03 325i cold start problem

[nandcbmw]

Has anyone experienced a rough idle for several seconds when starting the vehicle after an overnight cold soak? I have tried different gas stations and different fuel grades.

 

[Tom]

I've experienced this a couple of times in my M3. The problem went away after I switched back to 91 octane from 93.

 

[george]

same thing happend here..... it stopped when i started using shell. 91 octane too btw

 

[epj3]

My mom's minivan (and our other cars) do the same thing when you use 92 or higher. The engines are designed for a specific grade of fuel.

 

[nandcbmw]

I will have to try 91 I only used 93 and 89. Maybe that will make a difference. It is going to the dealership if that don't take care of it.

 

[nandcbmw]

I took the 325 to the bmw dealer after no octane level made a difference. They told me that the stumble on cold startt is a normal condition that is inherint to the vehicle. Has anyone ever heard of such crap or are they telling me the truth?

 

[mallards]

same here ... i was using 93 for a while and it would idle ruff for about 1-2 seconds when i started it up ... besides that there was no problem ....

now i use shell 92 or 91 (cant remember but not 93) and the slightly lower octane made that noise go away

hope this helps
Ben

 

[nandcbmw]

Good news for anyone out there who has experienced this problem I am talking about. I contacted BMW and the told me they have a new calibration for the ECM that should reach the dealerships soon that will take care of this condition. They told me alot of people have been complaining about it. I checked with my dealer and they told me they were aware of the calibration and they should receive it soon.

 

[MrElussive]

What do you guys mean by a "rough idle"?

 

[nandcbmw]

When you first started up in the morning for about 2-3 seconds it feels like the engine is misfiring. Some days it is will even cause an rpm drop that will cut the car off. That has only happend twice but if it sits for more than 8 hours it will basically shudder then level out in about 3 seconds if that makes any sense. The dealer gave us a loaner car that even did it and they showed us one on the lot that did it. It took a month before I got a responce about a fix. I will post again as soon as the dealer gets the software in and they fix it.

 

[bcoleman]

Software upgrade for idle problems

I have a 2000 238CI and I have experienced this dropping of the rpms when I idle after a cold start. This only happens when the temp is below about 45 degrees F. BMW service said that I needed a software upgrade which they gave me. The problem has gotten a tiny bit better but it still exists. Make sure to get the upgrade under warrantee or else they will probably charge you for the time to install it.