Many CEL at once, then disappear

[sovietjet]

I have a 2008 E92, 64k miles, and have the following problem. I start the car and all of a sudden I have a whole christmas tree of lights come on. You can see them in the attachment (ignore the low wiper fluid one). After maybe 15-30 minutes of driving, they turn off if I turn the car off and on again. The only one left after that is the "Increased Emissions". That also turns off after another ~hour. The first time this happened I assumed there was a glitch or it was humidity related because it was raining hard. But it just happened 3 days ago again, and today again. These past 2 times I had been driving the car just 15 minutes before that with no malfunctions, stopped at the store, and when I came out they all came on. Now that this happened 3 times in the past 4 months I decided to ask here if anyone knows what could be the problem? O2 sensor? Or something else? It's hard to diagnose because they only last a short time and it goes away by itself. But it is annoying driving a crippled car during that time, plus I am concerned something actually IS wrong even if the lights magically go away. They are seemingly unrelated to each other as well. Any thoughts?

[kaede]

Have someone pull the codes and take a look. Most of the the our M3's will throw many different codes when the Throttle Body Actuators are on their way out. Have you ever have those replaced? At around 64k miles, it seems like those are due for replacement. Good Luck!

[sovietjet]

Hi kaede thanks for the reply. I have not replaced those. Is ~60K miles when they should be replaced? Looks like quite an expensive job. I also want to pull the codes but they disappear pretty fast. Within an hour usually. And they appear unexpectedly. Would any regular CEL check tool pull them or do I need something more special?

[Chris_08_M3]

Fault codes are stored in the ECU. You can easily pull them with an OB2 scanner. I bought one a Bluetooth one for $15 and downloaded the Torque app for free.

Here is a scanner from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Veepeak-Scann...&keywords=obd2

[kaede]

Originally Posted by sovietjet

Hi kaede thanks for the reply. I have not replaced those. Is ~60K miles when they should be replaced? Looks like quite an expensive job. I also want to pull the codes but they disappear pretty fast. Within an hour usually. And they appear unexpectedly. Would any regular CEL check tool pull them or do I need something more special?

For the many M3's out there, the Throttle Body Actuators go bad usually anywhere around the 60-100k miles mark. Some unlucky fellow might have theirs go earlier.

It IS a pricey replacement, the Part itself will run you around $1k each, and the S65 engine takes 2 of those baby. If one is failing, it is your best bet to just replace both as that will save you labour down the road (unless you wish to DIY. There is a good DIY thread here on the DIY section).

There is basically NO solution to this problem, some say its the gears inside the actuators that wears out and replaces the gears in hopes of increasing the longevity of the part, others say its the electrical components that gets fried after a while.

I simply have accepted the fact that the part is a wear and tear item and that will need replacement every 60-100k miles.

You should be able to pull the codes as mentioned and take a quick look. hopefully for you its just something cheap like a fuse or sensor, but honestly, by the experience of many who've posted similar issues, it has always seemingly been the Throttle Body Actuators on their way out. Cheers!!!

[sovietjet]

I checked the codes today.

1) P1628 - Throttle Valve Actuator Bank 1 Spring Test Malfunction
2) P2290 - Injector Control Pressure Too Low

So I guess the Throttle Body Actuator is on its way out? And maybe I should replace injectors? The car does fix itself every time but since it already happened three times should I just expect it to give out soon?

[kaede]

Mine threw codes for both banks sporadically and that lasted around 6-9 months before i stored the m3 for winter. After winter, the actuators completely seized so i had both of them replaced then.

I will hold back on the injectors as the Throttle Body Actuators can make many other parts throw codes/errors. Have the Actuators replaced, then wipe the codes. Drive it for a while then pull codes again. if the injector one comes back up again then have it checked. My bet is that it won't come on after the actuators are replaced. Good luck and Cheers!