Hello everyone. I just bought a secondhand 2005 530i with 81,000 km for a song [guy lost his job, needed to leave the country and sell quickly - i suppose there are some positive things to gain in a recession] and i absolutely adore the new whip.

I've spent a lot of time on the forums, "ghosting" my way around just reading up on "tranny slams", and the usual crappy dealer complaints which are always entertaining, and obviously i'm also trying to "edumacate" myself on potential issues in the future so i don't get the dreaded noob "use the search button" treatment...

Luckily for me, the previous owner was quite meticulous about fixing everything at the dealer, and replacing everything from A/C condensers to window seals under warranty so for the most part, my car is in tip top shape.

But i just have a few issues i searched on but couldn't find answers for

1. My iDrive reported i have a "front left parking light failure" and it happens to be that my angel eye on the front left headlight are not working. I have opened the headlight to see if there is a loose connection" but everything seems fine. Do i just have to change the bulb perhaps? Or a trip to the dealer - or maybe some new MTEC2 angel eyes?

2. I have noticed when i park the car in the garage after a long trip, the engine emits a loud whirring noise - almost like a jet engine. It's as if the radiator fans or something is spinning at ridiculous speeds. Its not the usual sultry hum, its almost deafening. But the car runs fine. I'm hoping this is "normal" behavior

3. Finally, i have tried to connect my Blackberry 9500 Bold, and i follow all the steps, input the passcode for pairing, and it gives me a message that it has been paired. But it doesn't work. The phone shows up on iDrive as being a paired phone but it never connects. I tried disabling the encryption, and making it a "trusted" connection, but nothing works. The in-car phone is kaput - the battery is missing, and it only works when it is in the cradle, but i doubt it has anything to do with this. Tried to search in the bluetooth section, but everyone seems to be fine in connecting their new phones with older pre-LCI models.

These are quite minor problems, so i'm not going to throw any fits anytime soon, but any assistance would be appreciated!

I just wanted to say, that this is a great forum and i'm looking forward to becoming a more active member of the forums, and making new friends here for many years to come!

 

1. Do you have xenons, are both the rings out or just one? I had this problem and I only have 1 bulb that lights the 2 rings and I had the bulb out warning, but when I tried to get to it the bulb started working again, then I noticed 1 ring was duller than the other , I found that the bulb was loose, I put it back in properly and its been fine since. I have just ordered a pair of LED angel markers to replace the yellow colour to a nice white.

2. No idea about this, possibly the fan run on cooling the engine.

3. It took me ages to pair my nokia n95 to the car via the bluetooth, it now pairs but the address book does not work so it wont display a recognised number, this is down to it being a nokia. If the car has had a previous phone connected via bluetooth I would suggest deleting it and try a few more times.

4. Welcome to the forums

 

Hey,

I'm new to this forum, and this is my 1st post!
I purchased a 525d sport from the stealers and had the same fault with the bulbs. The idrive says 'parking light failure' when the vbulbs are infact on and working. The problem is the system not recognising the bulbs. The easiest way is simply to replace the bulb and the error will clear by itself. I has this prioblem when using LED sidelights rather than the standard bulbs. Its like the ECU wont recognise the bulbs. Anyhow, change them and it should clear the fault, You can but some on ebay for a few quid. Dont spend money wasting your time at the stealers, all they will do is change the bulbs and charge you a fortune, likewisem, try changing the bulbs before you go shelling out loads of money.

The whirring noise is the engine colling itself down, dont worry though, it should stop fter a while. However, it could be a bigger problem, and if its going to make you go deaf, then take it back to the dealers. Its normally quiet, but not enough to make you go deaf!

Not too sure about the phone, mine just coneected and works a treat. Hope my info helps!

 

Hey just with regards to your post, I bought some LED bulbs, fit and look amazing, but tripped the idrive system out. It thought all of the lights were not working even when they were on. I replaced with some blue xenon 501's off of ebay and they look just as good, without the errors! Just a word of advice....

 

#2. Is normal for my car also. Must be a normal thing?

 

Thank you guys for your response. I really appreciate the insight!

No, both angel eye rings are off on the left headlight. I figured it was just the bulb so i'll have it changed at the stealership.

I've seen a gazillion threads on the angel eye bulbs - if i were to order an MTEC set, is it simple plug and play? Are there any cheaper ones that will perhaps not be as bright but at least be brighter than the stock yellow? I realize that most people would say "Why buy a BMW and be cheap?" Well, i agree when it comes to major components, but for bulbs, i don't see the point of dropping $150 if i can accomplish the same thing for $50?

I bought the BMW second hand, and it was a tight stretch on my budget, but its been my dream to own a 5 series. But i simply can't afford to mod it up at the moment since i'm about to get married...

But thank you Koo for your insight..

Dave_davis1987 - which bulbs did you order? I checked the 501's on ebay and they look small? what's the difference between these bulbs and the MTEC ones?

In regads to the whirring noise, i suppose it is normal - no error codes so i guess i'm fine.

And no luck with any phone - i guess i'll have to have my iDrive firmware updated.

Thank you guys for taking the time to give a noob a hand!

 

My Sidelight LED's arrived today, they cost me £35, so about $45-$50 ? I haven't fitted them yet as its a bit coold and I need to remove the headlights again.

Regarding the phone, spend some time search the various forums, there are threads which may list your exact phone and tell you if its the car or the phone itself.

 

These are the phones currently compatible and approved by BMW

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...blePhones.aspx

I used to have a Nokia and I was not able to see the contacts list. On occasion, the bluetooth connection would go nuts by just ringing and ringing and ringing, and other times my radio would go permanently mute after a call. When I bought the iPhone, all my bluetooth problems went away. G/L

 

Number 2 might be the electric water pump, runs for a bit when engine shuts off.

 

porsche911targa, thank you for the link. I had been searching for this, but i lack deftness in internet searches!

Anyway, i have a 9500 Bold, and i downloaded the pdf file for the Bold. It says, the Bold will only work on cars produced from September 2005 onwards. Unfortunately for me, mine was produced August 2004. However, a buddy of mine has a 2003 X5 and he managed to connect his iPhone 3G so its strange. I'm guessing i need to update the software and i don't feel like shelling out $1,000 to do that. I guess i'll just get an aftermarket Bluetooth system.

gary i don't think its the water pump - the problem i was referring to is when the car is still running, not when its off. Sometimes when i get home and park in the garage, i'll hear a jet engine like sound, and when i shut off the engine its quiet as a whisper. I figured it was the fans working harder than normal, and i tried to search, but doesn't seem like anyone has had this problem. But the car runs and idles fine so i could just be paranoid!

Thanks again for the continued input guys...