problems.... help

[ChrisK]

I have 60,000 miles on my 2000 323i.. I'm within 200 miles of inspection II which is going to be done monday. But I recently started having problems.
Sometimes, it will take a few seconds to start. It will turnover with no problem, but it will turnover many times before starting. Then after it's started it will seem to lack power. I will step on the gas and it will take much longer to accelerate than normal, then it will shift and start to take off. Almost as if it were trying to start from 3rd gear and then downshifting.
Occasionally it will die when I come to a complete stop, other times the rpms kinda bounces around at idle.. from around 500-600 rpms to 1000-1100 rpms..

Could this be a fuel problem? or maybe an intake problem? I do have a cold air intake on it though.

any help is appreciated

thanks

 

[Kirby]

I have not done a lot of troubleshooting engine problems on BMWs, but I have seen this several times on other cars. This sounds alot like a vacuum leak, especially the hard starting and rough idle, so your comment about an intake problem might be close to the mark.

Start off with the easy stuff - check for loose or cracked vacuum lines.

To make sure it's not a fuel problem, you can crank it, stopping just before it would start. Pull a plug or two and check for fuel moisture. If you see/smell fuel, it's probably not a fuel problem.

It could be a fuel problem, but usually things like low fuel pressure (bad pump) only show up above idle RPM. At idle, it's using very little fuel so pressure can be low and still run.

 

[ChrisK]

thanks for the help.. im just trying to get an idea of what it might be, and if its going to be expensive or if its something I can do before i take it in to the dealer.

 

[ChrisK]

also, there is only a problem sometimes.. other times everything is just fine.

does the service engine soon light come on if I'm within 200 miles of inspection? or might there be something else wrong? cause the light is on somtimes and not other times.. it seems i have all kinds of 'phantom' problems...

 

[bmwrocks]

I don't know about your model year, but on my '01 X5 and my '04 330 the SES light will come on if the fuel cap is not on correctly. Try reseating the cap. Or maybe the seal is wearing out. My X5 SES came on and I found it was happening after fueling. So I put the cap on more carefully each refueling (and instructed the wife to do the same) and I haven't had the light come on in a real long time.

 

[ChrisK]

well, i usually turn it twice to be sure its all the way seated.. however i did forget to put it on the other day and that happened... i'm not exactly sure how i forgot to do that...

 

[vlad]

Just for a silly suggestion out of the blue, have you checked the charge on your battery? May not have a thing to do with your prob, but it could be worth the few minutes to check out.

 

[ChrisK]

i can check it.. but i just put a brand new bmw battery in it a month ago.. and the car turns over effortlessly.. not slow or anything.

im not sure what vacuum lines to check or where they are located.. in my truck it was easy.. but im not that familiar with the bmw engine yet..

 

[BEEMIN]

Another strange - out of the blue - suggestion: I had very similar symptoms with my old 323i (all of the exact same except I did NOT experience any issues on turnover), turns out that my husband had been driving it the last 3 times it needed a fill-up and had put the lowest grade fuel in. I ran a tank of high-grade through it (chewed him out) and had no problems after that. Probably not it, but thought I'd mention it...

 

[ChrisK]

well, i put the highest grade fuel in always...

however.. today the problems are all mysteriously gone... I havent had a single problem or SES light.. everything works as normal... hmm

 

[ChrisK]

well, problem solved.. I just had the Inspection II service monday, with the exception of a couple belts and a hose they said my car was in good health. and with the state inspection added in.. i paid 1100.. then tuesday my SES light came on again. I took it in, they check it and said it was a single instance of the Camshaft Position Sensor. Which apparently sends information for the spark plugs, which explains the loss of power and bad idle.

 

[bmwrocks]

When you say the problem is solved, it sounds like they found the source of the problem but nothing has been done about it?

Did they replace the sensor? I mean it seems this could happen again if the sensor is telling the computer bad information.

 

[ChrisK]

well, i havent had it replaced yet, but i made the appointment

 

[bmwrocks]

Ok, sorry about that, I should have figured that was the case. Good thing we are keeping BMW in the service business. I have an appointment tomorrow for the X5 for one of those out of warranty inspections. I am hoping $500 but expecting $1000.

 

[ChrisK]

yeah, mine was about a 6 hour inspection, which adds up with their hourly rate.

 

[eztrojan]

So did the camshaft sensor actually fix the issue?

I've got a similar problem with my 04 330i ZHP. I've had the coils replaced and BMW seems to think that the problem is the computer programming that gives the ZHP 20 additional hp. They do not have an ETA on the fix, however. I'm worried they'll "fix" the issue by de-tuning it

 

[Richmond325CI]

I had a similar experience with my car in the first 10k, and it was a bad coil.

 

[Zchild]

I too have a 2000 323i and ran across some of the same problems you decribe. My problem turned out to be vacuum hose leaks, which caused my car to stall at traffic lights, run rough during idle and handle oddly. Once I got the vacuum hose leaks fixed the problems went away and I got my car back. I hope this helps... my problems started at 100,000 miles. It cost about $600.00 to corect the problems. Happy Motoring [driving2]

 

[BMW_FaNaTiC]

I too have a 2000 323i .... my problems started at 100,000 miles. It cost about $600.00 to corect the problems. Happy Motoring [driving2]

a 2000 WITH 100,000 MILES!!! MY moms 91 Mercedes has 105,000 Miles

9 YRS APART!

Do you do like 30,000 Miles a year? [|)]