YACT: BMW 328I question

[Budmantom]

I test drove a 97 328i and the car was impressive, the gas pedal was a bit different than what I am use to it's almost like a two stage pedal.


When I was driving the car the owner told me to floor it to see what it had when I did at 35mph the car broke traction(the tires spun) when it up shifted at about 50mph, to me it was no big thing until the owner asked me what I did wrong, so I did it again. The car did shift @ 6500 rpm and the owner said that I took it past the red-line, it's an automatic.


He also said that the "brake booster" might need to be replaced at about $1000, the brakes did feel soft.


Does this sound normal for this vehicle?


Any and all comments would be appreciated.


Thanks,


Tom

 

Tom, I'm a little confused by this staement ;

When I was driving the car the owner told me to floor it to see what it had when I did at 35mph the car broke traction(the tires spun) when it up shifted at about 50mph, to me it was no big thing until the owner asked me what I did wrong, so I did it again. The car did shift @ 6500 rpm and the owner said that I took it past the red-line, it's an automatic.

As for the brakes, if the power brake booster has failed, the brake pedal would be rock hard, all the booster does is assist you using engine vacuum, you stated that the brakes were soft, this can be caused by the following ;

Defective master cylinder

Air trapped in the lines

Defective ABS block

 

[Nebor]

A lot of European cars with automatics have what they call a "kick down." When you get it near the floor it trips something with the computer that says "Acclerate as quickly as possible" and gives it gas and shifts as appropriate.

 

[Budmantom]

Roger,

The brake booster was what the owner thought was wrong with the brakes, he did say the the abs was still working fine. When I drove the car the brakes didn'y lock-up under realativley hard stopping, but I didn't push the issue.

My other question is about the shifting. Under hard accelaration the car would "trip" the tires, like I said I wouldn't have thought much of it until the guy asked me what I had done wrong.

I'll clarify further if it helps.


Thanks for your help Roger,

Tom

 

The brake booster was what the owner thought was wrong with the brakes, he did say the the abs was still working fine. When I drove the car the brakes didn'y lock-up under realativley hard stopping, but I didn't push the issue.

The proper way of testing the ABS is to slam on the brakes, you should feel a pedal pulsation in the brake pedal.

My other question is about the shifting. Under hard accelaration the car would "trip" the tires, like I said I wouldn't have thought much of it until the guy asked me what I had done wrong.

Do you mean chirp the tires ?

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: Roger

The brake booster was what the owner thought was wrong with the brakes, he did say the the abs was still working fine. When I drove the car the brakes didn'y lock-up under realativley hard stopping, but I didn't push the issue.

The proper way of testing the ABS is to slam on the brakes, you should feel a pedal pulsation in the brake pedal.

My other question is about the shifting. Under hard accelaration the car would "trip" the tires, like I said I wouldn't have thought much of it until the guy asked me what I had done wrong.

Do you mean chirp the tires ?

Yeah, chirp.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: Nebor
A lot of European cars with automatics have what they call a "kick down." When you get it near the floor it trips something with the computer that says "Acclerate as quickly as possible" and gives it gas and shifts as appropriate.

As far as the kick down I expected that it's the guys reaction that makes me think that something might be wrong, but I could just be paranoid.

Tom

 

Chirping the tires during a kickdown under full throttle is normal, I would be wary of the brake situation though, a soft spongy pedal is not normal.

 

[Budmantom]

Thanks for the advice Roger, the brakes should be less expensive to fix than the transmission.


Tom

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Budmantom

Originally posted by: Nebor
A lot of European cars with automatics have what they call a "kick down." When you get it near the floor it trips something with the computer that says "Acclerate as quickly as possible" and gives it gas and shifts as appropriate.

As far as the kick down I expected that it's the guys reaction that makes me think that something might be wrong, but I could just be paranoid.

Tom

It could just be that the guy has never done any ultimate driving in his Ultimate Driving Machine.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: Budmantom

Originally posted by: Nebor
A lot of European cars with automatics have what they call a "kick down." When you get it near the floor it trips something with the computer that says "Acclerate as quickly as possible" and gives it gas and shifts as appropriate.

As far as the kick down I expected that it's the guys reaction that makes me think that something might be wrong, but I could just be paranoid.

Tom

It could just be that the guy has never done any ultimate driving in his Ultimate Driving Machine.

You might be right, he did say he only had it for about 3 months.


Tom