Personal gripes about my M, am I a whiner

[mjposner]

The plastic intake on teh hood won't stay flat (my 08 had the same issue on the right side).

The adaptive headlights will occasionally say sensor failure then mysteriously go away.

Clunking over rough roads with top up.

Crappy gas mileage (about 15). My 08' on the same commute had about 18.

Occasional thunk from the diff when accelerating.

Full throttle has some sort of notch as feel as I depress the pedal past 75%

Okay hit me!

[dmw16]

First world problems.

Is your car a DCT? I assume that has the "kickdown" point in the throttle? Gas milege might be added weight of the vert, or if the car is brand new it's because the car isn't fully broken in yet?

[Grail05]

think of it its normal... problem solve..

[AshyLarryMP]

Those problems don't seem too bad. My Grand National completely turned off while I was driving like 10 times. It's a nightmare when all the lights go out and the power steering goes away (while turning). I've had some problems with the gadgets in the M3, but nothing serious. It's understandable because the more gadgets you have the greater chance something will go wrong.

[luis_m3]

I would just recommend to stop looking for glitches and start enjoying the car a bit more... the amazing sound and superb handling makes me forget about all of the other stuff very quickly.

[tjsabec]

By adaptive headlights I am guessing you mean auto high beam? I don't have the auto high beam in my car so I can't say what is normal. If you do in fact mean adaptive headlights, which is standard, I'd definitely get that checked out under warranty, because I've never had an error in 3 years and it seems like a problem that could get worse.

[Crimson92]

Yes,yes you are.

[surlynkid]

if you buy an M, you shouldn't be worried about gas. she drinks a lot.

[pkimM3r]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

if you buy an M, you shouldn't be worried about gas. she drinks a lot.

And (dare i say) top down!!

Just get the things checked out once and enjoy. Glad i dont experience those.

[dreamspeed]

I'm going to say the first two complaints are valid as it's just shoddy workmanship, especially on a 70k car.

The other complaints are meh

[THE TECH]

E93 problems.

[mjposner]

You guys are too easy on me...got this on my blog:

lulz - you are complaining about things on an m3 - yet you have a convertible. the e93 was made for idiots; idiots purchase them to look cool - they are overcharged for these cars. do you not understand getting a convertible ruins the entire purpose of an m3?

My response:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, which, of course I do not understand as I am an idiot. Cool yes, but an idiot. Doubtful I was overcharged, as I bought used and cheap. Sorry about ruining the M3, guess BMW is an idiot too for selling these.

P.S. No cojones so you post as anonymous?

[SHADY1]

Occasional thunk from the diff when accelerating.


I would get this check out, because you might have a broken diff bolt or a bad bushing. I had this happen 3 times now on my car damn diff bolt. I don't track or drag race my car .

[Vanmarsenille]

Originally Posted by mjposner

You guys are too easy on me...got this on my blog:

lulz - you are complaining about things on an m3 - yet you have a convertible. the e93 was made for idiots; idiots purchase them to look cool - they are overcharged for these cars. do you not understand getting a convertible ruins the entire purpose of an m3?

My response:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, which, of course I do not understand as I am an idiot. Cool yes, but an idiot. Doubtful I was overcharged, as I bought used and cheap. Sorry about ruining the M3, guess BMW is an idiot too for selling these.

P.S. No cojones so you post as anonymous?

I tried to reply to Anonymous on yer blog, but couldn't get it to work. So, just in case Anonymous is reading on here:

Dear Anonymous,

You are a twat.

Sincerely,

VMR

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

E93 problems.

[momo3605]

Yea, I've never had problems with errors on adaptive headlights, not sure about clunking, but there is a bit of creaking when you go over rough roads. Not sure about the rest.

[24601]

Originally Posted by dreamspeed

I'm going to say the first two complaints are valid as it's just shoddy workmanship, especially on a 70k car.

+1

you're not a whiner, we all have them, some just are too full of it to admit.

[mjposner]

My 08 did not clunk, I think the 19s on the '11 contribute to the issue, never noticed the kickdown notch in the accelerator on the 08' either.

[mlambert890]

Some of these are worth looking into IMO... I've never seen an E9X where the plastic intake doesnt stay flat You say you experienced it before. I'm wondering if you are too anal, if I am not anal enough, or if you just have bad luck.

Gas mileage is what it is, but can be mitigated by driving with less of a heavy foot. Commuting I can get my E92 to around 21MPG pretty reliably using D2 and taking it easy.

The adaptive light failure I've never seen and suggest you get that checked. Electrical gremlins are better off chased down early on *any* car.

Clunking suspension and clunking diff are both a "features" of a heavy car with stiff suspension and a dual clutch trans.

[Projectile]

You get clunks from the roof when it is up going over bumps? Any other rattles or squeaks from the roof.

Noises like that drive me crazy. After about 8000km, the roof on my 996 Targa started to rattle and buzz. 2 dealerships could not fix the problem. I had to trade that in for a 997 C2S.

I had a buzzing sound coming from the dash of my e92. I could stop it by applying light pressure with one finger on the dash just beneath the air vent. The dealer applied some felt strips behind the dash piece and the problem has been solved.

My wife's Toyota 4Runner is 11 years old. That thing has been through hell. Not a single rattle, buzz, or squeak. M3s and 911s are expensive cars. They should have a build quality that excludes these issues AFAIC.

Do all convertibles eventually get rattles and squeaks and other noises from the roof when its up?

[mlambert890]

Originally Posted by Projectile

You get clunks from the roof when it is up going over bumps? Any other rattles or squeaks from the roof.

Noises like that drive me crazy. After about 8000km, the roof on my 996 Targa started to rattle and buzz. 2 dealerships could not fix the problem. I had to trade that in for a 997 C2S.

I had a buzzing sound coming from the dash of my e92. I could stop it by applying light pressure with one finger on the dash just beneath the air vent. The dealer applied some felt strips behind the dash piece and the problem has been solved.

My wife's Toyota 4Runner is 11 years old. That thing has been through hell. Not a single rattle, buzz, or squeak. M3s and 911s are expensive cars. They should have a build quality that excludes these issues ASAIC.

Do all convertibles eventually get rattles and squeaks and other noises from the roof when its up?

People always use the term "build quality", but I dont feel its that at all. 911s and M3s have incredibly stiff suspension with tight interior design and lots of parts that fit together seamlessly. They also ride on big giant rims with tiny rubber and people are obsessed with dropping them. Add all of that up and combine it with horrible roads and you're *going* to get squeaks.

A 4 Runner rides on giant squishy rubber with big loose interior pieces on a suspension with a ton of give. Most of it inside is cloth and/or rubber. It really isn't "build quality", it is simply physics.

My FJ Cruiser never rattled either. But the entire thing was neoprene running on massive BF Goodrich offroads and bilstein offroad suspension.

My buddies IS-F rattles like a box of marbles. Does that mean the IS-F somehow has lower build quality than the FJ or 4 Runner?

[Projectile]

Good point, mlambert890.

Perhaps I shouldn't expect my $100,000 sportscars with stock suspensions not to have squeaks and rattles and buzzes?

Perhaps the manufacturers should state the obvious physical impossibility of achieving this?

I dunno. These aren't cup cars. The stock suspensions ride very comfortably, I'd say. My 997C2S made no noises at all and it had 19 inch wheels, and I tracked that car regularly. The 4Runner has been on some very jarring rides and off-road excursions over the years, plus its 11 years old.

It seems to me that the problem has to do with the interface of moving parts and the appropriate application of insulation. The buzzing sound from my dash was easily fixed by applying some felt under the dash piece. This stuff should be engineered there from the start, unless the problem I'm getting is a defect, no?

Do all convertibles eventually do this? Even (or especially?) hard top convertibles?