BMW 318 - traction control issues

wersal gummage

Hi there,

I dip in and out of these threads a lot - read usually rather than post. Have noticed it mentioned a few times that there is a known issue with BMW traction control units ??? Saw it mentioned that it is a 1k euro fix but there are DIY kits available.

Anyway - I have a 2005 e46 318ci. the traction control/wheel spin light is intermittently coming on for a few weeks now. It is only orange - which i always take as a warning rather than an immediate danger. Assuming the traction control unit or whatever it is called is knackered (i know it could be something else or just a fuse or anything) - what is the worst that can happen ?? I dont have traction control ?? That really doesn't bother me. It is a heavy car with not a lot of power - I usually switch the traction control off anyway in any kind of wet weather.

I know best thing to do is bring it in for a check but I was planning on servicing the car myself in September when it is due a service (based on calendar - not mileage - i've put about 3k kms on it since last sept).

Thank very much.

kirving

Why do you turn it off in the wet?

Could it be just a wheel seed sensor acting up instaed of the whole unit? I'm sure someone else will confirm exactly what the light indicates.

If a faulty whhel sensor reported that a wheel was spinning, the car might brake that wheel, causing you to lose control. The sysem should disable itself to prevent the above happening, but you should still try to get it sorted if it's faulty, could come in very useful.

jhegarty

Does the light just flash or stay on for a while ?

JerCotter7

Remove the bulb and ignore it. No point in having it once you can control your foot.

wersal gummage

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Why do you turn it off in the wet?

There are two answers I suppose:

a) i'm trained to an advanced level and like to have control of the car myself... and

b) its fun!

Thank for the comments on a wheel sensor, will look into that. I'm aware that the actual unit might not be faulty at all - i've had warning lights go on many cars over the years and its yet to be anything serious.

jhegarty wrote: »

Does the light just flash or stay on for a while ?

It comes on and stays on generally. It tends to come on after driving for a short while and then stay on. Then when I start the car again it is usually gone again for a few days... I dont drive very often though and my trips are all short enough - so it may be that it would come on and off if i drove for long enough.

kirving

Ah right! Once you're happy enough with it off then it shouldn't be a problem!

skyhighflyer

wersal gummage wrote: »

Hi there,

I dip in and out of these threads a lot - read usually rather than post. Have noticed it mentioned a few times that there is a known issue with BMW traction control units ??? Saw it mentioned that it is a 1k euro fix but there are DIY kits available.

Anyway - I have a 2005 e46 318ci. the traction control/wheel spin light is intermittently coming on for a few weeks now. It is only orange - which i always take as a warning rather than an immediate danger. Assuming the traction control unit or whatever it is called is knackered (i know it could be something else or just a fuse or anything) - what is the worst that can happen ?? I dont have traction control ?? That really doesn't bother me. It is a heavy car with not a lot of power - I usually switch the traction control off anyway in any kind of wet weather.

I know best thing to do is bring it in for a check but I was planning on servicing the car myself in September when it is due a service (based on calendar - not mileage - i've put about 3k kms on it since last sept).

Thank very much.

I think these guys can rebuild the unit

http://www.ecutesting.com

PaintDoctor on here knows his stuff and he said there's a BMW kit to fix it for €300, he'll probably be along shortly.

As you say though, not much to worry about. I figure most of us driven cars without TC in our motoring careers and we did OK