I was driving home after dropping off a friend at his hotel....i decided to open up the M a little bit on an open road. I made it to 3rd gear at around 4900 RPM when i heard a sound that made me freak :eek:

i cant really describe it but i think it came from the engine bay and sounded as if the engine just hit the ground. All of a sudden the car stopped accelerating regardless of how much i hit the gas (RPMs didnt go up either). I thought it was my transmission so i eased it into 5th....once i hit 60mph it wouldnt accelerate anymore

needless to say, i was going crazy at this point. So i pull over and turn off the car for a few minutes (may not have been the best idea but i didnt know what else to do). It started up fine and didnt seem to have any problems the rest of the way home.

ANY IDEAS???

um a coilpack or engine mount?

DSC maybe?

Coil. Read the stickies.

DSC maybe?


ha - funny // could be either way, been mistaken before.

sounds like coils and limp mode.

ha - funny // could be either way, been mistaken before.

well it sounds like when i'm trying to give it gas in the snow where the car just cuts the power right? i need to do some looking up on these things you call coils. lol

well it sounds like when i'm trying to give it gas in the snow where the car just cuts the power right? i need to do some looking up on these things you call coils. lol

:facepalm:

Coils + limp.

^^^^^ im sure u see the problem now..coils are for sure ur problem

thanks for the help guys......

goodluck man, hope you can figure this out...

goodluck man, hope you can figure this out...

thanks brian, ill be looking to get my windows tinted within the next month or two -- ill give you a call

let us know what it is

did it sound like a WRX?

let us know what it is

ill try and remember.....gonna give my SA a call this weekend

did it sound like a WRX?

not sure....but it def didnt sound like an M3

so i took my car in to the dealer to find out what the %^* is wrong with it exactly (car went into limp mode right before i pulled into the dealer -- told them not to turn it off as no warning lights/codes were triggered)

they called me back and told me that the coil pack was not the problem then started to ask me a bunch of questions about my refueling habbits:

1) do i ever let the gas run low -- never let it get below 1/4 tank
2) what kind of gas do i use -- Shell V-Power (93 octane only)
3) cant remember the last one they asked

I had to leave my car there until monday so they can properly diagnose the problem

will let you know as soon as i hear

Ask them to change the coil pack and ur set.

Ask them to change the coil pack and ur set.

will do that when i speak to them tomorrow.....hopefully that will solve the problem

Had a similar problem last winter, I also use Shell V Power 93 Octane. Because of the weather in the Northeast, I don't drive the "M" a lot during the winter months. After sitting for about a week, the new ethanol based fuels attract water and quickly loose octane. Because of fuel problems I had experienced the prior summer with my boat, I started to add Star Tron Fuel Treatment (available in most marine supply stores) and Stabil (octain maintainer) to the tank of the "M" every time I fueled up; I've never had a "cut-out" problem since.

Had a similar problem last winter, I also use Shell V Power 93 Octane. Because of the weather in the Northeast, I don't drive the "M" a lot during the winter months. After sitting for about a week, the new ethanol based fuels attract water and quickly loose octane. Because of fuel problems I had experienced the prior summer with my boat, I started to add Star Tron Fuel Treatment (available in most marine supply stores) and Stabil (octain maintainer) to the tank of the "M" every time I fueled up; I've never had a "cut-out" problem since.

are you still adding it at every fill up?

did this only happen during the winter season? (my M was fine all spring, summer, and fall)

ok, so i just heard back from my SA and they told me that that they could not find anything wrong. Told me that the car went into Limp mode because the engine was starved of fuel (according to the computer--they cleared the code for me). But as i told them, i never let the car go below 1/4 tank. They said that it is possible that i have clogged fuel filter or fuel line.

they said that they test drove the car and it was performing fine. If this still continues i should bring it back in for a more detailed checkup of the fuel lines and fuel filter.

does that sound like BS to anyone?

Well...I was throwing engine misfire codes...took it to the dealer, and they blamed it on
my O2 sensors. Two weeks later, it started running like a go-kart. I KNEW it was the
coils based on the info provided by other forum members (Deilenberger, etc). I called the
dealer, and the same SA from the previous time said...sure, bring it in...but you'll have to
pay for the diagnostic AGAIN...I asked him..."Why, so you can blame it on the O2 sensors
again?" :roll: He just said they'd have to look at it...
I purchased and replaced all six coil packs for about $170 shipped from Tischer. Everything
is fine now. If you have to pay for the diagnostic, it's really not worth it. I replaced all
six just for good measure. I'm keeping the six old ones on hand in case another goes bad.

OP, is your car having difficulty accelerating? If not, a coil may be going, but not gone.
You can always wait until that happens...not that you have much choice given your dealer
obviously has no idea...

Well...I was throwing engine misfire codes...took it to the dealer, and they blamed it on
my O2 sensors. Two weeks later, it started running like a go-kart. I KNEW it was the
coils based on the info provided by other forum members (Deilenberger, etc). I called the
dealer, and the same SA from the previous time said...sure, bring it in...but you'll have to
pay for the diagnostic AGAIN...I asked him..."Why, so you can blame it on the O2 sensors
again?" :roll: He just said they'd have to look at it...
I purchased and replaced all six coil packs for about $170 shipped from Tischer. Everything
is fine now. If you have to pay for the diagnostic, it's really not worth it. I replaced all
six just for good measure. I'm keeping the six old ones on hand in case another goes bad.

OP, is your car having difficulty accelerating? If not, a coil may be going, but not gone.
You can always wait until that happens...not that you have much choice given your dealer
obviously has no idea...

on the initial startup, i notice it bucks a little bit when i accelerate but it eventually goes away. other than that, everything is normal (except of course when it goes into limp mode)

i might just replace the coil packs to be safe.....is it a DIY? if so how hard?

why cant you let it go below a 1/4 tank, is this a huge problem if you do what can happen?

on the initial startup, i notice it bucks a little bit when i accelerate but it eventually goes away. other than that, everything is normal (except of course when it goes into limp mode)

i might just replace the coil packs to be safe.....is it a DIY? if so how hard?

It's a sure sign coil(s) is/are starting to fail. Same symptoms my M had and was running on limp mode. #3 and #4 were failing. Got all my coils replaced by the dealership this Jan 2009 (8 yrs/unlimited miles as stated on SIB).

why cant you let it go below a 1/4 tank, is this a huge problem if you do what can happen?

i just choose not to let it go any lower than 1/4 tank to be easy on the fuel pump (not to mention that when i fill up the tank, my wallet doesnt seem to take too much of hit lol)

It's a sure sign coil(s) is/are starting to fail. Same symptoms my M had and was running on limp mode. #3 and #4 were failing. Got all my coils replaced by the dealership this Jan 2009 (8 yrs/unlimited miles as stated on SIB).

anybody have a link to the SIB.....i came across it the other day and forgot what i searched for exactly. Tried searching while i was at work today and couldnt find it

anybody have a link to the SIB.....i came across it the other day and forgot what i searched for exactly. Tried searching while i was at work today and couldnt find it

All I can find is the SIB (in text) in the stickies section: go to thread #6. Somehow I know somebody posted the SIB itself as a scanned attachment
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=172749

thanks

All I can find is the SIB (in text) in the stickies section: go to thread #6. Somehow I know somebody posted the SIB itself as a scanned attachment
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=172749

thanks

Yeah...but most dealerships (Crown BMW in Greensboro) suck as when it comes
to service. I had mine denied for some BS reason (O2) sensors...but it basically
boiled down to the fact that my car was modified. It wasn't worth the time to argue
for $150.

Coils + limp.

Ya-ya on coils & limp. Did the EML light on the dash come on? :shiftdriv

Ya-ya on coils & limp. Did the EML light on the dash come on? :shiftdriv

no, i did not get a warning light of any kind

can it still be the coils if no light came on the dash?

the dealer tried to tell me that the engine was starved of gas....told me to come in if it happened again to do a more "thorough" inspection. Shouldnt they have done that the first time?

check coil packs.