2001 BMW E39 540i

[bf21]

I am 15 years old and I just bought a 2001 BMW E39 540i 6-speed manual. It has about 120,000 miles on the engine and 180,000 on the odometer. The only issues we know currently are:

Spongy Brake Pedal
Foggy Headlights
Broken pixels on the Dashboard
During the ride home the heat would turn on at random times
I am also interested in putting in a new radio/ backup camera

It has a Dinan Exhaust, and we drove 400 miles home and it had absolutely no issues the whole ride. Any feedback is appreciated.

[cnsorial]

Congrats. This is a lot of car for an inexperienced driver, so be careful. We don’t want to be reading any posts in the future about this car being in a ditch. Keep it shiny side up.

Now that that’s out of the way. E39s in general have a soft (can be perceived as spongy) brake pedal in my experience. I replaced my master cylinder and brake lines with new ones and the brake pedal still feels soft compared with newer cars. Since these are 20 year old cars now, I recommend changing the lines and master anyway. Cheap insurance.

Headlights are easy to polish, or you can install clear corner lenses.

The pixels can be fixed by blackknight530i (not sure if Paul is still doing non M5 clusters) or if you feel brave you could attempt it yourself. Lots of threads on this.

Heat issue could be a final stage unit (FSU) problem. Cheap/easy fix. ~$40 for a new OE one.

Only aftermarket radio worth putting in these cars is the dynavin. I have it and it’s fantastic. Really modernizes the car.

Welcome to the board.





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[JimLev]

Welcome to the forum. Your Dad posted a few pics before you made the trip to MA to pick it up.
The OE BMW FSU will likely cost a lot more than $40, don't get one on eBay, they are pretty much all junk that won't last.
Did you happen to meet up with Geargrinder when you were up in MA?
Good luck with the car.

[cnsorial]

Went back and checked. Jim’s right about the FSU (isn’t he always, lol). Had a brain fart there.


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[e39jams]

We may sound like preachy old guys telling you to be careful, but these cars are powerful and fast, and need to be driven with respect. Furthermore we all love them and we want to see a nice one stay out of the junk yard. But most importantly we want our fellow youngest e39 enthusiasts alive and well! Welcome, you'll love it. Looks like a nice car.

[777300ER]

You should read everything we said to your dad already, first. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...oming-(My-Son) If you have any further questions please ask them.

[nicw]

Congrats on the car, looks great! I bought my 540i at 15 too, I have 2 suggestions for you. First, like mentioned before, look into a car control clinic so you can learn to understand and appreciate the car. Secondly I recommend deleting the Clutch Delay Valve(If it hasn't been done before), to make launches and general driving much more enjoyable-there's lots of diy's on this.

[geargrinder]

You should read everything we said to your dad already, first. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...oming-(My-Son) If you have any further questions please ask them.

Yep ^^^ dat.

Did you happen to meet up with Geargrinder when you were up in MA?

Nope. I offered to meet and take to lunch and whatnot but no reply. Some people are just anti-social.
Too bad. As you know I'm much nicer in person than I am online.

Seems I must be scarin' people off. (Maybe I scared them off with my frankenfenderliner pictures.)

[JimLev]

As you know I'm much nicer in person than I am online.

Seems I must be scarin' people off. (Maybe I scared them off with my frankenfenderliner pictures.)

Yes you are. Maybe it's you writing style.

[usera]

Nope. I offered to meet and take to lunch and whatnot but no reply. Some people are just anti-social.
Too bad. As you know I'm much nicer in person than I am online.

Sorry for the late response to this, I was trying to get in and out quickly to avoid the NYC traffic (which didn't work) so I wanted to be on the road as fast as I could. I should have replied though, thanks for the offer.

[geargrinder]

Sorry for the late response to this, I was trying to get in and out quickly to avoid the NYC traffic (which didn't work) so I wanted to be on the road as fast as I could. I should have replied though, thanks for the offer.

Understood, no worries.

I worked for a company out of Delaware for over 15yrs so I know more about the Boston-to-mid-Atlantic commute than anybody short of long-haul truckers, coulda given you some route tips (avoid 95 always, usually take Merritt across Ct to Hutch/Cross-county/etc. and the GW, UNLESS your timing is bad in which case option B or C... etc.) and timing tips... aka ideal target is be leaving the metro-Boston area after 9 but no later than 11 (and 11 will put you in Philly traffic...) Done right you can make Philly/DE area in 5hrs without driving 100mph. But there's a lotta things that can and often do go wrong...

Too bad tho' woulda liked to see the car before it went, and coulda shown you all the other stuff on my Touring that you will want to put on it...

[bf21]

First Project:

Meguiers Headlight Kit Before



.....and after

[Leonator134]

Welcome to the forum. Your Dad posted a few pics before you made the trip to MA to pick it up.
The OE BMW FSU will likely cost a lot more than $40, don't get one on eBay, they are pretty much all junk that won't last.
Did you happen to meet up with Geargrinder when you were up in MA?
Good luck with the car.

Another MA guy??


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[BMXandBMWS]

Congrats! Great first car!!! But like everyone said, be careful, lots of power under that hood!!