Puncture warning light - but no puncture???

[brad___smith]

Hi all, my R50 has started telling me there's a puncture when there's not. The puncture warning light has been on for about a month now, and the tyre pressures have remained pretty much the same throughout. Every so often it 'boings' again and the little trip computer flashes the outside temperature for some reason.... ?

Anyway, the last time I had the car looked at for a service the mechanic advised that some bushes were very worn and would need replaced soon. Since moving to Edinburgh, where the roads are absolutely appalling and living on a cobbled street, the cars handling has got progressively worse and a knocking sound has been coming from the rear axle when slowing down over bumps.

Could the warning light be because of the bushes being worn, or something worse?

Any advice would be amazing, not sure whether I should be driving her at all just now. MOT is next month so it probably needs sorted asap.

Cheers!

[Mon the fish]

It's normally the wheel speed sensor that's goosed if you're getting fake puncture warnings, an easy and cheap fix.

Worn bushes are definitely worth replacing, tighten the handling up nicely. Consider Powerflex or equivalent as replacements, as the OEM ones will just wear out again

[badwolf340]

I take it you have reset the warning light ?

[brad___smith]

Ah okay that would make sense, I'll look into a wheel speed sensor then, glad it's not an expensive thing to do.

With bushes, I would be willing to invest in some Powerflex as I'm a bit worried about what these cobbles will do to the chassis over time!

Nah I haven't reset the warning light just yet, although it did the same just as I bought the car 6 months ago, reset it, thought nothing of it, and it took another 4 months to do it again. Can't explain why it would tell me the outside temperature though... strange.

Cheers guys

[Gismo]

The boing may have been the fact the outside temp was 3 degrees to warn of potential freezing

[Crombers]

The boing may have been the fact the outside temp was 3 degrees to warn of potential freezing

Yup :yes nod:

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It's normally the wheel speed sensor that's goosed if you're getting fake puncture warnings, an easy and cheap fix.

Worn bushes are definitely worth replacing, tighten the handling up nicely. Consider Powerflex or equivalent as replacements, as the OEM ones will just wear out again

What's the cost in doing this & how many bushes are we talking about?

Reckon my 10/11 year old handling could do with a 'wee tightener' :yes nod:

[brad___smith]

Ah, just read the manual "...the following situations could lead to... the system malfunctioning: > Driving on snow-covered or slippery roads". That might be it, got stuck in that blizzard on the M8 a couple of weeks ago. Better reset it in the morning then!

Yeah anxious to get the bushes done and sort out whatever's making that noise at the back, my car's 10 year old as well and I'm not sure if they've been replaced before. Took it out on twisty roads for the first time on boxing day and it gave me no confidence whatsoever, a little bit 'vague' I'd call it. Pulls slightly to the left under braking as well :/ I'm guessing the bushes haven't been done as the mileage is still reasonably low at 65,000-ish and the service history doesn't mention it.

Cheers :)

[Mon the fish]

Yup :yes nod:

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What's the cost in doing this & how many bushes are we talking about?

Reckon my 10/11 year old handling could do with a 'wee tightener' :yes nod:

The biggest difference you'll feel is to do the front lower rear wishbone bushes - these tend to go about 30k or so, and can make the steering a bit vague.

There's a few bushes to do:
- rear trailing arms
- upper and lower engine mounts
- gearbox mount
- steering rack
- anti-roll bar f/r

That's all I can think of off the top of my head... prices, £20ish per bush rings a bell, have a look at the Orranje website or 1320mini. I've done pretty much all of them, they definitely make a difference, makes the car nice and tight feeling.

One thing to note - bushes aren't done as part of a service, another 'lifetime part' according to BMW, just like gearbox oil... :frown: