Gearshift knob plastic grommet broken

[RoyalBoogie]

The plastic broke inside of the knob causing it to easily come off while shifting. Can a new plastic insert be purchased if so is it an easy fix? Also the check engine light is on. My son plugged into the computer and it says “catalyst failure”, does that mean the catalytic converter is bad? TYIA.

 

[NZ00Z3]

For the gear shift knob, just buy another one.

Don't get temped to Glue it on. A previous owner did that to my Z3. Wanted to remove the center console so had to remove the knob. Normally its just a pull up and the knob is off. Well, I nearly gave myself a hernia pulling up on that glued on knob. Ended up cutting it of.

For the code. Is it the P0420 or P0430 code? That is for Cat inefficiency. Typically blocked Cat's, but it can be old post-Cat O2 sensors or a leaking injector.

• What version of Z3 do you have? From your photo it's a facelift so it could be a M54, M52TU or M43 engine?
• Please confirm the code numbers you care getting on the scanner?
• What scanner are you using?

 

[RoyalBoogie]

Hey, NZ00Z3,
my son cleared the code but he believes those codes look familiar. I just bought the car. I’m going to register it on Friday and cruise for awhile and see if the check engine light comes back on.
It has the M52TU engine. Not sure what scanner brand it is but I know it was inexpensive. I’ll find out tomorrow.
If the light comes back on before the 10 day temporary inspection expires I’ll have my guy scan it with his much better scanner .
Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to reply

 

[DrWong]

Same thing happened to my gearknob recently. Plastic insert completely snapped so top part is currently just resting on bottom leather part, held on by sheer hope and optimism.

I have the chrome line gear knob but BMW don't make/sell it anymore. Managed to source a new one from an ebay seller in Lithuania (I'm in UK) and just waiting on delivery. I considered secondhand which would've been half the price, but the few I found looked quite rough and there was no guarantee they wouldn't fail in a similar way.

 

[RoyalBoogie]

It wound up being a broken hard and brittle vacuum hose to the air injection thingy. Phew, I like inexpensive fixes

 

[RoyalBoogie]

For the gear shift knob, just buy another one.

Don't get temped to Glue it on. A previous owner did that to my Z3. Wanted to remove the center console so had to remove the knob. Normally its just a pull up and the knob is off. Well, I nearly gave myself a hernia pulling up on that glued on knob. Ended up cutting it of.

For the code. Is it the P0420 or P0430 code? That is for Cat inefficiency. Typically blocked Cat's, but it can be old post-Cat O2 sensors or a leaking injector.

• What version of Z3 do you have? From your photo it's a facelift so it could be a M54, M52TU or M43 engine?
• Please confirm the code numbers you care getting on the scanner?
• What scanner are you using?

So I brought the car to my guy and the generic codes were P1423 and P1421 = Secondary Air System, very general. So he went to his computer where BMW has more sophisticated software and punched in the codes. There were tips on there that pointed to specific areas to check and that’s how he quickly found the brittle vacuum hose