New Owner

[davidk]

My daughter just bought a 1997 ti (green, automatic, active package) which is in great shape. I have a couple of questions. When attempting to lock the doors using just the remote, the car just chirps and will not lock the doors. I fixed a problem with the plunger switch in the hatch door and thought the problem was fixed, since I was able to lock and unlock the car using the remote, but this morning it would only chirp again and had to be locked with the key. Any ideas? I am also going to replace the belts and do some other maintenance to it, are there two drive belts or three? Also, I have read the transmission has "lifetime" fluid, but at 109K miles, I would guess the fluid needs to be changed. Is it replaced with special BMW lifetime transmission fluid or just Dexron lll? I am not sure if the Oxygen sensors have been replaced, but is it necessary to replace these if there are no problems? Thanks

David

[96cali]

Welcome David- hope someone here can answer your Q's. How is your local dealer? I have found the parts desk infinitely more helpful than service or sales when it comes to DIY-ing.

[CirrusSR22]

I don't have remote locks, so I can't help you there.

There should be 2 belts, one to drive the water pump, power steering and alternator. And another for the AC. An OEM pair is about $21 at www.eap4parts.com

There is a lot of "controversy" over changing the automatic tranny fluid. If you go to www.bimmerforums.com and do a search there are tons of posts about the subject. My automatic has 120,000 miles on it and it runs absolutely beautifully, so I'm not gonna touch it.

My manual says the oxygen sensor "must" be replaced at 100,000 miles (i'd guess just for emission purposes), and at about 105,000 miles it failed (well, gave me a CEL). www.eap4parts.com has it for $93.95. My dealer wanted $168.

Anyways, I couldn't tell much difference with the new one vs. the old one. Although my fuel mileage went up just sightly.