[E92chris]

For over a year I've been having problems with my 59 plate coupe it's now only done 38000 miles fbmw sh, I believe it to be the n53 engine (3.0l) I get 2 engine management lights come on (standard eml and one big half coloured in eml) Not always together.Its sometimes a rough idle when cold and the small eml comes on, this can go out if I stop start the engine! Then there's the other (big half coloured in) eml that appears not long after setting off occasionally and at the same time is a slight dip in power! This is easily cleared by stop and start the engine. Called Bmw and they said it was up to date on all recalls ie coils etc. I've took it to my Indy (non Bmw specialist) and had all 6 coils and plugs replaced that didn't fix it! Then 2 new injectors as it was throwing cylinder miss fire in cylinders 5 and 6 but still no luck! I've since gone to a BMW specialist who have coded the said parts to the car as they hadn't been done, still no joy so since then it's had a new nox sensor as it was showing a fault ( done by specialists) but guess what? That same night it had been done (last night) the large half coloured eml came on again! I have spent around £1k of my own money to sort the problem and am now at a loss of what to do? Is any one else getting the same problems as me? And any other suggestions as to what it could be? I'm thinking its time to get shut as its been the worst car I've ever had. Thanks in advance

[Ao1]

I have the same car on a 59 plate and also low millage. In the first year the coils, high pressure fuel lines and an oxygen sensor failed. Luckily all covered under BMW warranty. It didn’t inspire confidence, but touch wood it has been OK since.

The oxygen or NOX sensor could be the problem.

When the high pressure fuel line started to go (a known problem) I could hear an intermittent clicking type sound coming from the passenger foot well area. When the oxygen sensor started playing up you could see white smoke from the rear mirror under hard acceleration (unburnt fuel)

[Phil325i]

I suggest you need to find a BMW specialist who has the latest BMW diagnostic software which can detect faults with the engine running. I had issues (same engine) with no fault codes showing - but the diagnostic kit found the issue.

[E92chris]

I've no idea what's going on with mine as its just had a brand new nox sensor and still the problem won't go away! unfortunately for me I have no warranty and have up to now spent £1k to get to the bottom of it and still no luck! ??glad you've had better luck than me pal

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

I suggest you need to find a BMW specialist who has the latest BMW diagnostic software which can detect faults with the engine running. I had issues (same engine) with no fault codes showing - but the diagnostic kit found the issue.

Hi Phil, yeah I have mate they detected the nox sensor fault and replaced it, he seemed confident I wouldn't get anymore problems but the very same night I got the half coloured in eml , I look like giving them a call again, he's told me of all the problems these things get and how difficult it is to pin point the exact problem without replacing a lot of parts like coils, injectors, hpfp etc. It's becoming a nightmare mate tbh.

[dy63]

i thought these engines were voted the best ones on a recent poll?

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by cupraraj

i thought these engines were voted the best ones on a recent poll?

Put it this way mate if I knew then what I knew now I would have avoided one like the plague and saved myself lots of money and stress, or just told myself to get a warranty cos I was going to need it!

[rhysh1990]

My bet is leaking injectors. I had to all 6 of mine changed in the end along with the NoX sensor, luckily even though it was out of warranty bmw covered the cost of the parts as a gesture of good will so it may be worth asking. The injectors have about 3 different part numbers if I remember correctly so clearly they know there's issues with them. Mine would run rough and shake and even misfire as there was more fuel in some of the cylinders this would then shut the bank/cylinder down via the engine management, however if car was then knocked on and off the excess fuel would be cleared and the car would run sweet as a nut. I had 3 changed initially as this is all they detected As being wrong and would cover however 2-3 months later the same issues resurfaced and they agreed to changed the other 3 aswell although I had to pay some labour again. That was in March 2014 and touch wood I have had no other issues with it!
Rhys

[Aragorn30d]

If a light is coming on, the ECU has detected a fault, and will have logged what it is.

You need to get the codes read and find out what the fualt is.

The ECU even logs the mileage at which the fault last occurred, so you can see if its still happening after the last repair.

[Shafz325]

Originally Posted by cupraraj

i thought these engines were voted the best ones on a recent poll?

That was the N52/2.5L that was voted the best one not the 3.0 325i's N53.

Hope you get it sorted! Looks like a long process of elimination :/

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by Shafz325

That was the N52/2.5L that was voted the best one not the 3.0 325i's N53.

Hope you get it sorted! Looks like a long process of elimination :/

It certainly does mate! What I've decided to do is take out the Bmw comprehensive warranty but I'm not able to make a claim for another month so will have to soldier on with it until then, then let BMW deal with it, I've got the £100 excess so at least each trip will only cost me £100 rather than £300/£400 it's been costing me! And at least I'm then covered for the year if any other problems occur! I don't know what anyone else thinks of this idea?? I am running fast out of money, patience and ideas besides setting fire to it! I am at my wits end with it all.

[Not a Diesel!!!]

I have the warranty on mine. I go monthly @ £34 with £100 xs.

As you say its a process of elimination. Make sure if they don't fix it on each visit tell them asap so they put it under the same claim then you will only have £100 more to pay.

Bear with it great car with warranty in place (I think the same could be said of all modern BMW's)

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by E92chris

For over a year I've been having problems with my 59 plate coupe it's now only done 38000 miles fbmw sh, I believe it to be the n53 engine (3.0l) I get 2 engine management lights come on (standard eml and one big half coloured in eml) Not always together.Its sometimes a rough idle when cold and the small eml comes on, this can go out if I stop start the engine! Then there's the other (big half coloured in) eml that appears not long after setting off occasionally and at the same time is a slight dip in power! This is easily cleared by stop and start the engine. Called Bmw and they said it was up to date on all recalls ie coils etc. I've took it to my Indy (non Bmw specialist) and had all 6 coils and plugs replaced that didn't fix it! Then 2 new injectors as it was throwing cylinder miss fire in cylinders 5 and 6 but still no luck! I've since gone to a BMW specialist who have coded the said parts to the car as they hadn't been done, still no joy so since then it's had a new nox sensor as it was showing a fault ( done by specialists) but guess what? That same night it had been done (last night) the large half coloured eml came on again! I have spent around £1k of my own money to sort the problem and am now at a loss of what to do? Is any one else getting the same problems as me? And any other suggestions as to what it could be? I'm thinking its time to get shut as its been the worst car I've ever had. Thanks in advance

These cars can suffer and TBH can be a tricky customer to work with. If you've got a leaking injector for instance if you use a bore scope spec camera you'll see this on the suspected cylinder





a mist of fuel that'll be seen leaking in to the bore. On diagnostic you've got to be careful as you can get it wrong, common issues can be coils as well as plugs too, usual practice on these is to if you're looking at injectors is to change the plugs and coils as well, the other thing going back to injectors is to say that the later injectors need to be repalced in 3's as they'll suit bank 1(cyliner 1-3) and bank 2(cyliner 4-6)

As you say coild etc. have been replaced I'd of picked up on replacing 2 injectors however we'd never do that always repalce the entire bank at minimum and once injectors(ideally plugs/coils are repalced)hopefully gen BMW coils as we've seen had even Bosch coils supplied that don't quite fit 100% you'd go in to the ECU clear all codes and re set all adaptaions before you can say the job's finished.

All I'd say is that if you're still in the position you're in and the dealer hasn't managed to "conclude the fix" sometimes approaching a fresh enviorment with everything you've had done explained may well help, which is something we often get coming our way. Its interesting to see this sort of stuff, though frustraiting for the owner

Hope you find an answer.

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by old grey steve

These cars can suffer and TBH can be a tricky customer to work with. If you've got a leaking injector for instance if you use a bore scope spec camera you'll see this on the suspected cylinder





a mist of fuel that'll be seen leaking in to the bore. On diagnostic you've got to be careful as you can get it wrong, common issues can be coils as well as plugs too, usual practice on these is to if you're looking at injectors is to change the plugs and coils as well, the other thing going back to injectors is to say that the later injectors need to be repalced in 3's as they'll suit bank 1(cyliner 1-3) and bank 2(cyliner 4-6)

As you say coild etc. have been replaced I'd of picked up on replacing 2 injectors however we'd never do that always repalce the entire bank at minimum and once injectors(ideally plugs/coils are repalced)hopefully gen BMW coils as we've seen had even Bosch coils supplied that don't quite fit 100% you'd go in to the ECU clear all codes and re set all adaptaions before you can say the job's finished.

All I'd say is that if you're still in the position you're in and the dealer hasn't managed to "conclude the fix" sometimes approaching a fresh enviorment with everything you've had done explained may well help, which is something we often get coming our way. Its interesting to see this sort of stuff, though frustraiting for the owner

Hope you find an answer.

Thanks Steve very much appreciated mate

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by Not a Diesel!!!

I have the warranty on mine. I go monthly @ £34 with £100 xs.

As you say its a process of elimination. Make sure if they don't fix it on each visit tell them asap so they put it under the same claim then you will only have £100 more to pay.

Bear with it great car with warranty in place (I think the same could be said of all modern BMW's)

Thanks for the advice mate I would be sure to let them know ASAP if the problem continued, if what ever they try doesn't work I would know within the week for sure, it would be great if like you said I would only have to pay the one excess fee if it's back and forth for the same issue, is that how it works then mate I take it? I sure hope so. Thanks for your advice it's much appreciated

[ZeeWrath]

Not to put a damper on your plan but the warranty doesn't cover existing faults, so I wouldn't necessarily wait a month exactly before taking it in.

They also might use get outs if the coils/injectors aren't oem parts.

I'm not sure how the error logging works but you might want to get any past errors cleared incase bmw plug the car in and find out the eml light had come on months ago

[lifeofjono]

I'd recommend picking up the bmwhat dongle. Allows you to read and clear codes from your phone so if it happens while driving you can view what it is at least. Not too expensive either. Will save going to a garage to plug into their machine.

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by ZeeWrath

Not to put a damper on your plan but the warranty doesn't cover existing faults, so I wouldn't necessarily wait a month exactly before taking it in.

They also might use get outs if the coils/injectors aren't oem parts.

I'm not sure how the error logging works but you might want to get any past errors cleared incase bmw plug the car in and find out the eml light had come on months ago

Yeah mate it had crossed my mind about that, I've bought a code reader and clearer but it's only an eBay job just to clear the codes etc. But I've since done a little research and am I right in saying there are two memory banks? An active one that can be cleared and another one that still keeps all the codes? And only Bmw or Bmw specialist have the equipment to clear that bank! In regards to the parts used I know they had to order the injectors from BMW direct, but as for the coils I don't know so I will try and find out. If it's too much of a risk and I will only be throwing more money down the drain! I have 1 more week to cancel the policy and get a full refund. Thanks for your help mate

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by lifeofjono

I'd recommend picking up the bmwhat dongle. Allows you to read and clear codes from your phone so if it happens while driving you can view what it is at least. Not too expensive either. Will save going to a garage to plug into their machine.

Thanks mate, I've just purchased a code reader off eBay to read and clear the codes so I'll see what comes up when it arrives

[lifeofjono]

No worries if you've already purchased one. I chose the bmwhat one cause I always have my phone on me and the dongles tiny so you can just leave it your glovebox with out taking up space. In addition the codes where bmw specific too so could give a little more info than a generic obd2 reader. Plus it allowed me to easily code my power fold mirrors to close on lock and to beep on lock too.

Ok I'm gonna stop with sales schpiel now.

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by lifeofjono

No worries if you've already purchased one. I chose the bmwhat one cause I always have my phone on me and the dongles tiny so you can just leave it your glovebox with out taking up space. In addition the codes where bmw specific too so could give a little more info than a generic obd2 reader. Plus it allowed me to easily code my power fold mirrors to close on lock and to beep on lock too.

Ok I'm gonna stop with sales schpiel now.

Ha ha no worries mate thanks for the advice tho it's much appreciated

[E92chris]

Originally Posted by E92chris

Yeah mate it had crossed my mind about that, I've bought a code reader and clearer but it's only an eBay job just to clear the codes etc. But I've since done a little research and am I right in saying there are two memory banks? An active one that can be cleared and another one that still keeps all the codes? And only Bmw or Bmw specialist have the equipment to clear that bank! In regards to the parts used I know they had to order the injectors from BMW direct, but as for the coils I don't know so I will try and find out. If it's too much of a risk and I will only be throwing more money down the drain! I have 1 more week to cancel the policy and get a full refund. Thanks for your help mate

Up date on the coils and plugs and yes they were all genuine parts used! So that's one hurdle I hope! Lol.