Questions: inspection 2 / Battery replacement

karmasabish · 05-31-2011, 11:14 PM

Hi folks, my 06 M Roadster has reached inspection 2, but it is out of the maintenance warranty and they are saying I should have the valve adjustment done. The car has approx 44K miles on it. Does this sound right, or can I hold off on this?

Also, they are trying to kill me with the battery, saying it has to be a special one and installed by the factory...do they need to program the ECU with the battery or can I install one myself?

I've searched and searched, but am finding a variety of results...

fitchesbass · 06-01-2011, 01:07 AM

Install the battery yourself. I just did might and it's just a simple drop in solution. Dealer told me the same thing and then tried to charge more $500 for the battery change (LOL - f^&* ridiculous - not that I would ever have them do it anyway).

Not sure about valve adjustment, but I believe you have sometime. I'm about the same mileage however and haven't done mine yet...

beta · 06-01-2011, 01:15 AM

You do want to do the valve adjustment if it hasn't been done. Some people on here have had minor adjustments necessary, others have had to re-shim most of the valves.

Incompatible · 06-01-2011, 09:32 AM

IIRC, Mike Miller addressed this in the last issue of Roundel. For the newer models, programming is required for a battery change. For our E85/86 cars it's not required.

mfanatic325 · 06-01-2011, 10:59 AM

To hell with stealershits and their ridiculous prices. If you want OEM battery, get it from Tischer BMW (GetBMWParts.com). It's the cheapest OEM parts supplier online that I know of.
The battery swap is definitely a level 0 DIY job. Should only take 5-10 minutes at most.

Valve adjustment is highly recommended. It's a performance motor so it's best to keep it running in tip-top shape at any given time, to the best of your ability.
I'd try and find an indy (independent) BMW shop and save a little on labor as compared to the stealershits.

r4gs · 06-01-2011, 05:45 PM

^+1. valve clearance checks and required adjustments accompany every inspection, which averages an interval between 22,000 to 28,000 miles dependent on lifetime fuel consumption of the engine. 44,000 miles is fair for inspection 2 and the requisite valve clearance check and adjustment. i would seriously give thought to having an independent accomplish inspection 2 as not only will it be significantly cheaper (i paid $695 for my inspection 1 vs $1400 the dealership was asking), but u can research for the best/most trustworthy bmw specialist indy to do the valve adjustments.

fwiw, i did not require any shims/adjustments for my valves at 23,200 when i had my inspection 1 done.

GeorgeT · 06-02-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karmasabish

Also, they are trying to kill me with the battery, saying it has to be a special one and installed by the factory...do they need to program the ECU with the battery or can I install one myself?

I've searched and searched, but am finding a variety of results...

You mean they send the car back to the factory for a new battery??? I'll bet there are hundreds, even thousands of Z4 lined up in Greer for battery replacements. Also, I'll bet BMW has ordered several transport ships to send the new Z's back to Germany for new batterys. Change it yourself, just make sure the new battery has a provision for the vent tube. I also have a 750i which does require a new battery to be "registered" with the ECU but not so with the Z's.

Finnegan · 06-02-2011, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karmasabish

Hi folks, my 06 M Roadster has reached inspection 2, but it is out of the maintenance warranty and they are saying I should have the valve adjustment done. The car has approx 44K miles on it. Does this sound right, or can I hold off on this?

Also, they are trying to kill me with the battery, saying it has to be a special one and installed by the factory...do they need to program the ECU with the battery or can I install one myself?

I've searched and searched, but am finding a variety of results...

Like others said, find a good indie shop and have the inspection done for half (or in the case of your stealership probably 1/4) of what the stealership would charge. It's highly recommended, and actually needed in many cases. Part of the care and feeding of this beast of an engine.

As for the battery, WTF? Needs no programming--what a scam! Just buy your own and slap it in. Here's a thread with options on purchasing a compatable battery for a good price from your typical auto-parts places. No big deal here. Man, that stealership sure lives up to the name. Battery Thread

mfanatic325 · 06-02-2011, 06:54 PM

Stealershit is what I call 'em

KevinC · 06-02-2011, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finnegan

As for the battery, WTF? Needs no programming--what a scam! Just buy your own and slap it in.

For our cars - you're right. We're lucky. But as mentioned above, Mike Miller just wrote about this in Roundel, and it's 100% true that a whole slew of recent models, and he listed all of them, do require that the car be "reprogrammed" to accept a new battery. Typical BMW overkill with electronic crap. Glad that our cars are immune from much of this stuff.

Finnegan · 06-05-2011, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinC

For our cars - you're right. We're lucky. But as mentioned above, Mike Miller just wrote about this in Roundel, and it's 100% true that a whole slew of recent models, and he listed all of them, do require that the car be "reprogrammed" to accept a new battery. Typical BMW overkill with electronic crap. Glad that our cars are immune from much of this stuff.

Good to know, and I'm glad this isn't the case with our cars. Nice revenue stream for the dealer.

schwank · 06-06-2011, 10:26 AM

I just did both of these. The service cost me 1100 at an independent shop that I trust. I had them do the entire service, there are parts of it you could do yourself and save money (trans and diff fluid, in cabin airfilter maybe more).

I got a direct battery replacement from o'rileys autoparts. I believe it was around $140 installed by me... Advance auto also had a listing, but it DID NOT FIT.

05-31-2011, 11:14 PM	#1
karmasabish Lieutenant 37 Rep 420 Posts Drives: 06 M Roadster Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Questions: inspection 2 / Battery replacement Hi folks, my 06 M Roadster has reached inspection 2, but it is out of the maintenance warranty and they are saying I should have the valve adjustment done. The car has approx 44K miles on it. Does this sound right, or can I hold off on this? Also, they are trying to kill me with the battery, saying it has to be a special one and installed by the factory...do they need to program the ECU with the battery or can I install one myself? I've searched and searched, but am finding a variety of results...
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06-01-2011, 01:07 AM	#2
fitchesbass Captain 40 Rep 969 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Fairfax, VA iTrader: (2)	Install the battery yourself. I just did might and it's just a simple drop in solution. Dealer told me the same thing and then tried to charge more $500 for the battery change (LOL - f^&* ridiculous - not that I would ever have them do it anyway). Not sure about valve adjustment, but I believe you have sometime. I'm about the same mileage however and haven't done mine yet... __________________ 911 Carrera project car Previous: E92 M3 ZHP - Sold E86 Z4M - Sold E36 M3 - Sold
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06-01-2011, 01:15 AM	#3
beta Lieutenant Colonel 80 Rep 1,663 Posts Drives: 2006 M Roadster Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: CA iTrader: (2)	You do want to do the valve adjustment if it hasn't been done. Some people on here have had minor adjustments necessary, others have had to re-shim most of the valves. __________________ modification journal
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06-01-2011, 09:32 AM	#4
Incompatible Major 55 Rep 1,224 Posts Drives: 07 AW Z4C 3.0Si Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: San Diego iTrader: (1)	IIRC, Mike Miller addressed this in the last issue of Roundel. For the newer models, programming is required for a battery change. For our E85/86 cars it's not required. __________________ If you can't take the time to teach a kid something good, someone will take the time to teach them something bad.
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06-01-2011, 10:59 AM	#5
mfanatic325 ///M-fanatic 193 Rep 3,885 Posts Drives: '01 911 Turbo Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cupertino, CA. iTrader: (23)	To hell with stealershits and their ridiculous prices. If you want OEM battery, get it from Tischer BMW (GetBMWParts.com). It's the cheapest OEM parts supplier online that I know of. The battery swap is definitely a level 0 DIY job. Should only take 5-10 minutes at most. Valve adjustment is highly recommended. It's a performance motor so it's best to keep it running in tip-top shape at any given time, to the best of your ability. I'd try and find an indy (independent) BMW shop and save a little on labor as compared to the stealershits.
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06-01-2011, 05:45 PM	#6
r4gs Viper Driver 36 Rep 1,311 Posts Drives: F-16 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Singapore iTrader: (2)	^+1. valve clearance checks and required adjustments accompany every inspection, which averages an interval between 22,000 to 28,000 miles dependent on lifetime fuel consumption of the engine. 44,000 miles is fair for inspection 2 and the requisite valve clearance check and adjustment. i would seriously give thought to having an independent accomplish inspection 2 as not only will it be significantly cheaper (i paid $695 for my inspection 1 vs $1400 the dealership was asking), but u can research for the best/most trustworthy bmw specialist indy to do the valve adjustments. fwiw, i did not require any shims/adjustments for my valves at 23,200 when i had my inspection 1 done.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-02-2011, 06:54 PM	#9
mfanatic325 ///M-fanatic 193 Rep 3,885 Posts Drives: '01 911 Turbo Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cupertino, CA. iTrader: (23)	Stealershit is what I call 'em
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06-06-2011, 10:26 AM	#12
schwank First Lieutenant 30 Rep 317 Posts Drives: 06 z4 m coupe Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: cincinnati iTrader: (0)	I just did both of these. The service cost me 1100 at an independent shop that I trust. I had them do the entire service, there are parts of it you could do yourself and save money (trans and diff fluid, in cabin airfilter maybe more). I got a direct battery replacement from o'rileys autoparts. I believe it was around $140 installed by me... Advance auto also had a listing, but it DID NOT FIT.
	Appreciate 0 Quote