[bavarianboar]

Hi all,

I have been posting about my car problems fairly often in the f30post than when I had an E90.

Long story short:

1. Ran out gas on the freeway due to bad fuel level sensor (~2-3 months back). Towed to the dealer, fuel tank and sensor replaced.
2. Car would drive ok but realized it was lacking power after it was 'fixed'.
3. Took it to another dealer I bought the car from, they 'fixed' the problem by saying there was something loose on the clamp in the exhaust (dealer1 would have detached exhausted during fuel tank replacement). Car seemed to drive as good as new. No error codes before that either.
4. Fast forward 3 weeks, the car is showing symptoms again of lack of power and torque. Feels like I am driving a fully loaded car and its underpowered. (A 328i drives better than my current 335i).

No error codes. If I did a 0-60 test it would fail to meet the times.

I can easily rev to 4K RPM just attempting to hit 45mph in Comfort mode. My driving style hasnt changed, neither am I being more aggressive. The power just seems to be low somewhere. At moderate to low speed the car seems to stall, as if downshifting too early. It seems jerky as soon as I let go off the gas at sub 30-35 mph

It is frustrating that I no more get the same 'joy' from the ultimate driving machine. I have been enjoying my car up until this fiasco happened.

Car is 2014 335i, bought in October 2013 with $9k miles on it.

Dealer is likely clueless and not convinced they can do much if the car does not throw error codes.

Thinking of calling BMWNA and raising this issue. It has been very frustrating to be paying for such a nice car and not getting any sort of performance. Even a 328d loaner I had for a while would shift better and feel more torque(y). Not even sure if this is a transmission problem or it could be vanos or something with fuel pumps.

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Any one else ran into transmission problems or noticing lack of power/pickup?

Thanks a lot guys!

[tturedraider]

"Dealer is likely clueless..."?? What does this mean?

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

"Dealer is likely clueless..."?? What does this mean?

Ok, great. I will try to explain the little confusion in the essay that I have written

Took a lot of explanation to the SA to convince them the first time around, that there was a problem. Then they found the loose exhaust clamp.

About 2-3 weeks later, I call them up again (this is last week) and he is like "if the car is not throwing error codes there is not much we can do at this point". It seems to me that I have to diagnose the problem for them. I could take the car in but they are 45 miles away which makes it less convenient. :-/

They have a good reputation for service in SoCal and also got the car ordered through them, which is why I keep going back.

[tturedraider]

With the car behaving as you describe you need to take it in and have them ride/drive it with you. It's their responsibility to figure it out regardless of whether it's throwing codes. If they can't then they need to get a BMWNA field engineer involved. Tell them it's theirs until they figure it out. Until then you'll be driving the loaner they are going to provide for you.

[SouthernBoy]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

With the car behaving as you describe you need to take it in and have them ride/drive it with you. It's their responsibility to figure it out regardless of whether it's throwing codes. If they can't then they need to get a BMWNA field engineer involved. Tell them it's theirs until they figure it out. Until then you'll be driving the loaner they are going to provide for you.

Agreed. I hate it when I hear stuff like this happening. I play a similar game with the service center every now and then.

[NOBLE MOTORCARS]

bunch of idiots, yea cause they freak out when their little thingy majiggy can't diagnose it and tell them what codes are being thrown...freak out and don't know what to do. its like they rely on that fully.

[chiefneil]

Yup, insist that a tech test drive the car with you.

[sygazelle]

Based on your description, it sounds like it could be a bad fuel pump. Have the dealer check it. If that dealer won't do it, find another that wants your business in the future.

Good luck.

[bavarianboar]

I am thinking of calling BMWNA directly and discussing this. Do you think that will ensure that a BMW field tech/engineer is involved?

Any recommendations on what I should be asking them to do?

[CE750Jockey]

Here's what ya do. When they try to tell you "it's normal", tell them to test drive it with you, and then immediately insist they test drive a new one from their inventory for comparison. If they can't fix it. Get the regional BMW guy involved. If not fixed after the third time, it's time to initiate Lemon Law procedures. By this time, they'll probably be offering you a deal to get you into a new car. But don't take "No" for an answer. You're paying a premium for a supposedly premium car. Stand your ground.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by bavarianboar

I am thinking of calling BMWNA directly and discussing this. Do you think that will ensure that a BMW field tech/engineer is involved?

Any recommendations on what I should be asking them to do?

No. They'll tell you to take it in.

[rjpeaks]

what dealer are you "dealing" with?

[bavarianboar]

I wish my car goes into limp mode or whatever, and the part which is not working fails instead of giving me these problems with no error codes.

I think I should still be careful in what I wish for. Let's see what happens.

[Mobster1983]

Originally Posted by bavarianboar

I wish my car goes into limp mode or whatever, and the part which is not working fails instead of giving me these problems with no error codes.

I think I should still be careful in what I wish for. Let's see what happens.

I think you should really be careful driving this. When you have an issue like you are describing, you can very likely blow the entire engine if you keep driving it. Although maybe that's the best bet to get you into a free new car.

I second what the others said about taking it to the dealer and test driving it with them. Actually talking to the tech is the way to go. If they say they can't find out what's wrong, as for the service manager to test drive it with you in it and see if he can tell the difference in power.

[nicknaz]

Get it on the dyno and do some 1/4 mile passes. If the power or trap speed is low bring it in as evidence of an issue

j/k

Agreed with the others. Get an SA to ride with you and ride in another of their cars on the lot to compare.

good luck.

For what it is worth, when my Z435 oil gets too hot the car will go into power reduction and the car will feel very slow. No codes are thrown and no warning lights come up on the dash. You could be be experiencing the power reduction associated with the auxiliary oil cooler

[ft1330]

It has also been my experience that you need to troubleshoot the issues for them. In fact, a lot of the issues were found reading this forum instead of taking it to a dealer. My belief is that the people working at a dealership, are rather poor technicians and are only really decent at following a BMW script. Those people that have the ability to understand, diagnose and fix an issue themselves are very rare and find themselves employed in more gratifying and higher paid positions...