Oilburner

Well according to this article there can be as much as 5 oz of old brake fluid, left in some ABS modules after flushing & bleeding the brakes with new fluid. Whilst this is an American article doing a rough conversion from UK fluid oz to millilitres =142.07ml, according to them that does represent a fair bit of old fluid left in the ABS module, if our ABS modules are similar and hold that amount of old fluid, then it would be advised to purge the ABS pump module but you are going to need a lot of new brake fluid for each line coming of the module to the bleed nipple. https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/brake-service-bleeding-and-flushing-abs-systems/ With a bit of scepticism, of course they could just be stating this to scare their customers into having them change the fluid, now that there are lots of aids to help the average guy do their own DIY maintenance, the article still makes some interesting reading. At the bottom of this article it does confirm what we all have been saying regarding changing the brake fluid in the master cylinder, then purge the ABS module to each bleed nipple, but as said its going to take a lot of fluid. https://www.tirereview.com/bleeding-brake-fluid-in-abs-equipped-vehicles/

After watching that E70 X5 video I would not want to do what he did, to pump all that dirty fluid through the front wheel cylinder, I would suggest removing the filter mesh in the brake master cylinder if possible first, the remove as much as possible with turkey baster or what I have used a large animal hypodermic from the vets you don't need any needle just attach a small piece of tubing and suck from the very bottom of master cylinder the old fluid, there is no reason not to remove as much as possible this way, providing you are not opening any bleed nipple, air will not get into the system if once you have removed as much as possible of the old fluid, then refill the master cylinder with new brake fluid, before opening your first bleed nipple. Doing it this way you have greatly reduced any dirty contaminated fluid ever going through the brake wheel cylinders and the ABS pump, that brake fluid in the video clearly shows it had not been changed for many years, because even after three years from a new vehicle brake fluid change you don't notice any colour change, at least I did not at three years and after that at the recommended two-year change it all looks the same colour, as the new brake fluid perfectly clear with no sediment in the bottom of brake master cylinder. I even wonder if any dealer even goes through the procedure to change the minimal amount of brake fluid in the ABS pump unless the system has been dismantled, from what I can understand a very small portion of brake fluid stays in the ABS pump more or permanently just going back and forth slightly as the valves open or shut, so not likely to come in contact with any atmospheric moisture unlike the actual brake master cylinder fluid. After carrying out a normal brake fluid change it would be interesting, then to purge the ABS pump via one nipple and then test that fluid coming out for moisture content, by testing before purging then after my guess is its going to be very minimal if any difference at all.

To keep everyone updated with Michelin Customer Support, I receive an email back from them stating they could not say what the problem was with my tyres looking at photos that I sent to them, even though they asked for specific photos of the Dot data on the tyre and the month and year code, from working out the code the tyres were manufactured 8 weeks before being fitted. I was then instructed to go to Formula One Autocentre where the tyres were purchased from to get them fill in a complaint form and send it of to them, as its now been two weeks and I have heard nothing back from Michelin, so so much for their statement of once they receive the complaint form back from Formula One which incidently was sent electronically, they stated I should get an instant decision if the complaint was accepted. Well two weeks on and heard nothing I have been on to Formula one they say they have also been on to them several times but don't get any answer either. So this coming week I intend to start putting pressure on Michelin Customer Support to stand by their warranty, to date this is not what I expect from a premium brand tyre manufacturer, they need to do the right thing and sort this problem out.

I would say it's not normal to require topping up, now there has been problems with the EGR cooler leaking but I think it is only the four-cylinder engine with that problem, but someone with a 530d engine will be able to confirm this, my 520d is now coming up to six years old and the coolant has never required topping up. I would check for any tell tale signs of coolant leak with antifreeze coolant you can normally find the leak by looking closely for any staining where it has been leaking, in older cars it was common for head gasket to leak between the water jacket and the cylinder and this could be identified by removing the oil filler cap and looking inside loads for loads of white foam, but I have not heard of newer vehicles suffering this.

Arrived today a genuine BMW E46 jack purchased from ebay as used, the seller assured me that he throws any rusty jacks in the skip and true to his word the jack I received is like new, and never ever been used so anyone else that's considering getting a jack that fits the F10 or F11 these are perfect, and in the emergency use for changing a punctured tyre this is going to be a lot safer option than using any scissor jack. Especially those of us that have now ditched the runflat tyres for non runflat tyres. I paid £18 plus delivery from https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bmw-E46-E90-E60-E61-jack-genuine-part-fits-all-models-1998-2010/303607174946?hash=item46b065d722:g:xHMAAOSwAKxWX3~s After a lot of considerations especially after I got one of my last remaining runflat tyres ruined by running over a short piece of aluminium angle iron, causing an instant pressure loss of a rear tyre so this brought about a premature purchase of another two Michelin primacy 3 non runflat tyres now matching the front tyres, at the time of this incident I only had for emergency punctures a Sealey tyre plug kit, Holts tyreweld, and a 12v compressor, but on the roadside non of this would have helped as I had no jack, an in this case had it not been a runflat tyre I would have up the creek without a paddle. This has now made me seriously consider get an alloy space saver wheel & tyre just in case this ever happens again, and as our 6 month old golden retriever pup seems to come out with us most of the time, her place is in a cage in the cargo area which has the Hatchbag protection fitted, and as there is no place to fit a space saver if our dog is with us, my thinking whilst this is a more expensive option to get a alloy space saver in a bag and fit behind the front passenger seat, maybe once she is out of any chewing stage I could dispense with the large puppy cage, and fit the space saver in the cargo area secured along with her, I would be interested in knowing what others have done with their space saver wheel & tyres. Does anyone know the weight difference between an alloy space saver and a steel one reason I ask if the weight is negligible difference, I would go the cheaper option with steel but my original concern is would a heavier steel space saver wheel & tyre likely any cause damage behind the seat.

My F11 had never ever fired any low pressure warning since new in 2014 until 1st June if you see my original post regarding sudden pressure loss warning its about halfway down on:- What did you do to your F07/F10/F11 today?page 228, I expect my post may have been missed or not seen, in hindsight I should have posted it under a separate heading. I'm glad the tyre pressure monitoring system worked how it should have on that particular day. From my own observations the runflat tyres I had on the rear saved the day on that particular occasion, if I had non runflats tyres all round on that day I would have been stuck without anyway way of jacking the vehicle up or carrying a spare tyre, luckily I was fairly local at the time and by this weekend some of my shortcomings dealing with a situation like this again will be resolved.

I you select the menu on the idrive then select vehicle status you should see tyre pressure and temp.

My condenser was replaced just at the end of the three warranty, the bmw main dealer tried to fob me off saying a stone may have hit the condenser, or its normal to be re-gassed at three years old but I did not agree with them, and refused to pay any extra or take the car away, it transpired it was a faulty condenser all the time and is a known problem to BMW, talking to another bmw technician he informed me that the castings on a lot of the condensers was porous, causing the air con gas to slowly leak out.

You can reset service items listed on the idrive, I just recently carried out a rear brake change whilst I had a new brake wear sensor with the new pads, I noticed the sensor had only just literally just barely started to touch the brake disc and had not made any contact with the in bedded wires, so was gentle removed from the old pad with a small flat bladed screwdriver without any damage, and was reinserted and clicked back into the new brake pad, the idrive reset perfectly the rear brake pad service interval, so I now have a rear brake pad sensor for next time which was only 27,000miles, but as Andrew commented I use the cruise control a lot and apparently it uses the rear brakes to adjust the speed down on down hill sections. A month beforehand I also change the rear pads on the wife's mini cooper the wear sensor also was not down to making contact, but this one was firmly stuck in the old pad and had to be replaced although it had been in considerably longer time and mileage, so you still should order a replacement brake pad wear sensor at the same time as the new pads, you just don't know and if it has made contact or it does not click securely back in place, it's a new wear sensor anyway.

I believe you can phone and join the AA at the time of your breakdown which might not be a bad idea, but as in the discussion if you have a damaged unrepairable tyre you are still going to get a hefty bill for a tyre replacement, especially if a replacement is on the roadside, and you probably end up with an odd tyre which won't be the same as the damaged one, it all depends on if they have that brand and size in stock. So like what has been said you pay your money and take your choice it's a gamble.

Like you I have never had any breakdown cover and only once broke down with an old marina and the ignition points failed where they were riveted together, three-mile walk to the nearest garage I had no money on me at the time, but I left them my high value watch with them as security, that I would come back and pay them, and armed with a new set of points I returned to the car within 5 minutes car was up and running, went home got some money back to the garage handed over the cost of the points which was probably less than the cost of my fuel, my watch handed back to me and I think I gave them an extra £5 -£10 which was worth a lot more in those days, for helping me out.

Update :- I have now managed to obtain of ebay a BMW E45/ E60 jack for £24 including delivery, hopefully now with complete set non run flat tyres I can cover most emergency getting a puncture, this jack will only be used in emergency for removing the rear wheel to carry out a temporary tyre plug repair, because if anyone has ever used these temporary tyre plug kits will know you need to use all your bodyweight to push the plug in, whilst you can achieve that on the front tyre by turning the wheel out and moving the car slightly so the puncture is up towards the top facing outwards, making it easy to push the plug in, but it would be impossible to do that to either rear wheel attached to the vehicle, laying on the ground you would never get enough force to push the temporary tyre plug in, hence the need to remove the wheel to carry out the temporary tyre plug repair. Hopefully this explains using a temporary tyre plug kit along with its limitations and what is required, the maximum size of puncture hole is 6mm and you also can't repair any puncture within the tyre shoulder area or the wall of the tyre, in both case the tyre is scrapped and replaced, this would also be the case if you are running run flat tyres and mostly run flat tyres are not repairable after a puncture anyway. The only way to 100% cover yourself in the event of any type of puncture or tyre damage is carry a space saver tyre and wheel, or join the AA or similar organisation, but for most carrying a space saver tyre and wheel is not an option with due to no area to store the space saver, which leaves you with the only option the AA or similar and if you have two cars in the family it this not a cheap option, for something you may hopefully never require !

Yes you are right that's the way I always remove a wheel on any jack but the last sentence I wrote was, and make sure the wheel is not stuck on the centre hub, thus avoiding any unnecessary strain on the mini jack. In hindsight I should have stated this more clearly, you certainly would not want to start hammering the wheel off when it's stuck on the hub especially on that light mini jack, I always put a smiggen of grease on the hub to prevent it sticking but they can still stick depending on when the wheel was last was removed.

You beat me to saying they look very similar jack and at least I now know that the E61 jack does fit, is that the same jack used across the BMW range from E46 upwards. Thanks for that info

Interesting they look very similar the mini cooper d jack and look lot more heavily built, the only bit that looks different is the bit that goes into the actual jacking point, so providing it fits into the jacking point of the F10 F11 that will be the best option, thanks for your comments and link.