BMW E82 125i Coupe (not another bloody N52...)
Discussion
So I thought I'd finally get around to making a thread about my current car, since I've now done about 3000 miles in it and it's not blown up on me... I'm sure you're all dying to read about yet another straight-6 BMW but first, a bit of car history.
MINI R50 One
My first car. Armed with fond memories of my Mum owning a then new R56 Cooper S, generally very good reviews of the driving experience, and the fact that my parents were very kindly paying the insurance bill and this was the most petrol-head worthy car I could get approved... I ended up buying this. Bloody loved the thing, and it'll always be the car I properly learnt to drive in. Caning it up to Glasgow from Yorkshire with 2 mates in the car is something I'll probably not forget, and I'll probably always hanker after an R53 Cooper S as a result. Unfortunately after about 2 years it was throwing up a £200+ repair bill nearly every month and the infamous midlands gearbox was on its way out (possibly exacerbated by my attempts to learn heel-toe) so with an incredibly generous offer to buy me a new(er) car from my parents, off we went car shopping...
Alfa MiTo 1.6 JTDm
Enter car no. 2, the mighty MiTo. As mentioned, this was an incredibly generous gift from the bank of Mum and Dad so anything too mad was out of the question. After looking at R56 MINI's, Fiesta's (wanted to love these but my size 11 feet struggled a bit with the pedal box) and various other hatches we came across a MiTo, well within budget and with low mileage. Red... check. Teledials... check. Having never driven anything with more than 100hp at this point the 120hp diesel felt like a rocketship, the frankly crap ride was pretty refined compared to a MINI on runflats, and I did (and still do) really like the looks- particularly the 8C inspired tail-lights. So that became my car for the next 3ish years, and generally cost me peanuts to run- 55mpg even driving like a stereotypical 19 year old. All it needed was a few coil springs (common issue on these) and a boost pipe. But having finally graduated uni, and having a bit of money to spend and a hankering for a 'proper' car its days were unfortunately numbered.
I'd grown up with BMWs, my Dad had 2 E90 320d's, my Mum had the aforementioned R56 Cooper S and an E88 120d Convertible, and at the point of me passing my test the family car was an F10 520d. So needless to say I was a bit of a BMW fanboy, and for some time had been lusting after something RWD, manual, and with a straight-6...
Interlude: BMW M340d/M340i
My first M340d
So I'm now a graduate, which means having a real job... a job with an organisation which, as it turns out, has a rather good contract with a hire car company. Around October of 2021 I needed to go on a couple of trips for work, booked a hire car and a man turned up at my door with keys to an M340d. I could not believe my luck- I'm 23 years old and I've been given a £50k BMW to use unsupervised. So off I go the next day... I'd driven my Mum's (new to us) G29 Z4 20i for a few weeks, which is a decently quick car and at the time was a revelation, but that 3.0 diesel takes it to another level. And so refined compared to my 1.6 diesel... but sadly all things must come to an end and off it went back to the depot a few days later.
The M340i, after a very grubby drive back from Bedfordshire
Cut to Jan of this year... and an M340i gets dropped off outside my house. I literally cannot believe my luck... If the M340d was winning the lottery, this is winning the Euromillions... regardless, I hop in and point it towards my destination (imagining I'm a respectable car journalist, although maybe stopping at a service station purely so I could gun it up the slip road back onto the M4...). Fortuitously, my route took me through Milton Keynes. As it turns out, this proved the ideal environment to demonstrate the B58 in Sport+. I'd always thought flappy paddles on most automatics were a bit of a gimmick... but going up and down the gears through the many NSL dual carriageways and roundabouts through MK will probably always be one of my greatest driving memories. I'd always wanted a petrol straight-6, and this experience properly justified it... the idea of a straight-6 really did live up to my expectations and a bit more... and so not long after handing the M340i back to the hire company I was looking for a straight-6 of my own...
Finally to the point... E82 125i Coupe
At this point I'd been a BMW fanboy for a good decade. At the age of 13 I spent all my pocket money on an Xbox 360 purely for Forza Motorsport 4 because it had a much better selection of BMWs than my beloved Gran Turismo, and it was that game that introduced me to the E28 M5... a car that has been my favourite and dream car ever since.
Ever since I've wanted a 'proper' driver's car- manual, 6-cylinder, RWD... at the time I pretended other cars were an option such as the 350/370Z or even a GT86 with some unequal-length headers and some supplementary mods... but realistically I'd settled on the 125i as my next car about 12 months ago. Those few days with the M340i however, gave me the nudge to actually go for it. Almost immediately after me mentally committing to the purchase, what was nearly my ideal spec popped up. Slightly higher mileage than I wanted, and lacking Xenons and DAB (the latter seems to be rare as hen's teeth) but it was Space Grey over Coral Red leather, with Pro CIC iDrive, heated seats, and cruise control. It was also for sale privately and a good deal cheaper than fairly equivalent cars I'd seen for sale with dealers... and it was in Cornwall. Luckily I'm in Bristol, so popped down that weekend to give it a test drive and a good look over...
The owner hadn't given me any interior photos, which it turns out was probably because all of the aluminium trim was covered in a pretty hideous 'alcantara' wrap that had faded and was starting to look very tatty. However, it had a full BMW service history, seemed well cared for, the VANOS system had been overhauled 18 months prior (again by BMW) and the other two cars on the drive were a brand new JCW MINI Convertible and a nicely kept DB9, along with a Datsun 510 restoration project in the garage. A test drive felt, to be frank, a pretty slow compared to the M340i I'd just handed back but revealed a very healthy and revvy engine (much livelier at the top end than I've been led to believe for a 125i) and a beautifully crisp sound... So I drove up to Shropshire for the Christening of my Goddaughter that afternoon and after a wonderful weekend with some very close friends I did what everyone always recommends and bought the first one I saw in a private sale with no warranty... The Alfa was sold the following week and my best mate very kindly offered to drive me down the next weekend to collect it, so I was then the proud owner of a 125i! It even did 34mpg on the way back, and that was with a bit of fun keeping up with some pretty decent stuff in the outside lane on the way home...
With my best mate's Focus at Cornwall Services on the way home.
One thing I knew it needed doing was a service- I'd hoped to get it in with Redish Motorsport who are only a few miles away from me, but their waiting list was so huge and the need for a service was quite urgent, so it ended up going in to Dick Lovett. That was a pretty nerve-wracking day, not going to lie... a 12 year old BMW with 74,000 miles on, at a main dealer! I could only imagine the list of things they were going to come back to me with. But thankfully, it got a pretty clean bill of health... I'll need to sort the upper rear control arms at some point this year (it's due a brake fluid change and MOT in July so they'll get sorted then) but everything else was good- plenty of meat on the pads, good tires, and most incredibly for a 12 year-old N52 no oil leaks! (Yet...)
On a walking trip with my Dad, outside Llanthony Priory- great place for a walk and a beer, and a pretty interesting drive up, with a nice single track lane that allows a little bit of progress.
After a day of car washing... my 125i, my Mum's G29 Z4 20i and my Dad's G20 330i (temporarily parked on the neighbor's drive).
So that brings us fairly up-to-date. I've put well over 2000 miles on it since the service and according to the sensor the oil level is still at the max, so it doesn't seem to be using hardly any oil. The awful alcantara wrap on the trim has been removed, a 'clubsport' gearknob has been fitted and the incorrectly placed 125i badge has been removed, although unfortunately I'm too incompetent to have any pictures. Plans for the future include a remap to the engine's full 270ish hp potential, maybe some suspension work (M3 control arms etc) and a bit of tweaking to the exhaust, along with improving the 'connectivity' since I'm currently relying on a load of mp3's loaded onto the hard drive. Oh, and hopefully a CDV delete!
MINI R50 One
My first car. Armed with fond memories of my Mum owning a then new R56 Cooper S, generally very good reviews of the driving experience, and the fact that my parents were very kindly paying the insurance bill and this was the most petrol-head worthy car I could get approved... I ended up buying this. Bloody loved the thing, and it'll always be the car I properly learnt to drive in. Caning it up to Glasgow from Yorkshire with 2 mates in the car is something I'll probably not forget, and I'll probably always hanker after an R53 Cooper S as a result. Unfortunately after about 2 years it was throwing up a £200+ repair bill nearly every month and the infamous midlands gearbox was on its way out (possibly exacerbated by my attempts to learn heel-toe) so with an incredibly generous offer to buy me a new(er) car from my parents, off we went car shopping...
Alfa MiTo 1.6 JTDm
Enter car no. 2, the mighty MiTo. As mentioned, this was an incredibly generous gift from the bank of Mum and Dad so anything too mad was out of the question. After looking at R56 MINI's, Fiesta's (wanted to love these but my size 11 feet struggled a bit with the pedal box) and various other hatches we came across a MiTo, well within budget and with low mileage. Red... check. Teledials... check. Having never driven anything with more than 100hp at this point the 120hp diesel felt like a rocketship, the frankly crap ride was pretty refined compared to a MINI on runflats, and I did (and still do) really like the looks- particularly the 8C inspired tail-lights. So that became my car for the next 3ish years, and generally cost me peanuts to run- 55mpg even driving like a stereotypical 19 year old. All it needed was a few coil springs (common issue on these) and a boost pipe. But having finally graduated uni, and having a bit of money to spend and a hankering for a 'proper' car its days were unfortunately numbered.
I'd grown up with BMWs, my Dad had 2 E90 320d's, my Mum had the aforementioned R56 Cooper S and an E88 120d Convertible, and at the point of me passing my test the family car was an F10 520d. So needless to say I was a bit of a BMW fanboy, and for some time had been lusting after something RWD, manual, and with a straight-6...
Interlude: BMW M340d/M340i
My first M340d
So I'm now a graduate, which means having a real job... a job with an organisation which, as it turns out, has a rather good contract with a hire car company. Around October of 2021 I needed to go on a couple of trips for work, booked a hire car and a man turned up at my door with keys to an M340d. I could not believe my luck- I'm 23 years old and I've been given a £50k BMW to use unsupervised. So off I go the next day... I'd driven my Mum's (new to us) G29 Z4 20i for a few weeks, which is a decently quick car and at the time was a revelation, but that 3.0 diesel takes it to another level. And so refined compared to my 1.6 diesel... but sadly all things must come to an end and off it went back to the depot a few days later.
The M340i, after a very grubby drive back from Bedfordshire
Cut to Jan of this year... and an M340i gets dropped off outside my house. I literally cannot believe my luck... If the M340d was winning the lottery, this is winning the Euromillions... regardless, I hop in and point it towards my destination (imagining I'm a respectable car journalist, although maybe stopping at a service station purely so I could gun it up the slip road back onto the M4...). Fortuitously, my route took me through Milton Keynes. As it turns out, this proved the ideal environment to demonstrate the B58 in Sport+. I'd always thought flappy paddles on most automatics were a bit of a gimmick... but going up and down the gears through the many NSL dual carriageways and roundabouts through MK will probably always be one of my greatest driving memories. I'd always wanted a petrol straight-6, and this experience properly justified it... the idea of a straight-6 really did live up to my expectations and a bit more... and so not long after handing the M340i back to the hire company I was looking for a straight-6 of my own...
Finally to the point... E82 125i Coupe
At this point I'd been a BMW fanboy for a good decade. At the age of 13 I spent all my pocket money on an Xbox 360 purely for Forza Motorsport 4 because it had a much better selection of BMWs than my beloved Gran Turismo, and it was that game that introduced me to the E28 M5... a car that has been my favourite and dream car ever since.
Ever since I've wanted a 'proper' driver's car- manual, 6-cylinder, RWD... at the time I pretended other cars were an option such as the 350/370Z or even a GT86 with some unequal-length headers and some supplementary mods... but realistically I'd settled on the 125i as my next car about 12 months ago. Those few days with the M340i however, gave me the nudge to actually go for it. Almost immediately after me mentally committing to the purchase, what was nearly my ideal spec popped up. Slightly higher mileage than I wanted, and lacking Xenons and DAB (the latter seems to be rare as hen's teeth) but it was Space Grey over Coral Red leather, with Pro CIC iDrive, heated seats, and cruise control. It was also for sale privately and a good deal cheaper than fairly equivalent cars I'd seen for sale with dealers... and it was in Cornwall. Luckily I'm in Bristol, so popped down that weekend to give it a test drive and a good look over...
The owner hadn't given me any interior photos, which it turns out was probably because all of the aluminium trim was covered in a pretty hideous 'alcantara' wrap that had faded and was starting to look very tatty. However, it had a full BMW service history, seemed well cared for, the VANOS system had been overhauled 18 months prior (again by BMW) and the other two cars on the drive were a brand new JCW MINI Convertible and a nicely kept DB9, along with a Datsun 510 restoration project in the garage. A test drive felt, to be frank, a pretty slow compared to the M340i I'd just handed back but revealed a very healthy and revvy engine (much livelier at the top end than I've been led to believe for a 125i) and a beautifully crisp sound... So I drove up to Shropshire for the Christening of my Goddaughter that afternoon and after a wonderful weekend with some very close friends I did what everyone always recommends and bought the first one I saw in a private sale with no warranty... The Alfa was sold the following week and my best mate very kindly offered to drive me down the next weekend to collect it, so I was then the proud owner of a 125i! It even did 34mpg on the way back, and that was with a bit of fun keeping up with some pretty decent stuff in the outside lane on the way home...
With my best mate's Focus at Cornwall Services on the way home.
One thing I knew it needed doing was a service- I'd hoped to get it in with Redish Motorsport who are only a few miles away from me, but their waiting list was so huge and the need for a service was quite urgent, so it ended up going in to Dick Lovett. That was a pretty nerve-wracking day, not going to lie... a 12 year old BMW with 74,000 miles on, at a main dealer! I could only imagine the list of things they were going to come back to me with. But thankfully, it got a pretty clean bill of health... I'll need to sort the upper rear control arms at some point this year (it's due a brake fluid change and MOT in July so they'll get sorted then) but everything else was good- plenty of meat on the pads, good tires, and most incredibly for a 12 year-old N52 no oil leaks! (Yet...)
On a walking trip with my Dad, outside Llanthony Priory- great place for a walk and a beer, and a pretty interesting drive up, with a nice single track lane that allows a little bit of progress.
After a day of car washing... my 125i, my Mum's G29 Z4 20i and my Dad's G20 330i (temporarily parked on the neighbor's drive).
So that brings us fairly up-to-date. I've put well over 2000 miles on it since the service and according to the sensor the oil level is still at the max, so it doesn't seem to be using hardly any oil. The awful alcantara wrap on the trim has been removed, a 'clubsport' gearknob has been fitted and the incorrectly placed 125i badge has been removed, although unfortunately I'm too incompetent to have any pictures. Plans for the future include a remap to the engine's full 270ish hp potential, maybe some suspension work (M3 control arms etc) and a bit of tweaking to the exhaust, along with improving the 'connectivity' since I'm currently relying on a load of mp3's loaded onto the hard drive. Oh, and hopefully a CDV delete!
I remember looking at the coupe when trying to get into an N52 engined car, but at the time they were much more expensive compared to the hatchabck 130i that I ended up with.
Yours sounds like it a good car. In any case these cars are pretty simple and most things are easy to rectify.
Yours sounds like it a good car. In any case these cars are pretty simple and most things are easy to rectify.
Looks great OP - I'm a big fan of this era BMW having owned a 330, 125, 130i and now have a 335i.
My other half as a 125i cab in Space Gray Metallic, but with boring black leathers.
The remap really livens the engine up (I had a 130i for a while at the same time and the 125i felt flat as anything in comparison). I'd also upgrade the front brakes to 130i spec; all you need is the bigger discs and brake carriers.
The M3 LCA's make a really good improvement to the front end especially with the camber pin mod too (that's been done to her 125i this year).
My other half as a 125i cab in Space Gray Metallic, but with boring black leathers.
The remap really livens the engine up (I had a 130i for a while at the same time and the 125i felt flat as anything in comparison). I'd also upgrade the front brakes to 130i spec; all you need is the bigger discs and brake carriers.
The M3 LCA's make a really good improvement to the front end especially with the camber pin mod too (that's been done to her 125i this year).
I’m going against the grain, but they’ve never looked right. The proportions/ body line. Look a bit weirdly bubble car. The roof line is too high.
I’m sure it’s a great thing to drive and good on you if it was cheap etc but I feel it lacks looks/ style/ stance, I guess it doesn’t look like it’s moving stood still. A sports car looks ready to pounce !
I’m sure it’s a great thing to drive and good on you if it was cheap etc but I feel it lacks looks/ style/ stance, I guess it doesn’t look like it’s moving stood still. A sports car looks ready to pounce !
Nice purchase and ~70K miles is quite low mileage for a 2010 car surely?
I really like my "hot wash" BMW - the proportions of the car I like a lot (not really a hatchback fan) and it's a fun drive - even on track
Sofa said:
A test drive felt, to be frank, a pretty slow compared to the M340i I'd just handed back but revealed a very healthy and revvy engine (much livelier at the top end than I've been led to believe for a 125i) and a beautifully crisp sound...
Sounds like it's already been re-mapped to me - mine was horribly asthmatic above 5000rpm (just where it felt like it wanted to get up and go it went flat) the difference when remapped is it's zingy all the way round the rev counterI really like my "hot wash" BMW - the proportions of the car I like a lot (not really a hatchback fan) and it's a fun drive - even on track
Nice car history OP. 
There's a reason why there are so many threads about BMWs with the N52 - they are just so good!
I've had two in E86 Z4 Coupes, a 325i in a 3 Series and currently an E90 330i daily. And your 60 plate E82 must have been one of the last BMWs to have that engine.
If you do decide to upgrade your front brakes I'm pretty sure the 123d had the same set up as the 130i so that may widen your options for caliper carriers. I have a feeling E46 330s used the same parts too, but "realoem" is your friend!
There's a reason why there are so many threads about BMWs with the N52 - they are just so good!
I've had two in E86 Z4 Coupes, a 325i in a 3 Series and currently an E90 330i daily. And your 60 plate E82 must have been one of the last BMWs to have that engine.
If you do decide to upgrade your front brakes I'm pretty sure the 123d had the same set up as the 130i so that may widen your options for caliper carriers. I have a feeling E46 330s used the same parts too, but "realoem" is your friend!
Jelfy said:
Looks like a tidy motor! I've always fancied one of these as a daily but with the way fuel prices are going it may never happen 
Thank you! The bloke I bought it off wished me good luck with the petrol prices when I drove off... I laughed it off as a friendly joke at the time (February) when it was starting to touch £1.60 a litre but I think he might have the last laugh... 
roadie said:
I remember looking at the coupe when trying to get into an N52 engined car, but at the time they were much more expensive compared to the hatchabck 130i that I ended up with.
Yours sounds like it a good car. In any case these cars are pretty simple and most things are easy to rectify.
Thank you, I'm hoping it's a decent one, the initial service was promising but I'm sure it'll surprise me yet! The coupes do seem to be generally more valuable, but when I was looking it seemed like the 130i's were very expensive for their relative age and mileage. I'm hoping the 125i's will follow suit, especially since 135i's and 1M's seem to be getting very pricey!Yours sounds like it a good car. In any case these cars are pretty simple and most things are easy to rectify.
Om said:
Lovely looking car. I have always liked the early 1 series coupes - shades of the early 70s CS coupes.
Thank you, I've had a soft spot for them ever since my Mum had an E88 120d Convertible... Comparing it to an E9 is very generous but I do feel it's a great design and one which encompasses most the classic BMW styling cues- particularly when you compare it to some of the new stuff!Court_S said:
Looks great OP - I'm a big fan of this era BMW having owned a 330, 125, 130i and now have a 335i.
My other half as a 125i cab in Space Gray Metallic, but with boring black leathers.
The remap really livens the engine up (I had a 130i for a while at the same time and the 125i felt flat as anything in comparison). I'd also upgrade the front brakes to 130i spec; all you need is the bigger discs and brake carriers.
The M3 LCA's make a really good improvement to the front end especially with the camber pin mod too (that's been done to her 125i this year).
Thanks mate, I think I've read most of your ownership threads start to finish multiple times over while preparing to buy this one! Definitely hoping to do most of those mods at some point, although the remap is probably the priority at this point- I seldom get to explore the handling with most of the driving I do sadly.My other half as a 125i cab in Space Gray Metallic, but with boring black leathers.
The remap really livens the engine up (I had a 130i for a while at the same time and the 125i felt flat as anything in comparison). I'd also upgrade the front brakes to 130i spec; all you need is the bigger discs and brake carriers.
The M3 LCA's make a really good improvement to the front end especially with the camber pin mod too (that's been done to her 125i this year).
austinsmirk said:
I’m going against the grain, but they’ve never looked right. The proportions/ body line. Look a bit weirdly bubble car. The roof line is too high.
I’m sure it’s a great thing to drive and good on you if it was cheap etc but I feel it lacks looks/ style/ stance, I guess it doesn’t look like it’s moving stood still. A sports car looks ready to pounce !
Yeah I think they're a bit of an acquired taste styling wise- I love it personally but I can totally understand why people have issues! The roofline is a bit awkward which I believe is a symptom of sharing a body-shell up to the B-pillar with the 3-door hatch.I’m sure it’s a great thing to drive and good on you if it was cheap etc but I feel it lacks looks/ style/ stance, I guess it doesn’t look like it’s moving stood still. A sports car looks ready to pounce !
B'stard Child said:
Sounds like it's already been re-mapped to me - mine was horribly asthmatic above 5000rpm (just where it felt like it wanted to get up and go it went flat) the difference when remapped is it's zingy all the way round the rev counter
I really like my "hot wash" BMW - the proportions of the car I like a lot (not really a hatchback fan) and it's a fun drive - even on track
Yours looks great, and I'm definitely a big fan of your homemade M-Performance exhaust! I'm in two minds as to whether it's been re-mapped or not... mine really picks up at about 4000rpm and initially felt very strong to the redline, but I think that was mostly because it's the first decent naturally aspirated petrol engine I've driven. The more I drive it the more I do feel like it dies off a bit around 5000rpm and has a lot more to give at the top...I really like my "hot wash" BMW - the proportions of the car I like a lot (not really a hatchback fan) and it's a fun drive - even on track
Mr Tidy said:
Nice car history OP.
There's a reason why there are so many threads about BMWs with the N52 - they are just so good!
I've had two in E86 Z4 Coupes, a 325i in a 3 Series and currently an E90 330i daily. And your 60 plate E82 must have been one of the last BMWs to have that engine.
If you do decide to upgrade your front brakes I'm pretty sure the 123d had the same set up as the 130i so that may widen your options for caliper carriers. I have a feeling E46 330s used the same parts too, but "realoem" is your friend!
Thank you Tidy- big fan of the Z4M/E90 330i combo! I do believe it is the last BMW model to use the N52, and one of the last to use a naturally aspirated straight-6! Thanks for the info on the front brakes, I'll definitely look into that- the upgrade is very tempting- I'm already thinking about M3 control arms and Bilstein shocks thanks to a number of other posters...There's a reason why there are so many threads about BMWs with the N52 - they are just so good!
I've had two in E86 Z4 Coupes, a 325i in a 3 Series and currently an E90 330i daily. And your 60 plate E82 must have been one of the last BMWs to have that engine.
If you do decide to upgrade your front brakes I'm pretty sure the 123d had the same set up as the 130i so that may widen your options for caliper carriers. I have a feeling E46 330s used the same parts too, but "realoem" is your friend!
Lovely car OP - I've had one of these for coming up 8 years now and it's been superb - easily the best car I've ever had. I've put over 100k miles on it in that time and it's been perfectly reliable - other than usual servicing, I've had to fix a couple of ignition coils, a wheel bearing and the reluctor rings on the rear axle. I refreshed the suspension around 125k as it was getting tired, and had the wheels refurbished last year - oh and of course the all important remap - but other than that it's pretty much been add fuel, a little oil and enjoy.
Now it's on 163k it could do with some attention, as oil use is getting concerning and it needs a new ABS Sensor, perfectly acceptable after so many trouble free miles however.
Now it's on 163k it could do with some attention, as oil use is getting concerning and it needs a new ABS Sensor, perfectly acceptable after so many trouble free miles however.
Thanks Bodhi, definitely reassuring to see someone who's put so many miles on one and not only have so few issues but also still enjoy the car!
So the 'shadowline' trim oxidising and going spotty (best way I can describe it is like an oil slick in water) is quite a common thing on this age of BMW, and was starting to annoy me as it did let the car down while it was clean. Apparently just some polish can work wonders, so I gave that a go and was pretty happy with the initial results (about 20 minutes of work all-in).
It doesn't come across brilliantly in photos (before is top, after below) but looked a lot better in person. A month or two later and it's pretty much back to its original appearance sadly- although I'm not able to wash it myself where I live so I don't know whether it's down to the cleaning materials the local hand car wash use, or it not being properly dried off... and I know, I shouldn't be using them but it's preferable to baked on birds
t, especially when this is what my local seagulls can do in a matter of 24 hours:
About 2 days after I'd washed, polished and waxed it as well.
The car also rewarded me for its pampering by developing a slightly annoying noise that sounds rather like a bit of loose plastic sliding around inside the armrest, mainly in low speed corners. Luckily not too loud and pretty difficult to notice with music on or the windows down, but probably something that will be rectified at some point if it continues as it's annoying nonetheless. It was also due it's MOT and a brake fluid service, so off it went to Dick Lovett for those (again, because I was too disorganised to book into the independent in time!), and passed with relatively flying colours. One advisory for a bit of play in one of the upper rear control arms, but that was already flagged at the major service in March.
Sadly it didn't come out looking like this, although the wash and vac was appreciated! They also had a taxi yellow G80 M3 Comp which was err... interesting. No pictures but that's possibly for the best.
So that brings us pretty much up until last night, when I hopped in it to go and get some nutritious chicken nuggets, and was immediately greeted by a 'steering assistance malfunction' warning... oh dear. Luckily being a youth of today I'm reasonably good with computers, so I turned it off and on again (always works), at which point the warning came back and then disappeared. I decided to take it on a careful 20 minute detour on my way to Maccies and the warning came back once while driving but the steering felt normal, and it went away a couple of seconds later. No sign of it on the return journey either... power steering issues seem pretty rare on these based on a google, and with mine having the electrically-assisted rack it can't be fluid level issues. I'm wondering if it might be electrical, as I've noticed it's been a bit slow to crank a few times lately, and then runs slightly rough for a few seconds after it does so... possibly a sign of a dying battery?
I was quite tired and hungry last night so didn't investigate further but I need to take it to the shops today so will see if it pops back up, and maybe stick my head in the boot and see if I can determine the age of the battery as I've no idea when it was last changed. I've ordered an OBD scanner too so hopefully that'll turn up soon and might point me in the right direction... because I really don't fancy getting a new steering rack. On the plus side, that noise coming from under the armrest I mentioned has disappeared.
So the 'shadowline' trim oxidising and going spotty (best way I can describe it is like an oil slick in water) is quite a common thing on this age of BMW, and was starting to annoy me as it did let the car down while it was clean. Apparently just some polish can work wonders, so I gave that a go and was pretty happy with the initial results (about 20 minutes of work all-in).
It doesn't come across brilliantly in photos (before is top, after below) but looked a lot better in person. A month or two later and it's pretty much back to its original appearance sadly- although I'm not able to wash it myself where I live so I don't know whether it's down to the cleaning materials the local hand car wash use, or it not being properly dried off... and I know, I shouldn't be using them but it's preferable to baked on birds
t, especially when this is what my local seagulls can do in a matter of 24 hours:About 2 days after I'd washed, polished and waxed it as well.
The car also rewarded me for its pampering by developing a slightly annoying noise that sounds rather like a bit of loose plastic sliding around inside the armrest, mainly in low speed corners. Luckily not too loud and pretty difficult to notice with music on or the windows down, but probably something that will be rectified at some point if it continues as it's annoying nonetheless. It was also due it's MOT and a brake fluid service, so off it went to Dick Lovett for those (again, because I was too disorganised to book into the independent in time!), and passed with relatively flying colours. One advisory for a bit of play in one of the upper rear control arms, but that was already flagged at the major service in March.Sadly it didn't come out looking like this, although the wash and vac was appreciated! They also had a taxi yellow G80 M3 Comp which was err... interesting. No pictures but that's possibly for the best.
So that brings us pretty much up until last night, when I hopped in it to go and get some nutritious chicken nuggets, and was immediately greeted by a 'steering assistance malfunction' warning... oh dear. Luckily being a youth of today I'm reasonably good with computers, so I turned it off and on again (always works), at which point the warning came back and then disappeared. I decided to take it on a careful 20 minute detour on my way to Maccies and the warning came back once while driving but the steering felt normal, and it went away a couple of seconds later. No sign of it on the return journey either... power steering issues seem pretty rare on these based on a google, and with mine having the electrically-assisted rack it can't be fluid level issues. I'm wondering if it might be electrical, as I've noticed it's been a bit slow to crank a few times lately, and then runs slightly rough for a few seconds after it does so... possibly a sign of a dying battery?
I was quite tired and hungry last night so didn't investigate further but I need to take it to the shops today so will see if it pops back up, and maybe stick my head in the boot and see if I can determine the age of the battery as I've no idea when it was last changed. I've ordered an OBD scanner too so hopefully that'll turn up soon and might point me in the right direction... because I really don't fancy getting a new steering rack. On the plus side, that noise coming from under the armrest I mentioned has disappeared.
Edited by Sofa on Monday 11th July 11:52
Looks great. I miss my 125 nearly every day having recently got a more grown up E91 330i.
Llanthony Priory is a lovely place some good walking trails, some even better MTB trails, followed by a Brie and Bacon panini at the on site pub. Some friends own the farm there so I always end up going in my van so I can take the MTB, plus ground clearance in my pretty low 125 was always a massive concern.
Llanthony Priory is a lovely place some good walking trails, some even better MTB trails, followed by a Brie and Bacon panini at the on site pub. Some friends own the farm there so I always end up going in my van so I can take the MTB, plus ground clearance in my pretty low 125 was always a massive concern.
Court_S said:
The warning light could be caused by a grumpy steering angle sensor - any other lights on? We had fun and games with the one on my other half's which hasn't come back on since.
The shadow line trim always seems to go a bit manky. I've given up battling it and now just accept it.
Nope, literally just the steering warning light (as below) and the corresponding 'steering assistance faulty' message in the iDrive.The shadow line trim always seems to go a bit manky. I've given up battling it and now just accept it.
It did it again when I took it out today- I'd started to pull it out of the space to gently drive it round the block and see what it feels like when the error disappeared... it felt totally normal to be honest, maybe like it didn't self-centre as much as normal? Once the light was gone and it was definitely behaving normally I took it to the supermarket and filled it up, no sign of the error either time I parked it up and came back to it, even seemed totally happy going lock-to-lock in the car park... it seems to be purely a cold start thing. I need to put some miles on it at the weekend so we'll see how that goes... hopefully when my OBD scanner comes that'll enlighten me somewhat.
IAche said:
Looks great. I miss my 125 nearly every day having recently got a more grown up E91 330i.
Llanthony Priory is a lovely place some good walking trails, some even better MTB trails, followed by a Brie and Bacon panini at the on site pub. Some friends own the farm there so I always end up going in my van so I can take the MTB, plus ground clearance in my pretty low 125 was always a massive concern.
Thank you! Bar the minor hiccup the past few days I'm very much enjoying owning it. If I needed to swap to a more practical car an E91 330i would be pretty much top of my list, more grown up but still with that lovely straight-6.Llanthony Priory is a lovely place some good walking trails, some even better MTB trails, followed by a Brie and Bacon panini at the on site pub. Some friends own the farm there so I always end up going in my van so I can take the MTB, plus ground clearance in my pretty low 125 was always a massive concern.
Llanthony Priory is lovely, had no idea it existed until we were chatting to the owner of the B&B that morning and he recommended it (and kindly lent us a guide book), very glad we took his recommendation as our original plan was Pen y Fan which would've almost certainly have been mobbed with tourists! Didn't have food in the pub there but we did both enjoy a very nice pint- would definitely like to go back. I was glad mine is still sitting on the stock suspension on the way in though, would definitely struggle if it was lowered.
If it's only doing it when the car is cold, combined with your comments about starting I'd check out how old your battery is, as they can throw all sorts of weird errors when old and low on juice. If it was a steering wheel sensor you'd probably have the DSC light illuminated as well.
I had to replace mine winter 2020 during one of the lockdowns, and if I remember right it was on the original one. As yours is a couple of years younger than mine it may want replacing if it's still on the original.
I had to replace mine winter 2020 during one of the lockdowns, and if I remember right it was on the original one. As yours is a couple of years younger than mine it may want replacing if it's still on the original.
Sofa said:
Llanthony Priory is lovely, had no idea it existed until we were chatting to the owner of the B&B that morning and he recommended it (and kindly lent us a guide book), very glad we took his recommendation as our original plan was Pen y Fan which would've almost certainly have been mobbed with tourists! Didn't have food in the pub there but we did both enjoy a very nice pint- would definitely like to go back. I was glad mine is still sitting on the stock suspension on the way in though, would definitely struggle if it was lowered.
We camped in one of the top fields last year for a birthday party. Managed to ground out the van in a rut!My 125 would have had no chance.
bodhi said:
If it's only doing it when the car is cold, combined with your comments about starting I'd check out how old your battery is, as they can throw all sorts of weird errors when old and low on juice. If it was a steering wheel sensor you'd probably have the DSC light illuminated as well.
I had to replace mine winter 2020 during one of the lockdowns, and if I remember right it was on the original one. As yours is a couple of years younger than mine it may want replacing if it's still on the original.
Battery is a good shout.I had to replace mine winter 2020 during one of the lockdowns, and if I remember right it was on the original one. As yours is a couple of years younger than mine it may want replacing if it's still on the original.
I had to replace the one on our 125i. An OE was £160 delivered from Cotswold (after chuntering about the price) but I bought one from Tayna for £100 or so delivered and registered it to the car with Carly.
Thanks all, glad to hear my theory of a dying battery might not be me desperately hoping it’s a cheap fix! Couldn’t spot any date stamps without removing any of the terminals but it is a Varta battery (which is apparently OE) and I’ve got no records of the battery being changed despite pretty comprehensive service history back to 2018, and bits beforehand… having had another poke around the battery tray today it looks like it’s leaking too, so definitely worth a change anyway.
I paid for the full Carly membership (before realising it’s a 12 month subscription) so should be able to get it coded myself at least.
I paid for the full Carly membership (before realising it’s a 12 month subscription
) so should be able to get it coded myself at least.Edited by Sofa on Tuesday 12th July 01:01
So a minor update... I put about 300 miles on it last weekend and other than the power steering warning coming on once or twice (with no impact on the way it drove), it was good as gold. My Carly adapter also arrived so I did a bit of digging with that and came up with 2 codes:
That brings us to Tuesday when I pop round to the supermarket, and on the way the power steering warning comes on. Only this time it is actually acting up- it's fine turning the wheel but when returning to the centre it's almost like the assistance is cutting in and out. A quick restart at the lights (although I didn't switch the ignition off completely, which I probably should've done) and... now there's no power steering at all. Bugger. I'm literally at the entrance to the supermarket at this point so I fight the now dead ePAS system into the car park, do my shopping, and come out prepared to have a full upper body workout on my drive home. Only I start it up and normal service is resumed for the whole 5-10 minute drive home- fortunate as I didn't fancy parallel parking with no power steering!
So yeah, I'm still holding out hope that it's an electrical issue relating to the battery, which is definitely fked- I've since realised it's actually leaking slightly- quite possibly because it's not registered properly... I've ordered a new one which is getting fitted and coded (hopefully properly) by the local garage next Wednesday and they'll take a look at the power steering while it's in. But it is quite possible I'm looking at needing a new steering rack...
- 00D516 - Seems to be related to the steering angle sensor
- 00A54B - This seems to be related to the power steering motor... not ideal- I'll come back to that in a bit.
That brings us to Tuesday when I pop round to the supermarket, and on the way the power steering warning comes on. Only this time it is actually acting up- it's fine turning the wheel but when returning to the centre it's almost like the assistance is cutting in and out. A quick restart at the lights (although I didn't switch the ignition off completely, which I probably should've done) and... now there's no power steering at all. Bugger. I'm literally at the entrance to the supermarket at this point so I fight the now dead ePAS system into the car park, do my shopping, and come out prepared to have a full upper body workout on my drive home. Only I start it up and normal service is resumed for the whole 5-10 minute drive home- fortunate as I didn't fancy parallel parking with no power steering!
So yeah, I'm still holding out hope that it's an electrical issue relating to the battery, which is definitely f
ked- I've since realised it's actually leaking slightly- quite possibly because it's not registered properly... I've ordered a new one which is getting fitted and coded (hopefully properly) by the local garage next Wednesday and they'll take a look at the power steering while it's in. But it is quite possible I'm looking at needing a new steering rack...Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff