So I am experiencing a really strange problem with the gauges on my 06 325i.
I am referring to the RPM, MPH, Fuel, and MPG ones.

When I start the car, it takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute for the gauges to actually start working.

Furthermore, when I turn off the car, they are return to the correct off position at first, but then, again after about 30 seconds... the fuel gauge starts bouncing off of the 0 mark and makes a ticking noise, quickly moving back and forth and continuing until I turn the car on again.

I have never opened/touched/modified anything.

Any advice besides bringing it to the dealer and paying a fortune?

Hi Korey!
I have the exact same issue on my BMW 330i e90 2005. Did you find a solution to the problem, and in that case how was it solved!
Thanks for your answer, would be really nice to resolve this annoying problem!

Best,

Jonas

I had a similar issue, but it was less pronounced.

When I had the car off, after a while, the speedo needle would 'tick' and bounce off the lower limit. Once I started the car, it usually went away immediately.

I just bought a new cluster from a similar car (same year, layout, trans) and it worked right away. Coding it in place of the old one is VERY difficult, so I just keep my old cluster stored for when I have to code the car. Maybe I'll learn to code the new one sometime in the future...

+1 on the fuel gauge issue, fuel needle would 'tick' and bounce off the lower limit on a cold start. Would go away after 5 sec. It started happening as the weather got colder ~40F so I am thinking could be the battery dying.

This happened to my car last year. The dealership replaced the entire gauge cluster under warranty. From talking to my SA, replacing the cluster as a complete unit is the only "fix" (i.e. I don't believe it's possible to replace a part individually within the cluster). Also, while the cluster removal and install itself is straightforward, the new cluster has to be registered and coded, so unfortunately this is probably not DIY material.

This does not seem to be a very common issue but it certainly is weird when it happens. My oil temp gauge looked like it was on crack.

Thought I'd chime in here. I have a 2008 325d in Germany.

I made a video of what mine does. It does it when the car is unlocked, or after turning off and waiting a few minutes.

Never happens when the car is turned on. Though sometimes it will idle above the 0-mark, and the scale will be off during driving (if I should be getting 7L/100km it will read 10L/100km).

Its a stupid gauge. Car is clearly not under warranty. May ask the dealership when I take it in next week, but hoping maybe there is a quick DIY on this one.

Video (flicker at very start of vid)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pu2gm6trrz...802_174523.mp4

Yep, that's what mine did, too. I also have a video:



Unless you are a coding genius, you should NOT attempt to DIY this. The cluster needs to be replaced as a complete unit. Replacing the cluster itself takes a few minutes (it literally consists of removing a few screws and unplugging some connectors). However, as stated previously you have to code the new cluster. As far as I know this has to be done at the dealership. My cluster replacement took 5 days at the dealership. 3 of those were waiting on the part from Germany, a couple hours for install, and over 8 hours hooked up to the computer for "registration" and coding. The cluster itself is also not cheap. If I recall correctly, I would have been out close to $900 for the part if out of warranty. I don't even want to think about the labor for 8+ hours of coding at the dealership.

If this happened to me while out of warranty, I personally might just choose to live with it.

I never could get a solid answer from my SA as to what causes this, and exactly what the issue is. He had never seen another E90 with this problem when I brought mine in in February of 2012.

Time for m3 cluster upgrade

Thanks for the info. Though it is frustrating to read replacement instructions. Also cracks me up how dealerships can't even do replacements on something like this without a problem. You think they would plug it in and it would work. Or plug it in and push "go" on the service computer and it would be done. But no.

One of those "joys" of BMW ownership.

Most likely I'll just pray that the problem doesn't get worse or spread to the rest of the gauge cluster....

I had a similar problem on my 2007 328i... it only happened on very cold mornings and the gauges would spring into life about about a minute of engine running. After doing some research I determined it was due to faulty capacitors in the instrument cluster. Do some searching in this forum and on Google and you'll find lots of info. I traded the car in for a new 328xi last year - so I suspect someone else will be dealing with the problem this winter. Good luck!

My car is having the same issue- however it's only first start on cold mornings. I will live with it unless it gets worse. It pops on in about 20 seconds or so worst case.