Overall I'm very happy with my '04 545i SMG that I picked up about two weeks ago, but since my car is due for it's vehicle check next week I also wanted to have my SA check out my idle as I don't think it's as smooth as it should be.

During idle I can feel a vibration in the brake pedal and my tach wobbles about +-50 from 700 rpm. I thought it was limited to idle until today while at 2300 I also saw the wobble. Thinking it just may be slight differences in throttle input I set the cruise control and the wobble was still there and further testing showed it didn't go away until a bit above 3k after which the tach is rock solid.

I'm going to assume this is not normal but would like some backup from other owners. My car has a build date of 05/04 which puts it just out of the range for the intermediate lever SIB (though the SIB does say the early date is an approximation) and my symptoms don't match the SIB exactly.

On a possibly related note, my SMG does seem to occasionally shudder on the 3-2 and 2-1 as if it is missing its target when it blips. Upshifting is always smooth when I feather correctly. Since I have such little time with the transmission under my belt I would be shy to report a problem with it.

 

I notice a little dip in my tach when at idle, but haven't noticed the vibration at the pedal.

 

Same here - I notice no such vibration as you describe (... loving the SMG)

 

Thanks for the data point. The vibration in the brake pedal is only intermittent so my latest thought is that it may be related to the ac compressor. I haven't drove with the climate control off long enough to isolate since I am in Orlando and am merely human, but I suppose you wouldn't be driving with it off all the time being from Jacksonville.

I used the hidden menu on the instrument cluster to get some readings today and saw the idle baseline at 745 with a range jumping between 725 and 765 so the spread is not as severe as I originally estimated but still feels wrong, especially with the vibrations.

 

There have been some posts about the varying RPMs I have a slight case of that but I have no vibrations.

 

Next time your car is in service let them check the crankcase ventilation. Could be causing such trouble...

 

Will do on Tuesday. My car's chasis number is in the range for the crankcase shaft recall SIB so I will verify the work was done and if it was done that it was not botched.

 

It is hard to describe these type of situations. I had been through a long process with my 545i manual which turned out to be normal engine harmonics. I think they appeared around 1200 rpm and 1800-2300 rpm (don't remember). the vibration was very slight and could be detected by watching an open door at rest. The vibrations where not noticed while driving.

 

Well, the car is back in my hands after more than a week in the shop with a "could not duplicate" result. I did get have the latest progman, up from 16-19 or so but it made no difference.

After spending 5 minutes with the tech in the car he did finally acknowledge the problem existed but couldn't even speculate as to what's wrong, just saying he will run more tests when my backordered door seals arrive. Should I gently suggest a new PUMA case to him?