Just curious about peoples problems along the way and what kind of mileage you guys are getting out of the life of your car. I'm hoping mine will make it to 150k.

Parts replaced so far apart from regular maitenence (brakes, oil, filters, tires, etc.)

Radiator
Waterpump
Coolant temp sensor
Radiator vent tube

Luckily all those repairs were covered from the dealer i purchased the car from (only had the car two weeks when this happened).

Thanks guys!

 

I have about 73k on my 545 and the following are parts I had replaced thus far:

- SMG Pump
- Brake Booster
- Coolant temp sensor
- Radiator vent tube
- Belt Tensioner (pending)

 

If you dont mind me asking what is the SMG pump? What happened with the brake booster? Just curious. thanks for your input.

 

The SMG pump is what drives the hydraulic clutch on the SMG transmission (sequential manual transmission)
Since you have a regular manual, you don't need to worry about this...

The brake booster is basically what makes your power brakes "powered"
I think it's a pump of some sort...

There is a member on this board...545iPoeser he got his 545i to 125,000 miles before he sold it.
https://5series.net/forums/index.php...opic=81475&hl=

 

+1

Krozi is right about the SMG pump and as far as the brake booster goes....

I noticed my brake pedal flushing to the ground when I would slow down in turning lanes and in that case my car would drift about 1-2 feet before actually coming to a full stop. It was very dangerous. This was only the case when I was coming to a stop from low speeds. If I were to stomp on the breaks while going 60 mph, they worked as expected.

 

My 545i has 92k and so far I replaced

pressure regulating valve -very common (you should change it every 40-50k part 11127547058) http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...hg=11&fg=15
thermostat
temp sensor
brake booster
brake booster vacuum hose (it cracks at the vacuum pump)

 

great! I just got a 2004 545i 6mt with 68k miles. I have no idea what service its had but ill be sure to look out for these issues above. Just curious. For the pressure regulating valve what is a sign that it is bad? I read the gas mileage. I have a mix of NYC/ Jersey highway driving and am averaging 18mpg.

Oh Btw it currently has the following issues. Dynamic Drive Malfunction and its smoking and burning coolant. Yes burning coolant im going to battle it out with the dealership for them to fix the head gaskets or im going to straight up return the car. Other than that no issues. Oh the brakes squeal and lots of brake dust but that's typical for OEM Brakes lol

 

Are you sure that it is the head gasket? That would be very strange wit 68k miles... Maybe water pump or water hose leak.. Do you have oil in the coolant? Or do you have coolant in the oil?

Regarding the pressure regulating valve. In my case the engine was rough on start. At the end it got really bad.. And finally the emission light came on (Service engine soon + increased emission)

 

What kind of problems or symptoms did you encounter if any , before replacing the pressure regulating valve?

I have 80K on my 545i, so far I have replace.

brake booster
radiator reservoir and the top hose
i'm thinking about replacing the belt tensioner soon and the pressure regulating valve.
Doing my brakes in a few weeks.
spark plugs replaced in 70k
battery replaced just recently
transmission serviced

 

That is a lot of brake boosters..... Odd..

I have almost 61K and I put a battery in it last month. Other than tires, brakes, and a couple softrware updates I haven't had any issues.