Where Your Author Owns a Used BMW Convertible for a Second Year

Believe it or not, we’ve crossed the two-year ownership mark with the Nashville-via-San Diego sourced 2010 BMW Z4. The 60,000-mile mark on the odometer has rolled past, and among many fun drives on curvy roads additional maintenance items have been resolved. Oh, and there was a multi-day stay at the dealer for an important recall.

At last reporting, the Z4 needed new tires, the front struts were on their way out, and the brake fluid was a blended metal cocktail. Just a couple of weeks after that article, the most important issue (tires) was fixed. After securing some advice via online tire reviews and a question to Twitter, the recommendations came down to two: the Continental ExtremeContact 06+, or the Michelin Pilot Sport AS4. Tires are one of those subjective topics where there’s always another person in the room with a contrasting opinion, and it’s difficult to draw clear conclusions.

While reviewing the headline tires, a third recommendation rose to the surface from Vredestein. Initially questionable as it was a tire company I’d never heard of, some research revealed the brand was popular elsewhere long-term but arrived in North America more recently. With excellent reviews and without the premium paid for Michelin or Continental, I went with the Vredestein.

Specifically their all-season Quatrac Pro XL. Discount Tire (Tire Rack) had them in stock and on sale, and would ship them to a local store in a couple of days. The fronts (255/35ZR18) were $335.88 a pair, and the rears (225/40R18) were $356.86. After tax the total was $750.77, plus another $140.12 for the installation stuff. The shop checked the alignment during install and (surprisingly) one was not necessary.

After the swap from the awful and balding run-flats, the Vredestein tires were a breath of fresh air. The ride was better, the grip was excellent, and there was much less road noise. It’s been an overall positive experience with the tires, and I’ve no hesitation to recommend them over a more established brand. As a bonus they’re stylish and Italian as they were designed by Italdesign Giugiaro.

The next service event was in the third week of April, about a month after the tires. With brand new tires, it made sense to shore up the suspension quickly. While the back struts were fine, the fronts had recently leaked much of their fluid. But there was a small problem: The M-Sport package included electronic struts that dampened according to driving conditions and the drive mode switch on the center console. 

These struts are not available via aftermarket manufacturers, and cost $780 each to source from BMW. That put an OEM replacement out of consideration immediately. The alternative is Bilstein, which provides several options for the Z4. The recommendation for ride quality and performance seemed to be the B6 line.

The independent mechanic could source them for $330 each, but I’d found a better price at Bimmerworld, $223 (and no sales tax(!)). The mechanic agreed to let me provide my own parts to save some money. While it was there, they did a brake fluid service for $150. The charges including new sway bar linkages on both sides totalled $1,276.32. Suspension work adds up quick, eh? But the caveman Bilstein struts meant I was running a mixed suspension setup which the ECU didn’t much like.

Since it no longer received a signal from the electronics that were supposed to be there, it threw a suspension warning light immediately. More of an annoyance than anything, the electronic suspension can be coded out of the car fairly easily with a Bluetooth connector ($59) and a permanent license to ProTool ($150). That’ll be taken care of soon; the connector arrived last week during some snow. I look forward to spending $1,600 or so again when the rear struts go bad!

Around the time of the struts, the parking brake warning light showed up. The (electronic) brake was still working, but indicated that it was inoperable. As the computer and the parking brake were in disagreement, I had the mechanic check it when it was in for the struts. They found no issues with its operation. 

The concern as validated by forum posts was that the parking brake could stick itself on at some random occasion, and require a flatbed tow to a mechanic to fix. An internet search revealed little, apart from one post in Singapore many years ago on a forum. After much struggle, that owner realized the fault was remedied with a software update.

Fortunately around the same time a recall for the PCV valve arrived. It seemed the part could get too hot and melt, which caused a small (or large) engine fire. The fix was to retrofit additional fuse protection and revise the wiring harness slightly. When I took it in for the recall, I requested the software be updated as well. The service manager questioned whether that would actually work for the parking brake warning, and if I actually needed a software update.

As I was sure of myself, they performed the software update after the PCV modification. Lo and behold it fixed the parking brake warning lamp ($210). As an additional bonus, I received more information screens in the gauge cluster, with more optional adjustments for things like lights and timers. Thank you, man in Singapore of 2017. I think in a past service under warranty a dealer should probably have updated the software gratis and prevented the issue.

The time in the shop gave me an opportunity to drive a 4-Series convertible loaner. It impressed with its noise insulation around the roof, as it gave no indication from inside that it was a convertible at all. The dark teal paint color was also cool. However it disappointed with a rough 2.0T engine that was gutless, and a suspension that was tuned to Chrysler Sebring specification. I didn’t have it long enough to give a full review, like the X3 loaner I had for the instance below.

In July 2024, a longstanding recall was finally ready for resolution. It was one that cost BMW a considerable sum, as they voluntarily recalled VANOS-equipped engines in about 177,000 vehicles. The recall covered the entire lineup of the 2010-2013 era, save for the 7-Series. The variable valve timing bolts could loosen within the engine, and then snap off and sort of gradually grenade everything. The issue appeared as the engines aged and racked up miles.

The dealer told me it would be several days for the fix as they had to take pictures and video, and send it to BMW HQ in Germany since the company was being very careful with documentation. It was found that my particular car did not have a VANOS issue, likely because it was a low miles example. The bolts were removed and replaced, and a new valve cover gasket was installed. 

The latter was helpful as the N52 tends to need a new gasket every 60k miles or, as they start to weep oil. The gasket was changed once already in a service performed in June 2017 at just 33,815 miles. When no VANOS issues were found, relief washed over me in an awesome way. 

Beyond these maintenance items and recalls, just one issue appeared over the past couple of weeks: The windshield washer pump lost a seal somewhere internally and began leaking fluid. An easy fix with a Bilstein pump and filter grommet, which were $12 total. After two full years I’m still really enjoying the Z4, and will be regreasing the roof hinges here in the next couple of weeks. Then it’ll be time for some roof down springtime driving! 

[Images: Corey Lewis/The Truth About Cars, BMW]

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