Here are some examples of owners posts
Of course You'll find more Owners Experiences on the Forum
Posted by Len Cacioppo
I am looking for others experiences here…
I have a 1994 CSi (have had it less than three weeks).
I finally received my owners manual which is supposed to cover the 840Ci, 850Ci and the 850CSi.
I am noticing some discrepancies between the owners manual and what the car actually does:
The instruction manual states that the theft alarm can only be activated/deactivated by the remote.
However, if I use my keys in the door, the alarm chirps on (one chirp) and off (two chirps) accordingly.
I can activate / deactivate the alarm with the key, but the alarm does not chirp...
In the section for remote control, it states under “convenience opening” that I can open the windows and sunroof by continuously holding the unlock button on the remote. No dice.
Kinda wierd thing, some owners are able to open/close windows & sunroof by continously holding the unlock/lock key on the remote, some are not able (inc. me, i'm ownly able to put all down, but not up).You can still do this directly with your key, turning left/right for a long time in the keyhole.
In the section for remote control, it states under “to lock” that I should press the lock button once to arm the alarm, tilt sensor and lock the doors. It then states that if I need to disable the tilt sensor, I should press the locking button again. My experience has been that pressing the button once locks the doors (only), pressing the button a second time sets the alarm (the alarm chirps), and pressing the button a third time causes the LED on the center console to light for an extended period of time and then start blinking again (I assume this is disarming the tilt sensor, but I have not come up with a good way to test this yet).
Remote has 3 buttons. Lock, double lock, and panic
When I get out of the car & attempt to use the remote, sometimes it works & sometimes it don’t (I have to then lock the car manually with the key).
Sounds like a low battery. This is going to sound silly, but, hold the remote against part of your body (such as forehead) and see if it increases the range.
My speedometer is off by quite a bit (varies with speed, but up to 8 mph) but within the rather wide tolerances allowed by BMW. Does anybody know of a way to fix this ?
My speedo is of by a linear amount, i.e., 3 mph at 30, 6 mph at 60, and 9mph at 90.
Maybe a speedo calibration shop can help. Try nhspeedometer.com
When I set the middle knob on the air vents (central ones above the MID) all the way to the red dot, the air coming out of the vent is not as hot as I would expect it to be, nor does it act the way my wife’s car does (1998 328ic).
Hotter air on red and colder air on blue.
Car: 850i
Year: ?
Author/Owner: Gregg
Problem:
This morning (for the first time) I noticed a perodic mechanical noise coming from the instrument pod area. The noise happens even when all electrical accessories are off (including the HVAC). It is there whether the car is in gear or not. It happens at about 4 second intervals. It can be heard inside the car when the radio is off at idle and can also be heard if you place your ear near the windsheild wiper resting area at the point where the drivers side windshield pillar meets the engine bay area. Anyone ever heard this noise? It is a sign of something bad? Note: All monitors report OK - meaning "Check" is OK and temperature is always unwaveringly dead center between H and C.
Solutions/Follow-ups:
Unknown:
My 95-740 does the same thing.....dealer told me it was some sort of drain plug under dash that was causing a perculating sound, or clicking. It has to do with the coolant system, and when it is fully pressurized it becomes louder. $20 parts but 2 hours of labor according to my dealer.
Car: 850i
Year: 91-92/93
Author/Owner: Phil S
Problem:
FYI: spark plugs
Solutions/Follow-ups:
While I was digging through my files to respond to another Board Member's question, I came across something that will be helpful to all you M-70 engine types out there. Changing spark plugs on our cars is a pain in the A**, so I decided to do some research a while back and do it just once (or not have to do it again for a VERY long time). The direct equivalent of the stock plug in platinum is NGK PZFR5F, stock number 7378. Now for the 840 and CSi crowd I would assume there would also be equivalents, but you'll have to call NGK (engineering) on that. You see all spark plugs share common characteristics such as thread size, reach, heat range, resistance etc. Although their (NGK's) cross reference did not list a replacement for the OEM BMW plug, by dissecting the OEM number, they were able to find a direct equivalent for me. When I changed them the engine actually seemed to run smoother, and the original plugs only had about 18k miles on them. Good luck!
Phil S
