Quick update - given that the replacement motor is from eBay, therefore from another car, fitting it myself was a non-starter. Plugging it in and leaving it dangling (and starting the car) proved the old motor was dead as this new one started turning straight away which was nice, but it just went ro...

A chap on here (half way down, called 930rose) got a spare from a breakers from a 3 series, fitted it and it just worked. He's where I got the idea from it might be an actuator, and that coupled with the fact the air flow seems "blocked" when on recirc pointed me that way.... https://www.b...

Think I've figured it out..... So, when you enable / disable recirculation there are in fact 2x flaps that need to open/ close to dictate whether the air is taken from outside or inside the cabin. You can see one set of flaps when you pull off the cowl under the passenger side bulkhead to replace th...

Thanks for the info and suggestions :) I've been through all the settings and can confirm that I can control the direction of air just fine - points fine at footwells, face, windscreen etc - the blending flaps all appear to be doing what they should. I can even control (when it's not too hot outside...

Hmm - well I can manually point the air at the screen, feet or face vents so all those actuators seem ok. And when you first turn on the ignition (not engine) you can hear them all move and reset. Also the flaps for governing whether air is recirculated or not seem ok too as I can hear the differenc...

Hi all, Does anyone find the HVAC blowers on the E70 a bit feeble? When mine is on full it roars away like mad but the volume of air coming out of the vents doesn't seem to match all the fuss the blower is making. For the record I've (temporarily) removed the recirculation filter under the dash (new...

Did you get a genuine part? That's the bit that cost me - the labour itself was next to nack all but the part (genuine) cost a small fortune.

Not something you could easily do on your back either, need ramps or a pit I'd say but otherwise it's not a complicated job.

It's disgraceful - I mean mine was in for 30 mins when it was "assessed" by BMW and I'm betting as part of that they didn't remove the shaft, just took off the undertray and did a visual and went "yep". When mine failed a year later the independent couldn't tell by looking. They ...

Hmm interesting. It's not a days job at all - when mine was done I think it took them about 30 minutes to get the car on ramps, under tray off, replace and refit. The part was over £600 though, for a short steel prop with a UJ on it. I do wonder though if they've changed their stance and are now jus...

Thanks guys, questions answered. I'll get a cheapo syringe and some hose and get some pulled out!

Think about 350 ml is sufficient based on what I've read on this thread.

Hmm - so the question is, at bang on max when cold / the car has been stood for a while, is that an issue? Based on earlier replies to this thread, in order to make iDrive happy a smidgen of oil needs to come out? I'm no longer the sort to change my own oil (last cars I did that on were my E36's) as...

Hi guys. Sorry to resurrect this "old" thread but I have the issue of iDrive saying too much oil. Checked the dipstick when engine cold and had been stood etc and it was bang on the max line - so I'm assuming I need to extract a bit? Re tooling, can anyone suggest an appropriate syringe &a...

Cheers for that. Found the article. It is as I suspected, however just with the parking brake put into "service mode" under the handle gaiter. Wonder if it's that part I'm missing, in terms of stopping the rear wheel(s) turning so I can find the adjustment wheel - however doing that with o...

Hi all, My wife's X1 parking brake drum / shoes on the N/S scuff slightly when the car is moving - like there's not quite enough clearance between the drum and the shoes when the brake is released and they're touching, making a scuff scuff noise in time with the rotation of the rear wheel(s). I'm ju...

Had the driveshaft replaced today. Only took them circa 20 mins to do it - a real doddle of a job if you can get under the car easily. Car is now silent at low speeds and the repetitive squeaking has gone. They showed me the old one. Upon visual inspection it looked ok, but in your hands you could w...