cmoore_

I know mostly on the forums all we read about is problems. Well heres a bit of a different post. I just crossed 100k a few weeks ago in my 545i. Ive owned it since 80k and have drove it pretty hard the last 20k+ miles. Only mainteance has been routine oil changes, brake flushes, cd player replaced at 70k, OEM coolant system pressure tested by dealer a few month ago with no leaks, and I just replaced the spark plugs, OEM clutch and installed a cdv at the same time at an indy shop (see details below). Brakes are due soon and ill be upgrading those when the time comes. Other than above mentioned issues, I have had ZERO issues out of this car. It rides/drives amazing. I recently took it on a 1000 mile round trip with no hiccups (running 140mph a few times!). I wouldnt hesitate to drive it anywhere. My daily commute is approx 75 miles and I love every second of it. I was hesitant to buy this car after my 540i had som many issues at the 100k mark, but the e60 reliability and build quality is worlds ahead of the e39 IMO. What pushed me over the edge was a personal friend of mine has an 04 545i 6 speed manual as well that now has close to 180k on the clock with NO issues other than regular idrive recommendated maitenance.

e60 545i FTW!

Srricly German in Braselton, GA did an amazing job at a great price for those of you in the NE ATL area looking for an indy shop. CDV is must for all BMW manual owners! I cannot stress this enough. I should have done it a long time ago, im convinced this is what burned up my stock clutch even though it had 100k on it. My car truely feels like a sports car now, I could not be happier. Much better driving experience. I can now lay down rubber 1st-2nd & 2nd-3rd

bha7176

These are the kinds of stories that we can't hear enough of. Most of the reliability posts on internet forums are negative as those are the owners looking to post up to find info to help them out, to slam the manufacturer, etc.

thanks for posting and here's to wishing you another 100k miles of trouble free driving!!!

gotabyte

Good to hear that she's held up well for you. I agree with bha7176 regarding reading mostly problem posts and not hearing enough when thing go well.

Razzy530

Glad to hear your story, we need more of these. I drive a manual too, so you definately think its good to delete CDV? What about warranty decline issues at the dealer should they work on the trans? Im on the fence about this.... Just dont have enough knowledge about the CDV....

cmoore_

We do need more stories like mine! Since Im out of warranty I cant advise you on what will happen if your tranny has to be serviced, but my bet is they wont even notice. You are essentially replacing the current valve with a hollow one. You wont damage your tranny by doing this mod. If you want your car to feel like a sports car than this is a must. I came from manual corvettes and mustangs when I was younger and with this mod it feels like im drving my vette again as far as the connection from the driver to the drivetrain. This is the missing peice to really make the BMW the 'ultimate drving machine'. My only regret is waiting so long to do this. The way the clutch/tranny/your left foot work in harmony now is fantastic.

response_surface

thanks for sharing. nice to hear some good news for a change!

tell us more.

cmoore_

Ive got the full dealer service history and it was all disclosed in the original post. I average 23-24 mpg. Tell me what else you want to know!

BossHog

These are the kinds of stories that tend to calm me down a bit. The future upkeep of mine (and any assoicated costs) makes me very nervous...

redEYEjedi

Awesome to hear! I wonder how beneficial this would be for us SMG owners since we essentially still have manual transmissions.

PilotAce

Agreed. I'd love to hear if a CDV mod is possible on a 545i with SMG. I've had the software upgrade to address that tranny slam but it's still rough when wife drives it in auto sport mode.
CDV mod removes the delay so it shifts like you expect it to, rather than having that tiny lag?