[CS1984]

Disaster. (Possibly!)

It's an 07 318i with 72000 miles on the clock. I've only owned it a couple of months and the engine warning light has come on this afternoon and there is a clear loss of power when shifting up.

I know it could be one of many things and of course I'm not expecting a full diagnosis but if possible could you please give me an idea of what I could be looking at here. How big, or small could it be? Is it possible it'll be an easy (cheap!) fix or is a problem like this always going to be biggy?

Cheers in advance...

[Phil325i]

So many possible causes. The only failsafe way is to go to a good indy and get your fault codes read. Takes the guesswork out of it!

[Russ.C]

You have pm

[CS1984]

Cheers guys, hopefully getting it checked out on Saturday so fingers crossed. So far I've had a flat and now this in the space of a few days and hardly even really driven it properly yet since I got it. I think this is called the law of the sod! Either that or I've been screwed by the previous owner.

[///M.aster]

Originally Posted by CS1984

Disaster. (Possibly!)

It's an 07 318i with 72000 miles on the clock. I've only owned it a couple of months and the engine warning light has come on this afternoon and there is a clear loss of power when shifting up.

I know it could be one of many things and of course I'm not expecting a full diagnosis but if possible could you please give me an idea of what I could be looking at here. How big, or small could it be? Is it possible it'll be an easy (cheap!) fix or is a problem like this always going to be biggy?

Cheers in advance...

Were there any other symptoms such as misfiring prior to the loss of power? Have you had any engine work done recently?
How is the vehicle used; daily basis for going to and from work? Lots of short journeys?

[CS1984]

Originally Posted by ///M.aster

Were there any other symptoms such as misfiring prior to the loss of power? Have you had any engine work done recently?
How is the vehicle used; daily basis for going to and from work? Lots of short journeys?

There was a couple of judders in first gear and once or twice it revved in idle for no reason before the warning light came on.

Anyway, I had it put on the computer this weekend and it showed up as a fault with the VANOS. However he told me not to panic just yet and cleared the fault and it's running fine again for now. Possibly could just be a one-off (no idea how) so I need to keep my fingers crossed really and give him a call if it happens again.

[CS1984]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread but I've only just had this problem sorted (possibly) but something the mechanic has told me doesn't seem to add up.

He's said it was either the motor or the sensor (on the VANOS). The vast majority of the time it's the motor so today he has replaced the motor. He's told me over the phone that after taking the old motor out and testing it, it was definitely faulty. So in theory that's the problem sorted.

The problem is, the warning light is apparently still on and the car is still running in limp mode. Now, he's told me that with BMW's it sometimes take a couple of days of driving it around for it to clear itself and it'll be back to normal. Fine. I'll try that. But he's also mentioned a couple of weeks ago that when it's in limp mode then the only way that can be sorted is for the fault to be cleared when it's plugged into the computer.

So I don't understand how on one hand he's said that limp mode/Engine warning Light has to be cleared through the computer, and on the other hand that it might clear itself this week after driving it around for a bit.

Has anyone heard that doing some driving can clear the warning light/limp mode after a part replacement?

[Mikex101]

Im by no means an expert but.

My 320i jumped into limp mode recently. Stopped car, started again (I knew the issue was temporary - water in the ebox) and the limp mode was gone, So his story re limp mode reset sounds like bull.

did he say how he tested the motor?

Vanos solenoids have a habbit of getting clogged, theres plenty of advice online on cleaning (either with air of fuel) they are very easy to remove (5 min job) PM me if you want any advice on removal.

If its in limp mode, I wouldn't be driving it. Tell him to clear the dam fault if he thinks he's fixed it. If he has, then the fault wont come back. If it does, then id suggest he hasn't fixed anything.

[CS1984]

Thanks Mike, appreciate it.

I'm not sure how he tested it, to be honest. When I spoke to him yesterday he mention it needs 3(?) inputs with different voltages to test it. He's done that today after removing it and says it wasn't running smoothly, kept stopping etc. I do believe him and he's been good over the years so I have no reason to believe he's trying it on.

I do however think there is a bit of blagging going on with this limp mode thing. I don't understand how driving it for a few days is just going to snap it out of limp mode and get rid of the warning light.

The next step though, if it doesn't magically get back to normal now this motor has been replaced, is the sensor. We'll see what happens but I just wasn't sure about his theory that BMW's sometimes need to be driven for a bit for them to reset themselves after a repair/part replacement.

[KM79]

Completely untrue,if the fault has been rectified and faults erased there should be no limp/ restricted power mode.

Kris

[Mikex101]

If the motor has been replaced and the code cleared but its still in limp mode, Its not the motor at fault.

have you had the codes read? it really is worth doing if you can.

[CS1984]

Okay cheers. Fault codes had been checked etc. BMW had told him that 80% of the time it's the motor, and if not then the sensor. So he did the motor today, confirmed that it was faulty and needed replacing. Looks like I'm going to have to get the sensor done too, though. Perhaps with someone else!

[nicktyler]

Sounds like a lot of hassle. I know how you feel. Take it to somewhere else and have the sensor replaced and the codes cleared. They shoudl dot come back on if the problem is fixed and they do not clear themselves.

[Mikex101]

Originally Posted by CS1984

Okay cheers. Fault codes had been checked etc.

What were the codes?

[CS1984]

I haven't got them on me, mate. I'll get them off him when I pick it up.

The whole thing's just pissing me off really. It's been over a month going back and forth, and now when I think it's getting sorted it's a case of "Yes, I've fixed it.....but it's still in limp mode and the engine warning light is still on"

.....so it isn't fucking fixed then, is it.

[Mikex101]

If you can get the codes they should atleast point you in the right direction. Sounds like hes just guessing and swapping parts until something works.

Had issues with mine too mate. It happens. A 37p piece of plastic nearly ended up costing me £1500 for a new ECU and all the associated keys coding etc.

[CS1984]

Fixed!

He replaced the sensor and it's back to life now. Took some time but we got there in the end.