BMW 330CI Radio won't start

I have a 330CI 2002 BMW. I got a car wash and interiors cleaned this morning. After that the CD player or radio has stopped working. The display just shows the time. I do not know what button to press to turn it back on. I have tried varios combinations but it won’t turn on.

Maybe the kid at the car wash decided the CD changer needed a little Spray & Clean too…

It should turn off/on if you push in on the volume knob.

Thanks Manolito! Actually I pressed the volume knob but I guess I didn’t press it hard enough. I had to press it really hard to turn it back on. Thanks!

330s are remarkably reliable cars, but there are a couple of common problems that you can expect to see any day now.

  1. When you see a green drip on the floor beneath the right front corner, that is the O-ring on the water temperature sensor. It does not fit very tight, and after a few years it shrinks a little and starts leaking. You cannot buy that size O-ring unless you buy a lot of 100 for $80, so you have to buy a new sensor for $45. No tools, just press the trigger and unplug the wire, then press the other trigger and pull out the sensor. Snap in a new sensor and plug on the wire.

  2. The ground connection in the plug to the tail lights corrodes. The tail lights get dim and then stop working altogether. The fix is to make a new ground connection. Put a spade connector on a short wire and ground the wire to a body screw near the tail light and plug the spade connector to the ground trace on the tail light. There is an available spade on the trace, probably put there for wiring trailer lights.

  3. Window regulators - This is the worst and potentially the most expensive. When your windows won’t go all the way up and down straight and smooth, the weak plastic part that attaches the window to the cable in the door has broken. If you use a couple of zip ties to hold the broken part together, the result is stronger than the original part. Mine has been held together with zip ties for quite a while with no problems.

  4. Sunroof. Mine has never failed yet, but I don’t open it very often because I know how prone they are to failure on e46 BMWs, and I only open it on warm days.

Battery - any 7 year old car is due for a new battery if it has not been replaced already. You have a lot of computers on that car, and they start doing crazy things (transmission won’t shift properly, etc.) when the battery is failing.

Why would a 7 year battery die out? The owners manual says that the battery and the electrolyte is life long and maintenance free.

Your owner’s manual would have explained how to turn the radio on. I wonder how many features that your car might have that you would enjoy if you just knew how to turn them on or use them?