Bad Day at The Dealer - Help

[Johnd]

So I just dropped my 2006 ZHP off at Fort Myers of BMW to have them reset the airbag light and to check why the DSC and Brake light keep coming on. It appears I need two brake pressure switches and the control unit for the airbag is fried from when I changed the battery. Has anyone replaced these items? Can you buy a used airbag module and if so does it need to be coded. For the brakes the want $946 and for the airbag they want $1222. Also does anyone know of a good indy mechanic in the Fort Myers FL area. Unfortunately, I have 5 blown discs in my neck and can't wrench cars the way I use to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ZHPizza]

So I just dropped my 2006 ZHP off at Fort Myers of BMW to have them reset the airbag light and to check why the DSC and Brake light keep coming on. It appears I need two brake pressure switches and the control unit for the airbag is fried from when I changed the battery. Has anyone replaced these items? Can you buy a used airbag module and if so does it need to be coded. For the brakes the want $946 and for the airbag they want $1222. Also does anyone know of a good indy mechanic in the Fort Myers FL area. Unfortunately, I have 5 blown discs in my neck and can't wrench cars the way I use to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.I don't know of any in that area, but you would usually be much better off going to an independent shop. The dealer will just throw parts at it until it's fixed while the independent guy will [usually] try to diagnose the problem first. Might want to check with your local BMW CCA chapter or recommended shops.

[ELCID86]

Check Bimmer shops.com Or Angie's List for a good Indy.


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"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous E46 fanatic

[NorCalZman]

My brake/DSC lights keep coming on as well. I checked the codes and it is one of the pressure switches. From digging I read that they are not cheap, but its best to change both of them when everything is all apart. I have not gotten around to it because it is not happening often enough for me to worry about it (it goes away after I start the car again).

I will definitely be taking my car to the local BMW indy specialist when the lights stay on pretty consistently. The Dealer would just charge way too much.

[John in VA]

Just looked at the FL Suncoast Chapter's newsletter - 2 indy shops are mentioned:
http://fscbmwcca.com/

Prestige Foreign Car Repair - ask for Gil
http://prestigeforeign.com/
12390 Metro Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33966
1/2 block South of Crystal Drive in the green building
239-561-1118

Performance Motor Werks - owner Monte Hamsher
PerformanceMotorWerksFL.com
(239) 208-7370
3903 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD, FORT MYERS, FL 33916

[az3579]

I'm not too confident on that airbag diagnosis...

[Johnd]

John - thanks for the indy shop - the dealer is trying to source one from a local place for less money. If that doesn't work I will order from ebay.

[Johnd]

Dropped the car off on Monday and it is still at the dealer while they try to source a used airbag control unit. While in the shop I am having the following done:

- Service Inspection (thankfully nothing other than the airbag control unit and brake pressure switches were bad)
- Oil Change
- Coolant flush
- Differential flush
- Brake fluid flush
- Fuel Injection System Cleaned
- AC system evac and recharge
- Both brake pressure switches replaced
- Airbag control unit replaced

So far this quick trip to the dealer has cost me $2700. When I get it back I plan to replace the fuel filter, plugs, and serpentine belt, which I ordered when I bought the car. Can you think of anything else I should do to the car - it just hit 50K. The dealer said the brakes, control arms, and everything else were fine.

[fredo]

I assume the recalls are done already. I was going to say spark plugs, then I remembered they are a 100k item. What about cabin and air filter ?

[BMWCurves]

Dropped the car off on Monday and it is still at the dealer while they try to source a used airbag control unit. While in the shop I am having the following done:

- Service Inspection (thankfully nothing other than the airbag control unit and brake pressure switches were bad)
- Oil Change
- Coolant flush
- Differential flush
- Brake fluid flush
- Fuel Injection System Cleaned
- AC system evac and recharge
- Both brake pressure switches replaced
- Airbag control unit replaced

So far this quick trip to the dealer has cost me $2700. When I get it back I plan to replace the fuel filter, plugs, and serpentine belt, which I ordered when I bought the car. Can you think of anything else I should do to the car - it just hit 50K. The dealer said the brakes, control arms, and everything else were fine.

My car sits at 56k and you have covered most of the things I have done as preventative maintenance. Additional things you might consider:

Fuel filter soft hoses. Mine were gunky and not in the best of shape. I wish I had replaced them when I replaced the fuel filter (link: https://www.bavauto.com/b1300000?find=bmw-2005-330ci-4515713)
Belts - you already have one listed but might as well do the other as well at the same time
Both the intake filter and cabin air filter - cheap and easy to replace yourself
Pulleys - Mine were in okay shape, but worth replacing IMO. Perhaps get a metal one for the water pump since the factory one is plastic.
Suspension: at 50k miles my suspension was ready for a refresh. The Sachs shocks and struts were basically shot. Replaced with Koni Yellows. It's not an immediate thing, plenty of people ride to 100k miles. That said, the improvement is appreciable. You can read about my 50k mile suspension refresh thread: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?16182-Help-with-Suspension-Refresh-at-50k-miles-10-years
Cooling system overhaul - Not strictly necessary right now. I did it around 50k miles mostly for preventative reasons (my thermostat was failing though).


There are other things like DISA rebuild, cleaning the ICV, replacing the CCV, but none of those are really critical (hence why I haven't done any of them yet).

[Johnd]

Thanks for the feedback.. I had planned on doing a complete overhaul of the cooling system but due to neck issues really can't do too much wrenching. I am going to try to find a local indy who can do it for me in the near future. I just can't wait to get the car back..

[Johnd]

I dropped my car off at the dealer last week to have the airbag recall done and to find out why my airbag light was on. While there I found out that the module was fried and needed to be replaced $1222, and I needed to brake pressure switches $949. The dealer tried getting a used air bag module but the wrong one came in so they gave me the new one for the same price as the used one. When it came time to pick up the car the bill was $2800 + tax with the discounted airbag module. The service advisor said because he had the car so long he was going to discount all the other work, with tax they charged be $2250 - so basically paid full price for the brakes switches and airbag and got the remainder of the stuff for free. What impressed me most is I had pointed out a dent in the passenger airbag that was replaced by the previous owner (recall) and they actually swapped it out for free.

- Service Inspection (thankfully nothing other than the airbag control unit and brake pressure switches were bad)
- Oil Change
- Coolant flush
- Differential flush
- Brake fluid flush
- Fuel Injection System Cleaned
- AC system evac and recharge
- Both brake pressure switches replaced
- Airbag control unit replaced
- Airbag recall drivers side
- New airbag passenger side

I will be changing the plugs and fuel filter over the weekend, as I replaced the air and cabin filter before dropping it off at the dealer.

[fredo]

That's good news. Hope this was the last visit to the dealer in a long time. :thumbup

[Johnd]

me too... Now the only other thing I want to do is install a Dynavin and enjoy the car