Please feel free to ask any BMW related questions and I’ll try and answer them as soon as possible. They can be about anything, how they operate, how to replace something or even how to take something apart! I’ll also be posting company updates. Please email them to info@bmwfix.co.uk

06/03/2013

For a change today I had a Mercedes S Class, B Service (same as an Inspection II) I was quite impressed with the car, a better ride than a 7 Series but didn’t handle quite as well. Both cars are fairly similar to work on but this car had wasted spark so it had twice as many spark plugs! 

15/02/2013

As you can see by the dates I’m a little slow in updating this page. This week I had my first F30 (the new BMW 3 Series) The customer required the front seats changing from the standard seats to sports seats however the sports seats have electric side bolsters. The gentleman sent me a link to an E90 forum where somebody had fitted electric seats to their car but they jammed a wire into a hole in a fuse box and then wedged a fuse to hold it in place. Not very professional! The car runs a CAN network so there are lots of signals going up and down the wires, if you chop into them then something may not work. A nameless friend told me a location to wire covert accessories into a vehicle (the same way MI5/6 would bug your car, it’s not recognised by the CAN network and can not be detected by dealer!) Seats wired in and a happy customer!

31/03/2012

A long time and no update. Just routine servicing and repair work recently. This week however has been a little different, a gentleman purchased an M3 with the paddle shift SMG gearbox. It was purchased with a faulty gear change and he was told ‘It just needs recoding!’ If it just needed recoding why didn’t the previous owner do it. Anyway a recode later and a road test, the same fault was there, loosing gears. After a diagnostic check the hydraulic system was holding pressure and the clutch operation fine.  

25/01/2012

A busy start to the year! Today was the third time I’ve replaced a hydro unit for an ABS DSC fault. it comes up with the standard 5E20 pump pressure sensor fault code. Most independent garages replace the complete ABS pump/ecu at over £1000 plus vat and fitting! However if you know the right people at a certain BMW dealer they will sell you a repair kit (this is not available to the public only to BMW dealers!) This mainly affects E90 3 series and also the E87 1 series.  

27/12/2011

Looks like a busy start to the new year! A V10 M5 with poor running. Lots of coughing and spluttering at higher revolutions. After a quick plug on to the computer it looks like a fuel pressure fault. I’ll run some fuel pressure tests and find a solution. Also an M3 with a SMG gearbox fault, these are a lot easier to work on than people think. It’s just a pump moving the gear lever and operating the clutch, great idea but not a good as the new twin clutch system. 

24/10/2011

It’s been quite busy in the workshop, I replaced a clutch on a Z3, two motor factors in Newbury wanted £179 and £159 for the replacement part. BMW original part was £126! Just goes to show that it doesn’t always cost more to fit genuine parts.

01/10/2011

I have just purchased the latest BMW GT1 and INPA sofware. This is the same software that every BMW dealer in the world uses. I will be able to code keys and control units as well as the general code reading and diagnostics.

26/9/2011

Engine replaced on a E36 316i it’s always a risk fitting a second hand engine because you are never to sure of it’s background. This one runs perfectly.

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