5th Jan 2014, 03:51

Hi Tony,

Just saw your post today. That DSC light is likely to be the old Teves Mk60 problem - this typing screen doesn't show the "trail" unfortunately, so not sure if I've mentioned this previously. From what I could remember, your car has this combined ABS/DSC unit which can have a problem with some sensor inside of it. If your ABS unit is immediately visible when you pop the bonnet open, that's probably the type. I may have mentioned a part number earlier in this thread.

My one is the "old" type where it is not immediately visible on the left-hand side of the car where the pedal cluster of an LHD car would be. My ex-BMW Sth Africa mechanic has advised me that there is a repair kit for it. The coolant sensor is odd - new and original too, perhaps you might want to get the car hooked up to a scanner at an independent garage, because it may be a software malfunction.

Maybe I've been lucky. I just got my car serviced before Christmas, it's now done 116K km (I got it three years ago with 65K), and save for one coil three months into ownership (and the original 2001 BMW battery finally dying last March), the car's been unusually reliable. I've done some wear and tear and age repairs - reaction bushes, a belt pulley and tensioner, front brakes, rear brake pads - not much else. The clutch will need doing, it's been funny since I got the car and shudders sometimes on standing start, but never got any worse; it happens a bit more now.

I have to do more reading on that engine of yours. I only have the base 1.8-litre 115 BHP engine, I think you have the "updated" engine with 140 BHP (up from something like 122 BHP on the pre-facelift 318i) which is British-made.

Keep me posted on what you find, but do check out the trail for this regarding the repair kit info for the ABS, and certainly you must find an independent mechanic that knows European cars. There are many South Africans in Australia, and many of them are car mechanics specialised in Euros, especially BMWs as they're made there for export.

5th Jan 2014, 04:02

Addendum, Tony - forgot to add this earlier. Fuel consumption for my car on the average week (moderate peak hour traffic using the motorway only on weekends), no air con, is about 11.5 km/L (8.7 L/100 km), dropping to something like 10.75-11 km/L if I use the air con once in a while. After Christmas, drove down the line to a mate's farm maybe 250-300 km from Auckland, the car averaged 15.7 km/L (6.36 L/100 km), but until I got to the really hilly parts where the bends kept slowing me down to 80 km/h, the car on the flats and straights, at near constant 100-105 km/h, was averaging as high as 17.8 km/L (5.6 L/100 km).

I'm sure my consumption was aided by being a manual gearbox, as none of my previous 4-cylinder cars was anywhere near as frugal, especially in town. Except for that figure at "near constant" speeds on the flats, where I used the slightly optimistic trip computer, I otherwise always measure tank-to-tank.

Cheers, Tony.