chenjianxi

Thanks guys! Nice explaination! I think I will stick to 95 for now - or until I have lost my job. BTW, I feel guity now as I still have not got my "check engine oil level" warning thing sorted out, as Hotwire has suggested. It still comes on and off, particularly after a long drive, or when the engine is hot enough - or at least I think. I think I'm going to wait until next service and get it checked out altogheter - along with this high pitched noise thing (refer to my post in the maintenance section). I do check the oil level every week or so and it is bang-on. Weired!

Hi everyone So spring has come and for once I can turn off the air con and open the window a bit to enjoy some fresh air, then... I noticed this noise: The volume is low but it is definiately noticable. A high pitched squeak that comes from the front area of the car that sounds like someone is whistling. It comes on when pressing the accerlerator - and it is almost instant - the moment you press you can hear it, when you press the pedal hard it is covered in engine noise but I'm sure it is still there. It has nothing to do with the belts, idle or turbo / supercharger. I did a search on this forum and on the internet and apperantely it is not an uncommon issue - mostly associated with older cars that have a "intake throttle boot" crack / leak. However I opened up my bonnet and everything looks quite new. The other problem is when I stop the car and put it in N, and try to pin-point the issue the problem largely goes away - I mean it is still there but very hard to notice - I have made a video to see if you guys can give us a hand(Please see link below) - note the noise is particularly noticeble in 0:06, 0:09 and 0:12. Please also note that even though the noise in my video is barely noticeble, the squeak is 10 times worse when the car is actually moving - I may try to get a video of that as well. Has anyone got this problem before? Or do I have to drive with all my windows up forever? Thank you guys in advance! Go ABs! Regards Chris

Was refueling yesterday and wondering whether 91 will do the job instead of 95? The instriction in the fuel cap says 91+. Have been putting in 95 since i got the car. What do you guys think?

Agreed! It surely felt safe sitting in there - even though I was driving as gingerly as I can. After driving the car for 4 weeks, I went back to drive my old Mitsubishi Galant once, felt like I climbed out of a tank and got into a tin can.

Its funny how my 525 really didn't like driving in snow: too heavy + rear wheel drive = getting stuck.

Ok, i will get it checked as soon as i can. Is there any point for me to take the sensor off and have a look? I have seen the way to take it off from somewhere, however I have no way to check whether it is faulty unless the fault is really obvious. Or i should take it straight to a mechanic? (I might check with my insurance first to see whether it is covered. @allan: as this is suppose to be THE family car (we only bought it as my wife is pregnant) I dont think I would be modify it in anyway. I may not even be able to drive it in he future cos wife said she will take over after she's gotten her nz lisence. It is unfortunate as i have seen plent of HOT mods in this place. And, well, e39s have certainly got protential. I have seen the write up regarding fixing the pixels. I have to say It is probably out of most of our touch - certainly out of mine. I can take it apart but Im sure I wont be able to put them back together. Lol @mossline: thanks for the link mate, i have saved it for future reference.

Thanks guys! I have had the oil checked - actually the oil and filter have been changed just before I bought the car. And I have check oil level multiple times, every time after the warning had showed up - but the oil level is bang on. So I guess it could be a faulty oil level sensor. The warning is totally random and the guy who reset my service light said he can not reset this warning. Am I correct to assume I can ignore the warning as long as my oil level is physically ok? Or could it be a more serious issue and I should take it to the dealer and get it checked? So the "ashtray" is for coins? Japanese coins? There are two round spring thing in these and I guess I should press the coins into them? LOL... I shall give it a go but it doesn't look like our $2 coin will fit in there. By the way, how hard / much would it be to retro fit some storage space into the central armrest - the only annoy thing so far is the lack of interior storage space. I have lid in the central armrest that I can pop open and find a phone cord in there - I'm not going to get a phone in so I wonder if I can get rid of it in exchange of some storage.

Hi Everyone It is great to be here and join this awesome local community! I have always loved the looks of E39 BMWs and finally I have got myself one! It is a 2003 525i with 72k on the clock, the car is in very good condition and almost everything (as far as I can see) is working - a couple of pixels are missing from the dash display and the "check engine oil level" warning randomly comes on for no reason. I bought it from auction with 3 years of machanical warrenty so hopefully it will keep me out of trouble for a good while. It drives...oh man...it drives brilliantly! Although it weighs one and half ton and has only 2.5L 185hp it can go like a rocket! Especially when you put her into sports mode. I also own a 85 Mazda RX7 FC3S and I have to say the BMW feels quite different but not much slower. When you go fast you feel like you are in a space shuttle gliding smoothly, rather than riding on a RPG rocket floating and dodging like I felt in my RX7! The straight six engine sounds wonderful too! And what makes it even more beautiful is when it settles down it instantly transforms into a luxury, comfortable family car that my wife loves to be in - she HATES my RX7 for obvious reasons: too fast, noisy, smelly, too low, too hard etc... I have only attached one photo of the car as I figure you have probably seen enough of them to know them inside out, and my car is a stock standard JP imports anyway. Oh, I also have a quick question for you guys - there is a small ashtray like thing on my driver's side door that I can not figure out what it is for (please see attached photos). Can anyone please give me a clue? Thanks in advance! Hope to come here often in the future - have already browsed through a lot of the posts and found some great great knowledge out there! Cheers! Chris