Took mine for an Italian tune up this morning and thought the rear was crabbing under power and sliding about a bit more than usual. Put it down to the cold damp roads and the camber but turns out I have broken springs on the rear so failed MOT. Also failed for headlights set too low though hopefully that should be a simple fix. Glad I have a warranty and a courtesy car as springs are going to have to be sent out and it won’t de able to be fixed till the parts arrive and it has been marked unusable for the road in its current condition. Think I might extend my warranty at the end of the month, reminder to everyone to check their springs too if you are in warranty, 50k miles on mine.
Failed MOT
- Thread starter Crusoe
- Start date
Not sure on the lights, would have thought the auto adjust would level them off correctly even if the back was a bit low - certainly raise up when I switch them on so they do still move. Will see what they say and report back, not heard of any others having problem with the adjusting mechanism so hopefully just something they can reset the level on. Dealer doing a good job to get the parts in and fitted tomorrow at short notice, always helps when you are putting miles on their car till it is fixed though.
Mine are xenons so should self level, you do notice them moving when you go over hump back bridges etc. so that part is still working i think. Must be a horizon default level that is adjusted or programmed in which they can probably change. Find out tomorrow if they can get the springs fitted and lights done in time for a retest.
lacroupade
Veteran
Didn't know about Xenons self-levelling....interesting. But why do halogens do this Lazarus thing then?
Don't mix up adjustment and self levelling guys.
2 things here: firstly halogen and xenon both go through the cycle of dipping and raising the lights to the preset position/level. That position is just to where they were adjusted to manually to start with.
Xenon have an extra feature that just to compensate for loads and bumps the lights raise or lower based on input from 2 suspension sensors. Again they only do this back to the original manual adjustment position.
So to state the obvious if the lights point 10 degrees too high the xenons will do a perfect job of dazzling all the time by holding that 10 degree error
So you need to have the lights correctly set by the garage using a beam adjuster.
2 things here: firstly halogen and xenon both go through the cycle of dipping and raising the lights to the preset position/level. That position is just to where they were adjusted to manually to start with.
Xenon have an extra feature that just to compensate for loads and bumps the lights raise or lower based on input from 2 suspension sensors. Again they only do this back to the original manual adjustment position.
So to state the obvious if the lights point 10 degrees too high the xenons will do a perfect job of dazzling all the time by holding that 10 degree error
So you need to have the lights correctly set by the garage using a beam adjuster.
lacroupade
Veteran
but still not clear why they rise and fall? there must be a good reason for it? :?
lacroupade said:
Part of the self checking process I assume. The halogens need to be able to raise and lower as the adjustment wheel on the LCM is rotated and the xenons for the auto adjust. No doubt if not correctly cycling it wil throw a code.
Yes Dave they are all adjusted in the static position with the 2 white knurled adjusters on the rear of the light unit. 1 for up/down and L/R.
I'm sure the TIS manual will reference a given load, amount of fuel, etc. but I doubt MOT stations are that accurate.
I'm sure the TIS manual will reference a given load, amount of fuel, etc. but I doubt MOT stations are that accurate.
Springs arrived and car stripped down for them but now they called to say they need more parts? Will have to wait and hear what they needed but guessing they found something else when they had the suspension off, or just found a few more jobs when they knew it was going to be a warranty job. More parts coming tomorrow but will need to wait till Monday to put it through the MOT again now. Wonder what the bill will be like, at least the couple of months old 320d se with sports seats and a few other bits is quite a nice place to be even if the engine does sound like a bag of spanners and rev like an asthmatic. Might have to rack up a few extra miles at the weekend and see how grippy the tires are 
Yay I have the z back feels so much more planted and powerful - though might be driving a diesel 3 series for almost a week that magnifies the effect. Quite a list of things they sorted most of which are covered by my warranty thankfully. They did the oil service and filter change I asked for and it was due the five year brake fluid change plus they charged me for the labour on the light adjustment but they picked up the tab on the rest less the courtesy car costs as it took so long to sort out and they broke my airbox when they had it off.
New parts fitted include a new belt tentioner (was making a squeel at low revs sometimes), two new rear springs, rear anti-roll bar bushes, and the new air box to replace the one they dropped and cracked. Total bill including the MOT and retest was £119.30 which seems cheep at the price, I also ordered a cruise control stalk for £53.90 which I will fit myself.
feels so much more planted and powerful - though might be driving a diesel 3 series for almost a week that magnifies the effect. Quite a list of things they sorted most of which are covered by my warranty thankfully. They did the oil service and filter change I asked for and it was due the five year brake fluid change plus they charged me for the labour on the light adjustment but they picked up the tab on the rest less the courtesy car costs as it took so long to sort out and they broke my airbox when they had it off. New parts fitted include a new belt tentioner (was making a squeel at low revs sometimes), two new rear springs, rear anti-roll bar bushes, and the new air box to replace the one they dropped and cracked. Total bill including the MOT and retest was £119.30 which seems cheep at the price, I also ordered a cruise control stalk for £53.90 which I will fit myself.
Just a slight hijack... :hijacked:
Is it quite an often fault for the springs to break? And how "easy" is it to notice with the car on the ground?
Is it a case that the rear of the car sits low enough to make the sills appear to tilt towards the rear, or is it only something you would see under power or up on a ramp?
Just that I've read a lot about this on these forums the last couple of days, and would prefer to not have this headache from the getgo
(PS: nothing in the service history regarding broken springs or suspension work, and tugging on the wishbones during my initial inspection didn't produce anything abnormal feeling... )
Is it quite an often fault for the springs to break? And how "easy" is it to notice with the car on the ground?
Is it a case that the rear of the car sits low enough to make the sills appear to tilt towards the rear, or is it only something you would see under power or up on a ramp?
Just that I've read a lot about this on these forums the last couple of days, and would prefer to not have this headache from the getgo
(PS: nothing in the service history regarding broken springs or suspension work, and tugging on the wishbones during my initial inspection didn't produce anything abnormal feeling... )
There is a sticky in the problems thread about springs http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9219
Seems that if your car is in the uk driven in most weather and done more than 30k miles the chances of a broken spring are pretty high. I didn't notice much difference from mine breaking initially as it must have broken very near the bottom. I did notice a slight wandering of the rear under power which I put down to camber on the road and colder weather making the rear more mobile, comparing it now the ride was a bit more lumpen as well though it is hard to tell as the ride is hard anyway. Guess full power on a flat car park would probably tell you if the geometry and/or springs were out as it wouldn't go perfectly straight.
Seems that if your car is in the uk driven in most weather and done more than 30k miles the chances of a broken spring are pretty high. I didn't notice much difference from mine breaking initially as it must have broken very near the bottom. I did notice a slight wandering of the rear under power which I put down to camber on the road and colder weather making the rear more mobile, comparing it now the ride was a bit more lumpen as well though it is hard to tell as the ride is hard anyway. Guess full power on a flat car park would probably tell you if the geometry and/or springs were out as it wouldn't go perfectly straight.