Jun

Went for a quick charge and stopover. Saw Brayden’s M50 I4 at a Tesla supercharger network, which is now open to other cars with CCS2 plugs. No M5 as it’s too costly for this trip, just the commuter black Model Y.

Here is the long answer https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/motoring-blog/why-does-my-speedo-read-higher-than-road-side-speed-monitors/ it’s not an issue for cars I put bigger tires like Prado or Cayenne, taller tires will roll longer but you may over speed even if your speedometer is under speed limit. I find the Tesla to be 1 kmh under reporting only just comply w/ this weird rule.

Nothing really wrong with the car, but I already booked at Powerhaus because of the misfire. I was able to fix the misfire myself, since it takes a long time to queue in Powerhaus I decided to keep the booking. I still had some stash of parts that are just gathering dust for years. Finally replaced all 10 fuel injectors, thermostat and got fresh brake fluid. If anyone needs working injectors or thermostat (69k km mileage only) I can send them to you. DM me, I might keep 2 injectors just for quick diagnostics in the future. A few more parts still waiting to be used: upgraded throttle actuator gears and mosfet, fuel pump/filter… Got new keys cut by @promo yay! Finally no more crappy weak remote range because of old sealed batteries.

BTW if you need a working thermostat I have one. Just replace mine, nothing wrong with it but had a new one for a while since the 50th M-anniversary when car tried to kill itself. I replaced the expansion tank long ago but thermostat came in late so was only able to replace it yesterday.

Hello fellow rod bearer 🤣 Very unique interior. Actually the cooled and ventilated seats is one my favorite feature, which I thought of nothing initially until I first used it on a hot day. Look for M-tech YouTube channel to see M5 maintenance and tips, you can also look at my thread here of what I have done so far.. We also started with a low k car, 54k kms. Stock and untouched. It’s got its pros, but cons. All of the big ticket items will be done in your ownership. Happy to help if you have any questions about some issues that you may encounter.

Yes most people that criticize don’t see underneath the cyber truck. Definitely an engineering and manufacturing feat, different times. Same here, me and my wife actually thought we will not like our Tesla initially. We just got it as a spreadsheet decision, as our fuel bills was $1,000 - $1,200 a month. EVs are just different, also lots of engineering as well just different. The none car part is also great, I can sleep in it while waiting for my daughters archery, cabin is always preconditioned hot or cold, constantly getting upgraded with new useful functions as you own it. I do also enjoy more of the M5, coming from a silent EV the V10 and SMG does sound and move more brutal. It seems i5 edrive 40 touring will never come here? I did see an edrive 40 on the road, but only M60 is sold here?

We had ours from filthy dog for over a year. 3 of them seems still pretty good.

We have used Jon at Auto38 before for our M5. Since he has moved we have used Powehaus, we have our old Cayenne done there as well. I do some repair and maintenance myself. My tools and skills are limited. I have also used A1 auto electrical as Aaron is good for electrical issues. I have used C. Moore motors for our Skyline and Prado, he is good if you are not too dear with your car. Premiair for aircon is very good. All my batteries are done by Luke at Battery town in lower hutt. I have visited Mike Page once just to check our M5 after we purchased it, he is too far for me. There are good mechanics out there just need to find them, not all are perfect. Even the best has made mistakes, I either fix it, let them redo or occasionally get a 2nd opinion.

The M5 ownership has never a dull moment. Last week I have another misfire, this time it’s the opposite symptoms. Misfire on cold start, no misfire when the engine is proper temp. Sure enough the other ionic current control unit was the issue. I didn’t bother to swap the units anymore just bought the part and replaced it. This is about $500 USD / $750 NZD each, well at least the labor was free. This is easy to replace yourself if you are careful. 2 test drives today, no more misfires. Ok I hope the rest of 2024 will be boring.

If you have a persistent misfire that appears after car is warm (after 5 mins). This is an easier fix than coils and spark plugs but more expensive. Just remove top air box for room but if you have better tools you can just remove it directly. It’s just 4 bolts per unit per side. Easy to diagnose, swap units, run car for 5 minutes if misfire cylinders just swaps it’s likely the ionic current control unit. Just be careful with the wire harness and plug. Coils and plugs near the firewalls from what I know is tricky, I got Jon to replace all 10 when 1 of them misfired. Get a real mechanic like Jon; I am an armchair mechanic, with a sprained finger and a daughter that cares about not straining my finger further 😇

I guess M5 ownership means something has to happen every year. Got a misfire a few weeks ago, I just thought hmmm this is odd just got 10 new coils and 10 new spark plugs less than 10k kms. Anyway, I read a little and I found a good potential culprit... Ionic Current Control unit. Fancy pants distributor that BMW experimented on the S85. I thought it doesn't seem to be hard to diagnose so I gave it a try. Swap the left and right unit around, sure enough the misfire just went from cylinder 8 to 3. The part wasn't cheap, but to reach it was relatively easy. Just remove the airbox, it's cover and wire harness. My daughter helped me a bit, as I have a finger injury. We discussed it a bit, why I think my theory is correct and just order the part. Ordered from FCP Euro with a kind discount from the CEO, about a week after it arrived along with some other parts. Today my daughter helped me again, my finger is taking ages to heal. Top part is the new one, bottom is the broken one. The other working seems to have been replaced as well by previous owner. I may order another one eventually, ordering 2 will definitely attract customs. Test driven the car, that sorted out the misfire which will appear when car in on temp. I hope the rest of the year will be boring...

Spotted an AMG BMW 🤣

Finally fixed my electrical issues: abs, dsc, smg, trunk not opening, key, lights, etc... the culprit is an ABS front wheel sensor. Its seems the original is shorter as per Aaron at A1 auto electrical caused all the chaos, shipped 2 new ABS wheel speed sensors to replace it. Errors are gone, after it being persistent in the last few weeks instead of being intermittent over a year. Revised part number is 34-52-7-853-583 about $145 USD each for original BMW. Local dealer is around $500 NZD each. I still have the old pair if anybody wants it but will throw them away eventually.

Saw a couple of Z3, Z4 and M2 yesterday at Heritage Park

Minor update, ever since taking that longer road trip to Mangatainoka the diff chatter is significantly better. I guess it only needed a real long drive to get diff oil in. So far no electrical panic since changing the IBS as well, only discharge warning when it had to be left while we where out of town. I had never had this warning, so likely that old IBS is really busted. Aaron also couldn’t get any data out of past 2 days. I also just changed the wipers, so far 2023 has been a boring year… knock on wood 😅 Got also parts accumulating in the shelves and to do items. 10 injectors, fuel pump, thermostat, throttle body actuator gears, etc. I am looking to change our keys, the battery is probably super low now. I know you can replace the battery by soldering, but I might buy an aftermarket key and code that in case I break the original keys.