Time for frugality: E60 530d

[CarPrintGuy]

Having always prioritised bhp over mpg, what I eventually realised was that mpg = freedom.

Over the years I've run everything from a Ph1 Clio 172 to a 480 bhp Saab 9000, a Lexus LS400, Saxo VTS and more recently a W211 E55.



I always felt beached in the E55 as to drive to the end of the country, or any big road trip would've cost me an arm and a leg.

I've never had a diesel or a fast diesel for that matter and liked the idea as you get huge chunks of torque and great mpg.

My E55 was up for sale for 4 months and I had loads of timewasters offering me 6k to 7k, and eventually, the right buyer came along and we shook hands on 7500 plus his E60 530d.

It's an 04 auto with 226k miles and has an amazing spec:

Heated and cooled seats
Heated steering wheel
Harmon Kardon sound system
BlueTooth
Remapped by Ecotune to around 280 bhp and 442 lb-ft / 600 NM
DPF and swirl flaps removed
New turbo in March
Staggered 540i wheels
Full service history
20-way adjustable seats
Folding rear seats
Bilstein dampers and sports suspension
New brake discs and pads
Gearbox serviced
New oil and filters

Previous owner's thread: http://www.backroads.ie/forums/showthread.php?3051...




Despite the high mileage, it's really been taken care of.

Since I've had it I've had the headlights refurbished:





And more recently I took it to a local enthusiast who's into his BMW diagnostics and plugged his laptop into the OBD port. He coded out the Airbag Warning Light error.

The only issues I've found with the car are:
- tyre pressure warning - checked and all tyres were holding 36 Psi so perhaps it needs a new sensor?
- fuel economy is a little disappointing; around town no more than 25 mpg and on a long run, up to 40 mpg, which is around 5 and 10 mpg down on what some owners can achieve (same model year and auto).
- the car takes a little while from cold to start, which could be down to the battery, IBS sensor and cable needing replacing
- all temperatures are fine but gearbox might need the 'VW stat mod'
- gearbox is slippy and doesn't lock up until 6th gear and 60 mph, perhaps some mpg are escaping here - could need a refreshed torque converter and low mileage gearbox as clutch pressures are reading low:



PB on the way home from swapping the E55 for the 530d:



Can't remember how I managed this, was most likely short-lived:



Just ordered:

- New Exide AGM battery: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exide-019-017-EK950-AGM...
- IBS sensor (and cable): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6PK-010-562-911-HELLA-S...
- Heater resistor (stops working occasionally): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5HL351321211-HEATER-RES...
- Aux water pump: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068MT208/
- Pollen/panel filters with carbon(?): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pollen-Cabin-Filter-Pai...
.. which should tide me over until MOT in March.

Future plans:
- Front and rear bumper respray or find replacements
- Wheel refurb
- Machine polish all round
- Gearbox and torque converter overhaul

Other than that, I can't think what else comes close to the price in terms of performance, handling and economy. 0-60 in not much more than 6 seconds, herculean torque and great road trip potential. Once we are allowed to visit Germany I think this'll be the perfect tool for driving to the Nürburgring, potentially on 1 tank.

Edited by CarPrintGuy on Thursday 29th October 07:53

[CarPrintGuy]

GH421 said:

Hi

I've had one of these and it has certainly bit me in the bum with regards to maintenance and repairs. I've changed nearly everything on my 530d during my 7 year ownership. I bought at 100k and sold at 220k.

I risked the swirl flaps and spent a pretty penny fixing a scored piston and bent valves.

TPMS - Mine didn't use the new type sensor but it would measure the tyre circumference, I used to get the TPMS warning sensor all the time and this was due to a buckled alloy. the stock rims on these (and pretty much every BMW) are pretty dire and coupled wit run flats you're looking for a world of stress. Ditch the RFTs if you can.

There is a hidden menu on this car which will show you the water temp. Check this as poor MPG is known due to faulty thermostat as it's always open

Good luck.

Edited by GH421 on Tuesday 27th October 10:46

Thanks, run-flats are off thankfully. I'll check water temp, I think the engine temps all get up to 90+C quite quickly, I wonder if it is the gearbox that's causing the poor mpg. What kind of mpg did you get out of yours before and after sorting the thermostat? What car have you moved onto since?

I love the idea of a 335xd touring with a map and downpipe, 0-60 in under 4 sec and 50+ mpg on a run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4_AX5m3gc

[CarPrintGuy]

Jimmy No Hands said:

Nice barge! I pray it's good to you. My PD115 has averaged a real world 57 mpg over 18,000 miles. Bit of a revelation being able to do Yorkshire - Glasgow - Yorkshire on £45 and have some miles left.

Thanks - that's unreal, I am very tempted by a PD VW, amazing fuel economy and impressive performance when mapped. Driven hard I reckon this 5er will use double the amount of fuel as your PD, crap really.

[CarPrintGuy]

JWH said:

A couple of thoughts on mpg.....

I'm sure the non lock up on the torque converter is costing you something, if you're not aware thermostat failure is also common causing cool running, slow warm up and poorer fuel economy. Check the coolant temp is hitting high 80's once warm.

I've got a manual 330d with the 245 bhp N57, generally a more economical engine than the M57. It's done 220k miles, over the last 160k of those it's averaged 43mpg, vast majority on the Mway.
It's my opinion that the folks claiming 50mpg out of these engines are effectively quoting 'hyper miling' figures. I've never achieved 50mpg over a whole tank even driven very gently. In mixed use and with a normal driving style I'd be very happy to average 38ish mpg out of yours.

Thanks, if the vast majority of my driving was on the motorway I'd average around 38 mpg, but when combined with round town it's more like 29 mpg 50/50. £1000 for a gearbox and torque converter overhaul would be worth it for an extra 9 mpg overall, but much less and it'd be a bit pointless as I'd need to drive many many tens of thousands of miles just to break even. Tough one.

[CarPrintGuy]

JakeT said:

I agree with JWH's thoughts. I had a 204BHP E46 330d manual, and the best I did out of that (with brand new BMW thermostats) was 46 to the gallon. I had a very miley E39 530d manual that would do about 48 on a long run, but it was slow as.

The M57 '30d' engines were never the absolute in fuel economy, but their smoothness, and longevity wins out for me.


I'd leave the gearbox until it goes bang. Those 6HP 'E clutches' are known to give issues. As you say, it's also a lot of money for a small improvement in fuel economy.


Nice spec though, very nice. Dynamic drive on E60s here is rare. I'm sure the ACC can be sorted easily. There's plenty of mobile BMW coders out there.

Thanks, agreed re gearbox. Found a local coder, he found all the above such as battery, IBS etc. needing replacing. I guess if a lighter manual can do 46 mpg on a run then 40 on a run in an auto is liveable. 50 would be nicer still..

The best I ever got out of my E55 was 25.5 mpg on a run, so 40 is nice. The least I ever got out of the Merc was 9 mpg, 15 in the BM.

Re Dynamic Drive, the handling is brilliant, if a little nose heavy when really pushing on. I 'get' now why BMWs are regarded as drivers' cars. The Merc was a bit of a one-trick pony whereas this BM has a broader range of talents.

[CarPrintGuy]

greeneggsnsam said:

My dad had one of these for a few years, it was such a good car. It rode so well and was really quiet on long trips. If I was in the market for a barge I'd definitely be looking for an E60.

The ride is brilliant and there is very little road noise. If I could average 40 mpg I'd probably keep it for years. I guess even if it averages more like 30 it owes me nothing and would be cool to get it up to 300k miles.

[CarPrintGuy]

Martin996 said:

I had the estate version of this car and it gave me no end of trouble. The exhaust manifold cracked, several of the studs then needed helicoiling, the self levelling suspension was always on the fritz, and the electrical gremlins were constant.

However, it had great road presence and was fast for a big estate, and handled pretty well. The wife loved it. If they were available without the crummy reliability then I'd have another one like a shot. However, I've had three auto BMWs and they all burned me in some way. As soon as I can justify it again I'll be going with another fast estate though.

Sounds like a nightmare, was it tuned? Can you remember what it was like on fuel?

[CarPrintGuy]

joropug said:

I had a facelift m sport 530d bought on 80k sold on 115k.

Both thermostats were gone on purchase unbeknownst to the previous owner I would expect. Luckily I realised and the DPF did an almighty regen after they were replaced, saving it.

My gearbox would lock in every gear , they are known for it and it felt a lot more connected and less floaty than my merc.

That said, on cold days it took an age to warm up (gearbox) and would not lock for the first 10 minutes. I couldn't put any power down joining slip roads etc.

My friend had the same car on the same mileage and on the same day his would not do this, I too had my gearbox oil changed , new filter etc and clutches adjusted properly. It made the shift way smoother but didn't stop the cold lack of lock up.

The tell tale sign the torque converter is dead is the 'cattle grid effect' where it wavers at cruising speed.

I would recommend a Carly adapter and app purchase, or just an obd 2 Bluetooth adapter and torque app to monitor the temperatures owing to the lack of temp gauge.

Interesting, if I floor it at pretty much any speed, the revs rise more than the road speed, eventually the revs match the road speed.

Can you remember what yours was like on fuel?

Will look into Carly BT, thanks.

[CarPrintGuy]

cossy400 said:

OP if your on Facebook there is 2 e60/e61 groups very knowledgeable etc and helpful to boot.

Cheers, yeh I've joined a couple, some really, really knowledgeable folk on there.

[CarPrintGuy]

Don Roque said:

That definitely sounds like a lockup issue. I had a similar issue with my old XJ, if you tried to accelerate hard from a steady speed the revs would flare and then fall to match the rising road speed.

Ok thanks I might have a go at getting it sorted next year at some point. Once sorted did you notice an improvement in fuel economy?

[CarPrintGuy]

mstrbkr said:

“Mpg = freedom” - love it

It is true though, I think. Midlands to Edinburgh and back on a tank is easy.

That would be handy, I think I could just do it in the 5er. I've considered getting a Golf Mk4 TDI to get closer to your 55.8 mpg but I love having the 160 mph performance of the BM. Is it worth using double the fuel though? Definitely not.

Is your Civic's 55.8 mpg combined? Truly brilliant. Also looked at A2 1.4 TDIs recently, insane economy buy zero refinement and susceptible to sidewinds.

[CarPrintGuy]

joropug said:

Another thing to do, check your scuttle panels for water - leaves get in, block up the drain plugs, overflows and kills I drive. It takes minutes to check.

Think the same is said about the spare wheel well h check for water there, although might be thininking of another car

Thanks will do, when I bought it there were tonnes of leaves in there so they're out, will give it a proper hoover and clean and check the wheel well.

[CarPrintGuy]

Huskyman said:

I had an E61 530d for a while and really liked it. Unicorn SE manual with a locking diff and sports front seats. Other than the obvs ones like the swirl flaps check the connection for the rear window washer jet doesn’t come off as this can cause problems, fairly simple to check, and sometimes the ribbon cable fails there as well.
Another problem that might rear its head is you can’t get the manual change to work on the gearbox when you push the lever to the right, and this is the first symptom of the wiring harness on the shifter failing, the wiring harness wears through and the cables start to break. I repaired mine and lengthened the harness.
To give you an idea on how much I liked that car I’m still in a 5 series.
Excellent cars, and other than a few gearbox gremlins you look to have a nice one there.

Thanks for the tips. Like you I believe it's worth saving. The car owes me nothing and I did consider selling and buying a newer version, but imagine if I did and then had the same or similar issues? Wild goose chase! If I can get the gearbox sussed and electrical gremlins, thanks to the new turbo in March by the previous owner, I'd like to take her up to 300k miles, all the better if I can get an extra 10 mpg out of it combined. Currently averaging 27 mpg just pootling round on short and medium journeys, I would like to think 37 mpg is realistic once I sort the gearbox out.

Took it to RGA in Nottingham yesterday and they took it for a drive. It most likely needs a new solenoid on the gearbox and couple of other bits, which including a gearbox service is around £950. The other alternative is to just find a low mileage gearbox and torque converter and hope that its solenoid is in good condition, but that including a gearbox service would still be around the same cost.

Buying all the right stuff, it should be around £400 + labour.
Solenoid: £299 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Automatic-Transmiss...
Gearbox oil: £48.49 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202900743375?fbclid=IwA...
Gearbox filter with oil pan: £39.99 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303081771282
Labour: Anyone know how long it'd typically take to do the above?

[CarPrintGuy]

Rowe said:

Your mpg seems typical to what i'm getting - it was even worse prior to replacing both thermostats. I try not to worry about the mpg any more, it is what it is. If you want something better on fuel, sell up and get the facelift one

Mines been on the most part reliable. Brake lines have been its crux, but i managed to get a mechanic friend to change mine for a really good price.
since my ownership it's required nothing which i'd deem beyond normal maintenance.


There is definitely something amiss with your gearbox if it isn't locking until 6th. They do have their weaknesses, and if yours is still the standard box and TC, it's done very well.
You can/should feel every gear engage in a smooth manor. Mine will generally sit in 5th at 60mph unless there is barely any load on the engine. I've also the maximum pressure on the clutch readings when i last checked after servicing it.

In terms of the gearbox, if I can get the average from 27 to 38 mpg after sorting that's a saving of £2000 in 30,000 miles, so I reckon spending no more than £1000 to sort will pay dividends. It'll also force me to stop selling cars and have 1 for the long haul once and for all!

[CarPrintGuy]

CornedBeef said:

For balance, I had a 335d with the M57N engine (so basically the same as this) for 3 years and around 70k. Slightly lighter body, and my lifetime average MPG was 39. Best I ever got was 45 going from Hampshire to Scotland, sat at around 80mph. So you're probably not far off what's normal, it's a heavy car which will especially kill the MPGs around town.
My Merc 3 litre diesel is around the same, generally high 30s - if I sit on the motorway for 30 minutes it'll get to 42-43mpg. If I'm knocking around town it'll be low 30s, which isn't bad for a heavy car with a 3 litre engine.
How many miles do you do a year/will you do in this OP?

I guess if you got 39 mpg average with a lighter car (a positive) and twin turbos (a negative), a heavier single turbo car should be around the same. My average right now is 25 mpg, so massively down on 39 mpg so I still think it's worth sorting the gearbox. In terms of mileage, about 15,000 miles/year. All engine thermostats are fine, quickly get upto and beyond 90 Celcius.

[CarPrintGuy]

Budleigh said:

Nice one. I think E60s are criminally underappreciated, as 5 Series models go. Such a timeless design. I ran a 550i for 4 relatively pain-free years, despite all the nay-saying about valve stem seals and so on. Always wondered what a 530d would be like, since the engine/box combo was highly praised when new.

I bet the 550i was a right hoot. There was 1 in the garage I visited yesterday, not sure what work it was having done. The chap there delivered an E61 550i to London and averaged 36 mpg. Incredibly efficient for a V8, and considering on the same drive my car wouldn't fare any different is why I need to get my car sorted! It's great fun to be fair having moved from a V8, it's a very lazy engine the straight-six diesel and always has power on tap, but never has the assault on your senses, afterburner effect of the E55 or warp factor of my 9000 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc_CvBCLCfc