Tallman85

Well i think there is something we can do… if @Gonzo all mighty will post some links and invite folks from the Facebook forum, that might increase the interest in this forum. My opinion.

True and i agree with help from forum and the all mighty Gonzo….but i miss the old forum. I don’t know were the old folks have gone…. 😞

It is nice to keep the car long…know all the history…etc. I bought mine when it was 11 years old and although it is a two owner car, it wasnt kept as it should be. Plus in the last 5 years i had it, as soon as it touched our shores, it is like the expiry date triggered. All the rubbers and plastics are falling apart…which to be fair I expected better from bmw…much better. Plus now at 16 years it is feeling the age. My wife was given a company car - 2020 nissan leaf…and after driving the leaf, the bmw feels from the stone-age 😂 … the engine noise, the vibrations…etc. i mean dont get me wrong the bmw quality of materials and interior is 1000% superior….but still feels old now. The new gadgets are nice to have. Apart from the fact that the nissan leaf seat does not offer leg tights support - which I hate, the technology and safety is great. Imagine how a new 5’series would drive but i cannot afford that!!

You must have plenty of memories with that car…you can never let go of it.

they do tend to fall off, not being stolen. Mine flew away when I was doing 130km/h on the autostrada 😁

Thanks @Gonzo - will do that buddy. Thank you

Well, ‘surprisingly’ my car has another issue…it is losing water from the wiper washer tank…i am finding water under the car next to the front left wheel. is this a common failure? Cracks? Typical bmw biodegradable plastic? Is it accessible from the under tray? Thanks

Today I replaced the lock second hand from Lithuania ebay … €38 …working well now. It was a very straightforward job as usually its always a pain to replace something. how long will it last is another story!

Well i did mine with 1000 wet by hand, 2000, 3000 wet by hand, then i polished with the buffer with meguiar polish. They come out nice but from the inside there are water stains, hence still not great!

Same here. I had Peugeots, vw golfs, Mercedes, toyotas, opels…this is my first bmw and boy its needy! …plus i can confirm it was not built to withstand Mediterranean climate and its falling apart 😔🤬

These cars suffer from the Bridge-Syndrome! as regards to maintenance i mean….

The problem is that when i search by part number 51 21 7 202 144 it shows me a lot of different BMW models that fits on [Ebay], however, some are with 5 pins and some are with 7 pins. My plug is with 7 wires, however, I did not look at the lock damn it and I closed it off so that I could use the car. Yes I am going OEM second hand and I am not planning to keep the car for longer [I think], it just does not make sense anymore to keep it, spending a lot on it and things keep going wrong no matter how much I take care of it. It is 16 years old, and these cars were not built to last that long - I know cos I worked in the automotive industry. It needs a new headliner, it has a big oil leak now probably the sump, it needs all front arms, wishbones..etc at the front...that alone will cost min £1,500 to do all properly.

Some further observation with the panel out…the lock is actually ticking when pressing the central lock button…so i did measure some voltages too, so i am excluding the wiring. The fact that it is ticking in think that the lock is the problem. So…probably a good idea to look for a second hand one?? Or new??

Guys which pins / colours to test pls? I took it out this morning. I have a multi meter.

Hi @Gonzo - shall i open or source a second hand? As if it is the gear it should make a movement or a noise? Mine is dead all of a sudden without warnings…never had issues with it. I hate to take the panel out again…