[shubhammakharia]

So my first post on this forum:

I bought my CPO 2015 f30 328i back in 10/2017 and had been holding back on mods until my warranty expires, but ever since I just did my LCI center console trim last week , my mind has been on a roll.

I went ahead, fortunately, found a good deal on eBay, and pulled the trigger.

I am seeking members advice to on clarifying the following:

1) I was going to go esys route, but eventually thought bimmercode would be convenient on a longer term, and in case i have to go to a dealership, quicker to revert changes back. Am I doing the right thing here?\

2) My car came stock with the sports steering wheel, and probably Sports Automatic Trans (I get S1, S2, S3, when the lever is on the left). So is this standard transmission, or Sports Automatic or 2AT?
What is the difference between all three?

3) Would switching the steering wheel affect my warranty?

4) Steering dealer wasn't able to provide full information. I am having a hard time locating part number from the steering wheel, and airbag too (educate me: HELP!) I want to do so to understand if my steering is equipped with heating and vibration? (pictures look different from many pictures online which seem to have just one harness plug, while mine has 2.

5) I am seeking your comments on how legit my steering hardware looks, pictures attached

[Kailec]

Originally Posted by shubhammakharia

So my first post on this forum:

I bought my CPO 2015 f30 328i back in 10/2017 and had been holding back on mods until my warranty expires, but ever since I just did my LCI center console trim last week , my mind has been on a roll.

I went ahead, fortunately, found a good deal on eBay, and pulled the trigger.

I am seeking members advice to on clarifying the following:

1) I was going to go esys route, but eventually thought bimmercode would be convenient on a longer term, and in case i have to go to a dealership, quicker to revert changes back. Am I doing the right thing here?\

2) My car came stock with the sports steering wheel, and probably Sports Automatic Trans (I get S1, S2, S3, when the lever is on the left). So is this standard transmission, or Sports Automatic or 2AT?
What is the difference between all three?

3) Would switching the steering wheel affect my warranty?

4) Steering dealer wasn't able to provide full information. I am having a hard time locating part number from the steering wheel, and airbag too (educate me: HELP!) I want to do so to understand if my steering is equipped with heating and vibration? (pictures look different from many pictures online which seem to have just one harness plug, while mine has 2.

5) I am seeking your comments on how legit my steering hardware looks, pictures attached

1) That's entirely up to you. Bimmercode is certainly the FASTER option, but nothing you can do with either (coding) are things you need to revert anyways going to the dealer. Your dealer isn't going to flag you for removing the initial disclaimer for example.

2) Sounds like you have Sports Automatic Transmission. Easy enough to verify though, check your VIN on a VIN decoder. Sports Automatic (2TB) pulls harder and revs out longer. I'll let you search for anything beyond that explanation.

3) Depends on dealer but likely not. However be prepared that if something is wrong with the steering wheel or airbag they will likely not replace it with anything other than the stock one that came with the car. So if you switched to M Sport steering wheel they will not give you another M Sport one. They may even refuse to honour anything with it since it's not the one that came with the car (they'll go by your VIN)

4) Again, look at your VIN. Also, if you had a heated wheel you would have a button on the side of your steering column that lets you turn on your heated steering wheel function. Also if you had vibration it would be because you had Lane Change Assist I believe. Basically if you don't signal and you change lanes, your steering wheel would vibrate on the side that you're changing into.

5) It looks legit, but why wouldn't it be? I'm confused, is this what came with your car? Your comment earlier made it sound like you have the standard sport wheel (trapezoid airbag) while this is for the M Sport wheel (round airbag). What do you have exactly?

[COKen]

You may want to check out realoem.com. It can help you in finding part numbers.

[shubhammakharia]

Thanks for your quick response Kailec , really appreciate it!

My car came stock with the sports steering wheel (quad airbag), no pedals, no heating, no vibrations.

1. If you were in my shoes, would you bimmercode or just e-sys always?

2. I have S1, S2, then Sports automatic -> coded as 2TB? Thus, my car should already be coded for pedals? Hoorah!

4. My stock wheel/car had none. I am curious, the m-sports steering that I bought, visually seems to have heating at the minimum and maybe vibrations, can you please help me confirm?

• I am unable to locate where the part numbers for the wheel are written.

• I think wheel has heating, because it has two wiring harness plugs, compared to just one, which I have seen online in multiple places.

• The reason I ask this is, if the new wheel (m sport) has heating, I will try to retrofit the heating button to support heated steering wheel, and if I have lane departure warning, I can just better asses value of my new steering, as there is no real LDW retrofit.

5. I was referring to the new m-sports steering wheel (pictured). I bought it off eBay and just wanted experienced eyes on this forum to review if all my new hardware looks legit, and nothing looks out of place (partly because, I don't know where to locate and read part numbers from the hardware I have, and airbag safety concerns)

Originally Posted by Kailec

1) That's entirely up to you. Bimmercode is certainly the FASTER option, but nothing you can do with either (coding) are things you need to revert anyways going to the dealer. Your dealer isn't going to flag you for removing the initial disclaimer for example.

2) Sounds like you have Sports Automatic Transmission. Easy enough to verify though, check your VIN on a VIN decoder. Sports Automatic (2TB) pulls harder and revs out longer. I'll let you search for anything beyond that explanation.

3) Depends on dealer but likely not. However be prepared that if something is wrong with the steering wheel or airbag they will likely not replace it with anything other than the stock one that came with the car. So if you switched to M Sport steering wheel they will not give you another M Sport one. They may even refuse to honour anything with it since it's not the one that came with the car (they'll go by your VIN)

4) Again, look at your VIN. Also, if you had a heated wheel you would have a button on the side of your steering column that lets you turn on your heated steering wheel function. Also if you had vibration it would be because you had Lane Change Assist I believe. Basically if you don't signal and you change lanes, your steering wheel would vibrate on the side that you're changing into.

5) It looks legit, but why wouldn't it be? I'm confused, is this what came with your car? Your comment earlier made it sound like you have the standard sport wheel (trapezoid airbag) while this is for the M Sport wheel (round airbag). What do you have exactly?

[shubhammakharia]

Thanks buddy for your quick reply. I am familiar with realoem and have been a user for about a year.
What I want to learn is, how to read parts number of the actual BMW hardware pieces. There are just so many stickers, and I don't really know how to read them either. I can't read parts number of my newly bought hardware either (attached pictures.)

Originally Posted by COKen

You may want to check out realoem.com. It can help you in finding part numbers.

[COKen]

Originally Posted by shubhammakharia

Thanks buddy for your quick reply. I am familiar with realoem and have been a user for about a year.
What I want to learn is, how to read parts number of the actual BMW hardware pieces. There are just so many stickers, and I don't really know how to read them either. I can't read parts number of my newly bought hardware either (attached pictures.)

A bit of trial and error will help. What I do is pick a number and then do a Google search using "BMW" and then the number. If it is the correct part number, you should get hits which indicate you found the correct number. If not, try another number.

[upsidedownfunnel]

The airbag and steering wheel look legit, but I'd be concerned that it might have been a refurbished one. Can you check the tabs on the side of the airbag that hold the plastic cover in? Do those look like they were tampered with at all?

[shubhammakharia]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

The airbag and steering wheel look legit, but I'd be concerned that it might have been a refurbished one. Can you check the tabs on the side of the airbag that hold the plastic cover in? Do those look like they were tampered with at all?

Nothing that I observe as being tampered with, here are the pictures:

While at this conversation, I request another clarification:
Recently I noticed couple of issues on my CPO F30
1) oil leaks
2) tumbling noise on freeways
3) quirky noise from AC at lower speeds (probably only audible at lower speed)
I was quoted 150$ for each of above issue, total 450 to diagnose the above issues by the advisor at dealership. If issues found will be covered all under CPO with 50$ deductible, else I am liable to pay 450. Is something fishy here?

[Wires]

It would be wise to check if that airbag isn't part of Takata's giant airbag recall.

I'm assuming you should be able to run the date code somehow.

[upsidedownfunnel]

They want $450 to just diagnose three separate issues? Will they apply that money back to the cost of repairing the items at least?

Is the tumbling noise like a "thump thump thump" sound that gets faster with your car's speed? If so, it might just be a tire balance issue which is usually the most common culprit of that sounds. Oil leaks are probably valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, oil pan gasket. Less common would be like the rear main seal or transmission leaks. The A/C issue I have no idea. The fact that they are charging you nearly $500 to diagnose those three issues seems absolutely ridiculous to me though. Try another dealership if you're not comfortable going to an independent mechanic.

I'd take it to a good independent mechanic if you don't have any warranty left. Most good shops will diagnose the issue for you for free or at least do all 3 items for far less.

Airbag looks fine from what I can tell. I'm fairly sure no Takata airbags in any F30 were under the recalls. But if you don't have the VIN of the donor car, you can't really check.

[shubhammakharia]

Originally Posted by Wires

It would be wise to check if that airbag isn't part of Takata's giant airbag recall.

I'm assuming you should be able to run the date code somehow.

I did a lot of digging on takta airbag recalls, and couldn't find anything related to f30 series, and I don't have VIN from donor car either.

[shubhammakharia]

1) My car is a CPO, hence warranty until next January. No Indie until then? Because of the warranty.
2) Yes they are asking 145$ to diagnose each issue if found will be covered by CPO, and I pay the 50$ deductible, else the diagnose is charged to me, at the rate of 145$/hr or basically an hour per issue.
3) I guess it's not really a tumbling noise, but sounds more to like a bad pedestal fan at low speeds. I observe this noise only when AC is on and at lower speeds only. Is there a way for me to upload a small video clip with the recorded noise?
P.S: I also need help to diagnose a possible bad bearing on rear passenger wheel (attached tire report from the recent dealer visit)
4) Any easy way to reproduce bad passenger door actuator problem?

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

They want $450 to just diagnose three separate issues? Will they apply for that money back to the cost of repairing the items at least?

Is the tumbling noise like a "thump thump thump" sound that gets faster with your car's speed? If so, it might just be a tire balance issue which is usually the most common culprit of that sounds. Oil leaks are probably valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, oil pan gasket. Less common would be like the rear main seal or transmission leaks. The A/C issue I have no idea. The fact that they are charging you nearly $500 to diagnose those three issues seems absolutely ridiculous to me though. Try another dealership if you're not comfortable going to an independent mechanic.

I'd take it to a good independent mechanic if you don't have any warranty left. Most good shops will diagnose the issue for you for free or at least do all 3 items for far less.

Airbag looks fine from what I can tell. I'm fairly sure no Takata airbags in any F30 were under the recalls. But if you don't have the VIN of the donor car, you can't really check.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Oh sorry, I didn't realize your car was still under CPO.

For your tumbling/AC issue, it might possibly be related to TSB SIB 64 01 14 which is discussed here (link). If that is the issue, then it might be worth doing it yourself because the parts cost about $10 and it takes about 10 minutes to do with just a screwdriver.

You can just upload a video to Vimeo.

Are you getting a rattle on your passenger door lock actuator? My dealer just did it since it was such a common problem. For me, it was easier to hear it when the doors were unlocked. Locking the doors seemed to silence the sound quite a bit. So to reproduce, just drive over bumpy roads with the doors unlocked.

[shubhammakharia]

Thanks for your reply upsidedownfunnel

I have been able to record the ac noise, and it's pretty loud and apparent in the video. I am taking my car in tomorrow for oil leaks under CPO.

Do you have any comments on the tire wear on the rear passenger? When I bought the car at 37k, all tires were new and replaced to qualify for CPO. Now at 62k all tires are still good, except rear passenger with excessive wear. Is this normal, or could it be an indication of something else going bad (bearing? I don't hear any noise tho)

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

Oh sorry, I didn't realize your car was still under CPO.

For your tumbling/AC issue, it might possibly be related to TSB SIB 64 01 14 which is discussed here (link). If that is the issue, then it might be worth doing it yourself because the parts cost about $10 and it takes about 10 minutes to do with just a screwdriver.

You can just upload a video to Vimeo.

Are you getting a rattle on your passenger door lock actuator? My dealer just did it since it was such a common problem. For me, it was easier to hear it when the doors were unlocked. Locking the doors seemed to silence the sound quite a bit. So to reproduce, just drive over bumpy roads with the doors unlocked.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Tire wear looks even, so it's probably not an alignment issue. It could be a suspension issue causing one tire to wear more quickly than the other. You'd expect the rear tires to wear a bit faster, but generally the left and right tires should wear fairly evenly.

[shubhammakharia]

Thanks, major, that's what I suspected. Being an RWD, rear tires to wear more, but it's weird that two tires are wearing uneven. I maintain my pressure at 34-36psi. Funny that these tires just have 24k miles on them so far.

The car is a dealership right now, and they had slightly different tire wear stats on rear passenger this time. Will share once I have reported in hand. Would I be able to get anything from suspension covered under CPO. I have read plenty of posts here, where people got their leaking front struts replaced.
My car is currently having value cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket replaced, ac blower motor (minor rattle noise, which service advisor said could likely be an imbalanced motor, unlikely to be covered under CPO since it's just noise; but the car engineer ended up replacing it) and lastly passenger door actuator.

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

Tire wear looks even, so it's probably not an alignment issue. It could be a suspension issue causing one tire to wear more quickly than the other. You'd expect the rear tires to wear a bit faster, but generally the left and right tires should wear fairly evenly.

[IK6SPEED]

Come on guys.....those who have answered above are smarter than this.

I don’t come to this site very much any longer as I have been blocked from so many technical threads, so you guys have to look at what’s in front of you!

Between things like this and the BS B58 retrofit HPFP mania where people are wasting their money buying used HPFPs, you guys have to step up.

[shubhammakharia]

Hi Major IK6SPEED,
Thanks for your reply. I am not sure what are you trying to point out with that screenshot.

Yes, my car is CPO 2015 328i. And I recently upgraded/retrofit M-Sport Steering Wheel with pedals (simple swap). I bought the steering wheel and airbag separately. The steering wheel is probably off from 2016 model, while the airbag is sold as new from 2017 manufacture.

Update on my recent service:
-Went in with a complaint of oil leaks = Valve cover gasket, oil filter hosuing gasket replaced
-chirping noise from AC/Blower = Blower motor replaced
-Passenger Door lock actuator (lock would pop in and out trying to open the door, without actually opening the door, required central locking) = Passenger Door lock replaced

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Come on guys.....those who have answered above are smarter than this.

I don’t come to this site very much any longer as I have been blocked from so many technical threads, so you guys have to look at what’s in front of you!

Between things like this and the BS B58 retrofit HPFP mania where people are wasting their money buying used HPFPs, you guys have to step up.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by shubhammakharia

Hi Major IK6SPEED,
Thanks for your reply. I am not sure what are you trying to point out with that screenshot.

Yes, my car is CPO 2015 328i. And I recently upgraded/retrofit M-Sport Steering Wheel with pedals (simple swap). I bought the steering wheel and airbag separately. The steering wheel is probably off from 2016 model, while the airbag is sold as new from 2017 manufacture.

With literally hundreds of thousands (if not more) fake BMW Airbags in the market (Google it) that cannot be distinguished from OEM (not to mention rebuilt airbags), unless you purchased directly from BMW Dealership, you really have no idea about the airbag.

[shubhammakharia]

So literally nothing at all? If that's so, I do understand completely.

Usually with clones, compared to an original, there are certain features characteristics, that can help distinguish the two. Initially, with this thread, I was looking for pointers like that. Maybe wire color, maybe a sticker, or code printed on sticker/wires/ quality variance.

But anyways, for now, it seems there is nothing to be pointed out.

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

With literally hundreds of thousands (if not more) fake BMW Airbags in the market (Google it) that cannot be distinguished from OEM (not to mention rebuilt airbags), unless you purchased directly from BMW Dealership, you really have no idea about the airbag.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by shubhammakharia

So literally nothing at all? If that's so, I do understand completely.

Usually with clones, compared to an original, there are certain features characteristics, that can help distinguish the two. Initially, with this thread, I was looking for pointers like that. Maybe wire color, maybe a sticker, or code printed on sticker/wires/ quality variance.

But anyways, for now, it seems there is nothing to be pointed out.

Literally nothing?

If the counterfeits are so good that a few BMW Dealers purchased them, why do you think they could be identified by pics online?

Where did you purchase and what did you pay for it?

[shubhammakharia]

Hi IK6SPEED ,
Apologies for the delayed response. I know I am going to get beat down for the info the follow.

So I bought it from eBay under 400$ tag (Suspicious...?). Hence, the reason I started this thread. I bought it from a 'reputable' store. (1028 feedback score, all 5-star ratings, only selling automotive stuff, mostly airbags only). Hence I reason I trusted and completed the transaction. I just wanted forum members/moderators review and knowledge that could assure me of my purchase. But, I have learned about that from your last message.

Unsure if I can post eBay store link here and to avoid a violation, IM'ing you.

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Literally nothing?

If the counterfeits are so good that a few BMW Dealers purchased them, why do you think they could be identified by pics online?

Where did you purchase and what did you pay for it?