What is the button for under the arm rest of my BMW E46?

Q: What is the button for under the arm rest of my BMW E46?

A: Under the arm rest there is a hidden compartment. This is accessible by pressing the button located underneath. You can store coins out of the way or use it for other small items. Please note it is not lockable.

Where is the trunk / boot release on the BMW E46?

Q: Where is the trunk / boot release on the BMW E46?

A: This is located just above the liscence plate. It is an electronic button which activates the release mechanism.

Forgetful seat?

This is a little bit of information for anyone with the BMW E46 memory seats.

They are great, very useful if you have more than yourself that drives the car.

I had a couple of settings for getting in and out the car so not to rub the bolsters so much causing unwanted wear.

Now there were a couple of times when I felt that the seats were not functioning right and that it had forgotten the positions.

After posting a question on the Bimmerforums I was informed as to how they actually work!

Saving a setting

To save a setting on them get the mirrors and seat into the position you desire.

Press the big red button and it will light up. Now press the number you want to assign it to (one to three).

To retrieve settings

Either put the key in the ignition and turn to position one then press the number you desire. The seats will automatically move and the mirrors will adjust too.

You can also do this without the key in, however the door MUST be open.

While the engine is running you must hold down the number you want to adjust. I assume this is done so you don't crush yourself with your seatbelt on.

If you go to a BMW dealer you can have it set to go to position one when the car is unlocked.

Faulty wheel speed sensor

BMW E46 DSC, what a wonderful invention. Until it stops working and your light stays permanently on.

One morning I went to the car, turned her on and the light wouldn't go off, for some reason it decided to fail. After some reading on-line I discovered this is a common problem on the E46 where the wheel speed speed sensor can trigger the DSC light due to failing, or being dirty.

Seemed like a pretty straight forward task, so started looking for a replacement.

1st stop was ebay, and £20 later we have a new sensor.

I've taken some pictures below to outline the task in hand.

1) Parked car on flat surface.

2) Jack the car up enough to put on axle stands

3) Soak the bolt in WD-40 or similar. Bear in mind the bolt holding the sensor in has been there for donkeys!

4)Remove the wheel

5)Here is the sensor in situ with the bolt removed.

Here is the offending bolt, please note it is a hex bolt, so ensure you use the correct size as it can easily lose it's head!

This is where it all started to go wrong...

The sensor was stuck firmly in the hub. No amount of persuasion would move it. So the hammer came out to support the cause.

In the end, the sensor broke off inside the hole, which wasn't a bad thing, as it was being replaced anyway. I just had to ensure the sensor left no bits behind in the hub, as this cold cause problems even when the new one is fitted.

So after all of the wheel speed sensor is removed it was then the task of fitting the new one. I must admit I thought this would be the easier side of the task... How wrong was I!?

The new sensor I had seemed to be too large for the hole. Even after light sanding of the hole it didn't want to go in at all. I assumed it was the right sensor as they all seemed to be standard. I even sanded down the sensor unit itself to try to aid it. This still didn't work.

So back to the internet to see if there WERE in fact different units. After some research it appears there are two types. Although the sizes of them seem vague.

On the RealOEM site it states the following:

Up to September 2000 it is part number 34521164651

From September 2000 there are two part numbers. The left hand unit is 34526752681, and the right hand unit is 34526752682.

My car being a 2000 reg model really didn't help matters!

I figured due to it being an eBay item there could be some confusion, so off to GSF to get the right one!

So with a new speed sensor in hand I thought it would be straight forwards. This was still incorrect and the new speed sensor was still too big.

I decided to tap it in with a light hammer. It started to go in which was a good sign. So I bolted it in and hoped the light would go off after a while.

This didn't happen, so I thought the light would need re-setting. I went to the garage to have this done and it still stayed on.

The mechanic tried taking out the sensor I'd fitted but it wouldn't come out.

This unit too broke off in the hole.

After much effort on the mechanics behalf, the old eBay sensor I had was fitted. He had to grind a hell of a lot of rust from the hole in the hub to get it to fit nicely.

Once fitted the light was re-set and we're back to having a functioning DSC system once again.

Still the hunt goes on....

Why is it when you look for cars but don't have the cash for it there are LOADS of them... Then when you have the money there are none around!

The hunt still goes on for the right car...

The usual search on Auto Trader, Fish for Cars, Ebay, motors.com and Piston Heads has not turned anything up. I have been to see a Silver one at a dealer in Sheffield and the interior was really worn out!! Must of been a work-mans car, wood shavings in the boot and nicks out of the leather. The worst thing is they wanted nearly £6k for it...

If anyone out there knows of a Silver/Black 330Ci Manual with leather memory seats, black interior and as may toys as possible for sale please let me know :-)

The hunt begins!

After over a years motoring in an E36 320 SE I caught the Bimmer bug....

The 320 is a nice car for it's age. It's comfortable, reasonable insurance and pretty cheap insurance.

However over the year it has cost a fair amount to keep running. In Excess of a thousand pounds to be honest. So it is time for a new car.

This opens up the question to which one.

After looking through the available options. The choice for a an E46 330 Ci was made.

This site will become a large information source for all things E46 and in particular the 330 Ci model.