed sensor.
I wouldn't class any of them as major issues. The biggest cost would be if it is the ABS unit itself.
If the handbrake light was also illuminated it is more likely to be a wheel speed sensor.
I wouldn't class any of them as major issues. The biggest cost would be if it is the ABS unit itself.
Smuler said:
In your position I would probably go for it or if feasible read codes.
My thinking is that even if it's a couple of hundred quid it's preferable to waiting another three months. It's taken me ages to find a well-cared for low-mileage manual 330Ci in my prefered colour combination (as you've seen on the other thread!) I need to get back to normal life, rather than spending hours at a time on Autotrader.Unless it's something catastrophic I'm going to proceed as planned and settle in for the long haul. I appreciate there will be other bills.
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