Preventing the 3 Most Common BMW Repairs

These days, everyone is looking to save as much money as possible. We search for discounts when we buy furniture, clip coupons for grocery store items, and shop around for the best deals when we buy new cars. Unfortunately, when it comes to replacing car parts, many individuals don’t realise they can save money by keeping their BMWs in as good of shape as possible.

The truth is, though, with a few general maintenance steps, some forethought, and a bit of expertise, you can actually reduce the number of mechanical problems your BMW experiences, which can save you a lot of money over the years.

Saving Money With Preventative Maintenance

Let’s take a look at the most common problems experienced with BMWs and other cars to see what you could be saving with just a bit of time and effort.

• Engine Misfire- Spark plugs are essential BMW parts because they are designed to deliver power to the engine each time they fire. If these car parts don’t fire at the right time, or don’t fire at all, it is called a misfire. This problem can occur because of bad spark-plug wires, oil or carbon fouled spark plugs, vacuum leaks, mechanical breakdowns, or bad fuel delivery.
  

These problems can cost between £100 and £10,000 to fix, but can easily be prevented by changing the spark plugs regularly, keeping up with scheduled maintenance, and have a trouble-code scan performed yearly by your local mechanic.

• Evaporative Emissions Leak- The EVAP, or evaporative emissions system was creates to trap fumes from the fuel tank and consists of the vapour lines, fuel tank, EVAP canister, and liquid vapour separator. Under normal circumstances, the fumes from the petrol will become trapped in the canister, which will open occasionally to allow fresh air in. As the fresh air comes in, the fumes are pushed back to the air intake of the engine, where the engine will burn the fumes. If a leak occurs, it is most often because the canister has become compromised or the lines have become corroded.
  

Preventing this problem is easy, and can save you up to £700. Use rust protection applications to keep the lines from becoming corroded, always replace the fuel cap after filling up the BMW, and never let a check engine light go unchecked.

• System Too Lean- After watching your check engine light flash for the past month, you finally visit your local mechanic. Soon after he begins to scan for the issue, he receives a code and tells you that your system is too lean. You already know this is going to be a problem, and you don’t even know what the code means. System too lean refers to problems like bad injectors, faulty injector drivers, vacuum leaks, and necessary software updates. Because these car parts and systems are in charge of monitoring throttle position, engine airflow, air intake temps, and coolant temperatures, this code can be a major problem.
  

Fixing a system too lean code involves having your mechanic scan the entire system to identify the malfunction and repair it. Because it can refer to so many different areas, the cost for this problem can range from £150 to much higher. The good news is, this problem can be easily prevented by always having the check engine light checked when it comes on and with regular maintenance and checks of BMW parts by your local garage.

Want to save money on BMW parts? Take care of preventative maintenance, visit your mechanic often for checkups, and always pay attention to warning signs.