2008 BMW E63 650i coupe

I purchased this 2008 BMW 650i Coupe in Aug 2023. The asking price was quite a bit higher but I ended up getting it for $3800. There was an additional $250 for DMV back fees.

This car spent its entire life in California so there is zero rust. I looked it over carefully and there are no signs of any significant accidents (CarFax also clean), however i'm quite certain the rear end has been repainted as the rear bumper is almost flawless and the trunk lid is a slightly different shade of grey. The car has 92K mi and appears to have been well taken care of.

It had some electrical issues which the previous owner was unable to resolve... that's the reason I got it for a good price.

The picture below was taken the day I purchased it. Most others are after I cleaned it up.

After a good wash and 2 x clay bar kits later (the paint was extremely dirty)... it shined up really nice! I later applied a ceramic coat.

There's not a mark on the rear bumper!

Inside looked great except...

Alcantara headliner is starting to sag at the rear...

Driver seat torn at top of bolster... very common as it is a convenient place to hold onto when you get in and out of the car. The passenger seat is like new... as are the back seats.

On the test drive the dash was lit up as below!

The speedometer was not working... ABS and traction lights on, check engine is lit, airbag, seatbelt and brake warning lights also on! The car however drove fine and gear shifts felt smooth!

I-drive indicated a few other issues as well!

This was my initial assessment...

1. Front Left and Right Daytime Running lights were out (bulbs were burned out).

2. Front PDC not working (turns out a section of the wiring harness was damaged/ripped out!)

3. Airbag system not working (Airbag control module was defective)

4. ABS system not working (there was no communication to the ABS module). Read on for the cause of this...

5. Bottom side of the engine was caked in oil (Alternator bracket seal)

6. Front windshield rubber trim and lower windshield cowling were cracked and falling apart (normal for BMW of this age).

7. Coolant leak.

I got a decent stack of receipts from the previous owner and the CarFax showed a clean title with no accidents and just 2 owners prior to me.

The seller had experienced intermittent no start so had the starter motor replaced but this didn't fix it. He then took it to the dealer and was charged ~$2,000 for a new battery and IVM module. The IVM module issue is well documented and a little research might have saved him a lot of money!

After the new battery and IVM module, the car started reliably but there were many other issues (as seen above) for which the dealer wanted another ~$2,000 to troubleshoot! The previous owner declined, tried to get it fixed elsewhere but with no luck... I purchased it as is.

A quick scan of the car brought up many errors, most related to the ABS module not communicating with the rest of the car, the Airbag module had an internal fault that could not be cleared and the front left PDC sensors were not detected!

PDC wiring

The front PDC was easy to diagnose once I got under the car...

The PDC wire harness that runs across the inside bottom of the front bumper was ripped out from the connector! All I can think is it must not have been clipped in correctly and got caught on something.

I purchased a replacement connector shell and pins (AliExpress), extracted the pins that were still connected to wires and rebuilt what was missing with oem wire from the scrap yard. It now looks stock and works as it should!

Windshield trim (upper and lower).

It is very common for BMW's of this age having spent any amount of time in the sun to have rotting windshield trim... it dries, cracks and falls apart! The seal that wraps around the top and sides just peels away (I had already peeled it off in the pic below). To replace the lower trim you have to remove the wiper arms and cabin air boxes.

New lower trim piece installed. Wiper arms cleaned up and re-installed...

And a new upper seal installed...

These parts along with most others came from FCP Euro with their lifetime warranty.

ABS Module not communicating

ABS module did not sow up in ISTA so the first thing I did was buy a used replacement module... it was only $30 and from the same model and year car!

I plugged it in without hooking up any of the brake lines and nothing changed... the replacement module was also not visible in ISTA. Almost all the errors (there were lots of them) were in one way or another related to 'unable to communicate with the ABS module'.

All the voltages were present and correct so then I turned my attention to the PT-CAN bus. This is a 2 wire bus with a positive going signal on one wire and a negative going signal on the other... I had a positive going signal on both wires!

Reviewing the wiring diagrams I could see that PT-CAN is routed to the ABS module through the IVM module pictured above... this is the module the dealer replaced to solve the intermittent no start! You can see this module has a date stamp on it 08/09/21 confirming it was recently replaced.

I removed this module to inspect it and found one of the pins bent and pushed in... the PT-CAN pin to the ABS module! After pushing the pin back into position and re-installing everything the problem was fixed and almost all the errors could now be cleared!

So the dealer fixed one problem by installing a new IVM module but created another! And what really sucks for the previous owner is the dealer wanted an additional $2K to investigate the problem they created!

Daytime Running Lights

Both Daytime running lights were out... the bulbs were simply burned out.

Replacing the bulbs is easy enough but the wiring is known to deteriorate due to heat from the bulbs (it dries out the wire insulation which then cracks and falls off). As you can see, this issue is present on this car so I spliced in some new bulb sockets and pigtail wiring.

In the pic below you can see the insulation on the yellow wire is cracked in several places but has not fallen off yet.

The insulation fell apart as I worked on removing the bulb connectors... Its mostly just the few inches closest the bulb that seems to be affected and I suppose this is because of the heat from the bulb.

New ceramic connector and pigtail spliced in and a new bulb installed...

Airbag Control Module

The airbag control module had an internal error (93D7) that could not be cleared... the reason the airbag light was on and the seatbelt warning light was always lit up too .

Used replacement modules are readily available on Ebay and I paid about $30 for this one with an understanding it was removed from a car in which the bags had not deployed.

The module is located under the center console. On some cars you have to remove the complete center console to get to it but fortunately on this car it is easily accessible by simply removing the center console storage liner.

Removing the center console is not terribly difficult and does give better access...

The replacement module came out of an E60 and has exactly the same part number and a very close date code (0840 = 40th week of 2008) to my original. I had hoped it might just work as is but alas it needed to be coded (650i has knee bags which the E60 does not).

I quickly learned how to use NCS expert and loaded the default settings for my car into the new module... the airbag light immediately went out and everything worked as it should!

Steering wheel refurb and SZL inspect

The steering wheel was looking a bit grimy so I removed it and cleaned up the leather with a Mr. Clean magic eraser. I then followed up with several coats of Doc Bailey's leather treatment. I've done this on most my cars and it really improves the way they look and feel.

While the steering wheel was off I removed and instpected the steering position sensor (SZL) as this is a common issue on these cars (the optical disc becomes dirty). But upon inspection the disc was perfectly clear so I simply put everything back together without touching it. There was quite a lot of dist around the steering column so I used the opportunity to clean it all up.

The soft touch plastic on the front of the steering wheel had a few scuffs in it so I added some carbon fiber look adhesive covers... they don't look bad in my opinion. Later I did the same thing to the window switch plates in each door. For these I cleaned off the soft touch material first and found the plastic texture and color to be completely different on each part... that was when I elected to add the stickers! They are made from a thick gel like material which looks like it should be quite durable.

The dash pad is a cheap Chinese product... the material is nice (suede look), but the fit is not very good. The dash has some small cracks in it so this hides them and will help prevent further damage.

Seat Belt slow to retract

This was easy enough to fix... washed the seat belt with dish soap and Oxyclean! Let it dry for a few hours and it seems to be better. The seat belt gets covered with grime from being touched over the years so good to give it a good clean!

Alternator bracket seal

As you can see, this common oil leak has created quite a mess on the lower half of the engine!

And in this pic you can clearly see the source of this leak... the alternator bracket seal (alternator and PS pump have already been removed).

Replacing the seal is straightforward... after removing the Alternator and Power Steering pump, I jacked up the engine slightly from underneath, removed the engine mounting bracket and then the alternator bracket.

Everything was cleaned and re-assembled with a new gasket and O-rings.

There are a couple of extendable spacers in the front of the alternator bracket... these should be withdrawn as far as possible and once the bracket is mounted and bolted to the side of the engine they can be extended with a long Allen wrench until they snug up to the front of the engine. The front bolts can then be installed.

Below it is all cleaned up and ready to re-install the PS pump and Alternator...

Here it is all back together with new drive belts, a few new hoses and all new O-rings in the coolant hoses.

New blue coolant and CHF11S Hydraulic fluid (it's expensive!  2 bottles at ~ $25 ea).

I also replaced the idler pulley mounted to alternator and the oil pressure switch mounted under the front left side timing cover (it is a common place for oil to seep).

I cleaned up the exposed wiring where ever the black sheathing had disintegrated (mostly around the vanos solenoids) wrapping it with self fusing silicone tape.

New front brakes and suspension

The front rotors were worn to their limit so I replaced them with Zimmerman 1-piece coated rotors and ATE OEM pads...

I cleaned off all the brake dust and grime from the calipers and dust shield. A coat of paint would have made them look a bit nicer but I left them like this.

The front control arm bushings were chewed up...

I'm pretty sure these are the original parts. The other (larger) front arms were in good shape... those have a 2019 date code on them.

I replaced the damaged arms with new Lemforder parts...

I found a pair of almost new Bilstein struts at the junkyard so I installed them with my orig springs.  Pads and strut mount were in good shape so re-used.

I'm not sure what the H5 tag on the springs means but they appear to be a little thicker than the springs on the car I removed these struts from.

The front control arms are in good shape but to freshen things up I pressed in some new front bushings. They are Lemforder and only $50/pair... its an easy job with a press and the right adapters.

I also replaced the inner and outer tie rods...

Brake flush and front wheel alignment

I flushed all 4 brakes with new fluid and then did a front wheel alignment (it was way off)...

This method of front wheel alignment is extremely accurate... I'm using 2 x 6 ft levels from harbor freight.

The car started with 0 deg 40' of toe-out and after 2 adjustments I brought it to ~ 0deg 10' of toe-in. The steering wheel is positioned straight ahead and there is a ridge down the side of each level that you can sight down to ensure the toe-in is symmetrical on each side. I've done this on all my cars and found it more accurate than some professional alignments... my tires always wear perfectly evenly!

Engine sump covers

Both of the engine covers under the car (Engine and transmission) were missing. They are made from pressed fiber material that soaks up any oil spills and this car had been leaking for a while! They often fall apart and I'm sure that is what happened here (hence they were discarded).

I purchased a cheap replacement for the front on Ebay that is made of plastic... non-porous to oil. It was only $50 and fits perfectly. I had to buy the retaining screws separately (oem for ~ $20).

For the rearward cover I fabricated my own using some scrap sheet Aluminum test equipment covers! The 2 pieces plug together and the front section can be easily removed for oil changes.

The areas to the left and right of the aluminum reinforcing plate are not presently covered... I may fabricate something for those areas later. Other than preventing road debris collecting in the various crevices under the car and a little bit of added protection I don't think these are absolutely necessary.

Water pump and more!

After putting the engine bay back together and a quick 20 mile shakedown test I noticed a small puddle of coolant behind the water pump.

I was pretty sure it was the seal on the short transfer pipe between valley pan cover and water pump... so I removed the water pump (which is not that old according to the records).

I'd say this has most likely been leaking for a while!

The machined opening in the water pump is corroded (pitted) so I installed a new Saleri water pump and a Wahler thermostat too (to which I added a little wax to lower its opening temperature a few degrees).

I couldn't see any other signs of coolant leaks (valley pan, rear flange, front weep hole) so hopefully this is it for the cooling system!

update 1;  not so lucky i'm afraid... appears there is a very small leak at the front of the valley pan as well. It's very minor so I may leave it alone for little bit.

update 2;  after about 60 miles of driving it is clear I have coolant leaks!

The brand new (Rein) pipe between the valley pan cover and water pump is clearly leaking! I've read not to use anything but Genuine BMW here and so that is what I will do now... what a PIA!

Reading the reviews on FCP web site (where I purchased this), others are having the same problem! It's a $15 part but you'll spend considerably more on coolant and time to swap it out.

So I starting tearing things apart again (3rd time) and replace the valley pan too!

The valley pan was leaking at the red circled area. It was replaced a few years ago and I soon figured out why the replacement was leaking in this area... the hole for the bolt adjacent to it was full of crud! A previous mechanic had installed a shorter bolt and still wasn't able to seat it properly. This bolt was very tight and took a bit of finesse to get out. After running a thread chaser in and out of the hole many times I was finally able to clean up the threads and run the correct bolt down to full depth... ready for the new valley pan.

Surrounding area thoroughly cleaned and new valley pan cover installed...

There is no sign of the coolant transfer pipe leaking so I did not bother to replace it. Also the valve covers are not leaking so will postpone that job. I did replace the spark plugs... none are oiled up and car does not smoke so valve stem seals can wait too.

Spark plugs

While replacing the valley pan cover I swapped out the spark plugs. These look original to the car!

Lower oil pan gasket

There was some minor seepage around the lower oil pan so I decided to fit a new gasket and do an oil change. It would give me an opportunity to inspect the inside of the engine also.

The oil pan was very clean inside... and no loose bolts inside.

Inside the engine is very clean... looks like it has received regular oil changes.

No surprises in the oil filter...

I refilled her with Mobil 1... about 8 qts of 0W-40

Transmission service

Reverse was taking a few seconds to engage which seems to be quite a common issue. Overhauling the transmission took care of this... both Drive and Reverse engage immediately now!

I purchased a ZF Solenoid kit, a new filter/pan, 9 qts of LiquiMoly TOP TEC 1800 transmission fluid, 5 x bridge seals and a new Mechatronics seal.

I drained the fluid and dropped the oil pan... The filter/pan looks to be original with a 2008 date on it. It's very clean too which is a good sign!

Not much debris on the magnets.

I removed the valve body...

All the bridge seals looked OK but I replaced them along with the Mechatronics sleeve.

Mechatronics module removed from the valve body and new solenoids being installed in pic below...

Incase I ever decide to change the valve body separator plate (there are a few versions). This one # A065.

Getting the Mechatronics seal out of the transmission housing was easy enough but there simply isn't enough clearance to extract it from the car (gap between transmission and body is too narrow).

BMW says to remove the exhaust system and transmission support cross-member then lower the transmission to gain access!

I found an easier way...

1.    Disconnect the exhaust system at the cats and the hanger at the back of the transmission

2.    Push the entire exhaust system back as far as it will go (a few inches).

3.     Remove securing nuts/screws and lower the passenger side heat shield (there is not enough clearance to completely remove it)

4.    Reach up and over the Guibo at back of transmission to extract the Mechatronics seal and feed into place a new one.

Why couldn't BMW provide a ~ 1/4" more clearance to avoid having to do this!

Updating the CCC infotainment to CIC + adding Apple Carplay!

My car was just a few months too early for the CIC upgrade from the factory so I updated it myself.

I purchased a used head unit from the 2010 650i on Ebay for 200. Also a new LCD module and trim panel for the AC controls/DVD (CIC has only one DVD slot).

Added a USB port in the glove box...

Very little coding was required since the head unit car was almost identical to my own car with options.

I found a replacement trim panel (CIC does not have DVD player slot) in the correct color on Ebay for $50 and paid $35 for a very nice display module (it's hard to find a nice one that is not scratched up)! The cables I got from the junk yard (pull from an E90 as they are much easier to get out).

I really like the upgrade... its a much faster and more user friendly interface.

If you do this upgrade try to get the display module from a 2009 car... it has the higher definition screen but with an ambient light sensor and protective clear plastic screen... the new displays have no protective screen and every one of them I looked at has the antiglare surface all scratched up. The one you want is BMW part# 65829193745.

Navigation on the new CIC requires new FSC codes but is outdated and pretty much useless compared to iphone navigation so I have not bothered with this.

Next (actually before I put all the trim panels back in place) I added wireless Apple CarPlay...

I found this inexpensive kit on Aliexpress for only $140 on sale!

It's a small module with all the necessary interconnect cables, a microphone and WiFi antenna.

Although there is room to install this behind the CIC head unit, if it decides to crap out or start rattling in the future it will be a pain to get to if installed there, so I put in the glove box!

It actually fits in there real nice and there is already a large hole into the dash through which to feed the wiring!

This box is very simple... it intercepts the LVDS video from the head unit to the display. It taps into the idrive module for power and idrive controls. It has it's own microphone although a cable is provided to tap into the car's existing microphone (I used the provided mic as it was simple to install and hide wires under my dash pad. Audio is routed to the auxiliary connector in the center console.

Connector on the left (circled) is from the Carplay module to the idrive controls. Connector on the right is to the idrive controls... it would have been an easier install had the supplied cables tapped in here but instead they tap in at the idrive controls.

The module came with all required cabling. Patching into the idrive control meant having to remove the center console (pic below). The circled connector connects tot he circled connector below the head unit in pic above.

The additional cable in the pic below comes with the kit and hooks into the idrive switch module. This cable is way longer than needed so I shortened it to end same place as the connector circled. This makes for a nice easy install when the center console is re-installed.

This module also supports rear view camera and automatically detects when the car is in reverse so I simply need to feed in video! It also has tram lines that move with the steering wheel... all plug and play!

I routed a shielded cable down the center console from the CarPlay module in the glove box...

I installed a camera in the BMW badge as in later model cars... Link here

I really like this upgrade but it has a few quirks...

Audio from the CarPlay module is routed to the Aux connector in the center console. Audio quality is excellent... there's no issue there but you have to manually select Aux input at the head unit when switching to the CarPlay module. The head unit has 6 programmable buttons on the front so I have #1 programmed for internal audio (Radio or stored music in the head unit) and #2 for Aux input audio (iphone navigation, music, Siri...). Switching the display between CIC head unit and Carplay is accomplished by idrive controls... press and hold the Menu button. It's a bit messy but you quickly get used to it. Phone, navigation and Music all work perfectly in CarPlay!

Wheel refinishing

Front passenger wheel was a bit chewed up so I tried to clean it up a bit. The worst damage is masked by the piece of wood in pic below... a couple deep gouges.

First step was to break the tire bead on the front side...

Then start grinding away with 3" sanding pads.

I messed up and learned a lot along the way...

These wheels are finished with a shiny metal plating and then a clear coat. I thought I could just polish the metal and apply clear coat (actually I did) but it does not look the same. I tried chrome paint and it was close but still not great. In the process of trying various things I ended up taking off much more of the original finish than I should have. It's clearly visible in the finished product but I still think it looks a lot better than it did (all the curb rash is gone and the deep gouges mostly gone). In daylight the discoloration is easily mistaken for a reflection but ofcourse if you look carefully it is very vissible!

Bottom line is these are not easy wheels to touch up and look perfect!

BEFORE                                                                                                                                                                                                                            AFTER

How much has it cost?

I got the car for a pretty good price but the cost of getting it to where I'm happy with it is now approaching what I paid for the car!

Here's how she looks now...