How to remove EWS on a 1997 740iL BMW (by ramesh.rammohun at gmale dot com, spelled correctly)

Unfortunately, I lost the one and only remote key that came with my car when I purchased it in 2005.

Luckily for me, I had my original registration paper home. I took the registration along with my

driver’s licence and visited the dealer to order some new keys. I had three options:

(1) Wallet key

(2) Valet key (cannot open trunk and glove-box)

(3) Remote key

I opted for the 1 wallet key and 1 valet key as they around $60 each as opposed to $180 for the remote

key. All these keys have transponder in them, so only BMW dealer can cut them for you (but that has

changed as you will soon find out).The dealer informed me that every car has a maximum of 10 keys

that can be cut and that I had to be careful. If I happen to max out my 10 keys limit and needed new

keys to be cut, I would need to replace the entire EWS system. That’s quite true, until I came across

Zac from RPM Motorsport Canada (no affiliation to seller), recommended from Peter (bmw635).

For the last 5 years of ownership, I have been using the valet key as my daily use. It has worked fine

for me. The valet key by the way will not open the glove-box or the trunk. By recently, I have been

having an alarm issue with my car that required turning OFF the motion sensor with the remote key

(on Edwin’s recommendation, “..get a f**king remote key he said...LOL). In the middle of the night

the alarm will go off by itself. I don’t need to tell you the inconvenience of getting dressed at 3 in the

morning to go out and manually unlock the car and lock it again to cut the false alarm off. I looked into

the hood alarm switch, but that wasn’t the culprit. So I decided for convenience reason also that I

would need to order a new remote key for my car. I opted the dealer out, as the painful memories from

my previous visit there hasn’t subsided at all. They must have ran out of Vaseline every time I go

there. They once charged me $150 to tell me that they couldn’t code a used LKM in my car. That’s a

different story.

Since I had no history about how many keys the previous owner had cut for my car and didn’t want to

max out my key limit, I acted on Peter’s recommendation and contacted Zac at RPM Motorsport

Canada. After I told him my story about my key issue, he informed me that the BMW dealer was

correct in the sense that every car has a 10 key limit, but his company is able to delete non-active key

from the EWS module and re-write new active keys to the EWS module. He was also able to cut OEM

keys. So I decided that I would order a remote key from RPM Motorsport Canada. But for that, I

needed to send him my EWS module. Once they have my EWS, they register it in their database. In

case I need keys in the future, I just need to call him and he will cut them based on the information he

retrieved from the EWS module.

Zac’s company specialize in BMW electronic repair. They offer BMW DME Programming,

EWS Programming, BMW Keys, Airbag Controls Repair, and much more. Zac is an outstanding guy.

He has answered every single question I had and has been very helpful. I highly recommend him if

you need new keys or any BMW electronic repair.

http://www.rpmotorsport.ca/

Q has shed some light in my quest for location and removing the EWS module. As I understand,

depending on model year, the E38 can have a single EWS module or two separate unit called

transmitter/receiver module and a EWS control module.

If you have an EWS 3 module, it’s located under the steering column. If you have an EWS II, it has a

transmitter/receiver module located on the steering column...with the EWS II control module being

behind the glove-box (credit to Q for pointing this out).

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/774851

So here’s how to remove the EWS III module on a 1997 740iL.

All you need is a Phillips and a flat screw driver.

1. First remove the push retainer clips for the cover that right above the gas and brake pedal. Then

remove the three Phillips screws.

2. Then remove the two wood trim on each side of the steering wheel. You will need to unplug

the electrical connector as well.

3. Remove the cover located right under the steering wheel. It’s held in by 7 Phillips screws. Then

use a flat blade screwdriver to very slowly unclip the leather portion of that cover from the

steering wheel. You will have to grab the parking brake cable with your fingers, while holding

the parking brake release lever fixed, move to it to the left and unhook it. This will loosen the

cover completely so that it can be removed.

My cover had a few broken tabs. If anyone has a spare one for sale, please email me. I also had

a pucker dash problem. I decided to tackle that with some Gorilla glue and a few C-clamps. No

more pucker dash problem.

NOTE:

There are two different remote units for the E38 depending on year of manufacture.

Early production year came with the rubber style key, while later production year E38’s

came with the diamond shape remote key.

The battery on the rubber style remote key can be replaced by removing the rubber

cover.

The battery on the diamond shape remote key recharges via the ignition switch.

Charging the remote via the ignition is dependent on what model EWS you have. RPM

Motorsport Canada explained that EWS II don’t have the capability of recharging the

battery in the remote key. EWS III electronics were designed to recharge the diamond

remote key battery through the ignition switch.

I was fortunate to have EWS III module in my car, so I decided to purchase the diamond

shape remote instead on Zac’s suggestion. I personally find the rubber style remote a

little outdated.

I thought this information will be useful to those who own the rubber style key.

4. You will see the EWS module right under the steering column. The module is held by 2

Phillips screws. You need a very short Phillips screw driver to remove it.

I received my EWS module two days later from Zac along with my newly cut keys.

I plugged the EWS module back and following the instruction to program the remote. It works

like a charm. Oh the joy of locking and unlocking the car with the remote.

I turned OFF the tilt alarm sensor and will be monitoring if my alarm is still going crazy in the

middle of the night.

Addition:

(a) Steering column cover and pedal cover

(b) Steering column cover tab (pry slowly with flat blade screw-driver)

(c) Push rivet and screws

Q’s write-up/post regarding EWS location and info. TR-M & EWS II module locations: