Hi,

I am considering purchase of a 2009 535xi wagon, 62k miles, 6MT. What is a typical maintenance schedule, beyond the normal recommendations (oil 7500 miles, brake fluid every 2 years, brakes when needed)? Any issues to keep any eye on or plan on setting aside money to pay for? I have heard of Tranny at 120k (not relevant here for a 6MT), drain plugs for moonroof. How about the water pump? Turbos? Anything particular to this car that costs a ton to fix that is outside of "normal maintenance"?

 

High pressure fuel pump failures have been a problem for the turbocharged engines.

The rear (behind bumper) sunroof drain plugs were changed by '09 to in theory, a better design. But if they backup and dump water into the car, various components can be fried in the side compartments of the trunk (satellite radio, battery/fuses, air suspension pump).

7,500 miles between oil changes is much better than what the iDrive service menu will tell you (15k miles- don't listen to it.) My maintenance schedule has been very reasonable for my 2006. With close to 90k miles I have only had minor issues relating to my normally aspirated engine with the biggest issues being a failed coil pack ($700 at a dealership) and a common oil leak.

A good independent BMW garage will be much more reasonable to maintain these cars. A quick forum search will tell you much more about maintenance items than I can, particularly for the turbo engine.

 

Welcome!

HPFP's and injectors should have been changed under a recall, and if not, dealer should do them for free and tell you if they've been done yet or not. They extended the mileage I believe on them.

Yes, check for sunroof drains (all 4) working properly, as under the trunk cover below the spare wheel is where the electronics are, and will get fried if water gets into the trunk. Check in there for signs of water damage.

The other big thing goes wrong on these cars is the wires in the tailgate, which operate lots of stuff from lights, to defrost, to wipers and comfort access (keyless entry) and range of key fobs, (don't quote me on all this, just giving you an idea), so test all that out. Look for the big thread on that topic.

Don't forget your cabin and engine air filters.

Spark plugs around 60 k I think.

Some rough idling if you feel any might be caused by gunked up intake valves, which would set you back around $500 for walnut blasting to them to clean them up. People tend to do them around this mileage you've got.

And if the power's not enough, a few people here have bought tunes, that'll bump the power from 300 to 375 HP... :-)

 

Re water pump (electrical), it's quite expensive. Will last anytime between 60-200k. There's a thread on that topic too https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...r-pump-134361/

 

Cool, thanks! The water pump was replaced at 45k under warranty, must have died early. I will get everything else checked out! Super excited for a new car. Practical yet fun!

Another question: I assume the E61 "sport" package is just seats and steering wheel. No changes in suspension, correct? The E90 XI cars all have the same suspension, sport package or no.

 

I believe the suspension is the same but the steering ratios actively change to the driving situation (unless that's what you meant by steering wheel.)

 

3 series sport pkg got different things like seats and suspension but the 5 sport pkg was mainly window trim to black. not sure about that steering ratio mentioned above. I don't think there was any different seat for sport pkg, only standard or "comfort"


why do you ask about the e90 xi cars? The e91 sport pkg was a suspension change, dropped a bit.

I have 93,000 now on my 2008. It's been mostly fine but we'll see...

 

OT - Norsecar, good to see you around, and you've still got her.

 

just got new rear brake set. new coils last month and some other little things. Putting on Nokian R2 soon. Hopefully by spring I'll be ready to do the M-tech front end and M5 front fenders.

 

=) Still modding I see. That's a good sign!

What was up with the coils? Were you getting Misfires?