[pmsteinm]

Today I did the oil, brake fluid service, cabin micro filter and spark plugs at 55k miles on the X5 xDrive40i. Aside from the plugs everything was pretty easy.

Brake Fluid Service:
- I paid BMW $32 for access to ISTA. I installed it and connected to the car using the Kies adapter from ECS Tuning via Ethernet. The night before I fully charged the car with the BMW CTEK Charger. I left it connected during this process.
- Raised the car with my QuickJack 6000XLT and removed all 4 wheels.
- Started the service function in ISTA. It prompts you for each step. You open a bleed screw and it pumps the fluid out. Then you connect your pressure bleeder (I use Motive Products) the continue to follow steps. It pumps fluid out of another internal area then it becomes like normal bleeding for other cars.
- The last step it runs is a leak test after disconnecting the power bleeder.
- I used ISTA to reset the CBS brake fluid interval. At this point it warned me about the battery voltage being low, proving that the CTEK is not adequate as a power supply. But I was able to reset anyway.

Plugs:
- I followed ISTA for this as well. The first 4 plugs took me 10 minutes total. The last 2 took another 4 hours. You have to pull really hard to get the coils out because the rubber sticks to the plugs (suction from rubber to ceramic). Once they are out you need a magnetic socket (FCP Euro sells it) to get the plug out. ISTA says use a swivel joint to connect to the plug socket so you don't break the plugs.
- The last 2 coils came off but left the boots behind. All the online stuff suggests various chemicals but ISTA says don't do that. It took a lot of trial and error to get them out. I finally did it by pulling the springs out of the center and then jamming a 1/4in drive socket extension in the boot. That stuck enough to wiggle and pull them out.
- The car fired right up and the engine is a lot quieter and smoother than before. The old plugs did show some build up on the contacts.
- I caused some minor damage to the 2 boots and springs during my process so I ordered new coils from FCP Euro and will do them next weekend. Car seems to drive fine but I'm worried about long term issues so I'll just make it right.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Were the plugs original at 55K? If so, the dealer should have changed them at the 3 year or 36K service.

[pmsteinm]

I just noticed I never mentioned above what car I did this on. It was my wife's 19 X5 xDrive40i. The B58 schedule shows plugs as a connected service with the 6th oil change. Only the M cars have it scheduled at the 3rd change too.

[pmsteinm]

Replaced the coils today. Took 15 minutes.

I did notice the retaining clip on the HPFP no longer clips (was like that from last week). I used mechanic's wire to help secure the connector. It stays on by itself but I worry over the years vibration could back the connector off. The only way to fix appears to be replacing the wiring harness, which is probably not worth it. More connectors will break as the car gets older anyway.

[avito6237]

Originally Posted by pmsteinm

Today I did the oil, brake fluid service, cabin micro filter and spark plugs at 55k miles on the X5 xDrive40i. Aside from the plugs everything was pretty easy.

Brake Fluid Service:
- I paid BMW $32 for access to ISTA. I installed it and connected to the car using the Kies adapter from ECS Tuning via Ethernet. The night before I fully charged the car with the BMW CTEK Charger. I left it connected during this process.
- Raised the car with my QuickJack 6000XLT and removed all 4 wheels.
- Started the service function in ISTA. It prompts you for each step. You open a bleed screw and it pumps the fluid out. Then you connect your pressure bleeder (I use Motive Products) the continue to follow steps. It pumps fluid out of another internal area then it becomes like normal bleeding for other cars.
- The last step it runs is a leak test after disconnecting the power bleeder.
- I used ISTA to reset the CBS brake fluid interval. At this point it warned me about the battery voltage being low, proving that the CTEK is not adequate as a power supply. But I was able to reset anyway.

Plugs:
- I followed ISTA for this as well. The first 4 plugs took me 10 minutes total. The last 2 took another 4 hours. You have to pull really hard to get the coils out because the rubber sticks to the plugs (suction from rubber to ceramic). Once they are out you need a magnetic socket (FCP Euro sells it) to get the plug out. ISTA says use a swivel joint to connect to the plug socket so you don't break the plugs.
- The last 2 coils came off but left the boots behind. All the online stuff suggests various chemicals but ISTA says don't do that. It took a lot of trial and error to get them out. I finally did it by pulling the springs out of the center and then jamming a 1/4in drive socket extension in the boot. That stuck enough to wiggle and pull them out.
- The car fired right up and the engine is a lot quieter and smoother than before. The old plugs did show some build up on the contacts.
- I caused some minor damage to the 2 boots and springs during my process so I ordered new coils from FCP Euro and will do them next weekend. Car seems to drive fine but I'm worried about long term issues so I'll just make it right.

Hello pmsteinm,

Sorry for basic question - what is ISTA? And how do you buy this from BMW?

[pmsteinm]

Originally Posted by avito6237

Hello pmsteinm,

Sorry for basic question - what is ISTA? And how do you buy this from BMW?

ISTA is the official BMW software for diagnostics and repair. It also provides repair instructions (AIR). In the US you get it here: https://bmwtechinfo.bmwgroup.com/

There are also other illegal and possibly legal sources. The above is $32 for 24hrs and they will provide tech support.

You can print to PDF any instructions you want, fluid and parts information, or even the technical guides that people always post on this forum.

If you have an appropriate dongle you connect the car to run diagnostics, activate various things for maintenance, and reset CBS.

[mikekay]

Im doing this today and left the engine a bit warm to prevent cold pull, I opened them up and removed everything while egine was warm but backed off all spark plugs until cold 5hen torquing them down. I also added a touch of anti sieze to the plug for future me, or poor guy at some garage like me saying the pray as he looses the plug.

Anywho how did you do the last one? Im having trouble moving the clip and heat blanket out of the way. How do I remove #1 and #2

Picture below:

[mikekay]

Originally Posted by mikekay

Im doing this today and left the engine a bit warm to prevent cold pull, I opened them up and removed everything while egine was warm but backed off all spark plugs until cold 5hen torquing them down. I also added a touch of anti sieze to the plug for future me, or poor guy at some garage like me saying the pray as he looses the plug.

Anywho how did you do the last one? Im having trouble moving the clip and heat blanket out of the way. How do I remove #1 and #2

Picture below:

Just figured this out for anyone it helps, #2 clip is locking like 99.9% of all clips on bmw. But heres what comes out, press in on the tab. As for #1 just flip up the heat blanket.

Pics below:

[pmsteinm]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Glad you figured it out. I broke the retaining clip on the fuel pump connector. I was able to secure it using safety wire. The plastic clips always get brittle with age. It was really bad on my wife's E90 near the end.