The Most Infamously Common E30 Fault

[skipunda]

OBC backlight

Or some sort of broken OBC. I thought for a moment I'd set mine to 'Predator' units?

[youtube][/youtube]

[magpie]

how to change a front valance and auto-manual conversion parts needed.

[Cypriotgeeza]

OBC backlight

Or some sort of broken OBC. I thought for a moment I'd set mine to 'Predator' units?

[youtube][/youtube]

hahaha Run just after you hear the scary laughter because the bombs about to go off!!

[BEERBOY123]

That's gotta be Harry's TV Highlight of the Week - 12 seconds video footage of a broken E30 OBC...

[HJG-E30]

People complaining of overheating in traffic.... i.e. duff viscous coupling

[Speedtouch]

Worn drivers seat base and side bolster, and shiny steering wheel and gearknob due to the high miles on most.

[harry_p]

Worn drivers seat base and side bolster, and shiny steering wheel and gearknob due to the high miles on most.

but magically when they come up for sale they all seem to be just under 100k miles

[KimH]

not sure that raised any concern in the 316..

That's 'cos it only happens betwen the 2 cylinders you don't have!

[Alex]

The biggest fault bar non is the hydrolic headlight adjusters not working.

Has anyone seen them work?

[Blitz]

Convertible magnetic immobilsor thing?

[rimz]

washer fluid light.

[e30topless]

The biggest fault bar non is the hydrolic headlight adjusters not working.

Has anyone seen them work?

I have only seen this system work once,

[jaymos]

Hmmm lets see.

Intermittant wiper fault - check
water in footwells and boot - check
non existant inner arch - check
rear wheel bearing sounds like obi wans lightsaber - check
rust, rust and more rust- check
M10 auto choke headache - check
brake wear sensor always on - check
dash bulbs gone - check
bushes fooked - check
dodgy door locks - check

etc etc etc..........



But I still love her.

[bss325i]

rear wheel bearing sounds like obi wans lightsaber - check

[jaymos]

rear wheel bearing sounds like obi wans lightsaber - check

:.:

Barry, it was quite entertaining at first but after a year its become tedious.

[sarkie83]

fuel pumps (well for me anyway!) been through 3 in two cars in about a year of e30 ownership..

[pukar]

OBC backlight

Or some sort of broken OBC. I thought for a moment I'd set mine to 'Predator' units?

[youtube][/youtube]

has happened on 2 out of 3 of my e30's.....i though it was calculating the coming of "La Magra" the blood god from Blade

[E30mjrc]

Went to look at a 316i the other day (1991 model):
-Central locking not working- check!
-Driver door window not working-check!
-Driver door mirror not adjusting-check!
-Heater not working-check!
-Driver & passenger seats knackered- check!

Goods points- NO RUST!
(except on sunroof, also mentioned earlier in thread!)

[jaymos]

Yep worn seats are another common problem, I think Freddie Kruger was the previous owner of mine.

[Alex]

The biggest fault bar non is the hydrolic headlight adjusters not working.

Has anyone seen them work?

I have only seen this system work once,

Thats bad considering the amount of e30s you have owned

[bogney]

Fan speed controller! 1.....nothing 2....nothing 3.....nothing 4..Smack! face full of sh1te and a new hair doo. WHAT? I CANT HEAR YA!

[Ajsingh]

ICV & a blip of the throttle and it hits a flat spot then returns to normal idle! both my e30s have it!

[Speedtouch]

Headlight wiper motors seizing - I've had this on two of my chromey E30s, also an odd one of the windscreen washers one-way valves clogging and spraying water under the bonnet.

Also bad handbrakes on rear disc-brake models seems quite common due to rust and/or difficult adjustment.

[TouringMatt]

Hydrolic Headlight adjusters never work

You got there before me Alex!

Has anyone here actually got a working system?

I actually have an fully working system that i brought years ago and have never, and probably will never get round to fitting, mainly because im fixing all the problems that have been listed so far in this thread!

My own personnel top 3 are;

Cold speed idle,

Oil leaks,
and trying to work out if the noise is bearing/cv/diff/bearing or gearbox related

This time is rear bearing again

Matt

[danbear]

Lets just say the whole car is one big fault. There you go, everything covered

[Alex]

Lets just say the whole car is one big fault. There you go, everything covered

sounds like you got a shit car

[danbear]

Lets just say the whole car is one big fault. There you go, everything covered

sounds like you got a shit car

It's not the greatest i'll be honest. But where's the fun in that? i love tinkering around on the old girl

[snakebrain]

Headlight wiper motors seizing - I've had this on two of my chromey E30s, also an odd one of the windscreen washers one-way valves clogging and spraying water under the bonnet.

How do you sort the wiper motors?

[srmalek]

auto gearbox for me , central locking and window motor, mine is a 323i 1985

[d1mkaz]

central locking, break wearing light, cold start

[BadMoonRising]

washer fluid light.

Not heard of this one before. Although mine has just started coming on and off. Even though the tank is full. What is the cure?

If I had read this thread before I bought an E30. I may never have.

[Felix79]

The previous owner is normally the biggest fault on an e30

[Brianmoooore]

The previous owner is normally the biggest fault on an e30

This is probably the truest comment so far!
Almost every fault mentioned so far is easily sorted, and if done properly, shouldn't occur again for another 15 years or so.
Washer light: Turn the switch the right way up.
Headlamp wipers: Seize in the output shafts. Dismantle, clean, grease, renew rubber seals at the front.
Central locking: Red/black wire mod; keep sill drains clear.
Disc brake handbrakes: Muppets adjusting cables at the lever, instead of adjusting in the hub.

[d1mkaz]

Lets just say the whole car is one big fault. There you go, everything covered

+1
fix existing fault and something else goes wrong

[Speedtouch]

To be fair, I owned four of them, two chromey 320i models and two facelift 325i models and they always kept going, despite over 100,000 miles on each. Not a single head gasket went, even though they all had the notorious earlier type hex-head bolts.

Pretty reliable overall, I'd say.