[Jords241]

Hi All

I understand this is a fairly common fault.

My BMW 2009 BMW 325i (65k miles approx.) started misfiring a few months back, then last week it lost almost all power while driving and the engine light came on, I took it to a garage immediately and replaced all 6 spark plugs, ran fine for a day then started misfiring again.

I did a diagnostic and it said cylinder 4 was misfiring so I replaced the coil pack and injector and let it cool down for a few hours. I turned the car on then last night after those few hours and it appeared to have cured the problem as even on a cold start it was running fine.

However, I turned it on this morning and it was back to misfiring with the engine light on and loss of power until after approx 5 minutes of driving it appeared to level itself out again.

I took it straight to the garage this morning where we changed around the coil packs to no avail and also tested them, to which they are all working fine. However, it has drawn up error code 30E9 which I believe is either the NOX sensor or potentially dead cat.

It is also producing a lot of emissions and envelops any car behind me, and the smell of fuel is thick in the air after accelerating even slightly.

Has anybody else figured this out? If so, how did you do it? Did you manage to get BMW to repair this on goodwill considering it seems to be a very common problem? Is it definitely either the NOX sensor or the cat or could it even be something else? If it is one of those two, is there any way of figuring out which it could be before I drop 300 quid on a sensor only to discover it was the cat all along.

Any help would be much appreciated ASAP as this is messing with my work routine and needs to be diagnosed and fixed soon.

NOTE: see comments for updates (NOX Sensor isn't causing the misfires)

Many thanks

[Dormermike]

Injectors..

[Jords241]

My apologies what do you mean?

I have replaced the injector for cyclinder 4 which was initially generating a fault for "cylinder 4 misfire". Now that fault code has disappeared and has been replaced with Code 30E9 - NOX sensor.

Are you suggesting replacing the other 5 injectors?

[Dormermike]

Yeah unfortunately I think you might need to. Do a search but it all depends on which index number you have. Index 11 being latest and mixed reports about whether you can actually use them with index 9 or earlier.

Someone is selling a set of six new ones in the for sale section I think..

[Jords241]

Many thanks for the advice Dormermike.

May I ask you to just explain the reasoning behind your advice to replace all 6 injectors when the code reads NOX, just for my better understanding.

[Dormermike]

Nox sensor won't cause misfiring

You mentioned that the misfire came back after replacing the injector. I guess I should ask which cylinder is now showing a misfire.. but my bet would be it's an adjacent cylinder because the actual faulty injector is still in the car. The leaking injector causes the other two to lean out too far causing a misfire.

[Will_460cs]

DID you code the injectors?

https://bimmerprofs.com/flow-rate-da...ing-injectors/

[Will_460cs]

Also, as suggested, mixing rev 11 within a bank is not supported, perhaps even within an engine.. (other revs are per bank)

Why did you change the injector and coil pack, I would have tried coil pack and spark plugs first as there cheap - do all 6 not 1.

[Will_460cs]

NOX sensor failure although common and might be present on your car won't give the symptoms you have (NOX failure = non ability to run stratified something you can verify in INPA and a very sooty exhaust).

it will be down most likely to the injector and coding used or not done.

[Dormermike]

Originally Posted by Will_460cs

NOX sensor failure although common and might be present on your car won't give the symptoms you have (NOX failure = non ability to run stratified something you can verify in INPA and a very sooty exhaust).

it will be down most likely to the injector and coding used or not done.

Precisely. I'd go as far to say that a failed nox sensor will hide coil pack or plug problems because the engine does not run stratified which is much leaner and needs better spark etc.

[AndyVR]

The code 30E9 will probably be a separate issue, and may of appeared anyway.
To clarify, the code relates to the NOx cat (captures NOx), which is a separate component tO the traditional CAT that converts CO & Hydrocarbons.

Have a read of Bimmerprofs.com - apparently the misfire detection is flawed on these engines. But also its recommended to reset fuelling adaptations (2nd group in INPA) after changing coils and injectors so the ECU can 'learn' from scratch.

If adaptations & injector coding doesn't make a difference, you might need to replace more injectors, one by one, until it runs right consistently.

Does it run ok when warmed up? I managed to cope with a bad/leaky injector for a while by holding the idle at about 1200rpm on a cold start, not the easiest thing to when pulling out of the drive but it stopped the misfires/fuel smell, once onto the motorway/main road the car has warmed up a bit and then ran fine. If I let it idle naturally then it would start to misfire and the idle speed would drop.

[Jords241]

Hi all, sorry my first post seemed a little idiotic but having now done more research I'm a bit more clued up.

I foolishly replaced only one injector (cyclinder 4) with an index 11, and also didn't code it.

To clarify, I did in fact replace all 6 spark plugs and had the coils tested, only one was malfunctioning electrically so I replaced that one.

I now know I'll need to replace the whole bank of injectors with index 11 or over, BMW have quoted me approximately 1600 pounds for the remaining 5 injectors and labour. That's ludicrous as I'll be better off purchasing the injectors myself for around 800 pounds, fitting them myself, and investing in the coding software.

I also cleaned the Vanos which hasn't provided any noticeable improvement.

Does anyone know if aftermarket injectors are any good? I could get FIVE BMW branded with logo injectors off Eurocarparts for 1000 pounds but there is somebody selling SIX aftermarkets for 820 pounds. What are your opinions?

Can anybody also provide a link to a good source of INPA software and OBD cable?

[Dormermike]

Frenchi on here was selling genuine ones I noticed in the UK for sale section. No affiliation.

[Jords241]

I'm in touch with Frenchi now. Little concerned at the lack of emblem as parts I've bought previously all bear the logo, and non-genuine parts seem to lack the logo due to Trademark law.

Anyone ever bought genuine parts from BMW that come without the logo?

[frenchi]

Just to make it clear...there is no such a think as NON Genuine N43/N53 injectors.

They are all made by Siemens VDO - Made in Italy. These piezo injectors are very complicated and somebody should invest a lot of money to make clones

You can find Siemens VDO branded in a VDO white box and Bmw Branded made by Siemens. They are all genuine. There is an unique coding index of 6 digits + a codebar that you can scan and check authenticity.

Regarding the BMW Logo on these you can check every google image and find by yourself that there is just a very few batch packages that comes with that logo:

https://www.google.fr/search?q=bmw+1...ih=735#imgrc=_

[AndyVR]

I got my BMW VDO N43 Injectors from Merlin Diesel Systems, £165 each delivered.(they also sell on ebay)

Never saw any 'Aftermarket' injectors, so be very wary of those.

The 'coding' of injectors is very simple, using INPA it's just typing in the numbers printed on the left side of the injector.

[Dormermike]

Does anyone know if coding of injectors in F series cars can be done with rheingold? Or must it be inpa?

[Jords241]

I'll be replacing my remaining 5 injectors and coding them over the weekend through INPA. Hopefully it solves the misfiring. Will update you all!

P.S. Thanks all for your great advice so far

[Jords241]

One last question sorry!

When I initially and foolishly tried to repair the car by replacing only one injector with an index 11, I didn't know I had to code it. Therefore, I didn't collect the codes before putting it in.

Do I have to take out that recently installed new injector, collect the code, replace the expanding seal and reinstall or is it possible to see the code without removing?

(I would look myself but the car has been stowed away in the garage until I can work on it Saturday)

[jamherber]

Originally Posted by Jords241

One last question sorry!

When I initially and foolishly tried to repair the car by replacing only one injector with an index 11, I didn't know I had to code it. Therefore, I didn't collect the codes before putting it in.

Do I have to take out that recently installed new injector, collect the code, replace the expanding seal and reinstall or is it possible to see the code without removing?

(I would look myself but the car has been stowed away in the garage until I can work on it Saturday)

You'll be able to see in the info on the side of the plastic top of the injector without removing it.

[AndyVR]

Originally Posted by Jords241

One last question sorry!

When I initially and foolishly tried to repair the car by replacing only one injector with an index 11, I didn't know I had to code it. Therefore, I didn't collect the codes before putting it in.

Do I have to take out that recently installed new injector, collect the code, replace the expanding seal and reinstall or is it possible to see the code without removing?

(I would look myself but the car has been stowed away in the garage until I can work on it Saturday)

It's tricky but possible, a torch will help, possibly a little mirror/magnifying glass too!

[Phil325i]

I wouldn't beat yourself up about not coding. My indy tells me the engine quickly 'learns' the new injector, and adjusts accordingly. When I changed mine, (I did code them) it was obvious from the previous codes held in the DME that those injectors that had been previously replaced (BMW recall) were never coded...