[vb-saan]

Congratulations Androdev! Thats quite a replacement for the Laura L&K. So now this thread will change to a 5 v/s A4 comparison? Awesome

[Durango Dude]

@Androdev: Pretty late in the day, but congratulations on the 520 d. I have been driven in one and the diesel 'thrr' is inescapable as you have mentioned in your report, but ride is very plush. Funny, that front passenger airbag has a switch in a 50L car, my Elantra detects front passenger automatically and switches airbag either on or off, via sensor in the front passenger seat.

[anekho]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

@Androdev: Pretty late in the day, but congratulations on the 520 d. I have been driven in one and the diesel 'thrr' is inescapable as you have mentioned in your report, but ride is very plush. Funny, that front passenger airbag has a switch in a 50L car, my Elantra detects front passenger automatically and switches airbag either on or off, via sensor in the front passenger seat.

The switch for turning the passenger airbag on or off is for when you fix one of those baby seats. The Passenger airbag has to be switched off then.

[mrsherlock]

Originally Posted by anekho

The switch for turning the passenger airbag on or off is for when you fix one of those baby seats. The Passenger airbag has to be switched off then.

Are you talking about infant/toddler/booster car seats? To my knowledge, putting those baby seats on the front passenger seats is not recommended. They are always supposed to be in the back seat.

[anekho]

Originally Posted by mrsherlock

Are you talking about infant/toddler/booster car seats? To my knowledge, putting those baby seats on the front passenger seats is not recommended. They are always supposed to be in the back seat.

Yeah. Those baby seats can be used in the front as long as the airbag isn't active. In general, the rear is the better option though. People use the front with airbag off, when they're the only ones in the car - so the baby isn't lonely.

[androdev]

Update after a recent Bangalore - Chikmagalur - Bangalore trip:

- Terrible roads with huge craters especially between Belur and Chikmagalur. I have finally mastered to drive this car at 0.0001 kmph speed so it doesn't scrape the bottom.

- Excellent mileage as usual, the fuel tank was little over half-mark and was able to return home without having to refuel. 80KM worth fuel still left. Got 14.5 kmpl on average.

- Saw more BMWs on the highway than Mercs! Had the company of a 530D for a brief period - I didn't alter my rhythm - but I could see how good that car accelerates compared to my 520D.

- Rear-left tyre is losing pressure. It was less than 15 psi when checked before the trip!! Car never warned me! Laura definitely warned me at such low levels! Filled it up to 30 psi and checked again before return journey after 3-days and it was 20 psi. Topped it up again to 30 psi. Looks like the tyre is punctured and pressure-monitoring of BMW is pretty lousy. My theory is that it uses ABS-based tyre rpm monitoring to indirectly detect loss of pressure but it being a run-flat the tyre rpm doesn't increase due to thick sidewall that prevents the reduction in tyre diameter. Basically a bad system. Need to figure out where to get the tyre puncture repaired.

- Rear side-window sun-blind nylon screen is coming off. This part got pulled during a scuffle (same time the wiper stalk broke) so BMW is not at fault. Let us see if it can be fixed at a reasonable cost :-)

- I have been test driving few cars now and then to find a replacement for the Laura. I did not do so much research while buying this 520d, so I have always wondered if I made the right choice by picking up the 520d. Well - this is undoubtedly the most VFM and practical car out there for someone who enjoys driving. Low GC and lack of spare tyre are two drawbacks but not deal breakers. I drive real slow over the bumps and I carry a full-wheel spare on long drives.

[androdev]

Started investigating the RFT repair vs replace issue:

My observations:
1. If puncture/damage is not on/near the side-wall - you can repair it.
2. If you have not driven on a flat-tire for long, so the side-wall is not damaged - you can repair it.

The repair is not different from regular tubeless tires. I will update this thread as I make progress.

Here is an excellent write-up I found on:
MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums - FAQ & DIY: Wheels and Tyres

[androdev]

One of the tires is having a slow leakage, so decided to get it fixed. As mentioned in the earlier posts I bought a BMW jack and a full-wheel spare. So decided to fix the spare on the car so that the punctured tire can be taken for repair - better than taking the car to those crowded tire shops.

Experienced the good-old german engineering first hand. Better than the VW/Skoda version that I was used to. I never opened the sealed box that has the BMW jack. I was really impressed when I opened it. It contained:

1. hand gloves :-) so finally i have used hand gloves while working on the car - felt like a real professional!
2. white wax crayon stick - to mark the puncture spots on the tires, or to remember 1,2,3,4 in case of wheel swap/rotation.
3. Instruction booklet - that explains how to change wheels
4. Foldable wheel chock
5. Good quality bag with all kinds of straps, pockets to hold all these
6. Scissor jack (not the flimsy VW/Merc type of jack)
7. Ratchet (to work the jack up/down)
8. Torque wrench (that doesn't torque the bolts beyond the spec'ed torque)

Everything is built to last and feels heavy and 'german'!

(Wax crayon and instruction manual are missing from the pic)

Source: OEM Scissor Jack Kit - BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)

Oh I should also mention that the car has sturdy piece of plastic for a jack point (sorry no picture).

My hands were clean after the wheel change :-) BMW FTW!

[androdev]

Breaking news:

Went to yercaud for a weekend with colleagues. Started back today early at 5am to reach Bangalore early. In middle of the Yercaud-Salem road - I was following an Indica. Indica cleared a 5-6" stone that was on the road. It being a hairpin bend, I did not have enough gap so did not see the stone and just followed the India. Boom! Car transmission error came "transmission failure, call BMW mobile servie". It was 530am I guess. AT fluid is leaking. Parked the car and have gone through the drill of calling insurance, etc. and now waiting for the tow truck to come. Luckily they have one available in Salem. It has been two hours since breakdown - my friend and me have gone for a morning walk on the beautiful twisty road, took some pictures and now it is raining, so sitting in the car and doing some surfing.

I have always felt ground-clearance is a major concern. Luckily it failed on me while I am with a friend and not with wife and kids :-) I will have to see the damage - insured by Secure - but you never know the fine print till it hits you.

Will keep you guys posted as things unfold.

[S_U_N]

@androdev: Sad to hear about this. Hope your car comes back to life soon.

[.cArMaNiA]

@androdev: oops!! a 6'' stone has given your BMW a major blow. Hope she is back on road soon. I had a similar incident on my Zen way back( i was driving at slow speed, around 40km/hr), engine oil was dripping, i stopped,inspected & drove to the nearest service station. Packing of engine casing was changed & it was fine there after. But yours being a BMW,is a completely different story, so i hope damage is not much & it doesn't hit your pocket hard.

[Ravich]

Originally Posted by androdev

4. Foldable wheel chock
5. BMW FTW!

Had never read the instruction manual after buying the space saver spare kit . Used to wonder what item 4 was !
Heartily agree everything feels beautifully engineered.

[androdev]

Update:

Where do I begin?!

After reporting the breakdown at 5:30AM, a tow truck reached the spot at ~10AM. By this time a lot of AT oil leaked and AT would not move to any mode other than P - not even neutral. So the tow truck could not budge the car and around 12 noon it was decided that a BMW mechanic would be needed to get the AT in to N mode. The mechanic eventually reached the spot at 8PM in the night, and the car was finally on the truck at 10PM. So the great AT technology made it impossible to put the damn car on the truck till 10PM - nearly 16 hours! I could have left the spot soon after the tow truck was sent by Bajaj Allianz (at 10am) but being a car lover just wanted to be part of the deal - but gave up at around 4PM and left for Bangalore. So I now officially hate AT cars - I never liked them but there is no 'big' car with MT these days so was forced to buy AT only.

Now coming to the flaws in F10 that is the root cause:
1. The stone did not touch the front bumper! So the lowest point of the car is not the front bumper. How cruel is that! My speed was so low (hairpin bend) that only bumper should have got damaged.
2. Only engine section has a metal shield (less than 3ft depth) underneath. The transmission has a paper-fiber shield! ***. There is no under body protection except for the engine section. Even the cheapest Laura comes with a full metal jacket underneath.
3. AT will always die in P mode and there is no way to get into N mode - unless a mechanic gets underneath it. And get this, you can't put the car in N unless the engine is running even under normal conditions. So whether you have a dead-battery, dead-engine or dead-AT, you will be stuck in P mode and breakdown recovery is going to be a big deal. My guess is this will be true for all new German AT cars.

Estimate came to 7.75 lakhs that includes ~6.5L for transmission alone. Since the part has to come from Germany I am looking at 3-4 weeks of repair time best-case. Insurance will hopefully cover the full amount but you never know till it is all over.

Navnit Bangalore folks have been very helpful. The service manager was in touch with me since 6AM and ensured that I could hand over the vehicle to insurance and leave the spot (but I decided to stay).

Bajaj Allianz could have done a better job. They promised to arrange for a taxi and did not do so. Also they said I could reimburse only for 100KM distance - which is weird. I arranged for my driver+car come from Bangalore so this was not an issue.

It was raining most of the day, the cell phone signal was poor, cell phone battery was dying, there was no place to get some food, etc. Enough drama :-) Fortunately it happened at 6AM so I had the whole day to get the car out of there - imagine if it had happened in the night + if my family was traveling with me!

I have to write to BMW about this. We have a corolla at home that has done some 1.3 lakh kms and going strong - I can't stand the constant comparison between these two cars at home :-)

[Akshay1234]

Sir thats just plain bad luck. I don't think you should blame the a/t for it. Its BMWs fault for not providing enough protection underneath. Then again I'm sure you would have avoided the stone if you could have seen it earlier, I mean 6" is a pretty big stone.

[androdev]

It sure is bad luck and accidents do happen. But most of us will expect that anything that clears front-bumper should clear the rest of the vehicle. Next time when you get a chance see the underside of the F10, you will know what I mean.

How does BMW expect that this paper-fiber-whatever shield underneath will last in India? Drive through 6-inches of water a couple times and you have had it.

As per the AT, I generally hate AT stuff. This time I left wondering what should have been simple tow-job became such a big deal because AT died in P (I understand it is for safety but I should have some means to get the car moving without needing a mechanic on the spot)

Here is the under body shield:
Source:
RealOEM.com * BMW F10 520d Underhood shield


part#1 shield covering the AT is what ruptured, it is just paper/fiber (the type of stuff used in wheel-well padding). It is not even hard-plastic.