I have a 2001 2.5i roadster with a 5 speed manual. The car is pristine with 36,000 original miles and everything on it was original and immaculate when I bought it. It worked great for a year or two then the cruise control stopped working. Occasional abs light but never stayed on. I checked the obvious things then took it to a well regarded European auto shop in town. They had it for 3 months and told me they tested every switch and wire in the system, replaced the ABS control box, then gave it back to me told me sorry, they couldn’t fix it.
took it to the other well regarded shop in town only to find they had heard of my car as the best bmw electrical guy had switched shops years ago and the first shop still calls him for help. They had it 3 months, rechecked everything, and told me the computer is saying the brakes are applied, the lights aren’t on and there is nothing they can do to get it to work. They sent me home
called me back 6 months later because another car came in with the same problem and they found a fix for it and wanted to try. They said there was an additional switch that was not on any wiring diagram that was the problem on the other car. They replaced mine and no luck.
now, still no cruise control, and three or four times, the car has jerked to the left while driving and sets a warning light for traction control off.
Any ideas what to do next? Bonus points if they tie the two issues together and are easy to fix
took it to the other well regarded shop in town only to find they had heard of my car as the best bmw electrical guy had switched shops years ago and the first shop still calls him for help. They had it 3 months, rechecked everything, and told me the computer is saying the brakes are applied, the lights aren’t on and there is nothing they can do to get it to work. They sent me home
called me back 6 months later because another car came in with the same problem and they found a fix for it and wanted to try. They said there was an additional switch that was not on any wiring diagram that was the problem on the other car. They replaced mine and no luck.
now, still no cruise control, and three or four times, the car has jerked to the left while driving and sets a warning light for traction control off.
Any ideas what to do next? Bonus points if they tie the two issues together and are easy to fix
I’m more than willing to launch into this. I’ve rebuilt several older cars and can run a multimeter. I’ve never messed with BMWs much and have done most of my stuff on older gas cars and industrial diesels. My experience with computer gremlins is mostly on newer stuff with more mature OBD2. My son is a lanky 17 yo. He’d love nothing more than to hang upside down under the dash. I’m happy to work on it.