BMW 318i going into limp mode...

trixiebust

Hi guys,

I bought an 09 318i about a month ago, & this has happened about 7 or 8 times already. Yellow flashing warning light on the dash & very little power from the engine. When you pull over, take the key out & leave alone for a few seconds it disappears. Its always generally after a cold start too. Any ideas?

Four Phucs Ache

Get the codes read from a mechanic, it will be impossible to guess here. More than likely a sensor but its flashing for a reason.

It is 9 years old , you won't need to go to a dealership. Any competent or recommended mechanic will help.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

I bought an 09 318i about a month ago, & this has happened about 7 or 8 times already. Yellow flashing warning light on the dash & very little power from the engine. When you pull over, take the key out & leave alone for a few seconds it disappears. Its always generally after a cold start too. Any ideas?

does it seem to come on when your engine is under load or if you accelerate hard and sudden. It could be a sensor, but worryingly enough it could be the nox filter.

I'd get it checked out straight away as driving it with an issue like that will have horrible knock on effects.

trixiebust

Weirdly, there's a fücker of an s bend not far from my house, & it always comes on just after it.

Dropping from 5th to 4th for the bend, & trying to accelerate ( not too hard ) brings the light up on the dash. Car was immaculately cared for before me, so maybe it's my driving style & not being used to the car.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

Weirdly, there's a fücker of an s bend not far from my house, & it always comes on just after it.

trixiebust wrote:

Dropping from 5th to 4th for the bend, & trying to accelerate ( not too hard ) brings the light up on the dash. Car was immaculately cared for before me, so maybe it's my driving style & not being used to the car.

Yeah That's Not A Good Sign at all, engine is going into limo mode under load basically.

I'd guess that the nox catalyst is full or blocked.

At this stage man you really really should be getting it looked at.

If the cat gets damaged beyond repair your looking at a very expensive repair.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

Yeah That's Not A Good Sign at all, engine is going into limo mode under load basically.

I'd guess that the nox catalyst is full or blocked.

At this stage man you really really should be getting it looked at.

If the cat gets damaged beyond repair your looking at a very expensive repair.

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely get it looked at so. I only have the car for less than a month & even paid €200 to have it independently inspected before I went & bought it.

It was immaculately cared for before I bought it, timing chain done & all.

corks finest

trixiebust wrote: »

Weirdly, there's a fücker of an s bend not far from my house, & it always comes on just after it.

Dropping from 5th to 4th for the bend, & trying to accelerate ( not too hard ) brings the light up on the dash. Car was immaculately cared for before me, so maybe it's my driving style & not being used to the car.

Could he as simple as a brake light bulb out( happened to me on a fabia)bulb,and brake light switch ( under the brake pedal)

trixiebust

corks finest wrote: »

Could he as simple as a brake light bulb out( happened to me on a fabia)bulb,and brake light switch ( under the brake pedal)

No definitely not that. Light is now on permanently & will not go off. On revving the engine hard today at home, huge plume of black smoke from the exhaust.

Spoke to BMW mechanic, & he just said keep an eye on it over the next few days. It's booked in for a battery recall there next Tuesday.

Fücking gutted, only have the thing a month, & I paid for it to be independently inspected before I bought it.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

No definitely not that. Light is now on permanently & will not go off. On revving the engine hard today at home, huge plume of black smoke from the exhaust.

trixiebust wrote:

Spoke to BMW mechanic, & he just said keep an eye on it over the next few days. It's booked in for a battery recall there next Tuesday.

trixiebust wrote:

Fücking gutted, only have the thing a month, & I paid for it to be independently inspected before I bought it.

The light is on for a reason, I would not drive it still, even in your book it tells you straight to the garage.

No offense but you have a flashing engine light and you keep driving it till it stays on and then start revving the guts out of it, your doing yourself no favours here.

A sensor is a cheap enough job, but if you keep driving with something like that gone you'll do damage.

I wouldn't drive it all personnaly but if you absolutely have to, take it handy at least.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

The light is on for a reason, I would not drive it still, even in your book it tells you straight to the garage.

No offense but you have a flashing engine light and you keep driving it till it stays on and then start revving the guts out of it, your doing yourself no favours here.

A sensor is a cheap enough job, but if you keep driving with something like that gone you'll do damage.

I wouldn't drive it all personnaly but if you absolutely have to, take it handy at least.

I was only driving short distances the last few days, because I had to. Took it to my mechanic & he reckons when it's getting too hot the oil pressure is dropping & causing the light to come on.

He also mentioned a new catalitic converter at a cost of about €1500. He's keeping it overnight to try & regenerate & reset it.

Would I have any comeback with the guy who inspected it before I bought it? He passed the car with flying colours in his inspection.

corks finest

trixiebust wrote: »

jcd5971 wrote: »

The light is on for a reason, I would not drive it still, even in your book it tells you straight to the garage.

No offense but you have a flashing engine light and you keep driving it till it stays on and then start revving the guts out of it, your doing yourself no favours here.

A sensor is a cheap enough job, but if you keep driving with something like that gone you'll do damage.

I wouldn't drive it all personnaly but if you absolutely have to, take it handy at least.

I was only driving short distances the last few days, because I had to. Took it to my mechanic & he reckons when it's getting too hot the oil pressure is dropping & causing the light to come on.

He also mentioned a new catalitic converter at a cost of about €1500. He's keeping it overnight to try & regenerate & reset it.

Would I have any comeback with the guy who inspected it before I bought it? He passed the car with flying colours in his inspection.

That's hard lines boy,sorry,cars are a bitch at times,maybe not as bad as you think

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

He also mentioned a new catalitic converter at a cost of about €1500. He's keeping it overnight to try & regenerate & reset it.

trixiebust wrote:

Would I have any comeback with the guy who inspected it before I bought it? He passed the car with flying colours in his inspection.

I'd doubt its oil pressure that's got its own specific light.

They cat is the big worry like I said before. Regeneration is a patch though might work if it's only slightly blocked, which is why it's a bad idea to drive when light us on.

In terms of comeback you have none in a private sale, a dealer might help out but I'd doubt it and wouldn't blame them to be honest.

As for the guy inspecting, all he can see is obvious faults, no way to assess a nox filter in the cat in a visual inspection.

jcd5971

Just a small tip though, if you ever do get an oil pressure warning light on the dash for the live of god don't drive it like you have been doing otherwise its bye bye engine.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

Just a small tip though, if you ever do get an oil pressure warning light on the dash for the live of god don't drive it like you have been doing otherwise its bye bye engine.

Oh cheers for the tip, very helpful.

jcd5971

Sorry I re-read my post and it sounded a bit ****ty.

It really is a bad thing to do though it's generally a red oil lamp on dash.

Hopefully it is just a faulty sensor.

HappyAsLarE

It is possible that your cat(s) is blocked. BMWs run on a mix of petrol and oil, which blocks the cat.

A test for this is to remove the Oxygen sensor and let her rip, see if the engine returns expected power.

If your cat(s) is blocked, I recommend BM Modifications in Dublin. He will source and replace with second hand parts. Replaced both cats on a car for me for €350 all in.

trixiebust

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

It is possible that your cat(s) is blocked. BMWs run on a mix of petrol and oil, which blocks the cat.

A test for this is to remove the Oxygen sensor and let her rip, see if the engine returns expected power.

If your cat(s) is blocked, I recommend BM Modifications in Dublin. He will source and replace with second hand parts. Replaced both cats on a car for me for €350 all in.

Thanks, I'm in Tipperary but will travel if I have to. It's more the feeling of being had that gets me, the seller on Adverts had nothing but positive feedback & seemed very genuine. I will say that about that test tomorrow to my mechanic.

Does anyone know if those BMW readers would have like a timestamp or something to tell when the fault developed. I'd be very surprised if the light came only came on after I bought it.

Muscles Schultz

trixiebust wrote: »

No definitely not that. Light is now on permanently & will not go off. On revving the engine hard today at home, huge plume of black smoke from the exhaust.

Spoke to BMW mechanic, & he just said keep an eye on it over the next few days. It's booked in for a battery recall there next Tuesday.

Fücking gutted, only have the thing a month, & I paid for it to be independently inspected before I bought it.

Did you put petrol into a Diesel engine perhaps ?

jcd5971

Muscles Schultz wrote:

Did you put petrol into a Diesel engine perhaps ?

I doubt it, you'd see more issues and quicker.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

Does anyone know if those BMW readers would have like a timestamp or something to tell when the fault developed. I'd be very surprised if the light came only came on after I bought it.

Dunno but you'd have a job to prove it regardless

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

I doubt it, you'd see more issues and quicker.

That's what my missus thought too! No definitely not, I have been extra careful every time I've been filling it up.

It's just a waiting game & see what my mechanic comes up with tomorrow.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

I doubt it, you'd see more issues and quicker.

It is petrol.

BeanFlicker

Sounds similar to the issue with my '08 318i Coupe - loss of power for a few seconds, and then the warning lights appear for a few mins - re: ABS, Engine light etc

Is yours part of the recall? I've been waiting around 5/6 months for parts, BMW are saying no parts yet in Ireland to fix the problem - maybe ring a dealer with your VIN and see

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/bmw-to-recall-10-600-cars-in-ireland-over-stalling-risk-1.3490488

R.O.R

ED Petrol BMW and yellow light? Coils are the most likely issue - very, very, very common across the models around 07/08/09 (then everyone bought diesel after that).

Find a local BMW independant and they should be able to sort it in no time. Not sure of the cost though.

trixiebust

Well I got the car back from my mechanic & he confirmed it needs a new Nox converter ( €1850+VAT). There is also now a red oil pressure light showing on the dash too.

The front brake discs are also warped & the car is very slow to start from cold. He also maintains that there was numerous historical faults which had been cleared.

trixiebust

BeanFlicker wrote: »

Sounds similar to the issue with my '08 318i Coupe - loss of power for a few seconds, and then the warning lights appear for a few mins - re: ABS, Engine light etc

Is yours part of the recall? I've been waiting around 5/6 months for parts, BMW are saying no parts yet in Ireland to fix the problem - maybe ring a dealer with your VIN and see

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/bmw-to-recall-10-600-cars-in-ireland-over-stalling-risk-1.3490488

It's due in for a battery recall with BMW on Tuesday, but speaking to them on the phone, I was told the issues I was describing would have nothing to do with the recall.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

Well I got the car back from my mechanic & he confirmed it needs a new Nox converter ( €1850+VAT). There is also now a red oil pressure light showing on the dash too.

trixiebust wrote:

The front brake discs are also warped & the car is very slow to start from cold. He also maintains that there was numerous historical faults which had been cleared.

**** that's worst case scenario really.
This is going to sound mad but if it were me id consider just trying to trade it as is whatever you can get for it.

Your pro ably looking at 3k for that level of work.

I would say sórt the oil pressure issue first, that could be anything as simple as just needing an oil top up.

Also 1800 plus vat for a cat is mad you'll get far better prices with a good independent.

There's so much wrong with that car it's crazy. Was it bought from a dealer or a private sale.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

**** that's worst case scenario really.
This is going to sound mad but if it were me id consider just trying to trade it as is whatever you can get for it.

Your pro ably looking at 3k for that level of work.

I would say sórt the oil pressure issue first, that could be anything as simple as just needing an oil top up.

Also 1800 plus vat for a cat is mad you'll get far better prices with a good independent.

There's so much wrong with that car it's crazy. Was it bought from a dealer or a private sale.

I can't trade it or anything like it unfortunately, nowhere near in a financial position to pay for another car. I paid €4850 for it only 6 or 7 weeks ago, in a private sale.
But, I had paid €200 to an independent inspector, who passed the car with flying colours on his inspection. I only topped up the car with oil about 3 weeks ago too.

Pkiernan

trixiebust wrote: »

I can't trade it or anything like it unfortunately, nowhere near in a financial position to pay for another car. I paid €4850 for it only 6 or 7 weeks ago, in a private sale.
But, I had paid €200 to an independent inspector, who passed the car with flying colours on his inspection. I only topped up the car with oil about 3 weeks ago too.

Sue the inspector. He'll have liability insurance.

Leonard Hofstadter

If you're stuck for somewhere to bring it (or just want a second opinion - and from the sounds of things it would be no harm if someone else give you their 2 cent), I'd definitely suggest Fionnsport in Cork. I bring my BMW from Dublin to him because he is that good.

I certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert on these cars, but I do know those engines have problems with injectors and coils, and I've also heard of the NOx cat giving grief in them, it could be any one of those issues, or a combination of them.

A red oil pressure light is very worrying indeed, some BMWs have a problem with the oil pump but yours isn't one of them. That needs to be investigated for sure because as previously noted, even a few seconds with the red oil pressure light on can write off the engine. I personally wouldn't drive it until I knew it had been sorted.

I wouldn't be worried about it burning oil (within reason), many petrol BMWs can go though as much as a litre every 600 miles or 1000 km and certainly the older four cylinder petrol BMWs were notorious for burning a bit of oil as the miles piled on.

trixiebust

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

If you're stuck for somewhere to bring it (or just want a second opinion - and from the sounds of things it would be no harm if someone else give you their 2 cent), I'd definitely suggest Fionnsport in Cork. I bring my BMW from Dublin to him because he is that good.

I certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert on these cars, but I do know those engines have problems with injectors and coils, and I've also heard of the NOx cat giving grief in them, it could be any one of those issues, or a combination of them.

A red oil pressure light is very worrying indeed, some BMWs have a problem with the oil pump but yours isn't one of them. That needs to be investigated for sure because as previously noted, even a few seconds with the red oil pressure light on can write off the engine. I personally wouldn't drive it until I knew it had been sorted.

I wouldn't be worried about it burning oil (within reason), many petrol BMWs can go though as much as a litre every 600 miles or 1000 km and certainly the older four cylinder petrol BMWs were notorious for burning a bit of oil as the miles piled on.

Thanks,

I took it the a very good indy in Limerick, who was very knowledgeable. He reckons the car is basically worthless as is. It had a batty recall yesterday & there was red advisory warnings for suspension & yellow for rear tyres that need doing too.

It's a lovely looking car, that drives like a pig.

jcd5971

trixiebust wrote:

Thanks,

trixiebust wrote:

I took it the a very good indy in Limerick, who was very knowledgeable. He reckons the car is basically worthless as is. It had a batty recall yesterday & there was red advisory warnings for suspension & yellow for rear tyres that need doing too.

trixiebust wrote:

It's a lovely looking car, that drives like a pig.

Jesus sounds like you got caught with a wreck of a car.

trixiebust

jcd5971 wrote: »

Jesus sounds like you got caught with a wreck of a car.

I know. And the thing about it is, this guy I bought it from seemed so genuine I was in his house & everything. Made an appointment with a solicitor tomorrow, see what he says then.

Muscles Schultz

trixiebust wrote: »

I know. And the thing about it is, this guy I bought it from seemed so genuine I was in his house & everything. Made an appointment with a solicitor tomorrow, see what he says then.

You’re wasting your time and money going that route

corks finest

Bloody sickening thing to do,this country is officially gone to the dogs,twas bad when I was growing up,but now it's shagged

jcd5971

Yeah I think you've been had, but Ireland being what it is I don't see what comeback you'll have.

If it's a private sale your shagged.
Even the independent assessor is a hard one, although he's a cowboy as well tbh if he ran a diagnostic there's no way he would have missed all those fault codes.

I feel for you man I really do.

Leonard Hofstadter

Private sales are sold as seen, nothing you can do I'm afraid. With those cars if it is the injectors or something, it really could have been absolutely perfect when it was sold and then they go pop. BMWs can have this habit of being fine one minute and dropping you in serious trouble the next minute sometimes.

You may have some comeback if you believe the assessor missed something, but I think the first garage you went to didn't know what they were doing. That is the only route you can pursue in terms of compensation, you're wasting your time trying to go back to the seller.

I don't understand how a car can go in with a problem but come out worse (you said there was no red oil pressure light before, but afterwards there was).

I do feel very sorry for you OP, looks like you've been completely stung.

tcawley29

Any update here OP?