Faults:
The backs fall off the front seats, and the cloth wears out on the side of the drivers seat.
Watch out for rusting fuel pipes on top of the tank sender unit; remove the inspection cover to reveal this hidden and over looked problem inside the boot on saloons.
Dashboard's service interval L.E.D.s fail to reset when the back up battery goes dead, which can cause the eco gauge to stop working in time, then the speedometer can stop as well!
On the M30 engine, the electronic throttle bypass that controls the idle speed from cold is useless. Changed it under warranty and gave up; no change in cold start slow running (only 500 RPM). However it still runs in mid winter and soon warms up. It's just an annoyance, with it being on the verge of stalling for the first few minutes each morning.
General Comments:
The car, otherwise, is a pleasure to own and drive. It's as reliable as the Planet Earth, a superb motorway cruiser. The 4 speed auto gearbox, in lockup, the engine is only turning over a mere 2100 RPM at 70 mph.
What a motor that 2.8 six pot on E.F.I. really is. Overall average is 17.5 MPG over a year's motoring (and that's driven modestly). Lots of short trips of less than 4 miles contributes to the poor figures. In heavy traffic it's down to 13 MPG. The best over 30 MPG. I still love it, the E28 is a winner.
9th Nov 2006, 11:00
A proper fuel-injected E28 5-series (`82-`88), should not have any issues with cold-start-up. A coolant temp. switch (sits just behind/above the thermostat housing). It has a a wire or two (depending on model) coming out of it. It reads the coolant temp.. When dead cold, it will allow the car to idle at a higher than normal speed for 2-5 min., about 750-1000 rpm. Once the engine coolant has warmed, this switch allows the rpm to lower to the normal rpm, about 550-750 rpm. It is crucial to make sure the correct switch is installed for the model - if not, very poor running will result. Also verify that the cold start valve is functioning properly.