HELP/INPUT Wanted: Engine malfunction error etc

[tokic_o]

Hi all,

So this morning, just another regular weekday morning I turn the car on after it has been sitting in the freezing cold (I am in Toronto, Canada) to drive to work.

I usually let the car sit on for 30seconds-1minute before moving it but today I was running late and just went. Right after I drove the car for not 1 minute my Engine Malfunction error pops up and the car goes into limp mode. The DSC malfunction also comes on AND the TPMS malfunction comes on (says cannot read TPMS).

Then basically my dash looks like christmas lights and everything says error (engine, DSC, TPMS, EDC) etc.

My reaction was WTF?! and I stopped my car immediately and shut the car off completely. I start the car back up instantly and every error/malfunction is gone and the car runs perfectly fine. It took me 50minutes to drive to work today and the car still ran fine all the way.

Now I am really confused as to WTF happened? BTW this EXACT same occurence has happened to my car once before and after I shut it off and turned it back on everything was gone. When I asked the mechanic about it he said there were no errors read from my car ?

Has anyone ever experienced this before? If so, what was the issue? My dealership says (as i noted above) they couldn't read any errors from my car since everything was gone after i shut the car off and back on...


oh not sure if this matters, but mine is a 2008 e92

[speedaddictM3]

Everything sounds like a possible throttle actuator malfunction, except the EDC error. That's unusual. The cars, including mine, do not typically get an EDC malfunction code when the throttle actuator fails. Strange that the dealer couldn't get any codes. There should be error codes stored. Maybe go to an indy shop and have it scanned again. If you have a laptop you can buy a K+DCAN cable, download free BMWLogger and get the codes yourself.

[Powerslide]

Actually everything you just described happened to me a few months ago - including EDC malfunction and all of your other messages. I immediately shut the car off, restarted it, and messages were gone.

Car drove completely normal for a few weeks afterwards - then same series of malfunction messages returned. I shut the car off, restarted it - and again - the messages disappeared and car drove completely normally. Nevertheless brought car in and sure enough - needed a new right throttle actuator - was replaced under extended warranty (normally about a $2000+ repair including parts and labor). Was at about 68-69k miles when this happened.

Sounds like you just need to take your car in to confirm this. Good luck!

[THE TECH]

My suggestion is to invest in a reader like the BT Tool so you can find out exactly what it is instead of guessing based on the on screen messages.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

My suggestion is to invest in a reader like the BT Tool so you can find out exactly what it is instead of guessing based on the on screen messages.

Agreed. Learn to diagnose and solve car problems the proper way instead of guessing and randomly replacing parts.

[tokic_o]

Originally Posted by Powerslide

Actually everything you just described happened to me a few months ago - including EDC malfunction and all of your other messages. I immediately shut the car off, restarted it, and messages were gone.

Car drove completely normal for a few weeks afterwards - then same series of malfunction messages returned. I shut the car off, restarted it - and again - the messages disappeared and car drove completely normally. Nevertheless brought car in and sure enough - needed a new right throttle actuator - was replaced under extended warranty (normally about a $2000+ repair including parts and labor). Was at about 68-69k miles when this happened.

Sounds like you just need to take your car in to confirm this. Good luck!

Car is at dealership awaiting diagnoses (although the initial test the SA ran with my key shows nothing... (great...))

Just wondering, if it is this issue you are referring to does anyone know if it is covered under BMW's Certified PreOwned warranty? My car still has the BMW CPO but the original warranty has ended a few months ago.