Tips on owning your first BMW vehicle
Tips on owning your first BMW vehicle
Checking out your first BMW and enthralled with the millions of features that BMW packs into their cars? Wondering whether there are some differences in basic maintenance in a BMW versus a Honda? BMWs are the best of the best in the luxury/performance market and for good reason. These cars are truly a joy for the driver and the passengers. There are a few important things to be aware of if you are a new BMW owner, especially if you are coming from owning a non-luxury vehicle. At Pfaff BMW Mississauga, our customers can find a large selection of new and pre-owned BMW vehicles. In this blog, we share some information on a few tips for owning your first BMW vehicle.
Tire Pressure
Modern BMWs have used two different systems for tire pressure maintenance. The older system is the FTM and the newer system is the TPMS system. The FTM system uses the ABS to measure the rolling diameter of all four tires. Based on this it will make a comparison to identify if there is one that has less pressure than the others. The only issue with this system is that when the temperature decreases during the winter, tires typically lose some pressure. This will throw the system off if all four tires have lost some air pressure. This means you will still have to manually check the tire pressure from time to time. Newer model vehicles have the TPMS System, which has tire pressure sensors in all four tires. Each tire gives you an accurate measurement of your tire pressure.
Gas and Oil
When you hear that BMWs only take premium gas, please listen. Don’t buy a BMW and then go cheap on fuel, you will pay for it. 91 is the absolute minimum for most BMWs, but you should not be putting 91 in your vehicle. Even BMW warns that 91 can cause knocking noises from the engine. There is a difference in quality depending on what gas station you fill up at. Most gas stations have 93 available, but it varies in quality depending on the company.
Brakes
BMW’s arguably have the best brakes in the business. One of the reasons for this is that BMW uses softer brake pads than most other vehicles. This does have a downside however, as they wear faster than most other vehicles (especially if you are an aggressive driver). BMW brake rotors are meant to wear with the brake pads, and should be changed during brake pad replacement or at least every other brake pad replacement. Something else to know about BMW brake pads is that because they are so soft they tend to generate a lot of brake dust. It’s common to have plenty of brake dust mere hours after cleaning your rims.
Modifications
Most car enthusiasts buy a car and then immediately want to do everything under the sun to get every last drop of extra horsepower out of their engine. What you should know about BMWs is that they are very well tuned out of the factory. It’s very difficult and expensive to get more than a couple of points of horsepower out of a modern BMW with upgrades such as headers, chips, cold air intakes, and exhaust upgrades.
If you are thinking about buying a new BMW, or you have recently bought a BMW, it is important to learn more about your vehicle. This is especially true if you are new to BMW ownership. First time BMW owners can ask our Pfaff BMW Mississauga representative any questions they want about their vehicles, we are happy to assist you!
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