BMW 3 series owners, help!

[towernick]

Hey guys, on Sunday I got an "engine malfunction, reduced power" error twice. I brought it to the dealership today and just received a call from my service advisor stating they were still trying to diagnose the problem and they were going to keep the car overnight.

My car is a 2011 335i sedan with 38,500 miles on it. From the very little research I did, I thought maybe it was a lingering fuel pump issue, but the service advisor didn't mention that. I am the second owner and have had zero issues with the car so far. Any ideas, could it just be an error with the computer or should I expect a major issue. I'm still under my factory service warrenty so I won't pay for anything but if anyone has any ideas, i'm all ears. Thanks in advance.

[Challenger Deep]

Obviously something wrong with the engine block if you ask me. However one time, and i was a young boy but do remember it very well, we had a 3 series and were driving down the road and all of the sudden the engine died down and bogged. No power, no life. Thought it was the engine but found out that the transmission conked out. Could be a crack in the block, unlikely. Is it a turbo? I was once driving a german car, Mercedes and the thing just died, loss of power clearly and this car did not have a digital thing. It turned out to be the turbo had lost boost pressure.

So, could be if it's a turbo loss of boost pressure. Cars do drop dead and no power.
Could be a dead transmission, perhaps.
Crack in the engine block. Happened to a car of mine years ago. The car wasn't BMW but was a German engine block.

I hope that gives you something to consider, from my experience.

[GB-man]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

FWIW, I had a 2011 x5 50i with the tt v8 and around 30k in it started doing the reduced power malfunction. Very annoying and literally could have put me in danger on a few occasions.

They replaced the fuel pump and all the injectors ultimately. I had to bring it in 3-4 times and I felt like I had a lemon. All I can say is, be sure to buy an extended warranty if you are planning to drive it past 50k.

Best of luck

[GradyPhilpott]

You may find this to be of help:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=291279

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...%22&gws_rd=ssl

[bayerische]

It could be a thousand different things.

Impossible to say without reading the error codes.

Could be a bad vanos solenoid, vanos pump, the vanos itself, vanos line, a crank position sensor, a cam position sensor, O2 sensors, lambda sensor, mass air flow sensor, a faulty coil, the actuator etc. etc.

Don't worry, it will most likely be a small fault, just trying to show you "check engine" is a very broad warning signal, and reduced power is a security function, minimizing the risk of damage to the engine.

[Andad]

For car and m'cycle issues I visit the relevant Forums.

Much more information there.

[swatty]

Originally Posted by directioneng

For car and m'cycle issues I visit the relevant Forums.

Much more information there.

Sounds like the way to go.

If the op can supply some fault codes I could shed some light and yes fuel pump issues are common

[jmiicustomz]

Fuel pump or filter, vanos, or catalytic converter clogged are all common issues

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[SUBversive]

Hope it's not the vanos $$$. Good luck keep us posted.

[azguy]

It's all computerized they'll figure it out, relax, like you said it's under warranty.

Plus, do you really think some random guys on a watch forum will be able to trouble shot it

[towernick]

Thanks for the replies guys, should be hearing from the dealership soon.

[towernick]

Turns out it was the pressure converter.

[bayerische]

Told you, most likely a small fault.

[btinl]

I had that same error with my e90 335. They could never figure out what was causing it. I decided to sell it and pick up a f30 335 instead. Good luck.

[Laszlo]

Sounds like the HPFP - High Pressure Fuel Pump for your turbos. Extremely common design defect on the 3-series, especially for your generation. Also, for your information, BMW had to recall after pressure (no pun intended) from the NHSTA and this includes warranty coverage for the HPFP for 100,000 miles. I had a e92 335i w/factory aero-kit and had the pumps replaced three-times "engine malfunction, reduced power" within 10,000 miles... maybe even less. Anyway, hated the buggy car so much that it was traded in at a huge loss less than a year after purchasing it.

[Wesley Crusher]

Were you driving when this happened? How were you driving?

It could be the HPFP. Does your car hesitate to start? That's a common sign of your HPFP going out. Having said that, the HPFP issue mostly affected the older models with the N54 engines. I don't think it is too common with the N55.

It could also be that your oil temp is too high, though you need to drive fairly aggressively in order for that to happen. It's happened to me on a few occasions.

[Rock]

As Grady and Ed say, a comprehensive search of the relevant car Forums is the GO for any of these issues - if it's a problem, it will be there.
I love the Beemers but every time I read these kind of threads I think I must be crazy to even consider buying one. Every modern BMW model seems to have at least one characteristic 'bug' that afflicts it - mostly related to all the hi-tek electronics.
My brain keeps saying "Buy a Mazda".

[Wesley Crusher]

Originally Posted by Rock

As Grady and Ed say, a comprehensive search of the relevant car Forums is the GO for any of these issues - if it's a problem, it will be there.
I love the Beemers but every time I read these kind of threads I think I must be crazy to even consider buying one. Every modern BMW model seems to have at least one characteristic 'bug' that afflicts it - mostly related to all the hi-tek electronics.
My brain keeps saying "Buy a Mazda".

BMW makes reliable cars. As reliable as any other car, anyway. As all (and I mean all) manufactures adopt more and more technology, naturally there are more things that can (and will) go wrong over time.

The key is to buy a car with as few options as possible. Keep all the electric gizmos to a minimum.

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

BMW makes reliable cars. As reliable as any other car, anyway. As all (and I mean all) manufactures adopt more and more technology, naturally there are more things that can (and will) go wrong over time.

The key is to buy a car with as few options as possible. Keep all the electric gizmos to a minimum.

Wes, I used to have a 1971 Datsun 240Z in English Racing Green in mint condition that my Dad bought me when I was 17. This was after proving to him I could buy and own a car of my own which was a 1976 Honda Civic which eventually blew up. I'd do anything to have that car today. Simple, fast and superb looks. I really miss that simplicity. I miss my Dad too.

[rr-nyc]

It may be the fuel pump. BMW stocks plenty of them because they have a history of failing

BMW going into limp mode doesn't mean a major malfunction. It does so to prevent further damage to the engine if it happens to be a major malfunction but it can also be something as simple as a loose plug.

[Wesley Crusher]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Wes, I used to have a 1971 Datsun 240Z in English Racing Green in mint condition that my Dad bought me when I was 17. This was after proving to him I could buy and own a car of my own which was a 1976 Honda Civic which eventually blew up. I'd do anything to have that car today. Simple, fast and superb looks. I really miss that simplicity. I miss my Dad too.

At 17, you must have felt like the king of the world in that car! Th 240z is superb and one of my favorites, for sure. There is something really special about older cars. From a technical standpoint, they are inferior in just about every way compared to modern cars, but I think you feel more connected with it. Older cars have a raw feeling that you don't get with new cars.

Datsun was a wonderful company. I think a lot of people overlook the 500 (the BMW E30 of Japanese cars). And who can forget about the Fairlady 2000? Awesome cars!

[bullsfan]

Op, also have the dealer check the engine coils, I had a 2008 550i msport and I got the same warning, turned out to be those, replaced under warranty. As one of the other responders posted, it's a general error and could be several things, mine was fixed after a couple of trips to the dealer. I've had 4 bmw's and for all they have been great cars, you'll need to understand that because of all the systems they have running the car you'll get errors form time to time and most always go away on their own and the most serious can be diagnosed easily at the dealer.
You've got the best year of the 335 as BMW has fixed most all of the issues prior. I have a family member who is an engineer for them in SC and has told me a few things to check when I get a new one. He drives a 2001 740 sport and has almost 200k miles and has very little issues other than regular maintainence. Drive safely.


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[Scotswierdo]

Originally Posted by towernick

Hey guys, on Sunday I got an "engine malfunction, reduced power" error twice. I brought it to the dealership today and just received a call from my service advisor stating they were still trying to diagnose the problem and they were going to keep the car overnight.



My car is a 2011 335i sedan with 38,500 miles on it. From the very little research I did, I thought maybe it was a lingering fuel pump issue, but the service advisor didn't mention that. I am the second owner and have had zero issues with the car so far. Any ideas, could it just be an error with the computer or should I expect a major issue. I'm still under my factory service warrenty so I won't pay for anything but if anyone has any ideas, i'm all ears. Thanks in advance.

Was it wet by any chance?
Sometimes loss of traction at high speed will cause this message tempoarily.

The other reason and this is more likely - there was a recall on the 335i but I believe it was a year earlier than yours ( we had one) and it caused exactly this message. I had to pull over , switch off and re start and it was Ok
K again for a while. I have forgotten exactly what the recall was for but it was a quick fix at the dealership...they will know exactly what it was.
The thing that worries me here is this - I question if you dealer has even looked at it yet. The diagnosis computer would have told them immediately what caused this. Sounds like they ran out of time and have not even got around to checking your can yet. They would know what caused it if they had hooked it up to your cars computor. This does not wring true?
Good luck.


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[Passionata]

Drive the same car -x version -with the previous engine/ n54, many different issue can trigger this warning ,let the dealer working on it .hpfp isn t an issue anymore plus it has different symptoms .

[Passionata]

Originally Posted by Scotswierdo

Was it wet by any chance?
Sometimes loss of traction at high speed will cause this message tempoarily.

The other reason and this is more likely - there was a recall on the 335i but I believe it was a year earlier than yours ( we had one) and it caused exactly this message. I had to pull over , switch off and re start and it was Ok
K again for a while. I have forgotten exactly what the recall was for but it was a quick fix at the dealership...they will know exactly what it was.
The thing that worries me here is this - I question if you dealer has even looked at it yet. The diagnosis computer would have told them immediately what caused this. Sounds like they ran out of time and have not even got around to checking your can yet. They would know what caused it if they had hooked it up to your cars computor. This does not wring true?
Good luck.


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N54 had recalls on high pressure fuel pump and on injector replacements so far.n55 the new engine has issues too .the diagnostic can help a lot to the service however different failures can trigger the same symptoms so theyshould figure it out what is the real issue.

[towernick]

Originally Posted by Scotswierdo

Was it wet by any chance?
Sometimes loss of traction at high speed will cause this message tempoarily.

The other reason and this is more likely - there was a recall on the 335i but I believe it was a year earlier than yours ( we had one) and it caused exactly this message. I had to pull over , switch off and re start and it was Ok
K again for a while. I have forgotten exactly what the recall was for but it was a quick fix at the dealership...they will know exactly what it was.
The thing that worries me here is this - I question if you dealer has even looked at it yet. The diagnosis computer would have told them immediately what caused this. Sounds like they ran out of time and have not even got around to checking your can yet. They would know what caused it if they had hooked it up to your cars computor. This does not wring true?
Good luck.

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Wasn't wet, can remember the last time it rained here in Los Angeles. It turned out to be the "pressure converter" and it was fixed under warranty.

[Scotswierdo]

Originally Posted by Passionata

N54 had recalls on high pressure fuel pump and on injector replacements so far.n55 the new engine has issues too .the diagnostic can help a lot to the service however different failures can trigger the same symptoms so theyshould figure it out what is the real issue.

Yes that was it...thanks!


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[Beek]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

I really miss that simplicity.

Same here. Give me a simple well engineered car, an engine with a bit of power and rear wheel drive and you won't hear me complain...

[Passionata]

A Vette?

[rouxeny]

I highly recommend never owning a BMW outside of warranty.

My 08 M3 with 29,000 miles has needed a new condenser for the last 3k miles. $4k bill to take out the entire dash, to replace a part that's not supposed to break.

No AC in the midst of summer stinks.