BMW—one of the best brands in luxury cars—is known for their fashionable designs, quality engineering, and range of vehicles. From family sedans to sporty high-end coupes, BMW appeals to a variety of buyers. When owning a car like this, you want to ensure that the quality and lifespan are optimized to maximize the time that you can have with the car. To do this, it’s important to understand the potential issues that can occur with any of the BMW vehicles, and how best to avoid and treat them.

Blown Fuses

Electronic issues, especially in newer, more modern cars, can become a real difficulty. Most modern cars have primarily electronic components, and when one goes wrong, it can snowball pretty easily. In a BMW, one of the most common electronic problems is a blown fuse. This can happen for a variety of reasons, and in a variety of places. For example, turning on the windshield wipers when they are covered in snow or other debris can blow the fuse and prevent the wipers from moving at all even after the snow is cleared. While irritating, this is a simple fix. Other blown fuses may be more difficult, but replacing them should be relatively simple.

When an electrical component isn’t working correctly, the first place to check is the fuse box. Each model is slightly different, but the owner’s manual should have the locations and type of fuse labeled clearly. Most fuse boxes are under the hood, by the steering wheel, or in the glovebox and can be popped open and accessed pretty quickly. Following the labels, determine the fuse that could be affected (based on what has gone wrong in the car) and pull it out. Replace with a new fuse if necessary.

If you don’t feel comfortable performing this maneuver yourself, or the issue isn’t resolved, take the car to your trusted BMW mechanic as soon as possible. While some electric failures are more of a nuisance than a danger, they can soon add up. For example, a blown windshield wiper fuse doesn’t appear to be too dramatic, but inclement weather can soon make a small problem extremely dangerous.

Battery Issues

Besides a blown or bad fuse, a battery problem can also cause major trouble. A dead battery means that the car won’t start and none of the electric functions will work. While definitely inconvenient, it doesn’t spell doom for your BMW. The car can be started using jumper cables and a nearby car, and you can drive to any automobile shop. Most of the time they can simply recharge the battery and replace it in the car, saving cost and time. However, they can also replace the battery (if necessary) relatively inexpensively. Low batteries are much more common in the winter, when the cold weather interferes with the battery.

ELV/Steering Wheel Lock

The BMW actually has a system in place to help warn you of a low battery. The ELV, or “steering wheel lock” appears on the dashboard during the winter when your battery is low. However, once activated, you can only start the car a few more times before the “Start” button will no longer work. While a good warning system, it can occasionally fail. When the light comes on, the best idea is to get the battery checked immediately (most garages or automobile shops will do this for free or very cheap) to determine if it’s a really problem with the battery or if it’s with the steering wheel lock.

How We Can Help You

Whatever problems that you may have with your BMW, Glenwood Foreign Cars is here to help you. Specializing in European cars, we provide an affordable, friendly, and competent team to maintain and fix your luxury vehicles. Since 1977, we have been serving Morrisville, Yardley and Newtown, Pennsylvania with our high-quality services.

When you’re driving a car like a BMW, you need the specialized service that our service technicians can provide. We take the importance, engineering, and quality of your BMW into consideration. No matter the problem that you have, make sure to call Glenwood Foreign Cars for any of your BMW needs.

* BMW 5-series (G30) image credit goes to: y_carfan.

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