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Third owner, bought with 91,000 miles for Mrs. Code Monkey.
Most comfortable road trip car we have ever had and a perfect vessel for garden store runs.
Basics:
2010 BMW 535i xDrive Sports Wagon
M Sport package
Value Package
Carbon Black Metallic
Natural Brown Dakota leather
Dark Poplar wood trim
Style 135 18″ wheels
Replaced under previous owners: HPFP, injectors, both turbochargers
First item to address was to relocate electronics from the spare tire well to the drivers side. I was able to carefully re-route the wires under the plastic trim and all the electronic modules fit nicely in a plastic bin that is there, just add some foam to make sure the modules are secured in place and do not rattle and it is done.
Mrs. Code Monkey is coming from a 2011 M3 with a DCT and she is, diplomatically speaking, very underwhelmed by the transmission in the wagon.
To improve the performance to an acceptable level, I sourced an E60 M6 SMG heated (!) steering wheel and paired it with a MotiveMods paddle shift kit and an xHP stage 3 TCU flash. Nowhere close to a DCT but makes the wagon more more enjoyable to putter around in.
Part numbers:
32342283935 (E60 M6 M Sport heated steering wheel)
61317836558 and 61317836557 (E60 M6 SMG shift paddles)
Finally, to complement the transmission tune, got a BMW Ignition Service Kit - 12138616153KT8 from FCP Euro (NGK spark plugs and Delphi ignition coils) and flashed the MHD engine tune stage 1. The tune really woke up the car, Mrs. Code Monkey is now mostly satisfied with the wagon.
The last thing not up to par was brakes. Not sure what kind of pads were on the wagon but braking never inspired much confidence in emergency situations. Got PFC 11 brake pads (very dusty and very squeaky) and new rotors.
After a couple months replaced the rears with Hawk HPS 5.0 pads as the squeaking from the rear was too annoying, I think the pads were dragging against the rotor and applying very generous amounts of brake quiet was of no help. Super happy with the setup now.
I do have E60 M5 fronts sitting in the garage but need to figure out first what wheels I want to pair them with.
Did walnut blasting and blew out sunroof drains shortly after we got the car.
The lift gate glass would not open so had United BMW in Alpharetta fix the wiring.
Had a leaking transfer case seal fixed.
Fixed the driver seat thigh support.
Got a new windshield installed by Glass Doctor as Safelite could not get their shit together and came out twice with an incorrect windshield and then dropped my appointment.
Had oil changed at 101,xxx miles (Motul 8100 X-Cess Gen2 5w40).
03-14-2022 | 11:05 AM
E61 Wagon maintenence diary
