[amidoc]

Hi

Needed some guidance on the renewal of my insurance policy for 320 d which completes 1 yr in December

IDV is taken as 34.2 L
Should I take RTI (Return to Invoice ) ?
Also separate coverage for tires

The car comes with BMW secure. To renew the same on a stand alone basis is expensive

Rgds

[kartavya]

Ok so first issue has come up in my car tonight. The car was purchased in March 2016 and only run 10330 kms. However due to various reasons a service in April was missed and is overdue.

Today suddenly while driving I get the rear brake pad error, saying I ahould get it replaced with the service center. With that I also got a engine oil error. Now when I try and check the engine oil it shows the level as perfect but in the vehicle control section it shows as engine oil service required.

I am more worried about the rear brake pad issue and find it very weird that they are due for change at 10k (I dont drive with excess speed).

Any suggestions?

[androdev]

The car will tell you to change engine oil at least once in 12 months even if the usage is less.

Ideally the brake pads should last for 20k km or so, definitely worth investigating why you got only 10k km usage. You can check if the brakes are constant contact with rotors. Stop car on flat road in P mode without applying brakes. Draw few chalk marks on rotors and drive for some distance and stop in p mode without applying brakes and see if chalk marks are rubbed off.

When you visit the dealership for brake job, take a look at all the eight pads and the rotors for any uneven wear.

There is a possibility that the pads are of softer material and combined with your driving style, they do wear out in 10k km. This is a fairly common complaint among BMW, Mercedes owners. There is a reason why the BMW brakes offer so much feel and confidence.

I do hope you'll find a solution. Keep us posted.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by kartavya

I am more worried about the rear brake pad issue and find it very weird that they are due for change at 10k (I dont drive with excess speed).

Any suggestions?

Thats because the car was hardly used. This leads to surface rust building up. The pads spend more time cleaning the surface rust than actual stopping. Add to that that the front pads bear more load than the back due to the load proportioning valve. Hence rust builds up at the rear discs more frequently than the front.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by kartavya

purchased in March 2016 and only run 10330 kms. However due to various reasons a service in April was missed and is overdue.

Today suddenly while driving I get the rear brake pad error, saying I ahould get it replaced with the service center. With that I also got a engine oil error. Now when I try and check the engine oil it shows the level as perfect but in the vehicle control section it shows as engine oil service required.

I am more worried about the rear brake pad issue and find it very weird that they are due for change at 10k (I dont drive with excess speed).

It's not good to skip oil service and that too on a machine asking a change after a Year. More then the brake pads, you should be worried about the condition of the oil in your engine and the potential harm it might be causing to the engine components. Brake pads etc are consumable, easily replaceable not the engine. You should visit the dealership and get the car serviced, it might be just a software-related thing as 10 K is too low for pad change.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Hence rust builds up at the rear discs more frequently than the front.

Rear ones will go first on RWD BMW's as those are the ones being driven

[graaja]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Ok so first issue has come up in my car tonight. The car was purchased in March 2016 and only run 10330 kms. However due to various reasons a service in April was missed and is overdue.

Today suddenly while driving I get the rear brake pad error, saying I ahould get it replaced with the service center. With that I also got a engine oil error. Now when I try and check the engine oil it shows the level as perfect but in the vehicle control section it shows as engine oil service required.

I am more worried about the rear brake pad issue and find it very weird that they are due for change at 10k (I dont drive with excess speed).

Any suggestions?

When you say you missed a service in April, I guess you missed the service in April 2018 and have done one service in 2017.

BMWs have conditional based service where the service interval is set to 1 year / 12K kilometers, and thereby change according to usage. if the car is driven too much in traffic, the service duration can drop even less than 10K kilometers. So, even if you have not used the car much, do not ignore oil change intervals. As Turbanator has pointed out, get the oil change done immediately. Over time, oil loses viscosity and that is the reason it has to be changed in a year's time irrespective of usage. Otherwise, this can lead to engine component failures.

Brake pad replacement at 10K is a little surprising if you do not drive aggressively. This could be a simple sensor error too. The service center should be able to clarify after checking.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Ok so first issue has come up in my car tonight. The car was purchased in March 2016 and only run 10330 kms. However due to various reasons a service in April was missed and is overdue.

Today suddenly while driving I get the rear brake pad error, saying I should get it replaced with the service center. With that I also got a engine oil error. Now when I try and check the engine oil it shows the level as perfect but in the vehicle control section it shows as engine oil service required.

I feel it is the sensor that might have become faulty and hence the warning. Also whats the status of the front brake pads. If it is indeed to do with your driving, then they would also have lost considerable life and the number of kms left to change must be not high. For comparison, the brake pads in my car lasted a cool 40k kms.

The car needs engine oil change every 12000 kms/1 year whichever is earlier. Now this usually depends on the traffic conditions in which you are driving. For instance, my car sees a lot of bumper to bumper traffic and in these last 50k kms, it has always asked for the oil change around the 8000-9000 km mark. But regardless do get it changed atleast once every year. Have you got any service done yet on the car since the time of purchase?

[kartavya]

Thank you for the responses everyone. For clarification, the car was serviced in April 2017 but it missed the service in April 2018. The total kms covered since purchase (2 years) has been 10300 kms.

I am sending it to the workshop first thing on Monday and going to be there as well. As adviced by most of you, I will look into the brake issue but will change the engine oil urgently.

On a side note, I did keep an eye on it and it was always showing as around about the maximum in the vehicle information section in the car.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Thank you for the responses everyone. For clarification, the car was serviced in April 2017 but it missed the service in April 2018. The total kms covered since purchase (2 years) has been 10300 kms.

On a side note, I did keep an eye on it and it was always showing as around about the maximum in the vehicle information section in the car.

Then as I said it is not the brake pad itself thats worn out.

Also BMW would ask you to send a mail to them acknowledging that you have delayed the service of your car for the time in question. This is for their record and can affect any warranty related issues later on. So try not to skip services.

[kartavya]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Then as I said it is not the brake pad itself thats worn out.

Also BMW would ask you to send a mail to them acknowledging that you have delayed the service of your car for the time in question. This is for their record and can affect any warranty related issues later on. So try not to skip services.

My bad, in my previous post I meant the engine oil was showing as maximum. Infact I just checked and the engine oil level is ok, but in the service requirements it says to engine oil due.

I also feel it could be a sensor, because the front brakes seem fine and it is showing life till 48,000 kms.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kartavya

My bad, in my previous post I meant the engine oil was showing as maximum. Infact I just checked and the engine oil level is ok, but in the service requirements it says to engine oil due.

It is not only the volume but also the consistency and other properties of the oil and hence the 1 year limit. They will ask you for the mail even if you overshoot the kms or time limit even marginally.

[kartavya]

Update:According to the SA the brake wiring on the rear right tyre has been chewed by a rat a bit. He is still working on the issue. He has attached photos and videos of the same.

First time I have had this issue and he said if he can't solve it the cost could go north of 1L .

[androdev]

Ouch. That's some serious bad luck. Hope it turns out to be a simple fix. Does your car stay parked for long durations in the same spot?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Update:According to the SA the brake wiring on the rear right tyre has been chewed by a rat a bit.

First time I have had this issue and he said if he can't solve it the cost could go north of 1L .

I would suggest getting the wiring repaired rather than replaced. My cars AC unit conked off along with check engine light and the reason was rat bite. They rectified the issue by repairing the wires from the places they were chewed upon.

[kartavya]

I am attaching the image of the wire chewed by the rat as sent by the SA. He did mention that he is trying to repair them and not replace them. He is confident that it should be enough but was not a 100% sure.

The car does stay in the same spot but we have 4 other cars and this has been a first in nearly 10+ years of staying at the same place. Obviously the rat decided to select the most coveted out of the lot.