[AcExSpades]

Hi everyone, I just signed up for this website seeing as how everyone is very helpful. I recently got my 06 325i in May of this year and as of now if has approximately 32K miles now. and everything was fine until winter came. I had my service engine light about 3 times starting in Nov., but they have gone away. I called my dealership and I have an appointment on the 3rd of Jan. Now, these are my questions and I will be asking all these in my appointment:

- Can they check older check engine service lights?

-There seems to be an absurd amount of smoke coming out from my car. It smells somewhat sweet(last time i did anything in the engine was change the washer fluid)

- RPM's idle at around 550. Is that good?

- Whenever at a light, or if I stop it seems like the car starts shaking and when it does I see the RPM's going lower as if it's trying to warm up mid way?

-Oil change wise, on the dash it says its OK with 3/4 of the way, but its been almost 4K miles since I haven't changed it, is it normal? I always thought it was every 3K miles?

Anybody has any ideas with the problems that I think I'm having? I would like to have some knowledge before I go to the dealership and they tell me some other stuff. any feedback would be greatly appreciate it because I really like this car, but with these problems I don't enjoy driving my car anymore.

[Marcumac]

I don't have answers to all of your questions, but here's the ones I can help with.

Originally Posted by AcExSpades

- Can they check older check engine service lights?

Yes, the dealer should be able to check one-time faults no problem.

- RPM's idle at around 550. Is that good?

Perfectly normal, these cars idle around 600 by design.

-Oil change wise, on the dash it says its OK with 3/4 of the way, but its been almost 4K miles since I haven't changed it, is it normal? I always thought it was every 3K miles?

BMW uses synthetic oil and only "recommends" changing it every 15,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first. The quantity of oil our cars holds is also much greater than most cars which is where some of this logic comes from. Most people on here, however, will recommend changing it every 7,500 miles.

[AcExSpades]

Thank you. I did not know about the oil. Damn that's crazy lol. Also when a car idles RPM wise is it the higher the better? or the opposite?

[ENINTY]

The smoke and sweet smell coming out of your car needs further explanation. Where is it coming from, the exhaust or from under the hood? Is the smoke white or black? A sweet smell usually indicates burning of coolant. If it is coming from the exhaust pipe, then that's probably not good and a compression check is in order to see if the head gasket is bad. 32K miles on a E90 325i is nothing, you souldn't be having any major issues unless the car was abused by the previous owner.

The idle seems a bit low, I think the spec is 650 RPM. The engine shouldn't shake at all when coming to a stop. You may have a vacuum leak or a coolant leak. If your engine is running correctly (from what you've said it doesn't seem to be) you can stick with the 15K oil change interval as long as you use BMW LL01, or equivalent oil and a use a OEM BMW or Mahle oil filter.

The engine control module will store all codes that throw the SES light and can be read by a OBDII or BMW scan tool at any time.

I'd get the car to a BMW mechanic pretty quick for a diagnosis.

[Chriztofor]

OP: I purchased my car used and after a few months the car would rpm fluctuate upon start-up. Try using Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner, that worked for me.

Here is the reason why, http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390060

[AcExSpades]

ENITY: Yes it comes from the exhaust and it does smell somewhat sweet(just smelled it again) and its white. I also called my dealership earlier and asked him about this and he also told me that at that mileage there should be nothing wrong, but hey that's my luck. I do have an appointment this Monday and I'll tell him all about this. My car is CPO'd until 2012 power train wise, so hopefully if i do have these problem i won't pay too much, but you never know.

Chriztofor: Thank you. I'll use it after they diagnose my car and before I change my oil .

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by AcExSpades

ENITY: Yes it comes from the exhaust and it does smell somewhat sweet(just smelled it again) and its white. I also called my dealership earlier and asked him about this and he also told me that at that mileage there should be nothing wrong, but hey that's my luck. I do have an appointment this Monday and I'll tell him all about this. My car is CPO'd until 2012 power train wise, so hopefully if i do have these problem i won't pay too much, but you never know.

Chriztofor: Thank you. I'll use it after they diagnose my car and before I change my oil .

Sounds like a bad head gasket to me. Open up the oil fill cap on the valve cover and see if the oil residue has a milky-white tint and texture to it. If it does, it indicates that coolant is getting into the crankcase and mixing with the engine oil, which is another sign of a failed head gasket. Also check the coolant level (when the engine is cold!) and see if it is low on coolant. At 32,000 miles your car shouldn't have low coolant (from normal evaporation), so if the coolant is low that indicates it is being consumed somewhere within the engine. The early N52 motors have one exposed headbolt that can break, but usually it doesn't lead to a blown head gasket. I'm sure the CPO warranty will cover the repair. Good luck.

[AcExSpades]

OK, So i took it to the dealer yesterday and for the repair it says the following

"Performed vehicle test and found FC 2A99 Stored. Performed related test module. As per test plan replaced vanos solenoi Diag code D1130-B0000000-03-001. Performed vanos solenoi bleed procedure. as per test plan performed engine oil service and reset CBS data. Performed quick delete on fault memory"

By this does this also mean they changed the oil? or what does "performed engine oil service" mean? also the message seems kind of cryptic to me since I don't know much of those terms, anyone care to help me out? I also seem to have rough idles when I brake and I read a thread about earlier and the "fix" was for the dealer to increase the idle RPM or something like that. anyone know more about that?

I only payed $50 BTW and got to drive a nice 328xi(godamn I want those head/tail lights)

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by AcExSpades

OK, So i took it to the dealer yesterday and for the repair it says the following

"Performed vehicle test and found FC 2A99 Stored. Performed related test module. As per test plan replaced vanos solenoi Diag code D1130-B0000000-03-001. Performed vanos solenoi bleed procedure. as per test plan performed engine oil service and reset CBS data. Performed quick delete on fault memory"

By this does this also mean they changed the oil? or what does "performed engine oil service" mean? also the message seems kind of cryptic to me since I don't know much of those terms, anyone care to help me out? I also seem to have rough idles when I brake and I read a thread about earlier and the "fix" was for the dealer to increase the idle RPM or something like that. anyone know more about that?

I only payed $50 BTW and got to drive a nice 328xi(godamn I want those head/tail lights)

I'm guessing here (since IDK what code 2A99 is), but it sounds like the Vanos wasn't working properly so they replaced the VANOS motor and changed the engine oil. To see if they changed the oil just check your CBS maintence for the engine oil service; it should be reset and showing 15,000 or more miles until the next oil service is due.

[e90pilot]

Looks like they just bled the vanos solenoid, not replaced the whole unit. Vanos controls valve timing and is controlled by engine oil and the car's computer. Looks like they drained the system and refilled it. Since they were probably opening oil lines, they just did an oil change anyway.

[Roowah]

Although I'm not a mechanic, I'm still concerned about the white smoke coming out of the exhaust and the sweet smell. As Eninty mentioned, that's an indicator of a coolant leak. Did bleeding the solenoid stop the smoke and sweet smell? I'm not sure how their repair correlates with that issue.

[e90pilot]

Originally Posted by Roowah

Although I'm not a mechanic, I'm still concerned about the white smoke coming out of the exhaust and the sweet smell. As Eninty mentioned, that's an indicator of a coolant leak. Did bleeding the solenoid stop the smoke and sweet smell? I'm not sure how their repair correlates with that issue.

You're absolutely right. AcExSpades, I would talk to your service guy and tell him you're smelling coolant for your exhaust.

[markfluko]

What ended up happening with the coolant being consumed? I have the same car and I am having the same problems. Idles low and shakes a little when stopped and my coolant seems to be slowly consumed.