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Interesting - I wonder why they contradict the service bulletins published by the factory? 1.5L/1000km is twice what the factory advises is acceptable...?? Reading the TIS is sooo much fun... I highly recommend it. Full of useful info.

10W60 is NOT approved for use in the S62 engines. It is for other engines, but NOT for the S62. Refer to the list of approved oils published by BMW. Read the Service Bulletin. It's all there. The list of approved Longlife-01 oils for the S62 shows the following viscosities: 0W30 0W40 5W30 5W40 Always refer to the facts.

No, Castrol RS 10W60 is NOT on the list of approved engine oils for use in the S62 engine. Read the service bulletin.

Quoting form the BMW factory information for the 2002 M5, available in TIS (Technical Information System): In this path Documents - SI Operating fluids - 11 Engine (S62) Look at list of documents for "SBS E39 11 Engine (S62)" Refer to service bulletin "SBS 110796138 Construction group 11", last updated 10/2007 Read page 12.0 "Measuring oil consumption" thoroughly Read point 14 Quoted from point 14: "For BMW spark-igniton and diesel engines, the maximum permissable engine oil consumption is 0.7L/1000km" Glenn, I'd suggest you print this service bulletin and wave it in the face of your local authorised BMW dealer :-) I can send you a copy of the bulletin if you like.

Of course, we all know that the "E" stands for "Entwicklung" or Development / Design So the E36 is the "Design-36" L means Lang or Long Remember: the abbreviations on BMWs are German, not English !! M on a motor means "Motor" :-) And S on a motor is the "Sport" version of the "M" motor (an S62 is a sportier M62) The German word for Sport is ..... Sport !!

I wish i got paid for what I do! As hybrid said - I'm an enthusiast. All my help is for free. And I have never worked for BMW or a BMW workshop....

A lot of people get confused with these cars. If it is a NZ-new car, then the remote is a wireless remote that uses 433MHz radio frequencies, and the antenna on the car is in the rear windscreen. The range is good. If the car has the alarm option fitted, then the 'clown nose' on the rear view mirror will blink when the alarm is set. If however the car is an ex-Japan E39, then it is very different. The remote is an infra-red remote, and the clown nose is the infrared receiver. Japan cars normally do not have the alarm fitted, so the clown nose will never flash (it has no LED inside it) (and no one steals cars in Japan) The range of the key is directly governed by whether the key can 'see' the clown nose. A lot of people hold the key too low, and the signal is obstructed by the door panels and other vehicle bodywork. Or too high, and the roof prevents the signal from getting to the rear view mirror. So practice pointing the key at the rear view mirror from a location where the infrared beam will shine through the windows. Remember, your eye height is not the same as key height - so just because you can see the mirror doesn't meand the key in your hand can! I have had a lady come to me and show me the new alarm and central locking remote control she had fitted to her E39 because the original key was "unreliable". I proved it otherwise, and once she realised that the key needed to see the rear view mirror, then the original key became 100% reliable to her as well :-) Another issue that impacts range of infrared is sunlight. On a bright sunny day, the sun emits infrared light and creates interference for the remote control. At night, I could unlock my E39 with the infrared remote from a distance of easily 20 metres. At day, a different story! But always reliable within 2 or 3m from the car, pointing at the mirror through a window :-) And if all of the above is common knowledge to you, then you may have bad battery contacts. Rremove the battery, polish the contacts with an rubber eraser to make them bright and shiny, and refit the battery. Tip: for reliability, do NOT touch the battery with fingers! Skin oil causes oxidisation of the battery surface resulting in bad contact after a few years. So use gloves of plastic tweezers, never fingers, when handling button batteries.

Same as 1999 E36 :-) I can send you the wiring diagram to help in diagnosis if you want. PM me your email address.

You don't state what model/year car you have. So I'll assume a 1999 E36. When the main light switch S8 is in Park or Headlights, then it supplies 12V power to the foglight switch S10. When the foglight switch S10 is on it supplies 12V power to the fog light relay K47. The fog light relay K47 switches on and supplies power to fuse F15 (7.5A) in the front power distribution box P90. The power feed goes from fuse F15 to the 2 x front fog lights and also the indicator light in the dash. Diagnosis: If the dash indicator light comes on, the switch and relay and fuse and power distribution are all OK. In this case, check the wiring on the actual bulbs, their common earth point, and check the bulb contacts themselves. If the dash indicator does not light, then check fuse F15 (7.5A) is OK. Check also relay K47 (located in left rear side of engine bay in the power distribution box) - try swapping with another relay temporarily. Make sure the relay gives a 'click' when turned on and off, have someone else switch fog lights on and off while you touch and listen to the relay. If the relay doesn't click, check the actual fog light switch itself with a multimeter Should be very easy to find the fault. Of course, if you don't have a 1999 E36 then the above may not apply. State what car you have and then I can help further.

No, because the E36 does not have an LKM. The fog light control is simple: a switch controls a relay. The relay switches the power to the fog lights.

Glenn at BM-Worx can do it So can the boys at BM Workshop All you need is the BMW GT1 diagnostic software ... it is a really simple thing to change. Plug in GT1, start it, read settings, change settings, save. Takes all of 5 minutes. Longest time is waiting for GT1 to read the car...

Common as muck here in Europe. Due to European laws which state that the rear-most protrusion from your vehicle must be the bumper (unless you are towing a trailer). Hence, towballs must be demounted when not in use. Otherwise, the whole safety purpose of the bumper is negated... So it means that factory towbars on Euro cars (and any cars sold in Europe) and all made with removable donkey-dongs. The car is only allowed to get a hard-on when towing..... :-)

I think the tow bar gets its strength from being one molded high-strength steel piece.

Get the list of Car-Key-Memory and fill it out with your preferences. Hand them the list and tell them to program the lot for you at the same time. There's a lot more settings that can be programmed. I can email you the CKM list if you PM me your email address.

I have the original BMW Electrical Troubleshooting MaAnual as a PDF. Invaluable if you want to do any electrical work or add anything.

OK, PM me your email address. In the mean time: On-board-monitor power connections Violet with white stripe is 12V accessory (terminal R) Red with green stripe is 12V battery (terminal 30) Brown with red stripe is the LCD ground Brown is normal ground

It's part of the CKM (Car-Key-Memory) and can be programmed to the owner's preferences. Programming can be done by BMW I change the CKM settings on my E39 so that the recirculating air memory (remembering last switch position) was switched on.

Didn't I send you the complete retrofit instructions for the nav? That has the full nav system wiring diagram and clearly shows all the power feeds. Including all wire colours and functions. Dead easy.

Look for one element that is not demisting - I bet it is scratched and is arcing across, creating static Use demister element conductive paint to fix. Or replace window :-)

If the violume control knob itself is broken, you can get a new one from BMW. Available as a spare part. If the aluminium shaft for the volume control is broken then a donor stereo will be needed to fix it. Did you not read my post? I gave you all the info - follow the link and you get price and availability etc. See my reply 2 or 3 posts before this one No. Air con is unaffected by the stereo.

That guy wrote crap. CD changers cannot work across x-zillion different OEM factory radios in different brand and model cars Yes.

See attached wiring diagram for the central locking in your car. e36ti_96_ZV.pdf

If the car was 2001 or newer you could reprogram it. But in a 1999 car you must swap the Jap stereo for a NZ / Euro model one Loads for sale on ebay.de or ebay.com You have a 1999 car, so the radio will be an old-generation (OG) radio, with main connector with round (not flat) pins. With the correct radio, it is plug and play. No security code required. Make sure you get the right type of replacement radio otherwise you will suffer poor FM perfomance as the way the diversity antenna system works changed in 2001. Fitting a >2001 radio in < 1999 car requires swapping the antenna amplifier for a >2001 antenna amp as well.

Here in Europe, radar detectors are illegal in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Reason is: you are not allowed to speed, and you are not allowed to have systems that will identify police enforcement and thus provide you with an ability to bypass the law enforcement points (speed cameras)

OEM BMW changer for the E46 was made by Alpine Identified as "CD Changer A" on the front panel (A means Alpine!!) The CD changer has a BMW-specific control signal (ibus) Only a BMW changer will work with the BMW factory stereo Changers are easy to find, always a few on eBay, sometimes some on TradeMe.