Just bought a 530ia

[Izerous]

Just brought a 2001 530ia home this weekend I really didn't need another vehicle at home but it is here, already a project in the garage that is a pile of parts.

Alberta requires out of province inspections for cars not last registered in Alberta. I need to replace the wipers and fix the washer jets at a minimum but everything else seems like it might pass inspection as is. Lights are working, some tread left on the tires etc. In a month or two I'll either decide to keep the 5 and sell the DD or re-sell the 5 once it is cleaned up a bit.

This leads me with some things I'd like to fix up on the 5 regardless of what I decide. Simple things like maybe trying the superglue on wood the wood trim cracks to reduce their visibility. Replacing the broken cup holders. Refinishing the foggy lenses on the headlights (wet sand + clear coat not a polish that lasts only a couple months). Not going to bother with intakes, exhaust etc even if I keep it bunch of posts state it isn't worth my time anyways.


I tried a few of the VIN decoders to try and figure out which options are actually on this car but most of them didn't even work only one even gave me results.
-17in 42 Wheels + S704 suggest it has the sport suspension package but a few threads said this didn't exist for 2001 530i models but other posts stating no for US but yes for Canada. Is there an easy way to actually identify which it is.
-The VIN decoder also mentioned 2 steering wheels but of course it actually only has one. It mentions S710 M Sport & S249 multifunction. There is an M badge on wheel is it safe to assume that is the S710 wheel?


I fumbled around a bunch with the radio but the display is not 100% functional on the head unit. Some of the segments are not lighting up but I didn't find any posts about common causes of this only people outright replacing them. It is a DSP/trunk mounted cd changer/Supposedly blue tooth (phone controls and such)?? but without the Nav so it has another CD drive above it on top of the changer in the trunk. I hit a bunch of buttons and got it into FM radio mode to make sure things worked in general. With everyone talking about replacing them when they have problems it seemed like those cases they functionally stopped working but this one is functional just partial display issues. Is there a trick to get the display working properly again or is the head unit simply trash?

[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum Izerous.
The radio display is actually called the MID, Multi Information Diaplay.
Inside it has a bunch incandescent bulbs inside it to back light the display which might be part of your display problem.

[edjack]

Yes, the MID has many bulbs. They are replaced by soldering new ones in place.

MID replacement bulbs

I replaced some of the MID incandescent light bulbs in my 97 540 a long time ago. I ordered them from mouser.com using their part number 606-CM715, which is a Chicago Miniature bulb. Just desolder the burned out bulbs and solder in the new ones. You'll need to bend the leads just right as you don't have much room to fit the bulbs. The new bulbs are the same intensity/brightness as the old ones.

The MID is removed by using a 2 mm Allen wrench behind the volume knob, just a 1/4-turn CCW, and it will pull right out.

You'll need to disassemble the MID, and power it up to see which bulbs are burned out. Or, just replace all of them. IIRC, there is a bulb for every window in the display.


The p/n you show will work, same electrical volts, amps and light output. These bulbs are smaller than the OEM bulbs.
These pc boards came with p/n 606-CM715.
JimLev

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

It’s either those bulbs that are out, not lighting up the window/s, or the other typical MID issue, the pixels are acting up. The MID in my silver wagon are now doing this, a couple lines in the pixels are now sometimes on, sometimes off. I’ve never tried to repair these, I have a whole collection of MIDs that I snarf out of wrecks at the junk yards whenever I find one. Most of them are not 100% at this age. The ribbon was pasted on to their connections with adhesives, that adhesive is now failing and that is why the pixels go out. There are many ribbon kits available on ebay, but a lot of them are garbage. I’m going to be opening up a few MIDs soon to look into repairing them, if anyone here knows where to source the good ones, please post it on here!

[effduration]

Welcome, and congrats on purchase. How is the rust? I would expect some rust on a Canadian car...maybe less if from BC...

Cap off the headlight washers if car is so-equipped. They waste washer fluid.

If the super glue doesn't work, consider wrapping interior wood trim in good quality (3M) vinyl..How would brushed aluminum look? Looks pretty good with a black interior IMO.

[Izerous]

Just knowing what that display is called is helping a lot to find more useful posts. I kept searching for it as a head unit which explains that lack of truly useful matches

There is almost no outwardly visible rust on the car, i'm not seeing any bubbling right now but the car is absolutely filthy right now from the gravel lot it was parked and the road I needed to drive to get back on pavement. I need to take a much closer look when I take the polisher to it.

My current DD for the past almost 15 years has been a modified 2004 AWD Outlander (heated leather/fake carbon interior swap, under driven, oversized TB, projector retrofit and just about every option from the higher trim levels except lack of ABS or Traction control) but honestly the amount of rust on the body panels is why I have been poking around for something to replace it. Something older with more KM feels like a weird direction to go but it physically seems to be in much better condition. For one or two years they even used a liquid salt on the roads and it got noticeably worse that winter. I like it enough honestly that I was looking at importing it's turbo variant but the cost of importing one isn't exactly cost effective I'm into the 530i for less than what I'd be looking at for purchase prices at Japanese auction houses let alone the additional import, shipping, brokerage etc to get one here from Japan. Forester STI is about the most comparable vehicle and a freshly landed one is close to 14k CAD, and an Airtrek's final price wouldn't be much cheaper.

Wrapping the wood is a good idea too, though i'm not sold on aluminum. The interior is black/wood/grey so aluminum might clash with the interior as is. Once I get it cleared and actually registered make a final decision as to which one I'll keep long term I do have a bunch of 3m samples in the garage I got from a local shop years ago.

[sleuth255]

The VIN decoder that's worked best for me is https://mdecoder.com

[Izerous]

The VIN decoder that's worked best for me is https://mdecoder.com

That was the one the told me both steering wheels and the S710 package

Editions And Packages



S339
Shadow-Line




S704
M Sports Suspension




S710
M Sports Steering Wheel, Multifunction




S785
White Direction Indicator Lights




Comfort And Interior Equipment



S403
Glass Roof, Electrical




S441
Smoker Package




S459
Seat Adjustment, Electric, With Memory




S473
Armrest Front




S494
Seat Heating Driver/Passenger




Multimedia



S640
Preparation F Tel.Installation Universal




S645
BMW US Radio




S650
CD Drive




S661
Radio BMW Business (C43)




S677
HiFi System Professional DSP




S694
Provisions For BMW 6 CD Changer




Driver Assistance And Lightning



S520
Fog Lights




S521
Rain Sensor




S522
Xenon Light




S534
Automatic Air Conditioning




S548
Kilometre Speedo




Wheels And Drive



S202
Steptronic




S249
Multifunction F Steering Wheel




Environment And Safety



S302
Alarm System




S308
BMW Light Alloy Wheel, Cross Spoke 42




S354
Windscreen, Green-Tinted Upper Strip




S818
Battery Master Switch




S838
National Version Canada




S845
Acoustic Fasten Seat Belt Reminder




S850
Dummy-SALAPA




S853
Language Version, English




S876
Radio Frequency 315 MHz




S896
Daytime Driving Lights




Individual Equipment



S773
Fine Wood Trim




Other Equipment



S925
Dummy-SALAPA




S992
Control Of Number-Plate Attachment

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Oooh! S925! Dummy Salapa is uber rare!

[Izerous]

One of the local dealers was really helpful and sent me the spec sheet. Confirmed things like the S704 Package that I was asking about earlier.

I dropped it off for an out of province inspection place this afternoon. I'll find out the results of how much trouble I got myself into tomorrow.

[effduration]

It has the DSP package...makes it a little more difficult to install an aftermarket head unit...Android, etc...You might look into Bluebus if you want to upgrade your sound system

[taz.]

It has the DSP package...makes it a little more difficult to install an aftermarket head unit...Android, etc...You might look into Bluebus if you want to upgrade your sound systemNo it doesn't. They provide a 6m extension cable for cars with Dsp. For a fee. You just need to read the description of the products. Ibus comes with Dsp support also. Not all android HU come with Dsp though. A good unit will set you back about 400$ and it has to have a minimum og 4GB of Ram, otherwise it's painfully slow.


Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

[Izerous]

So failed inspection going to have to order a pile of parts and spend some time in the garage before I'm allowed to drive it

-The vanos oil line is leaking
-exhaust manifold gasket
-oil pan gasket
-rear control arms
-front tie rod ends
-rear tire wear

Reading up on most of these it doesn't seem too bad. I'll need to get an engine brace to deal with the oil pan but overall the parts look not too bad if I do it myself.

The one thing I'm unsure about is with the upgraded suspension is are there multiple types of control arms or anything like that for the suspension packages or is that all about the shocks/struts?

[Izerous]

Ended up ordering everything I needed except new tires. Instead of replacement rear lower control arms grabbed a few urethane bushings instead. Even after customs and duties it saves me a bit over complete replacement. Everything else I was able to find from Canadian retailers and free shipping which helps the overall cost of getting this thing registered.

[Izerous]

Last night while crawling around under the car I noticed a few things and was able to answer my own questions with some searching but there was one thing I didn't figure out.

What is this extra piece on the intake side of the OEM muffler.
704220

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Vibration damper.