THE STEREOTYPICAL E30

[tregzybmw]

ok, we have all had/currently have those annoying 'classic E30' problems...what are the most common?


Although now all fixed, I've had some of the most common with my E30 recently:

-Central locking issues
-Window catching on the roof when shutting door (cab)
-Rotted back box
-adjusted tappets
-Passenger window fell off its 'mounts'
-slight leak in boot
-electric roof issues


just waiting for the 'cracked dash' and im gonna shout BINGO!!!

WHAT OTHER COMMON PROBLEMS ARE THERE? - The Answers will help me plan for the future!

[tregzybmw]

(I really have made my car out to be a shed, but its actually in very very nice condition!)

May get pics up one day.... i dont like posting pics of my cars on the net

[tommype30cab]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

[tregzybmw]

ah! forgot that one...yes, ive had it to

Catching glove box anyone?

[ric325i]

rust on the inner rear arch.
clutch slave cylinder goes.
then the master goes a week later

um let me think........

im sure theres plenty more but its not that bad for 20 year old cars.

but mine is in the garage at present hence this list.

normally i would just be quoting the good stuff

[Ziggy]

F c u ked tca bushes, rear subframe bushes, rear topmounts. Not problems with the car as such - just a sign of age & cheapskate owners.

Cracked head with your 325i sir?

[ric325i]

oh this stuff aint the reason for the garage being in the garage.

except for the rust.

[dimebag_from_hell]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

aye whats the craic with that? My battery went dead, stuck a new one in. Now it keeps telling me theres a prob with my brake lights.....

[ric325i]

my head is cracked so is my wallet but the engine is fine and getting changed soon i hope.

[ric325i]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

aye whats the craic with that? My battery went dead, stuck a new one in. Now it keeps telling me theres a prob with my brake lights.....

people say its an earth problem

[munky30]

rust... lots and lots of lovely rust.

[tregzybmw]

just recently i think the 16 years has caught up with mine;

its been book in to the local specialist so much that when i renewed my insurance i genuinely answered to the guy on the phone:

'is it garaged at night'

'yes, sometimes my house garage, but most nights garaged down at BMG-Bmw''

and where is it parked during the day sir?:

''at work sometimes, but mostly down at the local Bmw specialsit''

[wildeian]

Wiper motor not working on intermitant...........or fast................. or intermitant and fast.........or at all!!

[Gouki]

here's what I've experienced with mine so far in nearly 2 years of ownership:

Reverse light switch fixed
Brake light switch (relay type thing directly above the brake pedal) fixed
Brake light on the control panel stays on even though they work! unresolved
ABS light comes on after driving more than 5mph! unresolved
Slight leak in boot and damp!
Engine mounts replaced
Central locking does not operate properly using the remote fob in the winter but works perfectly fine from spring onwards!
Fuel tank replaced!

I'll add some if I can remember the rest!

[tregzybmw]

i have the led in my control panel always on too!...but then i do need new brakes and discs...hmmm we will see...

[munky30]

ahh that reminds me.. my reverse lights dont work... but in the spirit of cheapness, you dont need reverse lights for mot so I havent bothered to find out why.

And my drivers door lock doesnt work. Central locking works fine from the passenger side (though sometimes doesnt lock one of the rear doors), but cant do anything from the drivers side lol. I like to think of walking from passenger side to drivers side every time I get in/out is akin to a bit of exercise so havent looked into why yet.

[PiperZero]

Hello!

From my end, it'll be:

Rust....
Headlight switch (rotate like a safe dial to get correct dimness on instrument panel)
Central locking
Stuttering wipers
Intermittent boot light
Odometer gears (for both VDO and Motometer)
Water in boot (from leaky gasket around tail lights)
Temperature gauge
Row row row your boat shifter
Romantic low beam headlights....

[bigmattpowell]

Hmm,
rusty fuel tank
perished fuel hose
front tca bushes
rear subframe bushes
central locking
rusty arches
m40 death rattle

but for some strange reason I'd rather have "Bob" than a spanking new ford/vauxhall any day

[J_Mac]

most annoying for me has to be leaks, driver footwell and boot always wet (hopefully sorted now) with bearings, bushes ect can be found reasonably simply unlike leaks which are such a bastard to find

[Pal318is]

Ok,

After 12 years of ownership, i don't know where to start with a list

But there's been plenty of expensive ones

Pal

[noddy2004]

only problems with my tourer so far have been a starter motor, drivers door lock and a fcuked cam shaft other than that its been fine

[12345kevin]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

aye whats the craic with that? My battery went dead, stuck a new one in. Now it keeps telling me theres a prob with my brake lights.....

people say its an earth problem

More likely to be cheap bulbs, i'm sure it's been posted before. Or water in the rear lense as in my case !

[boomer]

From me

Fuel hose split - then split again, and again
Brake warning light on dash permanently on even though new pads and sensor fitted a couple of thousand miles ago
Leaky windscreen washer bottle
Damp in boot
Leaking heater matrix/valve
Rust - everwhere
split coolant pipes
Track rod ends

The list goes on and on

[bigmattpowell]

Funny how on an e30 it always somehow seems worth fixing, but a small fraction of these problems on a 5 year old peugeot or renault and I'd be inclined to bin it.

[Morat]

Hello!

Romantic low beam headlights....

AHHHH hahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaaaaaaa

perfect description, nice one nearly got sacked cos of that one!
(psst, get some HID off ebay!)

[Rosc0PColtrane]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

mine comes on when I indicate left sometimes!!!

Anyone know a fix, drop me a pm please!!

[Morat]

From a touring perspective:

Leaky rear wash wipe hose (push button shower in the boot!)
Rusty tailgate

[Globulator]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

mine comes on when I indicate left sometimes!!!

Anyone know a fix, drop me a pm please!!

Check the earthing that services the rear clusters.

[Globulator]

My car has had it's far share of work done, although the last owner wasn't afraid to pay at the BMW dealer so lots was quite good anyway - i.e. newish alternator, fan coupling etc.
All jobs done by me except the front balljoint (was MOT failure).

All my changes are really down to age:

Cleaned up wiper motor plate to fix wipers
Cleaned out headlamps from leaks (new set due to go in too)
New indicator lenses and front fog lamps
New front bumper
New 15"BBS refurb + new Toyo T1S tyres
Stereo install w sub - took ages to do right
New electric aerial
Blu-tack in the steering column
New s/h under steering/wheel trim panel
Airbox heatshield + grill breathing
Bypass of throttle body heater
Switch to Mobil1 + new air+oil filters
Fuel filter to fuel rail pipe renewed
Tappets done + shiny domed s/s nuts + gasket
Service interval reset
Rear swing-arm brake-pipes to copper/nickel + flexies
New front dampers -> bilstein gas
Front RHS brakepipe (LONG!) to copper/nickel
New front brake hoses
Door trim correction (used to catch when opening!)
Steering fluid partial change
New blue temp sender
New coolant + thermostat + hoses
Instrument panel resolder to fix brake-lamp warning
New balljoint/arm
New distributor + rotor + plugs (as routine)
New gas-rams for boot and bonnet
Clutch master cylinder (slave was in history not so long ago!)
S/H oil cooler pipes
New Cambelt/roller/waterpump/coolant/sticker (120k -> 160k miles)
Oil of joints in hood mechanism

Next on the list is new back-plates + handbrake shoes + possible discs and pads. Not looking forward to the backplates. Also need new red bonnet and boot lid. I've probably missed stuff too.

Edited to add: It's a very easy car to work on, and well engineered so one wants to fix any bits that need doing - working previously on an MG Midget always made me cringe at what I saw.

[tregzybmw]

i have a feeling anyone who is wanting to get into the E30 world will be put off by this thread!!

to be honest though, most problems can be sorted by yourself on a sunny weekend...

[Brianmoooore]

brake light warning on the check control panel, a classic fault

mine comes on when I indicate left sometimes!!!

Anyone know a fix, drop me a pm please!!

Check the earthing that services the rear clusters.

Specifically the earth pin in the plug and socket built into the back half of the cluster

[tommype30cab]

ok ive thought of 2 more:

water in the headlights (oh how annoying)
and noisy injectors that dont make them selves apparent until after the tappets have been sorted!

i think its only fair that we start a thread on the good points of an e30 tho

[Brianmoooore]

ok ive thought of 2 more:

water in the headlights (oh how annoying)

missing gasket for the sidelamp bulb holder

and noisy injectors that dont make them selves apparent until after the tappets have been sorted!

Early design of injector. A design quirk rather than a fault.

[Cyruz]

Tapping injectors is good, at least you tell when there working

[tregzybmw]

i can recommend STP injector cleaner.

my car runs so smooth, and im sure adding a carton of this to a full tank of super unleader helps...available from most petrolstations ;)