kiwiland

Nothing like a set of considered well thought out replies.

Anyone got any experience or comments on running Maxxis MA-P3 tyres on an E39

Anyone advise me on best source and likely cost of a set of rear door sills for a 2001 530, would probably need some replacement clips as well

Could be a vent pipe from the battery

Have had an intermittent case of both lights coming on and speedo not working. Next start-up returned to normal (phew!!). What are the options and rough costs involved in fixing this? Car is 530i with 65k on the clock?

12.1L/100k on short runs, 8.0L/100k on motorway at 100-110 speed, have had the car for 9 years and consumption has been constant over that time

Luckily I had my antibullshit filter energised

Have a small oil leak in my 2001 e39 530 together with a burnt oil smell in the cabin when stopping from a run. Been told::- (a) It is almost certainly the rocker cover gasket and ( it is a difficult job to replace. Any info as to what I am likely to be charged for the job? Have had the car for past 8 years and mileage is now 60,000 Appreciate any comments

Interested to hear who you use for an oil service on your E39

I believe its mounted behind the rear seat. You need to remove the boot liner to access it. Also the tv module if fitted will be in the same area

Recently had the same problem with my E39. Initially AMI was talking "after market" but I hung out for original and got it. Checked the replacement for the BMW logo and correct part No before it went near the car

Drive a 2001 E39 530i with automatic air conditioning. Yesterday went to start the car and nothing, only a faint glimmer on an internal light. Checked the battery and found 8.2 volts - battery stuffed! Got it replaced and found the dud battery was stamped for Sept. 2001. Congratulated myself on getting 10 years life out of the original battery. Then happened to pass through the garage in dead of night and heard the aircon blower fan "cycling" 3 seconds on then 5 secs off. Car was in sleep mode and no way could I stop it. Seems to have stopped this morning but who knows when it will start up again. My question is:-If I set the fan speed (with the +/- button) right down to the minimum point when the display lights on the aircon panel go out will this isolate the fan from starting up by itself while I sort out a solution? Estimate of costs to supply and fit a replacement FSR? Advice gratefully accepted

Final washup on this saga: 1. Insurance Co agrees to supply BMW OEM windscreen but job has to be done by S & S because of "several hundred dollars difference between their price and JCs". ( JC supplied the screen to S & S) 2. Screen installed by S & S who came to house to do the job, their man certainly knew what he was doing, was pleasant to deal with, and quickly carried out the work. 3. Tested rain sensor and all working OK When looking at the amount of specialist equipment carried in the S & S service vehicle and the expressed knowledge it is difficult to see how anybody else could do a better job. Thanks to all for their advice and comments

Thanks for all the good advice. Update on the saga:- Insurance claim lodged and claim No obtained. Insurance directed me to S & S who initially wanted to supply and fit an "after market screen" which would have rain sensing but not be a genuine BMW item. Told them I was not happy with this and they are now pricing to the insurance Co to do the job with a genuine replacement. Am also getting Jerry Clayton to quote insurer to do the whole job with genuine part (available on 1 day delivery from BMW-NZ) Insurance Co talking about possibility of "extra cost" to do the job with genuine part. Can see some full and frank discussions with them in the near future!! Watch this space.

Driving down motorway today and some clown shoots past and sends a stone into windscreen and pits the glass. 10 minutes later the pit has developed into a 300mm long crack. Car is a 2001 E39 with rain sensor and tinted top strip of glass, is original BMW screen. Have full glass insurance (I think) but have heard horror stories about replacement glasses and some replacement Companies. Am on the North Shore and would welcome some advice, can I insist on BMW replacement glass and who to do it

If the Satnav computer is mounted in the top centre of the boot under the centre brake light then its a jap import and will not work in NZ

Grant at Hotwire has an excellent unit which has minimal disturbance to the car, ie no holes to drill

Thanks Grant for the first class installation of the reverse camera on my 530I yesterday. The unit works perfectly and friends are impressed with the quality of the picture.

That "little senser looking thing " on the windscreen vent is probably part of your aircon system and its purpose is to adjust cooling when the car is in hot sunshine

Is that not to control the ""alarm" that gives a beep one minute before the hour to let you turn your radio on to get the latest news etc

My installation job on the camera is doomed!! had just opened up the excellent photos etc and got to the stage of stripping out the boot lid when my computer acquired a nasty virus which effectively locked me out.Taken me till today to get the PC up and running again (thank goodness for the System Restore function) so hopefully will get back to it soon

Look forward to seeing your info, have one of Grants units sitting in a box waiting to be installed and your info would help greatly

In the news today a prime example of how this country is going to the dogs. Appears 2 prisoners escaped from custody while being "escorted" from the cells to the courtroom by security staff. Now the public is being warned that they are dangerous and should not be approached. Time we adopted the USA method of shackles on wrists and ankles together with chain when "dangerous" types appear in court. Or would this conflict with their precious rights

Re the medical kit is it the one that clips into a bracket on the bottom of the front passengers seat?

Interesting comment from Clinton re fitting Jap imports with hour meters. I have a 2001 E39 I privately imported from Japan in dec 2005. Nicely specd was complete with most keys etc but not with full documentation. So I am going on for 5 years local experience with minimal troubles (touch wood) When I landed it I had BM Workshop run a full DIS diagnosis and on recently looking at the printout again I see that for many of the fault records the DIS lists how many (operating?) hours since the fault occurs,at least I think thats what it means. Seems to me that somewhere in the DME there is a record of total operating hours. Having this hours figure and the total mileage some simple maths would give a good picture of the cars history in Japan. Any comments from the knowledgeable ones?