very disturbing problem over the weekend

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by champee

Hi guys, i just bought a BMW X6 50i. I haven't even driven the car for up to 200 miles! Two days ago, i drove the car almost on an empty fuel tank. The fuel level was very low. Suddenly the 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' just came on! I don't know what could be the cause of this. Any idea guys? Please help. I'm really worried

Sound like a electric fuel pump problem to me.

It's kind of maddening but you'd think you would be able to use your entire tank of gas. The tanks are designed to keep a small reserve of a couple gallons but they really like to be bathed in a quarter full tank to keep them cool and lubricated, and sometime the reserve isn't enough.

Fill it up before you take it in to the dealer - be vague on the details of what happened.

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by champee

Hi guys, i just bought a BMW X6 50i. I haven't even driven the car for up to 200 miles! Two days ago, i drove the car almost on an empty fuel tank. The fuel level was very low. Suddenly the 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' just came on! I don't know what could be the cause of this. Any idea guys? Please help. I'm really worried

Have you checked that the fuel filler cap is securely on? Did you make sure it clicked at least twice when you put the cap back on after your last fill-up?

That's the most common reason for the 'check engine' light and it is NOT covered by your warranty if you need to bring the car in to get this checked out!

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by xDrive50i

Have you checked that the fuel filler cap is securely on? Did you make sure it clicked at least twice when you put the cap back on after your last fill-up?

That's the most common reason for the 'check engine' light and it is NOT covered by your warranty if you need to bring the car in to get this checked out!

OK xdrive I have to bite on this, so if you bring the car in and the check engine light is on and the problem is you didn't turn the gas cap tight enough . They are going to charge you ?

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by dmlgc

OK xdrive I have to bite on this, so if you bring the car in and the check engine light is on and the problem is you didn't turn the gas cap tight enough . They are going to charge you ?

Yep.

I think it is a minimum of half an hour labor what they charge you for this 'service'.

I think their reasoning is that they had to bring your car into the shop and hook it up to the computer to find out that you forgot to tighten the gas cap!


This is apparently the #1 issue for the 'check engine' light that they get service calls for!

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by dmlgc

OK xdrive I have to bite on this, so if you bring the car in and the check engine light is on and the problem is you didn't turn the gas cap tight enough . They are going to charge you ?

Also, I think if you called your dealership and told them that your engine light is on without giving them any further details why it came on, the first thing they will ask you is if you checked the gas cap.

[archwerks]

After reading up on the N54 engine from here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38856
I can see many opportunities for problems with the turbo system that can set off the warning lites. Certainly worth thinking about the maintenance upgrade pkg. when regular warranty runs out.

[quitethesnapper]

my truck has been at the dealer for three days, they said they reprogrammed the truck and DID NOT have to replace the fuel pump for my "engine malfunction, reduced horsepower" problem, WTF! do you think they are telling me the truth? does the fuel pump have to be replaced or not?

[teagueAMX]

What did the dealer say - I'm always curious? I've been reading posts on this forum for a few weeks now and taking your car to a BMW dealership for repairs always seems like a metaphysical experience where no one can tell what really happened in there.

I hope to have a Bimmer pretty soon, but that would also indicate that I have not had the fortune or misfortune (depends on your point of view) of having a BMW mechanic work on my car. Having set forth that disclaimer, the dealerships I have frequented (and they are few because I do my own repairs, even on electronically controlled cars) give me a rather in depth debriefing when they are done with my car.

In my experience, the problems you described would indicate an electric fuel pump problem, but I believe xDrive50i, dmlgc and archwerks suggested it might be something else, like a gas cap and to look for ECU codes. They are likely right because a car as complex as an x6 will be displaying patterns and since they have far more experience with Bimmers than I do, I would defer to them.

Is it running OK now?

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by teagueAMX

What did the dealer say - I'm always curious? I've been reading posts on this forum for a few weeks now and taking your car to a BMW dealership for repairs always seems like a metaphysical experience where no one can tell what really happened in there.

I hope to have a Bimmer pretty soon, but that would also indicate that I have not had the fortune or misfortune (depends on your point of view) of having a BMW mechanic work on my car. Having set forth that disclaimer, the dealerships I have frequented (and they are few because I do my own repairs, even on electronically controlled cars) give me a rather in depth debriefing when they are done with my car.

In my experience, the problems you described would indicate an electric fuel pump problem, but I believe xDrive50i, dmlgc and archwerks suggested it might be something else, like a gas cap and to look for ECU codes. They are likely right because a car as complex as an x6 will be displaying patterns and since they have far more experience with Bimmers than I do, I would defer to them.

Is it running OK now?

Well a "engine malfunction, reduced horsepower" problem is definitely NOT related to the gas cap. A loose gas cap (or if you forgot to put the gas cap back on) will simply trigger a 'check engine' light.

[quitethesnapper]

i will keep you guys posted when the truck is ready and i have the work order in my hand

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by xDrive50i

Well a "engine malfunction, reduced horsepower" problem is definitely NOT related to the gas cap. A loose gas cap (or if you forgot to put the gas cap back on) will simply trigger a 'check engine' light.

Sorry xDrive50i didn't mean to misquote you or the other guys. There had been some discussions about the gas cap, but that wasn't the jest of the overall discussion. Again, my apologies.

[xDrive50i]

Originally Posted by teagueAMX

Sorry xDrive50i didn't mean to misquote you or the other guys. There had been some discussions about the gas cap, but that wasn't the jest of the overall discussion. Again, my apologies.

NP. I just wanted to point that out for those that are doing a quick search on the net and stumble across this thread, so hopefully they don't get the wrong idea

[quitethesnapper]

sorry i haven't posted in a while, i did end up getting this fixed and it was all related to programming. the programming took almost two days! the dealer reprogrammed the truck and the problem hasn't happened since and it drives great. i will scan the work order and post it for your reference. xDrive50i how is the new 7 treating you?

[dmlgc]

Originally Posted by quitethesnapper

sorry i haven't posted in a while, i did end up getting this fixed and it was all related to programming. the programming took almost two days! the dealer reprogrammed the truck and the problem hasn't happened since and it drives great. i will scan the work order and post it for your reference. xDrive50i how is the new 7 treating you?

sounds about right they had mine for a couple days to reprogram it.