SalMoney

Greetings, All:

Relatively new E61 owner here. I purchased an 08' 535xi in July of this year and have been thoroughly enjoying my time with the vehicle. The car has 142k on the clock (2.5k of which are mine). Previous owner completed all of the major maintenance items and further upgraded things. Specifically, the car is "Stage 2+" with a Wedge tune, transmission tune, and all of the requisite bolt-on modifications. Very fun car, but as expected it needs a little more attention than my previous vehicles.

Context:
Since taking ownership of the car, I periodically encountered three active DME codes: (1) 2EF7 - DME: Map thermostat, activation; (2) 29E0 - DME: Mixture control; and (3) 29E1 - DME: Mixture control 2. Occasionally I would get a CEL, but more often than not, no CEL resulted. In October, the starter died and was replaced by a local Indy shop. Shortly after retrieving the car from the Indy shop, I started getting the "Passenger Restraint System Malfunction" error described below. About 2-3 weeks thereafter, I started getting the "Level Control System Malfunction" warning described below.

Current Issues:

1. Passenger Restraint System Malfunction
   • I get an incessant dash warning, but no codes apparently related to this issue
   • Warning reads "Fault in passenger-restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt-force limiter. Continue to wear the safety belt. Have the system checked by the nearest BMW center"
   • All fuses look OK
2. Level Control System Malfunction
   • ​​​​​​​I get an incessant dash warning, but no codes apparently related to this issue
   • Driver's side rear of vehicle is sagging slightly (~1-1.5 inches lower than opposite side)
   • When I start the vehicle, the compressor immediately kicks on, but the driver-side rear never raises
   • Driver's side rear height appears to be stable; I am not loosing more height as I drive
   • All fuses look OK
   • After inspection (including spraying it with soapy water), the sagging air spring does not appear to be leaking. But, I acknowledge that air had to escape from the system somehow.

From what I've found through my own research, it is odd that neither the Restraint Malfunction nor the Level Control System Malfunction warnings are associated with any code (unless these issues are associated with the 2EF7, 29E0, and 29E1 codes, but that seems unlikely). Because I haven't gotten any codes associated with these issues, I'm having trouble figuring out how to focus my troubleshooting efforts. This is my daily vehicle, so I am attempting to be time-efficient to the extent possible.

With regard to the restraint system malfunction, is it possible that this is related to the previous starter issue? For example, did the Indy shop not disconnect/reconnect the battery correctly? If this is a viable theory, how would I fix this?

With regard to the level control system malfunction, I am thinking the issue must be compressor related since the height is stable (i.e., neither decreasing as I use the vehicle nor increasing as compressor activates). Aside from replacing the compressor, what should I be looking for?

Finally, I use an MHD Red wifi reader - is there any chance that I'm missing codes?

Thanks much for the help - I sincerely appreciate it.