BMW E36 Blog

Hi Guys,

Daniel was so kind to send me some pics of his BMW E36. That was long time ago and I couldn’t publish something about this car until today. I always have a full schedule … you know 😉 .

The car looks really cool with the special touches and colors (I especially like the Plasma guages and the great sub & amplifier). The only thing that is upseting me is that Daniel is going to get rid of her because of the UAE regulations which is banning old cars. What a shame!

Take a look at the photos, then let’s hear your opinions…

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

Well, I had some free time couple days ago and I decided to clean my front pillars because they’ve been annoying me with their dirty look. So, I removed them carefully and took them inside my house and washed them. After that, I left them to dry for an hour or so. When I went to the car to put them back I’ve noticed a very very big difference between the color of the clean pillars and my headliner. Take a look:

It’s shocking how dirty my headliner is compared to my clean pillars.

So, I’ve decided to clean up my headliner as well but I was afraid to make it worse because the fabric has loosened with time and it’s not going to stand up again my cleaning brush. So, I’ve decided to search the web to see if someone tried this before. Luckily I found this which is a DIY for removing your headliner. Well, this is going to make things much easier for me instead of brushing upside down :p

I kept digging for more information about this subject and I found a kit that can help you change your headliner fabric instead of trying to give it a wash and best of all, it’s very cheap. Take a look here.

All you have to do is to glue the new fabric which comes with this kit on your fiberglass panel which you have removed using the DIY provided above. Then put everything back the way it was.

I’m going to order this kit and try it. Hopefully, it will be a success and give my car a very new OEM look again 😀

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

I’m sure this title has caught your eye and now you’re all anxious to know how you can make your car’s interior auto dim with light…The procedure is very simple and all you have to do is to get in your car and turn your lights on, then watch it because you already have it. The BMW E36 keeps amazing me every single day.

Today, I have discovered that there are 2 light sensors in the BMW E36 which are supposed to auto-dim your car’s interior according to the light intesity. I’m not sure if it’s going to work in my car or not. I will have to check it today, but I thought I would post it here first in order to give you something to keep you busy :p

Anyway, that’s enough … let’s give details:

The BMW E36 has 2 interior light sensors. One in the gauge cluster at the end of the speedometer. I’m sure many has wondered what is that thing looking like a lense there. It’s the auto-dim gauge cluster sensor. Take a look:

It’s supposed to make the gauge cluster light become more intense as it becomes darker outside.

Now for the other sensor, it’s located in the Digital climate control unit and it controls the light intensity of the climate control unit and the OBC (On Board Computer). So, if you don’t have the digital climate control (like me)… now it’s a good time to start crying 😈 . Take a look:

For me, as I said before, I didn’t try any of this yet, but I will check it today and make sure it’s working in my car. Please try it in your cars and lets see if it works.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

Today, I’ve learned about the wallet plastic key for the BMW E36 cars. These are some pictures of this emergency key. Take a look:

It’s just awesome. You’re supposed to keep this key in your wallet in case you’ve closed your car with your keys inside. So, this way, you will be able to use the plastic emergency key to solve your problem right away .. smart huh? I also learned that this key is supposed to be used only once, but I’m not sure about that. I mean about the key being disposable. anyone knows if this is true?

So, I looked in the BMW E36 owner’s manual and found that when you buy a brand new BMW E36, which is something I didn’t experience :p you get 4 keys for your car:

And these keys according to the E36 manual are:

1. Master key with battery-powered lamp (switch on by pressing the BMW symbol).

2. Master key without lamp.

3. Spare key to be kept in a safe place e.g. your wallet. This key is not intended for continuous use.

4. Door and ignition key: This key does NOT operate the locks for the glove compartment and the luggage compartment. This is useful e.g. in a hotel. wow! I love that 😀

Isn’t that great? Unfortunately, I only have one key for my car. I don’t have the other three. What about you guys?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I know that you’re going to hate me for this. The tilting steering wheel feature in BMW E36 is so cool but unfortunately, it’s not common. Baback was so kind to send me some photos for the steering wheel tilting and these photos made me feel furious because I don’t have this in my car, so I decided to make you guys feel the same like I do now by sharing the photos 😈 . I know many would kill to get this in their cars. Take a look and let me know how you feel now ha ha ha 😀 .

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.