<E36> new owner questions

[Jarchow Dennis <JarchowDennis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I recently purchased a 1996 328i sport and have about four months of
warranty left so I want to get some things fixed soon. Hopefully some people
here would be kind enough to answer a few questions for me as my dealer
certainly can't or won't.

1. I am not sure my double locking is working properly. My car has a build
date of 2/96 and has EWS. When I get out of my car and lock the drivers door
using the key, the doors do double lock as the lock buttons inside the car
don't unlock. But I can reach in through the window, put my key in the
ignition, and start the car. I thought that the double locking disabled the
ignition or the fuel pump. I spoke with customer service at BMW NA and they
say the car shouldn't start. My dealer says it is working fine as they tried
it on another 328 and it did the same thing. What is the correct operation?

2. Whenever I shut off my car I hear lots of "ticking" coming from under the
car. I am sure it is the catalytic converter as my previous non-BMW cars
have done this, just never this loudly or without the car even being warm.
Is this normal? If not is this even covered by the 4 year/50 month warranty
or is this part of the 2 year "emissions" warranty?

3. When I shut off the car, even if I have just turned the ignition on and
not actually started the car,  I hear what sounds like a small fan or motor
running behind the trip computer or climate control. It runs for 20-25
minutes after the ignition is turned off. My dealer says this is normal as
it is a cooling fan for the trip computer/climate control and can run for up
to a half hour after the car is shut off. It sounds to me like a motor for
closing heat/vent ducts. I don't hear this at all on my friends 97 328 but
my dealer says it might just be quieter. So far it has always shut off, even
if it has been almost a half hour. My concern is that I will come out some
morning and find my battery almost dead that little motor whirring away. I
didn't find anything in my Haynes manual on it and my Bentley hasn't arrived
yet. Any other 328 owners notice this.

4. Finally I have noticed the ground effects/rocker panels on both sides of
my car seem loose, near the front wheels. There is a rubber gasket on the
top edge of the panel which I am sure is to keep water out but mine has an
eighth of an inch gap for about 1 foot back from the front wheel wells. I
would assume some sort of clip is loose or broken. Again my dealer says
"normal, doesn't need fixing." Since I live in Iowa I am concerned about
water sitting in there and freezing or eating away at the sheet metal. If it
can be fixed, how is it done?

It sounds a lot to me like my dealer doesn't want to fix anything on my car
unless it actually involves flames or wheels falling off. Unfortunately the
next closest BMW dealer is two hours away and only takes service
appointments M-F 8-5. So any information you can provide will help give me
ammo for my next trip to the dealer 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

> Dennis
96 328i sport

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