[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

This sits at the end of the engine bay towards the cabin, off to the corner on the passenger side. It is not a very big battery necessarily - as much as it may appear so on the photo. There is no battery on the boot as far as I am aware. The boot is dominated by the spare tire

Ok, clear now. If I understand correctly, the pre-LCI had an empty compartment there. Abroad, the 330e has the charging dock in that area as well.

However, do check under the boot floor. From what I can see on Google, the 48v battery is an additional Lithium ion unit for the mild hybrid system only. The bigger AGM battery is still under the boot.

[krishnadevjs]

Originally Posted by megazoid

Treat the car just like a car, drive it hard and use it as you please.

That's the issue. It varies from person to person, but I have an emotional connect with my car. And so, it really pains me when such incidents happen. A beater car is anyway better to manage my BP in Mumbai traffic and it makes the M340i drives so much more special.

Originally Posted by narula123

Good you got a beater EV, KD. Now I wont feel underpaid when I park my i10 next to yours.

Bro, you can mitigate that feeling by parking your Ducati or ZX10R or Superb next to my car.

Originally Posted by ashish2135

Will visit the PPF centre and see how this can be mended.

uff.. That has got to hurt. Thankfully, the PPF took all the damage. Installing a good PPF was one of the best decisions I took on my car.

Originally Posted by Auto_guy_101

I'm a little curious on how you managed 76 kph avg across Kerala. Thrissur to kochi (a route I regularly drove on till Jan 23)

This was to Trivandrum - so we took the TN route. It was only the stretch after Nagercoil that caused us to drop down to 76 kph average.


I've completed another road trip in the M340i - the journey back from Kerala to Mumbai. We did this in a 3 day trip.

Day 1:
Trivandrum to Kochi.

Packed my wife, 2 kids and tons of luggage into the M340i and drove to Kochi to drop them off. They would join me in Mumbai later, closer to school opening.

This is one time I seriously missed my Octavia, with its cavernous boot. The M340i boot pales in comparison and could hardly fit a large suitcase and a medium one.
We ended up using one half of the rear cabin to store the rest of the luggage.

Started at 4 AM to avoid the notorious Kerala traffic, but still took quite some time, courtesy the NH widening activities and roadblocks. Reached Kochi at 7:30 AM.
Fuel Economy: 11.2 kmpl (Sorry, but my inherent middle class-ness requires me to quote fuel economy numbers, even in a car like this.)

Day 2:
Part 1: Kochi to Bangalore

This was a Saturday and I made an early start at 4 AM again. Took the Kochi - Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore - Salem - Krishnagiri - Hosur - NICE Road - Bannerghatta Road route.

Thanks to the early start, I could avoid almost all of Kerala traffic, and all I had to watch out for was the MVD's speed cameras and AI cameras and whatnot. It was mostly smooth sailing and the drive was so good I did not stop for anything but fuel + bio breaks.
Reached Bangalore by 11AM, and dropped in at my brother's place. A good 2 hours of relaxed Dexter binging ensued.


Part 2: Bangalore to Hubli
However, the plan was not to stop in Bangalore. That would leave too much for Day 3.
Around 1, my brother and I left from his place and made our way via the NICE road on to Hubli, which was to be our halt for the day.

After Neelamangala, I saw a very familiar form in the distance - it was the very first 'other' M340i I've seen since buying this car. A Tanzanite blue, pre-LCI M340i with modded exhausts, a spoiler and front kidney grille.



I recalled seeing this specific car with its fancy 340 number on the Instagram page 'm340iregistryindia' as well. What followed was an hour or so of very fun and very spirited driving in tandem almost all the way till Chitradurga.

The sense of camaraderie when you meet a fellow owner of such a rare car is something I've never experienced before. So that was quite novel and fun for me. Later I saw on IG that that guy too had posted a story about this encounter, that too taken at this precise point where we were stopped behind each other at the toll! (again through the commonly followed m340registryindia handle).

Rest of the drive was pretty straightforward, with the M340i never failing to impress with its never ending thrust of power, and its insane handling.

We reached Hubli close to 6 PM and checked into our usual haunt, Hotel Ananth the Grand, right off the highway. Having been so engrossed in the drive and the conversations in the car, we had skipped breakfast and lunch.

It was only natural that dinner had to be heavy. So, off we made to Barbeque Nation, Hubli. Parked in a mall right opposite, as the roadside parking looked too chaotic and risky. Went in and annihilated a small army's ration of chicken, fish and prawns.


The skewers were disappearing faster than the kitchen could roll them out

With that, it was a close to Day 2.
Total fuel economy for Day 2: 10.4 kmpl

Day 3: Bangalore to Mumbai
We decided to take it a bit lazy on Day 3, after two continuous days of early morning starts. So, at 6 AM, we made our way out of the hotel and hit the open roads.
The plan was to stop at the Kohlapur McD for breakfast, but unfortunately they were closed at the time. So, we had to make do with the much more expensive coffee and food at the next door Starbucks.

MH roads, as always were a bit more uneven than KA or TN or even KL roads. I wonder why even NHAI roads are worse in MH than these other states.
Still, we made our way to Pune, where we hit a decent amount of traffic, and some heartstopping moments with indisciplined bikers coming too close to the car for comfort.
I wanted to try out the old Pune highway this time, and so we skipped the turn to the Expressway and continued straight on to the old Pune highway.
Stopped for lunch at Kinara the Village Dhaba where I've had meals a couple of times before.


Unfortunately, our non veg car couldn't park behind and we parked in front. (sarcasm)

Another hour of uneventful driving and we reached back home in Mumbai at 4 PM.
Fuel economy for the day: 11.3 kmpl.

With that, my M340i has hit the cusp of 10k km. The odo now reads 9969km, in a span of 129 days. My Honda City took me over a year to hit 10k km. The Octy took me slightly under a year. The M340i has hit this milestone in just over 4 months, which is testament to how much this brilliant piece of machine makes you want to drive it!

Every time I start it now, it reminds me that there's an oil change and service required in another 1200 km.

Till now, I've changed 2 RFTs, thanks to sidewall bulges - both front tyres have been replaced, both under Advance Secure. One was basically free and the other cost me 9k. Every ride now starts with a silent prayer to the Road Gods that there are no undulations or random bumps on the roads I go on.

I'm still continuing with the M340i as my daily driver till our Tiago EV comes home , sometime in the 2nd week of June. Targeting delivery before monsoons hit Mumbai and after my family gets back.

[Monster2810]

I've clocked about 7500KM in my Pre-LCI M340i and am thoroughly loving it.
I suppose it was only a matter of time, and I now have issues with one of the tyres. So BMW will replace my tyre for free, but they only want to change 1.

My concern is, should I be worries about one tyre (front left) being brand new, while the rest are 7500km old.

Secondly, when I asked BMW that I'll pay and swap them all out for tubeless, he went berserk saying no tubeless tyres are designed for the M340i. This, based on my limited technical knowledge, is BS right? As long as the tyre "performance rating" and size is the same, it shouldn't matter..... right?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Monster2810

I suppose it was only a matter of time, and I now have issues with one of the tyres. So BMW will replace my tyre for free, but they only want to change 1.

My concern is, should I be worries about one tyre (front left) being brand new, while the rest are 7500km old.

I'll let the M340i owners reply specifically, but from my layman knowledge in a AWD system (by whatever name called be it BMW's xDrive, Audi's Quattro, VW's 4Motion, MB's 4MATIC, Mitsubishi S-AWC, Subaru SAWD etc.), it is better to avoid large differences (~4mm or more) between tyres on the same axle.

I suggest you bite the bullet, buy one more on your own account, change both the fronts and keep the used good tyre for a rainy day.

As for the RFT vs tubeless thingy, the guy is spouting nonsense. A top end Michelin Pilot Sport 4/5 tubeless is just as 'good' as the RFT equivalent. You can ask him next time why the real M cars don't have RFTs.

But I would not recommend mixing RFT and tubeless. Either stick to 4 x RFT or 4 x tubeless.

[Monster2810]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I suggest you bite the bullet, buy one more on your own account, change both the fronts and keep the used good tyre for a rainy day.

As for the RFT vs tubeless thingy, the guy is spouting nonsense. A top end Michelin Pilot Sport 4/5 tubeless is just as 'good' as the RFT equivalent. You can ask him next time why the real M cars don't have RFTs.

But I would not recommend mixing RFT and tubeless. Either stick to 4 x RFT or 4 x tubeless.

Thank you @itwasntme (sorry I don't know how to specifically tag you, I'm new to this family)

Mini update - Now KUN BMW Hyderabad claims they will take 30-45 days to procure ONE tyre, as apparently Pirelli P zeros are not available anywhere in India. They went so far as to say I should pay from my pocket and change all 4 to Bridgestone. Ridiculous.

Any suggestions as to what I can do? I can't not drive for 45 days.

[m_proper]

Originally Posted by Monster2810

Thank you @itwasntme (sorry I don't know how to specifically tag you, I'm new to this family)

Mini update - Now KUN BMW Hyderabad claims they will take 30-45 days to procure ONE tyre, as apparently Pirelli P zeros are not available anywhere in India. They went so far as to say I should pay from my pocket and change all 4 to Bridgestone. Ridiculous.

Any suggestions as to what I can do? I can't not drive for 45 days.

Hi @monster2810. I am in the same boat as you. My vehicle (2023 m340i) returned from the service center of KUN BMW with a nail in the tire. I have BMW secure and they have filed a case for the same and agreed to replace the tire. But, as you stated they claim that, there isn't a single RFT in India and have to order from Germany and will take 20 to 25 days. If it was not for BMW secure, I would have already moved to Tubeless. My preference would be Michelin PS4/5 S. So I am not sure if I should forgo BMW Secure and go for Tubeless as I have a long road coming up in min October. Any recommendations ?

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Monster2810

My concern is, should I be worries about one tyre (front left) being brand new, while the rest are 7500km old.

No issues whatsoever.

Originally Posted by Monster2810

Secondly, when I asked BMW that I'll pay and swap them all out for tubeless, he went berserk saying no tubeless tyres are designed for the M340i. This, based on my limited technical knowledge, is BS right? As long as the tyre "performance rating" and size is the same, it shouldn't matter..... right?

Tell that BMW guy even your premium 7 series now come with tubeless tyres without RFT.

BMW is slowly giving up RFT as they are useless. Very low tyre life of 20,000 kms, get easily damaged and expensive to replace.

Even mighty proper //M cars come with tubeless tyres only.

You can use tubeless tyres on your M340i without any issues.

Originally Posted by Monster2810

Mini update - Now KUN BMW Hyderabad claims they will take 30-45 days to procure ONE tyre, as apparently Pirelli P zeros are not available anywhere in India. They went so far as to say I should pay from my pocket and change all 4 to Bridgestone. Ridiculous.

Any suggestions as to what I can do? I can't not drive for 45 days.

Change two tyre to tubeless and use two RFT for time being. Most cost effective and least downtime for your car.

Originally Posted by m_proper

Hi @monster2810. I am in the same boat as you. My vehicle (2023 m340i) returned from the service center of KUN BMW with a nail in the tire. I have BMW secure and they have filed a case for the same and agreed to replace the tire.

Get the tyre repaired for puncture at any reputed tyre shop. Not worth getting it replaced under Secure by paying thousands of rupees which would cost only Rs 100 for normal puncture repair.

I have got puncture fixed in RFT multiple times.

Originally Posted by m_proper

My preference would be Michelin PS4/5 S. So I am not sure if I should forgo BMW Secure and go for Tubeless as I have a long road coming up in min October. Any recommendations ?

Tubeless is best. Recently moved over to tubeless from Bridgestone Turanza T001 RFT and got Yokohama Earth1 in stock size 225 55 R17 for F48 X1.

Enjoying the plush ride compared to harsh RFT.

[Monster2810]

Originally Posted by m_proper

. My preference would be Michelin PS4/5 S. So I am not sure if I should forgo BMW Secure and go for Tubeless as I have a long road coming up in min October.

@m_proper, Exactly my thoughts as well. My ideal swap eventually is definitely to the PS4/5 S. But since I've invested in a BMW secure plan, I see no point paying out of my pocket for more Tyres. Worst case, I have to wait - I probably have no option. So I'd suggest if you have the time till October wait for the BMW secure swap. That is presuming they actually only take 25 days to deliver, you never know.

[Monster2810]

Originally Posted by m_proper

But, as you stated they claim that, there isn't a single RFT in India and have to order from Germany and will take 20 to 25 days.

I chased them everyday and sent a bunch of emails to BMW India, they called me back today saying they are getting a small batch of tyres and will swap mine out on Tuesday morning. If they haven't contacted you, chase them too saying you know another customer is getting it.
If you are free, come to the KUN service centre Musheerabad Tuesday morning. The pressure works. Cheers

[krishnadevjs]

I’ve changed 3 of my tyres already in 12000km. All under BMW Secure Advance. They’ve not had tyres in stock 2 of these three times. What the service center did is to source the tyre from the open market (at obnoxiously high rates) and charge me just the cost payable by me if it were sourced from BMW. The difference gets picked up by BMW, as I understand it.

Only difference being these market tyres are MOE (Mercedes Original Equipment) and not the *, but I believe they are mostly the same. All ratings are same.

I’m planning to exhaust my Secure Advance (either with one more tyre claim, which I’m confident Mumbai roads will help achieve, OR by holding out till Jan) and then swap out to tubeless tyres.

My sense is that the tubeless tyres will get damaged just as much as the RFTs, but at least the replacement will be cheaper/more available and the ride will be better.

[m_proper]

Originally Posted by Monster2810

I chased them everyday and sent a bunch of emails to BMW India, they called me back today saying they are getting a small batch of tyres and will swap mine out on Tuesday morning. If they haven't contacted you, chase them too saying you know another customer is getting it.
If you are free, come to the KUN service centre Musheerabad Tuesday morning. The pressure works. Cheers

Thanks @Monster2810. Would love to come and if nothing else meet another customer TBhp member at least. I will let you know over DM.

Ideally, I would pressure them, and I have been doing so but not aggressively as mine is still not an urgent case. I am able use my car on an almost daily basis with a puncture being fixed locally as recommended by them. I have been monitoring the tire pressure on a regular basis and not seeing any loss of pressure. But I am not an expert so others can comment, that this is a safe solution and will work till they get a tire allocated for me. I have informed them that I am going a on a long road trip coming October and they have assured me that that they will arrange a tire for me ASAP. I will take the leap of goodwill and hope they address the issue without me bursting my veins

[M9000]

Originally Posted by Monster2810

Thank you @itwasntme (sorry I don't know how to specifically tag you, I'm new to this family)

Mini update - Now KUN BMW Hyderabad claims they will take 30-45 days to procure ONE tyre, as apparently Pirelli P zeros are not available anywhere in India. They went so far as to say I should pay from my pocket and change all 4 to Bridgestone. Ridiculous.

Any suggestions as to what I can do? I can't not drive for 45 days.

Hey brother. I am yet to see what happened later in this thread but I had a similar situation where the service manager said that the RFTs aren’t available anywhere in India and that it could take around 45 days for them them to procure. But again he suggested that if I can find out in the open market and get the tyre replaced BMW would cover me when the tyre arrives from their end. I don’t know how that would work but I went ahead and changed the tyre within two days at a local tyre dealership. Crazy people! Two months for a tyre! And they don’t tell you this when they ask you to pay for BMW secure.

[Monster2810]

Originally Posted by m_proper

I am able use my car on an almost daily basis with a puncture being fixed locally as recommended by them.

Originally Posted by M9000

I don’t know how that would work but I went ahead and changed the tyre within two days at a local tyre dealership. Crazy people! Two months for a tyre! And they don’t tell you this when they ask you to pay for BMW secure.

Thanks guys for your replies. They didn't give me any such option, but since I can't drive my car at all, maybe they prioritised my situation. They are changing it tomorrow morning.
Honestly this BMW secure plan feels like a cage now (ask me again if and when I have bigger issues with my car).

On a side note id love to meet fellow TeamBHP Hyderabadi's, can we make something happen? Any Hyderabadi Admins in the house