Crank until you can't crank any further. 1a) If necessary, remove rear seat to disengage locks to cab lid. 2) use the allen key to crank the bowden cables under the rear seat to disengage the locks. 3) Lift the front of the top and support that with a piece of wood or something. E46 ///M3vert. Since these cars are more reliable than the non-M models and older models, there isn't much 'repairs' to spend on. Maintenance like oil change is $200 at the dealer or $12-16 per quart of motorsport oil Castrol 10w-60. Tires are even more expensive since they ride on 19s with wider/staggered fitment. e46 M3 engine problems. I took my car in for service thinking it was a belt issue with a squeal on cold start and when driving only to find out that I have a bad 'thrust bearing' :censor: The shop told me they wouldn't do the job and to find another shop to do this repair. Basically the guy came back and said my whole engine is shot. If the exhaust sprocket driver teeth are broken then that is the fault. If the teeth are still present then the solenoid pack is the fault. Although the BMW ETK (parts catalog) shows the vanos solenoid pack is discontinued, it is available under a new part number, 11-36-7-839-180, $600-$700. Hi and thanks for a great article! I have the exact same fault, P1717 in ODB reader, but BMW’s own checks shows all green in the SMG system. However the yellow kugwheel on the dash warning for SMG problems turns on and the car looses gears from time to time (e.g. when standing still at a red light). Ignition/Spark. Not to be confused with a bad ICV, you may have some similar symptoms from bad coils and/or spark plugs. If your M3 has trouble starting in cold weather, has irregular misfires, or is just generally slow to crank over, then you likely have bad plugs and/or coil packs. We suggest a complete replacing all the spark plugs and coil BMW E46 Expansion Tank Cracking. One of the primary areas of issue for the BMW E46 cooling system is the expansion tank. This is actually a very common issue on most BMW’s up until the late 2010s due to the material used for the tank itself. Both the BMW M52TU and M54 used a plastic expansion tank that had thin walls and was prone to damage. Yes, the problem is with an accelerated wear on the bearings. There was a certain range of engines that were prone to the problem and BMW issued a bulletin about a while back recommending replacing the bearings. I think BMW published a range of VINs that were affected. Those were mostly the early models: 2000-2002 (or 2001). .

bmw e46 m3 common problems