[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Broker2009

So after removing the 5000 8mm screws holding all the underskirting up...

This is invaluable for removing skirts, fender liners and so forth:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's much easier to handle and fit into tight spaces than a drill, and at 7.2 volts has a lot more torque than cheap 3.6 volt power drivers.

[odessa91]

Current CPO has more coverage. Found on different post.
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1466905

See post #2

[cgraner]

Originally Posted by Broker2009

Directly behind the drive shaft.

They need to replace that clip with a saddle block style clamp design. Here is a sketch I made up to show the concept:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U4CQUGCkMNpaR2kF6

My local dealer told me they would replace it free under the Platinum Maintenance program the car was covered under that was purchased when the car was new. I have an appointment to let them fix it but in the meantime I have zip tied it up out of the way so it doesn't rub. It might be about as good as using the poorly designed clip. I will probably go back in and put in zip tie around the new clip and lines in case it breaks again or to help prevent it from breaking again.

Here is a link showing before and after pictures and a video of how I did it after it was done. On mine only the right side of the clip was broken and I took the metal clip that is further back by the suspension off and pulled some of the slack out of the line and reattached it about an inch or so further up the line and then zip tied it around the back side of the heat shield bolt.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ja2cGzNfFuSPT77g9

[antzonthe1]

Originally Posted by cgraner

They need to replace that clip with a saddle block style clamp design. Here is a sketch I made up to show the concept:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U4CQUGCkMNpaR2kF6

My local dealer told me they would replace it free under the Platinum Maintenance program the car was covered under that was purchased when the car was new. I have an appointment to let them fix it but in the meantime I have zip tied it up out of the way so it doesn't rub. It might be about as good as using the poorly designed clip. I will probably go back in and put in zip tie around the new clip and lines in case it breaks again or to help prevent it from breaking again.

Here is a link showing before and after pictures and a video of how I did it after it was done. On mine only the right side of the clip was broken and I took the metal clip that is further back by the suspension off and pulled some of the slack out of the line and reattached it about an inch or so further up the line and then zip tied it around the back side of the heat shield bolt.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ja2cGzNfFuSPT77g9

I have the same issue on my 2016 435i going to attempt to fix it because screw paying $1k for this crap. Thanks for posting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chaos236]

I bought the part, put the car up on my lift, zip tied it twice, problem solved.

[Randy Johnson]

Originally Posted by Broker2009

So after removing the 5000 8mm screws holding all the underskirting up, the job's pretty easy. (8mm & 10mm deep sockets with 18V impact driver)

Remove under skirts, the L shaped one twists once all the screws are removed and then can be removed--you'll see what I mean...

Remove the V shaped metal bracket with T-50 & T-60 Torx bits.

Remove the exhaust--first the clamp bracket near the engine (16mm wrench), then two torx bolts at the center of the exhaust (E10 Torx Socket) and two at the muffler (13mm socket). Taking the exhaust out is a one person job--putting it back, well you are probably better than me, but I asked for assistance getting the muffler back on it's bolt mounts.

Remove the metal heat shielding (10mm socket)


Use a 13mm wrench to take off the fender washer/nut holding the parking brake retainer to the body. Then remove the 13mm bolts to the gas tank straps. if they haven't broken off already, remove the parking brake cables out of the way to get to the fender washer/nut holding the retainer to the body bolt. Now pull the gas tank down so you can get the retainer off of the bolt and slide the retainer off of the tank with a screwdriver. The retainer slides into a notch in the gas tank and acts as an additional secure point for the tank to the body. I did not lube the new one up to get it back on. It went on easily once I pulled the gas tank down enough to push it past the mounting bolt. That part's a little tough but not too bad. It's best to get the parking brake cables out of the way. the one wedged b/t the gas tank and the drive shaft is the worst..

Did not remove the drive shaft but did notice it was leaking fluid from the center bearing so I've called my dealer about fixing that under warranty. I have a third party warranty that I was hoping would do THIS job; however, in their fine print, they don't cover fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws.

Once your parking brake cables are secured back in the retainer, you can reverse order and reassemble everything.

Took about three hours including getting the car in the air with jackstands and tire ramps. When it breaks again in 45,000 miles, I expect to be able to get it done in under two hours.

Cheers and let me know if you have any questions. If you got skillz, this is an easy job. Very few tools needed--just huevos.

Great write up and thank you for the walk through. Love the 5000 screws part. I think the same thing everytime I have to remove the front splash pan. I just did this last weekend. Had parts and tools all over the drive way!!! Too bad I didn't see this before hand. Probably would have help out.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by Alexgino

Hello all,

So I just got quote for $1160+ for this exact issue you guys have been talking about (replace Emergency break cable bracket/clip) on my 4 series and the dealer is saying CPO does not cover this. How is this not a warranty issue??

SMH,

any feedback in regards to coverage under CPO would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by odessa91

Current CPO has more coverage. Found on different post.
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1466905

See post #2

Since this thread was bumped I will just say that the CPO warranty on my 2015 335i covered this when it happened to me. They said they had to remove the gas tank. I thought about just putting a zip tie but i went into the dealer for other CPO work and they fixed it for free. I also had the weatherstrip (if you call it that) at the bottom of the windshield replaced under CPO since it was falling apart, as well as a variety of other work completely unrelated to engine and drivetrain.

[Randy Johnson]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Since this thread was bumped I will just say that the CPO warranty on my 2015 335i covered this when it happened to me. They said they had to remove the gas tank. I thought about just putting a zip tie but i went into the dealer for other CPO work and they fixed it for free. I also had the weatherstrip (if you call it that) at the bottom of the windshield replaced under CPO since it was falling apart, as well as a variety of other work completely unrelated to engine and drivetrain.

I had the lower windshield plastic replaced too while I was under warranty.

The parking brake cable clip should be in a sticky somewhere for common issues like all the oil leaks N55's get as they age. The noise created by the loose cables were driving me crazy. I kept thinking it was coming from the rear speakers. Nearly removed the entire interior including the seats to check all the speakers.

[privateer95]

Originally Posted by cgraner

They need to replace that clip with a saddle block style clamp design. Here is a sketch I made up to show the concept:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U4CQUGCkMNpaR2kF6

My local dealer told me they would replace it free under the Platinum Maintenance program the car was covered under that was purchased when the car was new. I have an appointment to let them fix it but in the meantime I have zip tied it up out of the way so it doesn't rub. It might be about as good as using the poorly designed clip. I will probably go back in and put in zip tie around the new clip and lines in case it breaks again or to help prevent it from breaking again.

Here is a link showing before and after pictures and a video of how I did it after it was done. On mine only the right side of the clip was broken and I took the metal clip that is further back by the suspension off and pulled some of the slack out of the line and reattached it about an inch or so further up the line and then zip tied it around the back side of the heat shield bolt.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ja2cGzNfFuSPT77g9

So just the zip ties then, without going around fuel tank and using the BMW part?
Did you have to remove any covers?
How's repair holding up?

My dealer wants me to pay $700 for my 328D. Says plastic and rubber parts are not covered by warranty. Im hoping I can take to my independent mechanic shop, user their lift and zip tie it myself.

[privateer95]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Since this thread was bumped I will just say that the CPO warranty on my 2015 335i covered this when it happened to me. They said they had to remove the gas tank. I thought about just putting a zip tie but i went into the dealer for other CPO work and they fixed it for free. I also had the weatherstrip (if you call it that) at the bottom of the windshield replaced under CPO since it was falling apart, as well as a variety of other work completely unrelated to engine and drivetrain.

How did you get them to warranty replace the rubber/plastic at the bottom of your windshield? I see that my 328D is doing the same breakdown.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by privateer95

How did you get them to warranty replace the rubber/plastic at the bottom of your windshield? I see that my 328D is doing the same breakdown.

I went in for 3 warranty claims at the same time:

1. Rubber/plastic piece in question was completely falling apart. I showed the SA that just by touching it, it was disintegrating. He agreed and the invoice said "part was defective", so covered under warranty.

2. Sticky door lock on passenger side - another common issue where when you pull the door handle, the lock does not open. It just immediately pops back down. They did various tests and confirmed it was an issue and replaced the whole mechanism.

3. Exhaust flap rattle on cold start - they did a software update and surprisingly this actually fixed it.

My warranty claim for the cable clip and some other work was on a separate visit. For #1 you should be able to just go in and show them the problem. As long as it looks like the part is failing and not because you used some chemical on it or otherwise caused it, you should be fine, buy YMMV with different dealer/SA.

[zippyzebras]

I got a 435i and ran into this issue, they zip tied it while I waited and said they'd replace the clip if it somehow drooped again (which I doubt it will)

Seems like the zip tie is better that OE tbh, easy to swap and the clip apparently breaks a lot so...

[antzonthe1]

Yall when I found out the clip was the problem after making my own forum, I bought the part. Got under there and saw all the work that needed to be done to get to it. So I zip tied it with a bunch of them to each other just in case it could get loose, and tried putting it as far back away from heat so they wouldn't melt and also cut the ends to make em not stick out (have to use big ones). Theres a spot to wrap them in a but back. 1k+ miles later still no noise and they're still there looking clean. Way better than doing all that work let alone paying a shop.

[chris-c]

Im waiting on the clip to arrive but I'm glad I found this thread as the rattle has annoyed the hell out of me. I took off the rear bumper, took out the boot lining, took out the ceiling lining, took out the mid console with armrest. It was only when I got to the mid console with arm rest that I could feel the vibration on a part that linked to the hand brake. I then followed this back and it seems I'm going to have to do get under the car again.

such an annoying noise

[F30lolz]

Wanted to share my updated zip tie repair from another thread. My 428 developed this issue spring 2020. Around late September 2020 I attempted the zip tie fix and took me maybe 20 minutes to jack up the rear of the car, crawl under and double zip tie both lines. After maybe 80k miles (I drive too much), zip ties are holding up well.

[chris-c]

I couldn't really see where to zip tie the lines so I just clipped them together. Proper tricky to get to with the car just on axle stands but a quick test drive and it's not noisy now. I'll probably do the proper fix in a week or so

[oluedo]

Originally Posted by Broker2009

Directly behind the drive shaft.

Thanks for this.

[gameson]

Does anyone know if my clip is broken or i just need to tuck it in? Does anyone has a picture on how the clip looks like?

When the mechanic showed me the clip, it seems like both the inner clips are shorter than the outer clip (i see it from rear near exhaust facing front), that means the the parking brake clip needs to be replaced?

It’s hard to take picture but this is as clear as i can get. I took my picture from rear of the car.

I also found this picture on youtube, but I don’t know how this part is installed. Can you please let me know which way is facing front of the car and which way is facing rear of the car? Is it the blue or green as marked by me?

[agentorange]

That handbrake support giving out seems to be a feature of the F30, along with leaking fuel tanks.

[Aussiefalcon]

What's this leaking fuel tank thing you speak about ?? Where does it leak from ?

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by Aussiefalcon

What's this leaking fuel tank thing you speak about ?? Where does it leak from ?

Seemed to be a thing up until the 2016 model year. I'm not saying it's super common, but there are a few on here that have experienced the issue. The leak is up on top somewhere on my 2015 diesel. The dealer wants about 1/3 of the car's value to fix mine by replacing the whole tank. I put a squawk in with the NHTSA for all the good it will do. I'm going to see an Indy guy about a more realistic fix.

[j2dad5389]