A few questions from a Z4 newbie

[Mr Tidy]

There's nothing wrong with planning for short ownership although you may view things differently to how you would for a keeper.

I've only had one car with stop/start, a BMW 123d. Stop/start hardly ever worked this time of year because the car monitors all sorts of criteria like engine and ambient temperatures, electrical draw (heater fan, HRW, etc.) and battery condition being just a few!

The AGM battery that was coded to the OBD didn't last 5 years, but I did get an amber warning light appear before it actually died. I didn't learn though - the starter motor didn't last 7 years so after that got replaced I turned stop/start off every time I used it!

 

[Pondrew]

I didn’t even realise the car had start stop, it doesn’t work. Definitely need a new battery.

Are you sure it has start/stop?
I am not sure which engine you have but the N54 (35i and 35is) and N52 (23i and 30i) doesn't have it as far as I am aware. I thought only the N20 4 pot (18i, 20i and 28i) and B48, B58 (G29 only) have s/s.

You can tell as there is a button next to the roof buttons if it is equipped.

 

[Silverstar]

I didn’t even realise the car had start stop, it doesn’t work. Definitely need a new battery.

Are you sure it has start/stop?
I am not sure which engine you have but the N54 (35i and 35is) and N52 (23i and 30i) doesn't have it as far as I am aware. I thought only the N20 4 pot (18i, 20i and 28i) and B48, B58 (G29 only) have s/s.

You can tell as there is a button next to the roof buttons if it is equipped.

I think this is correct, as far as I am aware the N52 30i and 23i does not have start stop.

 

[blazej]

A few photos as requested... The weather hasn't been very kind so it's "roof up and/or hats on" so far :roll:





Really love the look of the car, it truly is a gorgeous shape.
A little bit of progress so far: ordered new salmon relays and some Koch Chemie Plast Star to refresh the seals.

Leaning towards Goodyears F1, starting with the rears (as soon as I can afford them :roll: ) I've had F1s on my FN2 for the last 8 years and they've been absolutely fantastic in the wet, at least on an FWD car.

 

[Chippie]

It must be difficult driving with the roof up with that Perspex box on your shoulders

 

[blazej]

Hello again, back with a couple of updates and a newest issue/advice request.
I replaced the salmon switches; upon inspecting the originals they showed some sign of wear
I also purchased two bolt covers for the door handles. They were a minor annoyance but the sight of bolts every time I looked at the handles did bother me.
Before:

After, much better.


The battery keeps playing up - I’ve been waiting to replace it until I’ve had the chance to drive the car some more, and after 800 miles I’m satisfied that definitely needs a new one.

Now to my newest Q… I went to a hand car wash yesterday during the day. One of those places where you drive in and five blokes with pressure washers do the job quickly and cheaply. And to my surprise I got a light misting of soapy water on the back of my neck. Enough to make me flinch, and I noticed two drops where it dropped pooled underneath the wind deflector. Last night I’ve had the red roof icon appear on the computer and a “roof issue” message on the iDrive screen. Today a “roof not latched” popped up first thing, then no more messages or errors later on. I haven’t operated the roof since the wash - for one, it’s been snowing, plus I don’t want to get stuck with it open. (It’s parked in the street.)
Inspecting the roof today, I noticed there is a little gap where the seal meets the boot, kind of looks like the seal doesn’t make contact fully, it’s maybe 1in . I tried to take a photo to show it:

The thoughts on my mind…. Potential water ingress into the roof mechanism? Should I go have it looked at by a specialist? Could the pressure washer have caused this? (Must I avoid car washes?) Any thoughts on how to proceed with this?

 

[Christopher72]

If your seal has failed, you'll have to replace it... Put the roof in maintenance mode and see if the seal is damaged.


https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=LM73-USA-10-2010-E89-BMW-Z4_35i&diagId=54_0396
Looks like #3 54377192951. Unfortunately, seals aren't cheap -- but nothing really is on this car, so you'll get used to that.

 

[matsmith749]

Try opening & closing the roof before replacing the seal - doesn’t look closed to me.

A one inch gap is flipping massive! Never mind water ingress, small animals could get through that!!

 

[Pondrew]

Hopefully Robbi_Z4 will see the post, he will know the problem.
Might be worth searching for the issue, or starting a new thread, as this is not going to be easy to see being 'piggybacked' onto an unrelated thread!
Looks like an issue with the hydraulic rams not lowering far enough for whatever reason, rather than seals to me.

BTW pressure washers are not the best idea on an E89; there are only rubber seals everywhere to keep the water out. There is a lot of wiring, hydraulics and hinges inside those roof sections. Getting water in there is never going to help.

 

[Marcoose]

And I thought the Silver Shadow was finicky. The E89 takes the cake. What a snowflake.

 

[blazej]

Thanks all for your replies. I found a covered car park, put the roof into maintenance mode and checked and rechecked all the seals - actually there’s nothing worrying there that I could see, the seals look the same on both sides, and I saw no signs of water ingress anywhere. The roof then opened fully and closed again fine. Set off to drive back… roof system red warning came on and off again a few times.
New battery it is next week, and see if that helps.
Oh yeah no more visits to those pressure washer wielding gentlemen.

 

[B21]

The behaviour of the roof fault is typical of the two micro switches on the rams…

235/35 19 and 265/30 19 works well on 326Ms…

Conti Sports Contact 7 is the ‘best’ tyre in those sizes….obviously depending on budgets..

 

[MikeyH]

Surprisingly no smart arse has suggested OP to check if he's got old summer air in those tyres.

:rofl: :rofl:

Has he?

 

[blazej]

The behaviour of the roof fault is typical of the two micro switches on the rams…

235/35 19 and 265/30 19 works well on 326Ms…

Conti Sports Contact 7 is the ‘best’ tyre in those sizes….obviously depending on budgets..

B21, thanks mate. I’ll get the battery and those two switches replaced first. It’s the task number 3 in RobbiZ4’s post isn’t it?
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130932
Are you running those sizes on your AY (gorgeous colour btw)?

 

[mcbutler]

But without all the turbo-ey faff you may be just as well off sticking £500 a year in a 'just in case' pot instead.

Better off sticking that £500 in the pot! To be honest I'd probably do the same with a 35i as well but that's just me.

£500 wont get you far on a 35i when it gets poorly, triple that annually till you have around £4k then your safe - trust me on this one.

 

[B21]

I have run 235 and 265..at the moment I’m running 245 / 275 on 8.5j and 9.5j rims..

Next time I’ll go to a 235/35 and 275/30 for lighter steering and better front rear rolling radius match..

Not everyone here is fan of AY but it’s my favourite BMW colour..

 

[True-Blue]

Someone in this thread on Witness protection?….. :tumbleweed:

 

[blazej]

Got a few quotes for the battery and coding. Surprisingly Douglas Park BMW came in the cheapest at £250 but no availability until May. £300 at my local garage and even £400 (!) at an indy BMW specialist. So in the end, I ordered a new battery online (Exide 096 AGM 70Ah) for £120 delivered and a K+D Can cable for £25 and will fit and code it myself.

BMW also quoted £200 for replacing the two microswitches. I'm waiting for a couple more quotes but I might end up tackling it myself as well...

I'll go for 255/35 Conti SportContact 7 which, at £175 fitted each, seem a reasonable balance of price and quality. Sadly, I also need a locking wheel nut, which I neglected to check for when I bought the car.

I wasn't sure what was going to be weirder, my very smiley face next to the car, or the plexiglass box blur so I went for the latter

 

[matsmith749]

I just did a similar battery swap (same model as you went with). I never really got to grips with NCS expert, but the new battery registration was simple enough with an Autel 808.

 

[Kevin]

I also swapped the battery on my car. Was 4 years and around 30,000 miles old and showing high discharge/low voltage messages. Not an expensive replacement for some peace of mind