BMW 3 Series engine fault or manufacture fault ???? please advise -
Variant: 1.8 ES
Model Year: 2008
Categories:
Running Rough, Starting & Power Loss
I have a BMW 3.18 ES 2008 ,80k on the clock ,regularly serviced and mot`d ,maintained continously but recently -well what can I say and where do I start ???
In July 2013 after driving 60 miles and with no warning lights appearing ,while idling outside work the car appeared to lose all power .RAC man told me it was because I had run the AC while the engine had turned off !!! It refused to start and ended up being towed to a garage where I was told they thought the car was unable to cool itself down and there for cut out to protect engine -new sensors to tell the vents to open up and take air in -£ 295 plus vat .Car comes back to me and after driving another 40 miles while idling the car cuts out ,again towed to garage this time the saddle bag petrol tank had a fault and the pipes carrying petrol between the two and this would need to be replaced along with fuel sensors etc , £800 later I collected the car only for the exact same problem to occur the following day after being driven down the M25 .Angry and slightly hysterical by now ,car is towed again to garage who send to BMW specialists in Harlow .They keep the car for 5 weeks and say that no fault can be found so return to my own garage.Mechanic tells me that he has flushed entire fuel system but can not find the fault but what he has done is another £700 and by now the Car is starting and driving as normal until today. Car seems to struggle to get past 1000rpm and shudders when idling -feels like the car is losing power despite battery etc all being fine ? It also displayed a tap like image on the dashboard as the problem occured .What the hell is wrong with the car please ??? I have a child with additional needs and feel unsafe driving this currently -any advice would be greatly appreciated please ???
In July 2013 after driving 60 miles and with no warning lights appearing ,while idling outside work the car appeared to lose all power .RAC man told me it was because I had run the AC while the engine had turned off !!! It refused to start and ended up being towed to a garage where I was told they thought the car was unable to cool itself down and there for cut out to protect engine -new sensors to tell the vents to open up and take air in -£ 295 plus vat .Car comes back to me and after driving another 40 miles while idling the car cuts out ,again towed to garage this time the saddle bag petrol tank had a fault and the pipes carrying petrol between the two and this would need to be replaced along with fuel sensors etc , £800 later I collected the car only for the exact same problem to occur the following day after being driven down the M25 .Angry and slightly hysterical by now ,car is towed again to garage who send to BMW specialists in Harlow .They keep the car for 5 weeks and say that no fault can be found so return to my own garage.Mechanic tells me that he has flushed entire fuel system but can not find the fault but what he has done is another £700 and by now the Car is starting and driving as normal until today. Car seems to struggle to get past 1000rpm and shudders when idling -feels like the car is losing power despite battery etc all being fine ? It also displayed a tap like image on the dashboard as the problem occured .What the hell is wrong with the car please ??? I have a child with additional needs and feel unsafe driving this currently -any advice would be greatly appreciated please ???
Posted: Nov 15, 2013 (11 years ago)
After 5 weeks at BMW specialists and no fault found , why was car taken to another garage to have £700 spent on it and they then could find no fault either ? Having someone else carry out that amount on repairs / checking car , negates the BMW dealership of any liability .Unfortunately cars nowadays are quite complex , with the many sensors / computers on board and the only way to locate faults is to get a diagnostic scan carried out .With regard to the yellow light that looks like a tap , I thought that only applied to diesels .Unless it's the light that looks light an old oil can which could be possibly be likened to a tap , then check oil level .Really need to see it .Better to check your handbook on warning light .
Posted Nov 15, 2013 (11 years ago)
I have had this problem for three weeks now - apparently there is a Manufacturer fault that has caused a mass recall in the USA and Canada connected to an issue with the positive battery terminal. The car has cut out on me twice when driving at different speeds and also when parked locks itself down for around 5-10 minutes until it all comes back on line. It needs specific BMW tools to repair but they are not apparently accepting it as a UK recall yet because of the age of the cars. Mine is 2011. Chris
Posted Dec 10, 2015 (8 years ago)
This problem is archived
If you're having a similar problem please click below to re-post this problem, you can then customise it to suit your situation.
Join the community
Got a question? Can you answer other questions here? If so please...
More problems with the 2008 model year BMW 3 Series
We have 4 problems and solutions in our database for this model year of the car.
View all BMW 3 Series Problems
3 Series Recalls (64)
Parts mentioned