well, im a proud owner of a new/used 2001 S60. i visit bimmerforums everyday for help and entertainment so trust me i know that there is a search feature in every disscussion board but i did not find an answer to my question. the S60 is fantastic first off. it drives as smooth as my 323is. love that. but i have a few questions and one problem. the problem, my driver power seat does not work. it will not move forward, back, up or down, and the back support does not move as well. the passenger seat is fine. what can i do before i start ripping crap off to take a look at the wires? what type of engine oil do you folks use (synthetic or regular)? and how much oil does a 2.4T require? is there anything you fellow S60 owners can tell me about preventive maintenance? any common problems i should keep an eye out for? thanks in advance. oh, i almost forgot, i do not care much for dealers, im a DIY type, ever since i bought my first bmw i have done everything myself. screw the stealership.

-matt

 

power seat, no help I can offer, if you are as handy as you say, then see if the wire to the lead is hot. Then you can pinpoint if the motor is working or not on the seat.
most use Mobil 1 5/30, it takes 6.1 quarts so 6 quarts is fine. Get filters from non dealers, to save money. Even Napa filters are great. It's a cartridge not a can. You need a special tool you can get on ebay for $15 to remove the reusable cannister.
Transmission oil, do NOT buy from dealer. The same oil is JWS 3309 oil spec and called Mobil 3309. It is NOT synthetic like the rumor and the dealers obviously is NOT either. They are one in the same. Drain and Fill, drain plug is a hex head off transmission from underneath. Get Mobil 3309 in 12 quart cases from a Mobil distributor. Easy enough. A drain will require 3.2 quarts to fill back up, do it three times.
Plugs are easy, very easy on the inline 5. I use coppers, because they are hotter, but you can use anything you wish.

Get cabin air filter on ebay for $15.It is under the glove box, you will figure it out.
Clean TB out. Sure you know how to do that.

 

wow, sweet! it doesnt seem that different than my bmw. what is TB and how do i clean it? i like mobile and all but castrol brand is my fav, but thanks for clearifing that synthetic is used and everything else. so what is TB?

 

TB is throttle body, or the ETM as they call it.
Take off air intake and open valve and spray TB cleaner, wipe clean. If you are hooked on Castrol, then use the real synthetic Castrol, available at Autozone only in the US. Look for 0/30 with the "made in Germany" statement on the back of the bottle. That's called German Castrol and is 100% PAO, and one of the best oils made. True synthetic. Regular Castrol is just Class III hyrocracked fake synthetic.

 

of course, the only TB. my abbreviations skills suck. once agian thanks for clarifying. i have just made my first sop at the pump and as i approached the gas door "assembly" i was thrilled to see gas @ $3.81/g. swifitly and patiently i begin to open the gas door "assembly", within a blink of an eye the partially opened assembly begins to reveal itself and i see whats inside, by the time you can complete a full eye blink the whole assembly shatters. now im coming to terms that a brittle plastic hinge is supporting everything. wow. this construction does not seem concrete. if only there was a way to harden the material like submerging it in a lubricant that wouldnt let the plastic dry out so easily. im dumbstruck with ideas but i have relazied that this will be my first DIY project. i will want to modifiy the bracket. so sometime in the future when i get around to it i will post a DIY with pictures and minimal abbreviations.

what is the differnece between (castrol synthetic) and (castrol synthetic syntech)? I use castrol GTX regular motor oil in my bmw, whats your opinion about that? well, unfortunately i do not have a S60 repair manual yet. i didnt get a chance to rasie the car but from underneath the bonnet i am having the worst time figuring out where the oil filter is located. as you said it is a cartridge and not a canister. in my bmw the oil filter is located in front the engine right behind the radiator. so i expected to find a similar setup between the two but either im blind or the filter is located else where. i need to replace my oil asap and im forced to visit the stealer tomorrow for multiple reasons. but please, i want no part of dealer lingo so conversations between me and the sales/tech/clerk will be adequate with extreme discourage. i just cant trust their b/s.

-ready for a revolution?