[DarkRider23]

This just started happening 3 days ago. I have a manual 325xi with about 68k miles on it. I have no problems putting the car in gear and the car doesn't feel like it has lost any performance, but sometimes, I get this loss of power in the car when I'm going slow.

This only happens when I'm the lower side of RPMs. For example, today, I was driving, took a turn in 3rd gear and during the turn I slowed down to ~20 MPH. Ideally, I would put the car into 2nd, but I didn't and gave it more gas to get it to a proper speed for the gear it's in and the car felt like it lost power to the wheels momentarily, then came back, then lost power again, and then came back again. It feels like my wheel slipped on some ice and the car stopped accelerating, then immediately gripped the asphalt ahead of it and it came back. That's the best way I can think to explain it.

Is this just a case of a bad manual driver (car not being in proper gear) or could something be wrong? The car still works perfectly fine whenever I drive around and am shifting properly. It only happens when the RPMs are a bit too low, but still in the acceptable range for the gear it's in.

Edit - If anyone runs into this problem, I found out what was wrong for my car at least. I couldn't recreate the problem after my post so I just assumed everything was fine. Today, I got up for work and when I started to drive away with the car it started vibrating quite a bit. Bought an OBD2 tool and got Error code P0305 which is cylinder 5 misfire. Guess I'm changing the spark plugs and hoping that's the problem. Could be a fuel injector too.

[DaanBMW]

Try cleaning out your Vanos solenoids, or solenoid as I think 325i only has 1. Valvetronic motor would be next suspect (more expensive).

[mike-y]

clutch slippage?

[longnvu]

sounds like your clutch is slipping

[DarkRider23]

Originally Posted by DaanBMW

Try cleaning out your Vanos solenoids, or solenoid as I think 325i only has 1. Valvetronic motor would be next suspect (more expensive).

Will try that this weekend.

Originally Posted by longnvu

sounds like your clutch is slipping

That was my initial reaction as well. Would having a hard time putting the car in gear while not moving be another symptom of a clutch going? It doesn't happen often, but the other day, I had to engage and disengage the clutch twice before the car would actually go into first.

Best money you can spend on this car is a Bentley Service Manual and the BT Tool (if getting INPA working is too complex for you)

Read the BMW specific codes and that will tell you what is going on with the car.

[e90pilot]

Originally Posted by DarkRider23

That was my initial reaction as well. Would having a hard time putting the car in gear while not moving be another symptom of a clutch going? It doesn't happen often, but the other day, I had to engage and disengage the clutch twice before the car would actually go into first.

That's a sign of a dragging clutch, but that is a common issue with BMWs. Mine does it all the time. To check your clutch, put your car in 1st (some people suggest a higher gear) while stopped and the brake set. With the brake still set, pull the clutch out and see if the car stalls. If it stalls, the clutch is still good. If it doesn't, you've got a bad clutch.

[DarkRider23]

Originally Posted by e90pilot

That's a sign of a dragging clutch, but that is a common issue with BMWs. Mine does it all the time. To check your clutch, put your car in 1st (some people suggest a higher gear) while stopped and the brake set. With the brake still set, pull the clutch out and see if the car stalls. If it stalls, the clutch is still good. If it doesn't, you've got a bad clutch.

Clutch definitely still stalls like it should.

Originally Posted by index1489

Best money you can spend on this car is a Bentley Service Manual and the BT Tool (if getting INPA working is too complex for you)

Read the BMW specific codes and that will tell you what is going on with the car.

Would this even help with it though? I'm not getting any codes thrown or anything when this happens, so it wouldn't help or would it? Thanks for the suggestion though. Didn't know about the INPA set up and I'll definitely be buying it now. I thought the only thing you could use was a BT Tool and I wasn't very keen on dropping $300 right now.

Oddly enough, I still haven't been able to recreate this problem in the past 2 days even though I've been trying to. I guess I'll just keep rolling with it until I notice it again. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[AlpineSwift]

Just curious but have you done the CDV mod yet? Not really directly related to this issue but it might aide in diagnosing your issue.

Are you getting any idiot lights when this occurs?

[DarkRider23]

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

Just curious but have you done the CDV mod yet? Not really directly related to this issue but it might aide in diagnosing your issue.

Are you getting any idiot lights when this occurs?

Nope, I haven't done the CDV mod.

And I just got my first check engine light today from the problem. Got a cylinder misfire while I was leaving for work today. I'm ordering new spark plugs and changing them as soon as they arrive. Hopefully, that's the problem.

[e90pilot]

It might be the coils. Those are usually more common.

[AlpineSwift]

/\ This.
Marcelo knows his $hit when it comes to these engines.

[DarkRider23]

Originally Posted by e90pilot

It might be the coils. Those are usually more common.

Thanks. Just ordered the ignition coil and will replace it when it arrives. If it still persists, I'll do the spark plugs.

[e90pilot]

Be prepared to replace the rest of the coils. Usually when the first goes so do the rest one by one.