[wesamjaber2004@gmail.com]

Let us know if the starter is the culprit, same thing happened to my moms x3, I’m sure it is just the starter though, did it ever have a not necessarily slow but a weak crank when started? It is an older car at the end of the day.

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by wesamjaber2004@gmail.com

Let us know if the starter is the culprit, same thing happened to my moms x3, I’m sure it is just the starter though, did it ever have a not necessarily slow but a weak crank when started? It is an older car at the end of the day.

You know, it's hard to say, we only had the car 3 weeks when this happened. Possible, but then we never witnessed it when it was new. Buy yea, 107k miles. It's high time to replace anyway. I'm hoping this is it, but not throwing cash away if not. Preventative maint. Same with the battery I just replaced.

[StradaRedlands]

I anecdotally believe that starters on F10 cars are not the strongest. Whether the start/stop (which I don't have) wear on them, or something else, I sense they give out around 100-125,000 mile range. I haven't had to replace one on any of the E90s I've owned.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I anecdotally believe that starters on F10 cars are not the strongest. Whether the start/stop (which I don't have) wear on them, or something else, I sense they give out around 100-125,000 mile range. I haven't had to replace one on any of the E90s I've owned.

My neighbor was a mechanic for USPS and I asked him about wear & tear on the starter because of the A/S/S system. I figured that the constant stopping and starting of the delivery trucks was analogous to our start/stop. He said they replaced starters on these vehicles all the time and the constant stopping and starting was to blame. The first thing I did on my 2014 F10 was code the A/S/S off.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

My neighbor was a mechanic for USPS and I asked him about wear & tear on the starter because of the A/S/S system. I figured that the constant stopping and starting of the delivery trucks was analogous to our start/stop. He said they replaced starters on these vehicles all the time and the constant stopping and starting was to blame. The first thing I did on my 2014 F10 was code the A/S/S off.

I mean, he is a garden gnome, so definitely knows what he's talking about! If the starter was a LOT more convenient to get to, that's one thing, but buried under the intake just sucks. And the A/S/S just can't be good for a wear item like a starter. I still think the F10 starter is a bit more fragile than the E90 kind. Around half the longevity by my non-scientific sample.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Thanks Colonel! and General! You and a few others are always so helpful!

[Conserve]

Very 1st thing I did to my car was disable A/S/S in 'comfort mode'. Now I have to figure out if I can do the same for 'Eco PRO MODE' too.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

I just keep it in comfort when i am commuting or traveling more than 200 miles, unless there is an encounter, Sport+ Engaged lol, That way i never deal with A/S/S.

[Conserve]

Originally Posted by ChiltiCoatl89

I just keep it in comfort when i am commuting or traveling more than 200 miles, unless there is an encounter, Sport+ Engaged lol, That way i never deal with A/S/S.

I get it. Eco Pro mode for me is when my wife ridding in the car with me.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Conserve

I get it. Eco Pro mode for me is when my wife ridding in the car with me.

Pretty much my life...

[dbatech99]

This car. Already about to roll it off a hill. Can't find the supposed neutral emergency lock that is supposed to be somewhere, either under the cup holder, which it's not, or somewhere else. I've seen videos where it's under the shifter surround. But I don't think the surround on this sifter pops right up like some of those I've seen.

Anybody know where the heck I'm supposed to find it? Seems like they just willy-nilly put it anywhere from year to year. Grrrr

[Surly73]

The F10 has no such thing in the interior. You have to get under the car and screw in a bolt on the transmission. However you're googling, it's not for F10 specific info. This usually comes into play with a dead electrical system:

https://youtu.be/GIAxM4RMmfc?si=-qmtAUyFbEbSnnFA&t=548

Now - I have seen more indications of alternatives when your battery isn't dead. For those cars with a strap under the cupholder, that would be as easy as anything else (battery dead or not). I have heard of another technique when you have power, which I've never tried.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jwd-g3L5pI

I would expect both are covered in the manual too.

[ctcarbonari]

As Surly73 said above there is no manual release from within the interior.

There are (2) methods - electronically & mechanically.

See attached pdf for the TIS procedures (from my "emergency" notes I put together. Pages 3 & 4)

[ctcarbonari]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

This car. Already about to roll it off a hill.

Well....You'll have to get the transmission disengaged out of park before you can push it down the hill....

Your frustrations are understandable. IMHO, that manual allen bolt release on the side UNDERNEATH the car is absolutely ridiculous. Especially in situations where a guy finds himself broken down in an area where he's blocking traffic and just needs to push the car off to the side of the road.

Don't forget to breathe and good luck!

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by ctcarbonari

As Surly73 said above there is no manual release from within the interior.

There are (2) methods - electronically & mechanically.

See attached pdf for the TIS procedures (from my "emergency" notes I put together. Pages 3 & 4)

Thank you so much for this. I did try the electronic release version, but perhaps I wasn't doing it right. With your information, I will give it a go again.
I need to tow strap the car up my crazy steep driveway to get it into the garage, so I can put this new starter in.

[ctcarbonari]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

Thank you so much for this. I did try the electronic release version, but perhaps I wasn't doing it right. With your information, I will give it a go again.
I need to tow strap the car up my crazy steep driveway to get it into the garage, so I can put this new starter in.

You're welcome. One thing I always forget about, is that you can use your idrive to search for info too - such as "towing".

You got this Dad. You'll get that beautiful Bimmer up and running and your daughter wil be sooooooo happy.

Good Luck and please keep this post updated. I've been interested to see how this one turns out (hopefully not the downhill scenerio...lol)

[dbatech99]

Well, unfortunately I've tried countless times with the above directions and either you can't do this with this car or I'm doing it wrong. I don't see how I could be doing it wrong because the directions are pretty simple. Looks like the only option is for me to get under the car. Which is a bit bizarre cranking up the car on a jack and then putting it in neutral while I'm under the car lol. Just seems really bizarre and I can't fault BMW more for such a crazy convoluted difficult way to put a car in neutral.

[ctcarbonari]

From my convoluted understanding of BMW, it sounds like the starter needs to at least try to turn over in order for the electronic disengage method to work.

Here's a link to a good previous discussion on the subject.
Notably, post #7-9

https://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1683926

[dbatech99]

Originally Posted by ctcarbonari

From my convoluted understanding of BMW, it sounds like the starter needs to at least try to turn over in order for the electronic disengage method to work.

Here's a link to a good previous discussion on the subject.
Notably, post #7-9

https://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1683926

OK folks. Success. Crawled under the car, jacked it up. Trusted the electronic emergency brake and a chock on the right two ground tires. Used a tow strap to the f450 to get it up my insanely steep driveway.

Now, when I get time, I can replace the starter in the calm serenity of my garage... THis will prevent me getting in trouble with the HOA due to audible disturbances that might (will) occur from working on this thing.

Thanks everyone for the help so far.

[dbatech99]

UPdate. Got the intake almost off, but getting foiled by the electrical connector underneath. Had a good youtube tutorial that was doing a great job of detailing each connector... until he got to this one and said. "It's a standard connector, I used a pick tool". Doh... there isn't much room and I can't seem to get it to release. Any suggestions?

**** DELETE RANT*****

OK. So I got the connector off. Apparently you are supposed to squeeze it, and it should pop off. However I depressed it all the way and it still would not release. So I carefully inserted a screwdriver head and leveraged the end up on the opposite end and it released. Thank God.

[dbatech99]

New Starter in. Success! Car start. Thanks to everyone's help.

[ctcarbonari]

Originally Posted by dbatech99

UPdate. Got the intake almost off, but getting foiled by the electrical connector underneath. Had a good youtube tutorial that was doing a great job of detailing each connector... until he got to this one and said. "It's a standard connector, I used a pick tool". Doh... there isn't much room and I can't seem to get it to release. Any suggestions?

**** DELETE RANT*****

OK. So I got the connector off. Apparently you are supposed to squeeze it, and it should pop off. However I depressed it all the way and it still would not release. So I carefully inserted a screwdriver head and leveraged the end up on the opposite end and it released. Thank God.

"Standard Connector"....That's funny...They always seem to be just a little bit different everytime I get hung up on one. lol

+1 to having a hook & pick set. That has helped me out a lot - even when I'm using them to pry loose and break free once released and still seem to be stuck.

OP: I've been enjoying reading the updates on this thread. Nice work!