Automobile / BMW / 525i

BMW 525i Car Repair Questions and Answers

Question: 1995 BMW 525i. My BMW is always giving off white smoke. I noticed it does not overheat or anything like that. The outside temperature is 38 deg F. All the other cars are running fine. Sometimes I smell coolant inside the car but have been unable to find a wet spot in the car. Help.

Answer: White smoke when first started is normal. If white smoke continues you have an internal coolant leak, i.e., cracked head/blown head gasket. Black smoke is caused by a rich fuel condition. Blue smoke is caused by oil consumption. The smell of coolant inside your car is caused by a leaking heater core.

Question: 1998 BMW 525i mileage: 90,000.  The service indicator lights in the instrument cluster are not working either are the lights for the odometer, gear selector and oil change indicator.

Answer: The problem you have described may require that you replace the instrument motherboard.

Question: 1990 BMW 525i mileage: 140,000.  My BMW 525i has started to pop out of first gear occasionally. What do you think is wrong?

Answer: The reason your transmission pops out of first gear is probably because of a worn synchromesh in the transmission.  To replace it, requires disassembling the transmission.

Question: 1995 BMW 525i mileage: 87,000.  After the car has warmed up I get a hesitation and shudder on initial acceleration from a dead stop (almost like it's flooding). It does not do this when the car is cold AND interestingly it goes away for about 5 minutes if I turn the car off and back on again.   BMW service techs have put it on the computer and all checks out fine.  It sounds to me like some sensor is reading wrong once the computer kicks in.  Does this sound reasonable?  If so, what sensor is likely faulty given that the computer says all is fine when it obviously is not?  I can't afford to replace every sensor on the car to fix this.

Answer: It sounds like you may have a bad power train control module.
 

Question: 1999 BMW 525i mileage: 97,000.  I recently purchased what appeared to be an exceptionally well maintained 525i, which at the time of purchase had identified what appeared to be a wheel balancing problem.  As it turns out this did not rectify either a mild shudder, which is evident throughout the vehicle, or a speed dependant vibration, which is both, transmitted through the steering wheel and the seat of your pants.  Subsequently, the entire suspension system and drive train has been checked on several occasions, and the BMW mechanics have replaced the drive shaft, which had no impact, followed by the left rear axle, which appears to have removed the general vibration, which was evident at all, speeds.  What remains is a persistent vibration which comes in at 55 mph, becomes more violent as you approach 60 mph, and then tapers off, but remains at a lesser degree of severity.   The BMW mechanics appear to have no solution, and are unwilling to replace either the tires or the wheels.  For my money, the problem is either one or two slightly buckled rims (two rims are well scuffed), or out of round tires, or a combination of both.  I have no way of confirming this by way of a conventional balancing machine, most of which do not exceed 30 mph. Basically, my question is, where do I go from here? Any assistance would be most appreciated.

Answer: I recommend new wheels and tires should help the problem. If two wheels are showing scuffs, they could have been hit very hard and are truly destroyed. It doesn't take much to unbalance a wheel.



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