20 Most Recent 1999 BMW 328 Series - Page 9 Questions & Answers

Check the air boot coming off the throttle body/idle valve for any large cracks. Most common vacuum leak is the vacuum regulator. I reccomend replacing it along with the 4 hoses that go to it, they often break upon removal. A smoke machine works great for checking for vacuum leaks.

in the back window glass..and yes they are terrible

you probly have a siezed lock pin, or the metal flap that stops debris from gettin in the lock is stuck. if you can see inside your lock, then get some WD40, and some lock de-icer, spray the lock with the WD40, and try to put your key in, it should go in. If it doesn't go in, and more backyard style way would be to get a thin piece of metal that will fit in the slot try to gently move it up and down prying on the top and bottom inside the lock. use the metal trick at your own risk, for it may cause damage, i don't recomend it, the Wd40 should work spray it, let it sit for 5 mins, spray it and then try it.

I would check the fuel pressure just after starting and again after 10-15 minutes (or before it dies). Sounds like a fuel delivery problem. Could be a stuffed up filter, or the fuel pump could be dying. I had a Volkswagen some years ago and it had two fuel pumps, a large one up in the engine bay and a small "helper" in the gas tank. The one in the gas tank was bad but the bigone was fine, so I'd start the car normally, drive for about 20 minutes, then the car would die and not want to start again until it had cooled off. Maybe you have the same setup.

Are you sure the blutooth is active in your car? Contact the local dealer and have them run a "DCS" and confirm the car is fitted with Blutooth. Then go to www.bmwusa.com and check that your phone is apporved to work with the car. Provided nothing is wrong with the car you can then follow the instructions below.

1. make sure your phone's bluetooth is "always on"
2. get your phone all the way to the "search screen" and stop
3. press the "menu button on the radio
4. press the button below the "phone" in the menu screen of the radio.
5. press search on your phone to locate the car.
6. after the phone locates the car press yes to "bond"
7. the phone/car will now ask for a password, enter 1111 and press enter or ok.

Ifyour passwrd does not work you will have to go to the dealer to get the correct one or you can locate the TCU in the driver's rear inner panel in the trunk and get the number off the unit. It will say "PK XXX"

Try checking the fuel pressure valve & vacuum hoses, I'm unsure about your model, The fuel pressure valve has 2 very small rubber O rings & they over time perish - there are 2 types that I can recall - 1 is a sealed unit & the other has a Cir lip. If yours is that later when you remove that clip there is a larger rubber ring on the shaft - take note at what position that ring was facing on removal. Seal unti can only be replaced. Hope that helps, good luck

I can't quite follow your post, but it sounds like you set off the car alarm. Lock and unlock your doors with the key Fob to reset it.

I've replaced the battery several times in my 328 without such a problem.

your '99 might be "equipped with bluetooth" which means the car is wired for it, but may not have the module(s) for it. same is true for the 6 disc changer in the trunk on the LH side. its wired for it, but not necessarily has it installed.

call your BMW dealership (parts dept) with your VIN (actually the last 7 numbers is all they should need) and they can tell you if the car is "wired for bluetooth" or actually has bluetooth installed.

go to the link below and u will find instructional video of this job.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=how+to+replace+shocks+and+struts&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=iWwUSubBOqfgsgPqpLXqDQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#

hello there

The problem is with the gear oil. To keep ahead of the rest BMW started what they call life time oil for their gear boxes, though that sounds great it doesn't really work in reality, they have now gone back to recommending a gear oil change every 60k miles.

In short you need to change your gear oil and soon, the oil in your gear box is no longer effective and will damage the gear box. You'll need about 5 litres for your car and costs around £15 a litre, expensive stuff!! I had the same problem with my 328i auto, the dealer was clueless and kept quoting the lifetime oil, I changed the oil and the problem has gone and it's so much smoother.

Hope this helps, please don't forget to rate me.

Hello Joe

Yes you have an E46, You need to order the UK drivers side glass and make sure you specify it's a coupe. the saloons have a different wing mirror.

Hope this helps, please don't forget to rate me.

i have a 325i bmw convertible and by mistake i pulled the release bar under the back seat and detached the motor for the convertible and know it doesnt want to open or close the convertible

BMW's are renowned for having airbag light problems. Most of the time, there isn't even a problem with your airbags. Sometimes a sensor goes bad, sometimes it's a wire is loose, sometimes there's nothing wrong at all. It could be anything. But it is very unlikely that the airbags would not deploy in an accident, but of course the best way to know for sure is take it to a mechanic that can read the codes with a computer.

Sometimes you can reset the engine warning light by disconnecting the battery for ten minutes or more (be sure you have your stereo unlock code if needed).
That is not a good solution, it is better to diagnose and eventually fix the problem.
Have the car computer scanned with a code reader, the codes you get in return witll tell you exactly where to find the problem.

Here is the code list.

To get the codes the code reader must be connected to the car computer.


sometimes on Bmw you may need a Interface 16 pin Adapter, depending on the code reader.

Here is a home user code reader : PocketScan™ OBD II Code Reader (AXRCP9125 ...

Here is a good scaner.

Always better having the job done at a qualified garage.

i would check to see if the luggage compartment (trunk) isn't expanded. If it is the convertible top module wont allow the top to move. If the trunk is open or there is a problem in the wiring and a check control message is displayed the top won't open either

Dexron 4 auto trans fluid is an acceptable fluid for this vehicle.  it meets the BMW standards for this vehicle.

Firstly nice car.

It sounds like the alternator could be giving you hassle and the battery is not charging as you drive it. Two easy ways to check this 1. drive your car close to a wall at night and rev the engine with the lights on, if the lights dim then the alternator is nackered. 2. If you have access to a voltmeter check the voltage on the battery with the engine off, then turn on the engine and get some one to rev it. If the alternators working then the should only be slight movement in the voltage if not it will drain heavily (5-10 volts)

To reset the check control light turn the key in the ignition to as far as all the lights in the dash come on (dont start it) leave it in this position for about 2 mins (the car runs its own diagnostic check) then turn it off take out the key and put it back to the dash lights on position again.

Hope this helps.

Try to remove the back of the back seat or try to remove the radio speaker in the back and if you can do either one of those you will be able to get to your keys in the trunk.