[nirvanaguy19]

Originally Posted by graaja

As Adi mentioned, BMW only supports CarPlay. If your head unit has the supporting hardware, it is possible to enable CarPlay. Check out the below thread.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...eries-g30.html

Thanks. I checked my vin on bimmertech and the hardware doesnt seem to have carplay inbuilt. I dont really like iOS so moving to Iphone was not really an option anyway. I guess I am out of luck for now, will try an aftermarket swap of the unit once the warranty of the car lapses

[madhav14]

So, after 6 months of Confusion, after many twists and turns, bugging our forum members in numerous threads, considering more than 7-8 cars as options - Finally I have joined the 3 Series Club. Got myself a 2016 BMW 320D White which is in Pristine Condition.
These used car markets confuse you a lot, you know. There were many times where I've almost finalised on a Skoda Octavia, 525D, 530D, Range Rover Evoque and even considered buying a new Endeavour. But, I've realised that this F30 model of 3 series has been regarded as Driver's Delight (even better than 520d in handling) and also it's always been my dream since 2013. And I believe, the best time to fulfill your dream is always NOW.

What's better than Dreaming without limits and Making all those Dreams Come true? So decision taken Purely with Heart, and went ahead to buy the 3 series with my eyes closed. Also, the fact that I can't downgrade to 3 again if I buy a 5 series now, has helped me decide to move up the ladder slowly and enjoy each car.

It's been a month since I have taken this car, and I should say it's a PURE DELIGHT. There was not even a single instance where I got down the car without a smile or grin.
I'll write up an ownership review as soon as possible. For now, sharing an initial delivery pic here.

A big thanks to @a4anurag for bearing with me and my confusion for 6 long months and guiding me on the purchase.

[drmohitg]

My 320d is going to complete 5 years next month with the odo @ 52k kms. I faced a peculiar problem yesterday evening while starting the car on my way back from work. On pressing the engine start stop button, the car started vibrating vigorously and the engine made an effort to start with the rpm hovering around 3-400 rpms and this kept happening for 10 seconds before the car died down back to parked mode. This was very similar to how in regular cars we used to get a long engine crank in early morning starts when the battery used to be on its last stages. Only difference is the car didn't start/reach its idle rpm range. I tried to start it again a couple of times and the same thing repeated itself. There was no warning sign or any error message on the iDrive.

I felt it was due to the battery possibly since the car is now 5 years old. I called up BMW dealership and the advisor there said that he feels its not due to the battery as if the battery is dead then the car wont make any effort to start at all. He maintained that BMWs are different in that sense that there is either full power from the battery or zero with no middle room, like the early morning long start scenario I explained above. Anyways he suggested me to get the car towed to them and hence I contacted the insurance provider ( ICICI). They said they will send their RSA to my location in the morning ( as requested by me) and first he will check the vehicle and then recommend a tow truck if needed.

Next morning in front of the RSA mechanic, to my utter amusement, the car started in one go as always with no sign of anything gone wrong. I shut the engine and tried restarting the car twice again and each time it behaved normally. The mechanic then went to check the battery and concluded that it was the culprit and was showing lower than normal values. Now to me it sounds wrong, as how would a weak battery that could not start the engine the previous evening, would overnight gather power to start it the next morning. I would rather expect it lose more charge overnight.

Anyways since the car was starting, I immediately took it to BMW dealership. They maintained their stance that it isn't the battery and would rather be a fuel line related issue where ample fuel is not being fed to the engine. Now that makes sense to me as the car's behaviour was in accordance where it the engine was trying to start but was not getting enough fuel and hence gave up after trying for 10-15 seconds. Anyways after a day of checks in which they said they will first check the battery in detail and give it a full charge and discharge cycle, followed by a complete check of the fuel system and then the electricals. To my frustration, they have not been able to find anything wrong with any component and the issue hasn't returned.

So please advice me as to what can be the issue here and if anyone else has faced this. The problem was very much there that day and I had to leave the car and take a cab to home. Now it was fine that day but I am scared if the same thing would happen on a trip or at a place where I will be stranded as a result. Even towing etc it going to be a headache from such a place. Also the car's extended warranty would cease next month end and I fear that this issue will recur later and I will be made to bear the cost of repairs.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Anyways since the car was starting, I immediately took it to BMW dealership. They maintained their stance that it isn't the battery and would rather be a fuel line related issue where ample fuel is not being fed to the engine. Now that makes sense to me as the car's behaviour was in accordance where it the engine was trying to start but was not getting enough fuel and hence gave up after trying for 10-15 seconds. Anyways after a day of checks in which they said they will first check the battery in detail and give it a full charge and discharge cycle, followed by a complete check of the fuel system and then the electricals. To my frustration, they have not been able to find anything wrong with any component and the issue hasn't returned.
.

Well, initially my thought would have been battery or starter. Not sure why BMW thinks their car batteries are either completely fine or completed dead. Leaving that aside, when you made the attempt to start, was that shortly after you shut it down? I am asking, because worn starters sometimes fail to work properly when they are hot/warm. They will do fine when the engine has cooled down, but especially with an engine switched off, the first 15-30 minutes it gets really hot under the hood and that can effect older starters to the point where it will not be able to crank the engine quickly enough anymore.

Did the BMW try to pull the DTC (error codes?)

Jeroen

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Well, initially my thought would have been battery or starter. Not sure why BMW thinks their car batteries are either completely fine or completed dead. Leaving that aside, when you made the attempt to start, was that shortly after you shut it down? I am asking, because worn starters sometimes fail to work properly when they are hot/warm. They will do fine when the engine has cooled down, but especially with an engine switched off, the first 15-30 minutes it gets really hot under the hood and that can effect older starters to the point where it will not be able to crank the engine quickly enough anymore.

Did the BMW try to pull the DTC (error codes?)

Jeroen

No sir the car was parked for at least 3-4 hours before I attempted to start it again in the evening. Regarding the battery, I have usually ensured that I drive the car regularly but during the first half of this month, it was parked since I had to attend to some medical emergency in another town. since coming back I drove it last weekend ( 5 days before this episode) and it was working fine.

BMW says there are no error codes at all. It is as if the problem never occurred as per them. I regret not recording the issue when it was happening.

[androdev]

There is some truth in what SA told about the BMW battery. The battery management system decides a bunch of things based on the juice left in the battery such as turning off comfort features, idrive, lights, etc. to prevent further draining of the battery. I have seen this in action in my car when it was time to change the battery. It was turning off all non-critical systems so that I was able to start the engine. So if your battery was indeed week, you would have seen this non-critical features turned off. Though I have not seen but it is possible that it will prevent cranking the engine in case this system decides there isn't enough juice to perform a successful engine start. In all other cars I owned (incl Mercedes), the battery drains completely in case you leave something on for long enough time.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by androdev

There is some truth in what SA told about the BMW battery. The battery management system decides a bunch of things based on the juice left in the battery such as turning off comfort features, idrive, lights, etc. to prevent further draining of the battery. I have seen this in action in my car when it was time to change the battery.

I understand sir and I believe in their ability to test a battery and tell if it is the problem or not. More so since the battery isn't covered under BSI and I would have been paying for it anyways. It is the "not finding anything wrong" part which is troubling. I feel the only explanation would be if something was wrong in the fuel supply system. And since it worked fine later and even they couldn't diagnose any issue, it must not be a structural issue, but more to so with some sensor. now I am not an expert on this and hence do not even know if I am making sense. Just looking for pointers to enable me to ask them to check specific areas which may be the culprit. more than the warranty getting over next month, I am concerned about getting stranded in some remote area on an unpleasant day.

[ToyotaFan]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Just looking for pointers to enable me to ask them to check specific areas which may be the culprit. more than the warranty getting over next month, I am concerned about getting stranded in some remote area on an unpleasant day.

I know it might not be the advise what you are looking for but I believe this is the right time to sell your BMW considering it's almost 5 years old and the warranty is coming to an end. I know about GTOs what to do with your 5 year old car thread but I believe it is not entirely relevant in NCR for diesels today. Due to the 10year ban I am pretty sure you will start losing value pretty fast and hardly anyone would be interested to buy a 7-8 year old diesel car to run for just a couple of years in Delhi for a decent sum of money. As far as I know you have had a pleasant ownership experience with your BMW and haven't had to incur any major expenditure other than the BSI. In Delhi for premium cars I feel unless you plan to drive the car for long 10 years plus and then transfer to another state it's best to sell the car at the 5-6 year mark. Considering your car is still under warranty you should get around 60% of what you paid for the car. Off topic but still something to ponder over.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by ToyotaFan

Considering your car is still under warranty you should get around 60% of what you paid for the car. Off topic but still something to ponder over.

I agree with you. Although the car has never given me any trouble so far and 52k kms in 5 years is decent running. Its a hoot to drive and I love every bit of it to be honest. Now if we keep the apprehensions aside for a minute, financially if I replace it with any 20L+ car, my cost of ownership would be significantly more than what I would end up spending in its servicing over the next 5 years and the additional depreciation.

PS: I would have still gladly sold it and upgraded to another BMW or Volvo (in love with the XC40), but under no circumstances am I going to get 60% value. Its more in the ball park of 40-45%. 60% would translate into 17-19L. I am ready to sell it for 16L if you have a buyer .

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

My 320d is going to complete 5 years next month with the odo @ 52k kms. Also the car's extended warranty would cease next month end and I fear that this issue will recur later and I will be made to bear the cost of repairs.

I think you can get the warranty extended to 6th Year as well, so double check. I had battery issues on my X6 which was from 2009, the car will try to get started but with not enough juice it would not, so it's not that the car will start and not go beyond some RPM's if the battery is down. At least on the older generation batteries behaved the same way as on any other car.

To me, the fault appears to be somewhere else, like engine not getting fuel. If you don't commute outstations too much, it will be ok. Do buy the RSA cover if it's not included in the insurance.

financially if I replace it with any 20L+ car, my cost of ownership would be significantly more than what I would end up spending in its servicing over the next 5 years and the additional depreciation.

I agree with your logic if you love the car and cannot go for a major upgrade for any reasons, better keep it. I am sure BMW guys will able to help you even after warranty from my last interactions with their service head. PM me if you get stuck up somewhere.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I think you can get the warranty extended to 6th Year as well, so double check. I had battery issues on my X6 which was from 2009, the car will try to get started but with not enough juice it would not, so it's not that the car will start and not go beyond some RPM's if the battery is down. At least on the older generation batteries behaved the same way as on any other car.

Sir can you please elaborate on this more ( the statement in bold in your post above). Because my initial feel was also that the battery didn't have enough juice left to successfully start the engine, it tried, engine made an effort but failed. I may be wrong. Also the ICICI RSA guy did say that the voltage shown on his device was low and hence he concluded that it was the battery.
Anyways the latest update is that the car is going to be ready for pick up at 12. And they could not find any fault whatsoever. Let's see if it comes back. I will try to avoid taking it out on an outstation trip for sometime.

The 6th year warranty is being quoted at a crazy 3L Rs. Hence I am not opting for it. At the same time its scary to imagine that BMW expects major stuff to go wrong in their car in its 6th year? I mean this reflects zero confidence from the company side in their product, specially given the natural common sense that the car has been under warranty and exclusively serviced with them with all time intervals followed. And even then they feel 3L is a just amount for an additional 1 year warranty.

The BSI ( service pack) can be extended but I don't find much value in it as the regular servicing costs as per my running are not going to exceed the pack cost upfront.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

BMW says there are no error codes at all. It is as if the problem never occurred as per them. I regret not recording the issue when it was happening.

Hope this is not the cable issue between the positive battery terminal and the fuse box. There was a BMW recall for this issue in the past.

https://www.bmw.co.uk/landingpages/bmw-vehicle-recalls

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Hope this is not the cable issue between the positive battery terminal and the fuse box. There was a BMW recall for this issue in the past.

They said they have checked all the electricals. Also I don't think so as in that issue there is no response from the car to ignition input from your end. In my car the electricals were all working fine. And even the engine tried to start but could not.

[KMT]

My 320d is 5 yrs old now. Can I have wheel alignment done at a reputable tyreshop or must I continue to have it done at Navnit Motors?

Is the BMW alignment process different from the Rs 250-500 normal computerised alignment?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by KMT

My 320d is 5 yrs old now. Can I have wheel alignment done at a reputable tyreshop or must I continue to have it done at Navnit Motors?

Is the BMW alignment process different from the Rs 250-500 normal computerised alignment?

You can definitely get it done at a regular shop. Even under warranty, I have always got it done outside since BMW charges a bomb for it. You don't need any special equipment.

But most Outside shops too charge a premium for these cars and don't do it for 2-300 rs. Rather they charge around 1500-2000 rs, atleast in Delhi NCR.