[Moontan]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

I got Textar Brake pads as they are supposed to be OEM. They actually came with the sensor in the pack which was convienient. Cost was about 4k if I remember correctly. PM me if you need details.

Could you share details on where you bought the Textar brake pads with me too?

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by Moontan

Could you share details on where you bought the Textar brake pads with me too?

Check your PM.
Sending you details

[coolboy007]

Posting images of the repair bills (under warranty) that my cousin brother's F30 had for some work regarding suspension and head lamps. The car is a 2018 320D m sport we picked up pre owned last year, had done 18k kms and we got her home for 30L. The car was in standard warranty and on my strict instruction, he opted in for the 4 year warranty package.

The front struts had to be replaced at 22k kms, i was surprised on why the dampers went bust so early but the service advisor blamed Indian roads and the 18 inch low profile alloys for the premature wear. To those who think there is an issue with warranty if you change to tubeless, the car is now running on 225/50 R17 tubeless PS4 with sportline alloys whereas the car came with staggered set up and 18 inch tyres. Neither did the dealer, nor bmw India had any issues as this spec used to come with sports line variant. Bmw does not care if you switch to tubeless as long as oem specs are maintained.

The second issue was flickering of left head lamp, they swapped control modules but it still flickered. Now the dealer has replaced the front head lamp costing above 1 lakh but sadly, issue is still there. Our bimmer would be sent in again for troubleshooting.

It has been reiterated time and again to opt in for extended warranty with these premium germans, even for people buying pre owned without warranty, you need to know a good independent fng as the workshop quotes are astronomical. Full marks to Bird Auto and Bmw India though, they were fully supportive and kept informing us of the status.
The service support really means a lot, my cousin is so flattered with this no fuss warranty claim and support from bmw that he has vowed his next car would be a bmw too, still remember 4 years back Skoda rejected warranty claim for a 6000 INR halogen head lamp which had gone yellow and cracked internally.
Sharing copy of the bill and a link to the video showing the flickering, flickering starts at around 1 min mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lzdrW4sN2Y

[YashD]

Originally Posted by rahul_jo

Here is an interesting question for those who own the F30 320d. How long can one practically keep this car for?

As in how reliable is this particular model?

Mine is 4.5 years old. Has been meticulously maintained, serviced well on time, has been driven single handedly by me, sits under 2 car covers and is practically as good as new.

So far no issues (touch wood). However, at the back of my mind, I am still unsure as to how this will perform 5 years and beyond into it's life cycle.

I know this particular model was introduced in 2011. Has anyone here kept it for the last 9 years. If yes, did you go through any major/minor issues during it's life cycle?

I am extremely skeptical about German cars but seeing BMW India's increasing warranty period now, I would just keep getting the add ons and push the vehicle for as long as possible. It's a beautiful car but the constant fear of it breaking down somewhere being a German does come in mind time and again but then again, I am not letting it go anytime soon. A friend drives a 2013 Alpine White F30 clocked around 35k kms only with 0 problems cropping up till date and plans to keep it till atleast 2023.

[Moontan]

During the lockdown, my F30 sat unused quite a bit, something that is was definitely not used to. I did try and drive it as much as I could as I was locked down in the mountains, but with work and those endless zoom meetings, this meant she stepped out just a day a week on the weekends. Petrol was also a problem and she went down to less that a quarter tank by the time the lockdown ended. It's not a good idea to park a car with the huge amount of sensors that the F30 has with low fuel for an extended period; moisture and other good stuff can play havoc.

About two weeks ago, she started stumbling during a cold start and the idle was not very steady during that initial warm up before it settled down at 700 rpm. I thought the exhaust cam shaft sensor has got moisture on it from moisture in the tank and that's a pain to get to and definitely not a DIY I could do. The symptoms that the car was exhibiting also pointed to the MAF sensor being dirty (I have a BMC oil infused air filter installed ). As that's a simple DIY, I gave it a shot. I removed the MAF sensor and soaked it in laboratory grade, 99.9% IPA. 20 mins first time, threw the liquid away, dried the sensor and dunked it back into IPA for another 20 mins, dried it very well, fitted it on and went for a drive. Came back, locked the car and waited till morning.

The next day on a cold start, she fired up perfectly, did not stumble at all, settled down post warm up to a perfect 650 rpm, and remained absolutely steady.

I hope this helps anyone who find their rides in the same predicament. I tested the car for many days before I posted this. Pics of the IPA soak follow:

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

The car was in standard warranty and on my strict instruction, he opted in for the 4 year warranty package.

Good thing that he did. What was the cost of extended warranty?

Looking at the bill, except for the headlamp assembly, the cost of the other bits isn't too bad. That said, premature failure of components is something you cannot predict on cars like these and if its something very complex like a computer controlled module, those bits can really hurt your wallet.

[Akshay1234]

Looking to sell our F30, as we have the need for a larger vehicle. I wish I could keep it for longer, as its such a fun vehicle to drive.

https://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy...3-Series.html/

Attached the classifieds ad link here.

[dealer]

Bootmod3 on 320i LCI
My 320i 2017 came with the updated B48 engine producing 184bhp and 270nm of torque. The engine is a gem with supreme levels of refinement and power and for 99.9% of the population, it will never need any tinkering. I however wanted MO POWAH BABY and hence went in for a stage 1 tune by protuningfreaks. The tune cost $595 with additional OTS maps pack for $50.
Process
1. Get an OBDII to ethernet/usb cable.
2. Download bootmod3 obd agent.
3. Get the tune from the protuningfreaks website.
4. Plug in your laptop to the car and wear your seatbelt to prevent the ECU from shutting down.
5. Flash the tune from the bootmod3 website.

The entire process lasted not more than 5 minutes including the DME unlock and the results are absolutely sublime. The car is now pushing close to 265bhp and 370nm of torque. The tune is extremely smooth and so far there are no issues. The car earlier did a BMW claimed 7.2 second 0-100 but now after bootmod3 it is close to 5.5 as reported by many running this tune. I'd be happy to test this number on a closed road if someone is willing to lend me their dragy

In comfort mode the car is perfect for the city, great torque in the low end and eased throttle response. Get into sports mode however and this car goes absolutely ballistic, you really need to be careful since the car reaches illegal speeds in no time and continues to accelerate with a surge of torque that never seems to end. When this brief moment of pure joy is over (thanks to our roads and traffic) you're left with an urge to do it again and a huge grin on your face. Throttle response in this mode is instant and the ZF 8 speed really comes into a league of its own.

For anyone considering this tune, their are a few things to consider though :-
1. The tune I am running requires 95 RON fuel and my car is running on a power99 diet which is really expensive. Although i can run a 98RON tune, I wanted to keep a little bit of safety headroom in terms of boost pressure.
2. The fuel efficiency is basically none existent with the tune, a meager 5-7 kmpl in the city, compared to the earlier 9-12kmpl.
3. Although bootmod3 stage 1 is considered as an extremely safe tune, it may cause issues in the long run.
4. For anyone whose majority of driving occurs in the city, a 250bhp RWD makes no sense, the added power can't be enjoyed in the city driving scenario.

I would like to thank bhpians iliketurtles and karan561 whose 328i reviews really created an urge within me to try a 250bhp RWD sedan
Especially iliketurtles for his valuable advice and experience.

A picture of the beast

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

To those who think there is an issue with warranty if you change to tubeless, the car is now running on 225/50 R17 tubeless PS4 with sportline alloys whereas the car came with staggered set up and 18 inch tyres. Neither did the dealer, nor bmw India had any issues as this spec used to come with sports line variant. Bmw does not care if you switch to tubeless as long as oem specs are maintained.

This thought of massive repair/servicing bills has been keeping me troubled these days. My car has run flawlessly till now but is going to complete 7 years this November with the odometer almost touching 70k kms. The thought that something might go wrong now such as shockers etc raking up a huge bill is making me wonder if this is the right time to sell the car. Anyhow I wouldn't be able to drive it after 10 years due to the NGT rule.

Regarding the switch to tubeless, did you get anything in writing from BMW? Their official line is that warranty would be affected. Unofficially they are pretty cool with the tubeless switch. Even for my car, the left front shocker was replaced under warranty just after I switched to tubeless tyres at around the 40k km mark. The SA noted the tyre change in the record but the claim was passed without any fuss.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Good thing that he did. What was the cost of extended warranty?

The cost of 2 years extended warranty was around 73000 INR with tax which gives the car a total of 4 year warranty.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This thought of massive repair/servicing bills has been keeping me troubled these days. My car has run flawlessly till now but is going to complete 7 years this November with the odometer almost touching 70k kms.

F30's have been reliable without any major part failures but for a 7 year old german, you do need to find a good FNG who can work on those wear n tear parts or some small failures like wheel speed sensors etc. If you plan to send the car to bmw for each and every thing, it would burn a hole in your pocket for sure. Get all regular services at bmw to keep your service history intact but things like discs, brake pads, struts etc can be easily done outside at less than half the cost.
The bmw shocks cost over 20k for one whereas i imported a set of 4 Bilstein B6 which are performance dampers for 60k, add another 7k for installation and this would be less than 1/3rd of what bmw would have charged me.
I would be more worried about the 10 year rule since you need to find her a new home soon before the resale value just nose dives owing to this stupid rule in Delhi ncr.

Regarding the switch to tubeless, did you get anything in writing from BMW? Their official line is that warranty would be affected

That is not true, nowhere is it mentioned by BMW that changing to tubeless voids warranty. That is just over the top advice by sales/service advisors who go on saying anything. My cousin's car came with 18 inch alloys, 225 upfront and 255 at rear, we downsized to oem bmw sport line alloys with 225/50 R17 all around and there was no issue with warranty for suspension.

You never faced issues with claim for shocker since you stuck to the oem size of 225/55 R16, i switched to 225/50 R16 as there was no sport tyre in oem size and i would never get any claim approved for suspension, does not matter as i anyways switched to B6. Getting sport dampers to improve handling and comfort tyres like P3ST would have been foolish, this is the reason i went for 225/50R16 Pilot sport 3.
If you switch to alloy/tyre sizes provided by BMW India, nobody can deny warranty. If you face any issues, please let me know and i would forward my brother's warranty invoice copy and photo of the tyres.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This thought of massive repair/servicing bills has been keeping me troubled these days.

Doc, maintaining one of these fraulein's is a pain in the whatever-the-German's-call-derriere. Like coolboy007 (what a handle) correctly said, keep a quality FNG close within reach. You'll save bucketloads on maintaining the car, with zero compromise on quality vis-à-vis servicing it at BMW.

Originally Posted by dealer

Bootmod3 on 320i LCI

*snip

Congrats on unlocking the next level of powah! I agree fully that a 250 BHP turbo-petrol RWD car makes zero sense for purely in-city use. But then, what does make sense in these crazy times? Live it up a bit.

I didn't read anything about the transmission tune, so I'm going to go ahead and assume you didn't get that done, and it's a good thing too. Leave something for later; slow and steady wins the race and all that.

P.S: What's the furball's name? That's one more thing we have in common, a Shih Tzu reigning supreme over the home.

[amidoc]

Hi my 320 d run approx 19 k has stated showing a brake fluid alert . The car was last serviced in December and at 14 k . In fact while starting the car the dashboard was showing service for July 2020 while the i drive was mentioning December 2020 as per the service interval .

Does the brake fluid alert require very urgent action ? Thanks

[graaja]

Originally Posted by amidoc

Hi my 320 d run approx 19 k has stated showing a brake fluid alert . The car was last serviced in December and at 14 k . In fact while starting the car the dashboard was showing service for July 2020 while the i drive was mentioning December 2020 as per the service interval .

Does the brake fluid alert require very urgent action ? Thanks

What you see as service for July 2020 is the brake fluid change alert. December 2020 would be the oil service alert. Not sure about the urgency of brake fluid alert, but if your car is under BRI (warranty), it would be good to get it done immediately.

[dealer]

Originally Posted by amidoc

Hi my 320 d run approx 19 k has stated showing a brake fluid alert . The car was last serviced in December and at 14 k . In fact while starting the car the dashboard was showing service for July 2020 while the i drive was mentioning December 2020 as per the service interval .

Does the brake fluid alert require very urgent action ? Thanks

You should treat the matter urgently as I have experienced that not getting the brake fluid changed at specified interval can have a great effect on the brake pedal feel and also the dealer might trouble you later if you have BRI (warranty)

[Kelly66]

My Digital Dashboard:

Hi friends, here are some pics of my tablet serving as digital dashboard so that I don't get the missed out feeling while seeing the new BMW models which come with it or with a larger iDrive ��

I either keep it just behind the steering wheel (mostly late evenings) or in front of the iDrive during day time, since keeping it behind the steering wheel during the day dims the iDrive display since the tablet blocks the ambient light sensor. Of course, I can keep it near the cigarette lighter area but will need to keep taking my eyes off the road while looking down.

In front of iDrive I can also activate the DVR camera app for recording (see screenshot).

I also tried installing a WiFi rear camera but since the cigarette lighter does not keep the power on when the engine is off I had to switch on the camera every morning (camera battery used to die overnight) after unlocking the doors, which doesn't make sense. I have sold that camera and still looking for an alternative wifi mini camera which turns on automatically when I unlock the door. A camera without a battery backup should serve the purpose.

Components used for Digital dashboard (this is just my terminology):

* OBD bluetooth dongle
* 10" Android tablet
* Realdash app (free)
* DVR recording app (free)
* Car Magnetic holder to keep the tablet stable in front of iDrive



Note: I had bought a HUD display (OBD version) (that cable you see on the dash - will move it to the right side) before going for the above approach. So, I also bought an OBD splitter so that I can use the HUD and Tablet together, however, the OBD parameters won't show up on the tablet (maybe it's a splitter pin transmission speed issue). So, I use the HUD when I don't take the tablet for very short city trips.

Link to HUD display: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4599384

Thanks!