Seat Occupancy Sensor - How to fix:

Seat Occupancy Sensor: E90 330i 2006

Seat Occupancy Sensor - How to fix it: "Restraint system Malfunction!" error

My car: BMW 330i 2006

Chances are that if you are reading this its because you have your Air bag light ON, and you need to replace the Seat Occupancy Sensor.  But if you go to the Dealer you will find out that it's very expensive to have it replaced.  If you take it to the dealer they will charge you Over $2000 dollars to have it replaced, but if you just replace the seat with an used seat it will cost you less than $100.

YouTube video at the bottom of this post...

What is the Seat Occupancy Sensor:

The sensor determines if somebody is seating in the seat, and if they are, the air bag is activated in the event of an accident.  If the car can't determine if somebody is seating in the seat the Airbag light will turn ON, with a "Restraint system Malfunction!" error.

The Math :

Seat Occupancy sensor price: $800

Seat Occupancy sensor replacement price at the dealer: $2000

Foxwell 510 Elite: $180

OLD used car seat from a junk yard : $100 with 90 day warranty

Cygnetic bypass mat: $45

Why it's a bad idea to replace the Sensor instead of replacing the entire seat:

Air Bag Light

I tried replacing the sensor, I bought a new one, it ended up being the wrong one, the sensor needs to be exactly like the picture above, if it looks different it's not the correct one.  But long story short, the sensor is glued on to the foam, very difficult to remove because the seat has a few metal parts that are crimped to the metal part of the seat, and remove its very difficult, to put it back it's even more difficult.  I don't recommend trying it, I recommend just buying a used seat and replacing it that way. 

Replacing the Seat Sensor can be done, it's not IMPOSSIBLE, but I don't recommend it.  If you want to go that route, here is a link where you can get it: FCP Euro  note it's $800 dollars plus shipping

Replace the entire seat instead:

I got my USED seat at the Junk Yard: Pick your part in San Diego

800 Energy Way, Chula Vista, CA 91911

Only thing you have to make sure that it's the same seat type:  Same model year, and same options, take the old one out and plug the used one in, that it.  The old seat and the new seat should be identical in every way.

Please NOTE: to remove the old seat from the donor car, is going to require a battery, see how I did it in the video at the bottom of the post, in the video I explain how I did it.

Make sure you bring a friend or a Dolly, the seat is about 80lb

The down side of getting a used seat...

There is a chance that the replacement seat you get also has a bad Seat Occupancy Sensor,... possible but no likely.  when you go to the Junk Yard, just look for a descent car, not too old, and look and see how many miles it has.   Most cars in the lot have a sticker on the rear panel and you can see how many miles it had when it came into the yard.  This is the only way to find out how many miles the car has... because you can't turn the car on to see the mileage.  

Turning off the Air Bag Light after new (new used Seat) is installed:

I used the Foxwell 510 Elite, and all I had todo was: I ran the standard scan for the car, where it looks for anything wrong with the car.. The standard diagnostics.  One of the codes was for the air bag, just clear it just like you clear another code and that should do it.  

If you clear the Airbag Light, and with in a day or a week, the light comes back ON with the same code, chances are that you got a bad seat, I recommend going back to the junk yard and getting a different one.

Please note, that you can't clear the airbag light with a Cheap Bluetooth scanner, the Foxwell 510N Elite does clear this code, more expensive but for sure to work.

Seat Occupancy Sensor Mat Bypass:

I tried it, it didn't work for me, I followed all the instructions, believe me I wanted it to work, but it didn't.  It worked for a few days and then it didn't.  Something that I didn't like about the bypass is that it tells the car that somebody is always seating in the seat and so you need to have the Seatbelt buckle attached all the time, or it will tell you that the passenger doesn't have their seat belt ON.  If you just want to pass smog, maybe its worth it, but I would just get a used seat and be done, it's almost about the same price anyway. 

This is the one I tried, that didn't work, in case you are interested: Cygnetic

Link :Seat Occupancy Mat Bypass EMULATOR

Getting smog check:

If you need to do the smog check and your airbag light is ON, you will fail the smog check, so make sure you do one of these options before you go.

Very IMPORTANT: (If car involved in an accident)

IF you car was involved in a car accident, and you have the airbag light on, replacing the seat won't get rid of the light, in this case you have to replace the SRS ECU Module, and the module needs to be coded to the car.  Only way to fix this problem.  

Important NOTE:

My car was not involved in an accident, one day out of the blue the air bag light would turn On for a day and then it would turn OFF the following, sometimes it would be off for a month with no issues and then it would return, until one day it was solid ON and when I tried to clear it with the Foxwell it would not go away.  This was the reason I replaced the seat.  NOT because my car was in an accident and it blew an airbag.

Codes:

93C1 : MRS: Communication fault, seat-occupancy detector, passenger

93C3 : MRS: Seat-Occupancy detector, passenger

If you are looking to get a Foxwell 510N Elite, here is a link: Foxwell 510N Elite link

My YouTube video explaining more about this procedure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWuDnrs7iMQ&t=144s

I hope this as useful to you, good luck, until next time...

Transmission Service E90 BMW 330i 2006

Transmission Service
BMW 330i 2006 E90 233K miles

In this post I will be talking about the service I did to the Transmission Mechatronics of my BMW 330i 2006 E90.  I will give as much detail as I can and I will show as many pictures as I can.  As many details as I can.  This job is very time consuming, but not impossible to do at your house.

Watch the video below for tools and tips.  I write about my personal experience in this blog.

How it all started:

It all started about 2 months ago, when my wife drove the car off in the morning and I noticed an excessive amount of oil in the ground.  Now my car leaks oil from the Motor oil pan, I've known this for a while, and I haven't fixed it.  But I also knew that the amount of oil in the ground that day was excessive.  Later that week... I took my car to get an oil change and I asked the technician to check to see where the oil was coming and he confirmed my suspicions, the oil was actually Transmission fluid.

As a result I started learning as much as I could could about the transmission service, and this is what I learned....

What exactly is wrong with the transmission:

The Transmission fluid is coming out from around the Transmission Oil Pan(made of plastic).  The seal gasket is no longer good, and because it has little transmission fluid, the transmission started hesitating and jumping.  The transmission will give you codes if something is wrong, my car didn't give me any codes... 

First road block:

You first must know which transmission you have.  There are 2, they use different transmission fluid.  My transmission is a ZF6HP19  with Shell Fluid (same as Pentosin ATF1).  I believe most cars use this.

My transmission had a stamp number, pictured here, where you can see the 6HP19 number, to verify that is what you have.

Automatic Transmission applications:

Model                     Transmission                Manufacturer ID
328i, 328xi              6A6L45R (6 speed)     GM GM6 (metal transmission cover)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
325i, 325xi, 330i     6A6HP19Z (6 speed)    ZF 6HP19 (Plastic transmission cover)
330xi, 335i, 335xi 

If you are not sure which one you have, the transmission will have a stamp on the transmission, near the Fill Plug.  it will have the manufacturer stamp (GM6 or 6HP19)  my transmission above says 6HP19, in picture below.

This stamp is on the side of the fill plug, on top of the cable that is used to change the gear

If your car is Manual these are the specs below...

Manual transmission application

Model                       Transmission                 Manufacturer ID
325i, 328i                 GS6-17BG                   Getrag type 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
325i, 328xi, 330xi     GS6X-37BZ                ZF Type H
330i                            GS6-37BZ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
335i, 335xi                GS6-53DZ                   ZF type G
                                   GS6X-53DZ

Automatic Transmission Fluids:

Type                     BMW Part no.             Manufacturer part no.
6A6L45R             83 22 0 397 114           Dexron VI
GA6HP19Z          83 22 0 142 516           Shell M-1375.4

Pentosin ATF1 is a direct replacement to Shell M-1375.4

Manual transmission fluids

Transmission               Year range               Fluid Type
Getrag GS6-17BG       All                            MTF-LT-3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZF GS6-37BZ              To 03/2007              MTF-LT2
                                      From 03/2007         MTF-LT3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZF GS6-53BZ              To 03/2007              MTF-LT2
                                      From 03/2007         MTF-LT3

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------         
MTF-LT2 (Lifetime fluid) BMW part no. 83 22 0 309 031
MTF-LT3 (Lifetime fluid) BMW part no. 83 22 7 533 818

Process:

Lift the car off the ground, the car "must be level", to fill the trans fluid, if only the front wheels are off the ground this will not work.  Lift the front and the back.

Remove the cover under the car.  The Engine oil plastic shroud and the plastic transmission should under the car.

You will need an 8MM Allen wrench and a hammer to hit it a few times, to loosen the Fill plug.  YES I said a hammer to hit it.  The drain plug will be very tight and it will need a little persuasion to loosen, I also added penetrating oil.  Put the Allen wrench on the fill plug and hit it with a hammer a few times, to loosen.  DON'T STRIP THE FILL PLUG, take your time.  I held the Allen wrench tight on the Fill plug and hit it as hard as I could (righty tighty, lefty loosy) I hit the end of the Allen wrench, I also used an extension on the Allen wrench, but it didn't do anything.  What worked was hard taps on the wrench, I hit it about about 40 times.  before it got loose.  Again Don't strip the Fill plug, use a new Allen and TAKE YOUR TIME. 

Before you do anything make sure you can loosen the fill plug, if you CAN'T loosen this plug FIRST, don't do anything else, because you won't be able to fill the transmission fluid.  I am not talking about the Drain plug(PLASTIC), I am talking about the Fill plug(METAL).  The fill plug is made of metal.

Fill plug removed

Get a container for the drained trans fluid, and put it under the car by the Drain plug.  The drain plug is plastic and it's on the bottom of the transmission pan, the transmission pan is also plastic.  I heard that some may be metal, your experience may be different.

Undo the transmission drain plug with a 10MM Allen wrench, and let the transmission fluid drain, note that under normal circumstances, 7 liters of transmission fluid should be inside and only about 5 or 6 will drain.  The rest of the fluid will stay inside the transmission, this is normal.

Drain Plug removed

SIDE NOTE: the total drained fluid in my car was about 4 liters, this was because the fluid had been leaking on my car.  You may have 5 to 6 liters drain.  The total fluid capacity is 7 liters.

After the old transmission fluid is drained, put the plug back in and undo all of the screws around the transmission pan, and remove.  It will expose the mecatronics.  You will need to remove a metal peace connected to the exhaust pipes to get access to all the screws.

FYI: The transmission Pan also houses the Filter, it's integrated into the pan.

To remove the mecatronics system you will need to remove these screws. 10 in total.  The picture below also shows the order to tighten them when you put them back.  This is in the video I will provide below, keep reading...

Tighten these screws to 10 Newton meters.

When you take the mecatronics out it will look like this:

FYI, Mecatronics is heavy, use a jack after you remove all the screws to make it easier for you to handle.  Picture above.   I left 2 screws on it and then put the jack under it.  Then removed the last 2 screws to lower it.

TIP:  The transmission Cable moves a small plastic make sure you don't brake it taking out the mecatronics and or putting it back on.  In the Video they talk about this too...

Plastic on the right side of this picture

the different color motor looking things are actually solenoid motors.  Sometimes these can fail, the car will give you a code for each one, so you know which to replace.  

Which parts need to be serviced: all of these :)

Description and Cause of problems:

Round one is connector Mechatronics "Electronic connector": it has O-rings that can leak oil out

The rectangular one: it tends to get squeezed and it it doesn't send trans fluid to transmission properly.

4 small tubes.  They are the ones that need to be replaced when you are slowing down to almost a stop and your car suddenly surges forward. 

All are made of plastic, and you are suppose to replace them every 80K miles.  They are NOT life time parts.  If you are over 100K or 200K in your car, you should replace them, before your transmission completely fails.  My car has 230K miles and it's the first time I've replaced them.  Because I didn't know... If you do this yourself it's not that expensive, if you take it to a shop, be prepared to pay $500 to $600 dollars for service.  The transmission fluid alone is over $100 dollars...

All can be found independently, but if you buy a kit it's much easier.  KIT: oil pan, screws, and parts.  ZF (the company) makes a kit.  FCPEuro.com, has a kit, it's MUCH easier to just buy the KIT.  Because I knew exactly what I needed, I got the kit from Amazon and it was cheaper than FTC Euro.  But it's you call...  You decide... The Amazon parts I got worked great.

Link to FCP Euro: https://www.fcpeuro.com/

The Fluid is Pentosin ATF1 (replacement for Shell Trans fluid), you can also get it at FCP Europ, or your local Advanced Auto Parts.

If you have this label ( picture below ), use Pentosin ATF 1, BMW part number: 83220142516
As a replacement for the Shell M-1375.4 transmission fluid

I got my Pentosin from Advanced auto parts, a local store and I got exactly 7 Liters: (1) 5 liter container and 2 (1 liter), I ended up using exactly 7 liters in my car.

This was the sticker on my car BMW 330i 2006 E90, a label on the transmission cover label, the new cover I got didn't have this label.

To pump fluid back into transmission:

Use a Pittsburgh pump, don't use a small hand pump.  I got under the car to pump the Trans Fluid, kept pumping and oil did not go out of the 5 litter container, I had to go to Harbor Freight to get a new pump, wasted an hour...

Don't use this one...

Use this one

Fitment:

I did have a fitment issue with the cover/oil filter.  It was not a deal breaker, but expect to spend a little extra time to line everything up.

If you look closely, the whole is off to the side, if you try to start the screw you will strip it.  

If it feels like the screw(s) is not going in smooth, STOP and push the plastic oil cover towards the side it needs to be, to FLEX it, to the correct area and then the screw should go in smooth.  TAKE YOUR TIME.  All the screws should be started by hand and if it doesn't feel like it's going in smooth STOP, figure out what is going on, loosen the screws you already put on if you have to, to get the Plastic Pan aligned properly, all screws should go in smooth.  You don't want to mess this up, TAKE YOUR TIME, AND WORK SLOWLY.

How difficult is it?

I have never done this and it took me about 3 days in total to do the entire process.  Why??? Because I didn't have the tool and when I did I wanted to take my time to make sure I didn't strip or break something accidentally.  Somebody that knows what they are doing, could probably do this in a couple of hours...

If you are only doing the oil change it's easy, if you are replacing all the serviceable parts. I took my time and started all the screws by hand, etc...   If you are handy I recommend you try this.  It's not impossible, just time consuming, because I didn't have a lift, and working under the car makes it much more difficult.

This is a messy job, have plenty of cardboard and hand towels... Again this job is messy...

Good video to watch:

ShoplifeTV:  I've watched these guys for a while, they work on a lot of BMW cars, and this time, a video about transmission came very handy.  I recommend, it.  I am not affiliated to them but I recommend their channel.  I believe they are in the Los Angeles area, recently they were going to move to a new place... Check them out for more info...

This particular video has everything you need to do the transmission fluid change.

YouTube Channel:  ShoplifeTV  consider subscribing, these guys are great!  Some of the pictures in this post come from their video.  I would like to thank them for doing a very helpful video, with out their video, I wouldn't had the courage to tackle this job.  I believe their names are Selena and Jason.  Again thank you guys!

Tools:

You will need a torque wrench, if you don't have one get one.  You will need it for this job.  I got mine at Harbor Freight, it was not expensive.  Torque Specs are in the video, for all screws...  I also recomend a torkx tool set, and allen wrench set.  They talk about the specific specs in the video.

Tip:

When you are ready to remove the mecatronics, put a clean bag on the mecatronics to stop all of the fluid from making a mess... The bag will stick to the oil and stay in place.  Otherwise the oil will leak all over you when you start to remove the 10 screws. 

bag attached to bottom of mecatronics...  Bag will stick to the metal because of the Fluid.

Oil Pan Screw tightening order:

FYI:  Tranmission Fluid is very flammable, so don't use a torch to loosen the Fill plug!

Side Note:  When I first start the car after filling up the Transmission fluid, I went thru all the gears PRND, I got a message of "CAN'T GO INTO PARK", but after shifting the gear about 4 times, message went away.  Then everything was okay, no problems.  Just in case it happens to you too, know to expect that.  But it's normal.

Conclusion:

It took me a while to do the service, but it was worth it.  Way cheaper to do it yourself.  If you are mechanically inclined I recommend you do it.  I was scared to do it, but I took a stab at it and everything went great. 

Good luck to you, if you decide to do this service and until next time...

Questions or comments below...

I hope this was helpful to you!

I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.

Comment below if you have any questions...

Thank again and until next time

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Trunk Strut Replacement, E90 2006 330i BMW

Trunk Strut Replacement
E90 330i 2006 BMW 

By far the easier repair i've done to the BMW, anybody can do this!

It is very difficult to get something from the trunk with just one hand, because the other hand is busy holding up the trunk lid.... if your struts are bad, you know exactly what I am referring to.

You see after a while the struts lose their ability to hold the trunk UP.  To make your life easier... it's best to replace them.  Very easy problem to fix!

Today we will discuss how to replace them.  These are the steps...

First:
Before you do anything... order the CORRECT struts, it took me 3 tries to get the correct ones.  Make sure they are the correct length, because if they are 1/2 an inch or an inch too long..., you will "STRUGGLE" a lot... to just give up at the end...because the trunk won't close....  I accidentally picked the wrong model of car on Amazon, looking for a cheaper alternative, I accidently picked one that didn't fit my car.  Ofcourse, I didn't find out until they arrived, and they were an inch too long... later I found out they were for a Lexus trunk.... LOL... not sure how I missed that, when I ordered them.

The new replacement struts should be EXACTLY the same size in length...as the old ones, "Extended" of course.

Old struts  -- New Strut(inside bag).  They are exactly the same length.

Second: Removal of old strut
All you have to do is pry on the metal clip and pull away, then pull the strut out.  I used an angled pick, it worked really good.  It's okay if the clip is taken out completely, as they will be thrown away.  The new strut should come with new clip.

Third : Clean
Make sure you clean the Ball where the strut was seating, as you can see mine was very dirty.  If you leave it dirty like this, it will make the ball smaller from the dirt rubbing inside the strut....and then the strut will fall out of the ball... YOU DON'T want to deal with that problem... way more expensive to fix... just clean your balls please.... LOL

Fourth: Grease
Make sure your new strut comes with Grease, check inside the cavity.  If it doesn't have grease, apply a bit inside, don't go crazy, just a little will do.

Installation:
To install the strut just PUSH the strut cavity into the Ball and it will snap in place.

It's that easy!

Close and Open the trunk a few times to make sure the grease takes... The first and second time closing the trunk it will feel weird, like it's stuck, but that is okay, if you keep moving up and down the struts will fee normal... after a few tries.

Service: 
While you are in here, make sure to apply a bit of grease to all of the joints inside the trunk...  You car will thank you for it.  I used standard gear grease.

Where to buy:
I got my struts from Amazon.  Like I said earlier, do you homework, because it's very easy to get the wrong struts from Amazon.

These are the one I got....I am not affiliated to the seller, after a few tries, these were perfect.  The price was competitive too.  Less than $20 dollars shipped, for TWO.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C8UG5SK/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hope this was helpful to you.

I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.

Comment below if you have any questions...

Thank again and until next time

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BMW E90 330i 2006, with 224K miles, my experience in the last 13 years

224K E90 2006 BMW 330i, My Experience

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly...

In todays vlog I am going to tell you about everything that has gone into maintaining my car in shape for the last 13 years.  As I said in most of my car vlogs... my car has 224,000 miles, it's a 2006, E90 BMW 330I, I will try to include as much details as I can... if you have an E90, some of his may seem strangely familiar, I think...

One by one and I will tell you everything that has gone wrong with the car, or what has deteriorated to a point that I had to change or upgrade to maintain my car running in tip top shape.

My Cars Life Story

 This is the story of my car, the issues are in no particular order.  I will include a link if I made a vlog post.  My car was born in February 2006, and these are the items that have gone wrong since I first got my car in a cold february day...

Windshield top plastic trim: I remember when I looked at the plastic and it was looking very cracked, so much so that I pushed on it with my nail and a little chunk came out, I couldn't believe that such a thing would happen.  Over the next month before I got to replace it, it got extremely ugly.  In this article I show you how to replace it, I also include the video I made in the article.

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2013/07/windshield-trim-replacement-bmw-330i.html

Fuel Pump:  The fuel pump was one of the first things that I replaced on my car back in 2007, when all of sudden on the freeway the car just died, later I found out there was a recall on all E90s because the fuel pumps were failing.  By far the scariest thing I have experience with my car...  All of a sudden, doing 75 mph by the way... all of sudden my car turned OFF, and the car all of sudden slowed down, thankfully it was a morning I was going home early from work and there not many cars on the road...

Chances are that by now you probably already changed your fuel pump because it failed already... if you haven't... Congratulations, you got a good one!

Here is a link to BMW's own website for Recalls, enter your vin to find out...:
https://www.bmwusa.com/safety-and-emission-recalls.html

Navigation:  The navigation stopped working about 2009, it just stopped working, the screen went black, I was still under warranty and they replaced it for free, luckily.  Back then this was a very expensive thing to replace, I was so happy to still be under warranty at that time, to my surprise, the new screen was not the same as the old one, the new one didn't have same pictures as the old.

Now it's only a $100 dollar proposition, which is not bad, considering you can now get an upgraded Android version online for about $400 dollars, which is something completely different I know, but I just thought I would mention it. 

Google : e90 navigation upgrade  to see what I mean...

Transmission Fluid / Filter: Replaced about 3 years ago, when I noticed that when I exited the freeway my car would suddenly jerk forward as I slowed to a stop.  It did this progressively stronger jurk, until I decided to replace the Transmission fluid.  Of course BMW claims that you never need to replace the fluid, me knowing better, I went forward replacing fluid and filter... and my transmision worked normal since then...

Battery:  I've replaced the battery 4 times so far, in about 3 year intervals roughly, that is how long they last, so I am not surprised.  The car does warn you when the battery is starting to fail, sometimes it doesn't... be very careful because this will leave you stranded, if you can't find a jump...

BMWs own Battery replacement Website, https://bmwusaservice.com/batteries

will tell you price and location to replace, I recommend replacing the battery with original BMW because they will program the battery to your car.

Valve Cover Bolts:  I had a few bolts snap in half, honestly I didn't even notice it much at first, but I like to check the oil level periodically and I noticed that the oil dropped suddenly and when i checked the engine I could see a lot of oil around the engine, and so I opted to do the work myself.

Valve Cover Gasket: The same time I replaced the Valve Cover Bolts, I replaced the gasket, very easy to do.

My own Blog post:  https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2013/07/bmw-330i-2006-broken-bolts-valve-cover.html

AC compressor: The AC compressor lasted all way up to 2015, it had a good run.  It just seized, completely, it actually ripped the belt when it stopped spinning, it was making a lot of noise until the last days, I knew I had to replace it, I was not surprised when it stopped working, unfortunately it did stand me, I had to call a tow truck, plus to add insult to injury, the shop doing the ac compressor replacement ripped me off.  $1500 dollars it cost me to replace an ac compressor and condenser, but later I found out the condenser was not replaced... very upsetting... but hey sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

Next time I will replace it myself... in about 10 more years... lol

Tensioner:  Soon after the AC compressor went out I replaced the Tensioner, I did it myself not very difficult to do.  Very easy to replace

Link to my Blog post: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2014/10/is-there-cricket-in-my-engine-bay.html

AC Freon:  I've refilled the system one time so far since I had the car, lucky it was just that, no other service necessary. VERY easy to do, if you have this problem, try doing it yourself.

Here is my blog post, on how I did it: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2016/04/ac-re-fill-procedure-bmw-e90-2006.html



Windshield: I've had the windshield replaced once when something hit my windshield and cracked it, luckily it was under warranty so I didn't pay for anything, and they put an original windshield.

The company that replace it did a very bad job replacing it, but I do have an original BMW windshield, which is was my consolation prize for such an expensive ordeal, now it's not very expensive, but at the time, it was very expensive.

Halo Lights: I replaced the bulb with an LED bulb a while back and it looks better in my opinion, the color is not brown like the original bulb was, the LED makes it look more white color, than brown.  I've replaced the bulbs probably about 3 times, because they do go out, don't get me wrong, they last a long time, but since I've owned my car, I've replaced them about 3 times, by far the easiest mod I've done, with the most noticeable results.

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/05/angel-eye-upgrade-e90-halo-lights.html

Tail Light Bulb: I have only replaced one bulb one time for the tail lights, other than that bulb they are the original bulbs that came with the car.  I am very lucky in that by now I think they should of gone out, but haven't.  Very Easy To Do, link below on how to replace...

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2014/10/brake-light-out.html

Faded Headlights: The one things that makes my car look older than it really is, besides the paint of the car, is the Faded Headlights, I've tried using a headlight restore material but they fade back in about a month or so, I think the only thing to do is to get new ones unfortunately, ugghhh.

Body Paint:  Like I said the body paint is really bad, but considering how old the car is, I think its held up pretty good, but as you can see, its starting to show it's age.  I think I've hit a few rocks on the freeway over the years, even small rocks will damage the paint.

Interior Trim:  The interior of the car has held up pretty good, but there are a few areas that do show their age.  The silicone coat that they do on the plastics is starting to peel.



Speakers: I've had 3 speakers go bad, but I've fixed them myself, it was not easy but not difficult to do, I recommend you try it, I learned a lot from working on my own car. 

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2014/10/chime-speaker-broken-fix.html

Wheels: The wheels have held up pretty good, only the clear coat is starting to come off, I've considered applying a new clear vinyl myself, but I've never done it before, so I am a little scared to do it, if anything I don't want them to look uglier after I "fix" them...  lol, which is a possibility, so I don't have plans to do that anytime soon.

Belts:  I've only replaced the main belt 2 times, 1 time when it snapped because the AC compressor seized, and other when it was starting to look old.

VANOS: They have never been replaced, but they have been cleaned, MANY times.  If you get a code for the VANOS, take them both out and clean them.  I have a Vlog for that I will post a link below:

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2014/10/vanos-service-with-instructions.html


Floor matts: The main driver floor matt was so bad that I eventually decided to replace both of the front matts with plastic matts, I prefer them to the OEM ones because they are much easier to clean.

Oil Change and Oil Filter:  I usually do these every 6 months of 5K miles, I've done them sooner and I've done them way late, past 15K miles.  I don't recommend going past 5K miles, because it's bad for the engine.  Plus in my experience, the oil filter tends to disintegrate from normal use after 6K miles and then little pieces of the oil filter go through the engine and they get stuck inside the vanos!!! and then you will get codes for "bad" VANOS. 

Change your oil at 6K please, for the good of the car.

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/04/resetting-service-requirement-oil.html

Air Filter:  Usually replaced every 2 years or so, I eventually got a K&N filter instead, a bit more expensive but you can clean it and put it back, if you live in the city I recommend it, but if you live near any type of dirt road, I don't recommend it, because the air filter will get very nasty and it will clog up faster than you standard filter, as you know K&N filter use OIL on the filter, and that oil attracts dirt like crazy. 

I know there are 2 schools of thought about this, but this has been my experience,

Cabin Filter:  In the last 4 years I've taken out the filter and cleaned it with soap and water and I put it right back, honestly, I don't notice the difference between a new CAB filter and me cleaning it, so now I just clean it and I put it back.  The only side effects about cleaning it yourself is that its never completely clean and it will smell moldy if you don't do it right.... if you don't want to deal with this replace it with a new one, about $15 dollars in Amazon, I will include a link below

Link : https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2019/05/cabin-air-filter-replacement-e90.html

Rear Window Tint:  I've had to replace the tint, because it started to bubble, I could of done it myself but I opted to have a professional do it instead.  I didn't want to risk it looking worse than it was and at the end having to pay a professional to do it.  From the heat inside the car, overtime the rear window tint will bubble up, this happens to most cars, and if yours is old like mine it will bubble up eventually... I guarantee it.

Window Regulators: Both the back window regulators stopped working, I replaced both with in 1 year, back in 2010.  I haven't had a single problem since.  I tried doing it myself, I replaced the first regulator, easy enough to do, but to "CODE" the window regulator I couldn't figure it out, so for about half a year, if I rolled the window up... all the way it... would just roll down half way down.  Very annoying, I never figured out how to fix it.  So when the second one broke I took it to the dealer and they replaced the bad window regulator and they coded the second one for free.

I have the instructions on how to reset, but didn't have the patience to figure it out myself, I was successful 1 time in resetting it, but it went back to not working when I kept trying it... the instructions are so specific, it's hard to do it without having a coding machine.

If you want to try it, I have the instructions in the blog below...

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2013/08/window-reset-instructions-bmw-330i-2006.html

CCV Valve:  Crankcase Ventilation Valve, by far one of the trickiest things to diagnose, because it doesn't give you a "code" telling you... It's this, and this is why the car is running crappy because you are losing vacuum... and also why you are losing so much oil from the engine...  and why when you accelerate hard you get a lot of smoke come out of the exhaust, but when you drive normal, no smoke....

The result of a bad CCV valve is that it sucks up a ton of oil back into the intake of the car and so it seems like you are burning an excessive amount of oil, but in reality it's just the CCV Valve diaphragm.  It makes the car smoke "sometimes" and the car hesitates, and it has less power.  I have a couple of great articles, where I talk about this... links below.

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/09/engine-oil-bmw-330i-e90-2006.html

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/04/ccv-valve-crankcase-ventilation-valve.html

Heater Hose:  Very tricky to replace, but not difficult, I started to see "smoke" come up from the windshield as a I waited in a traffic light, and it caught my attention, then when I pulled over and checked it was actually "heat" from the engine, you see this hose carries hot fumes from the engine and it recycles it back into the intake.  I don't know who it broke, but it was very brittle when I took it out. It's made of thin plastic unfortunately.

Starter:  Again very tricky to replace, but not impossible, I have an article on how I replaced mine.  Highly recommend you try doing it yourself, because the dealer will charge you an arm and a leg to replace it.  It's not that bad, see the article for more information, link below:

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2019/01/starter-replacement-e90-bmw-330i-2006.html

Alternator:  Very easy to do, I recommend you give this a try. One of the easiest things I've done to my car, link below for the article:

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/04/alternator-replacement-e90-330i-2006-bmw.html

Windshield Wiper Reservoir:  If you've never replaced this reservoir by now, it's probably very bridle.  My reservoir wouldn't hold any liquid, so I replaced it myself, very easy to do, just some time and the right tools.  Link below on how I did it.

Link: https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2016/07/windshield-wiper-fluid-reservoir-nozzle.html

Accident:  Side note, I did have an accident with the car, a big metal rod came out of a big truck and it got stuck in my roof, very dangerous, luckily nothing happened, it was in the BMW shop for almost 2 months, while they "replaced the roof", total mistake taking it to the dealer to fix, they outsourced the repairs, but the entire time they told me it was in house repair.  They did a very bad job, and it cost me an arm and a leg, it left s very sour taste with that dealer, the same dealership closed a few years later...so I guess I wasn't the only one with issues.

I hope this was helpful to you.

I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.

Comment below if you have any questions...

Thank again and until next time

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