PMM’s high-flying fault finder Ben Johnson has recently swapped high-blood pressure for high voltage and ditched the Bavarian blue and white roundel for something a little more future-facing. As our unwitting optimistic soon found out though, the past is never far behind.   After returning from four months of parental leave, I found myself staring into the professional mirror and realising I ...

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PMM’s indignant investigator Ben Johnson explores why many modern cars sometimes give up the ghost, without even having the decency to explain why!  Modern cars are rubbish at failing properly. They no longer expire with drama or dignity. There is no bang, no puff of smoke, no heroic mechanical sacrifice. That sort of thing belonged to an era when ...

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Our diagnostics dynamo Ben Johnson is on the lookout for those little things that just don’t look right. It’s easy – when you know where to look! There are few sights more ominous to a mechanic than sitting in a modern BMW, pressing the climate control buttons, and watching absolutely nothing happen. Dead panel. No ...

The post BMW F30: Entertainment panel fix appeared first on Professional Motor Mechanic.

The PMM Awards return for 2025, highlighting the standout articles that shaped the year. Read on to see which features earned top honours! Who, what, where, when and why: Anyone will these are the essentials to building a compelling story. Establish the facts, bring the reader along with you and steadily heighten the drama until ...

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Ben Johnson investigates another “classic” BMW with engine running woes. Ah, the delightful symphony of an M70 engine’s running faults! It seems the universe has bestowed upon me a generous dose of these conundrums lately, as if my destiny is intertwined with the miseries of these engines. If you’ve been following my escapades, you’ll remember ...

The post Troubleshooting a BMW with engine running woes appeared first on Professional Motor Mechanic.

PMM’s petrol-powered private investigator, Ben Johnson, steps out of the shadows to solve the mysterious case of the battery who died a hundred times. When a 2006 BMW 650i Coupe shows up with a dead battery, it’s rarely just a case of the flat battery blues. Especially not when it’s been shipped halfway across the ...

The post Why BMW’s 2006 650i’s batteries were draining appeared first on Professional Motor Mechanic.

Will our herculean problem-solver Ben Johnson ever reach the Elysium of original equipment and willing customers? First, he must undergo the twelve labours of penny-pinching customers, aftermarket parts and rectifying dodgy repair jobs. There’s a certain tragic charm to a BMW F11 that’s seen better days. A luxury estate car once built to glide effortlessly ...

The post Suspension issue with a BMW F11 appeared first on Professional Motor Mechanic.

PMM ’s quasher of quandaries, Ben Johnson, rebuffs the naysayers and elects to keep things simple in the swap shop. In the world of modern diagnostics, it’s easy to get lost in the maze of systems, modules and communication networks that drive today’s vehicles. The BMW X5 M50d is no exception. Loaded with advanced features ...

The post How one sensor brought down a BMW X5 M50d appeared first on Professional Motor Mechanic.

The PMM Awards are back, celebrating the standout articles that defined 2024! Read on to discover who took home the top honours! Every month, the PMM team works tirelessly to produce a magazine that is informative, instructive and entertaining for our readers. It is important to us that you remain as engaged, whether that’s with ...

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Our over-worked wire wrangler Ben Johnson gets hit with a boomerang BMW – and with his speedos already packed for his holiday, it’s truly a race against the clock to get it up and running again… Every now and then, a case comes along that fries your brain so thoroughly that you find yourself contemplating ...

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