New ignition coils & spark plugs issue

[Revnato]

Well, I've owned this truck less than a month and have run into yet another problem. I brought my truck to European Auto Source yesterday to have the ignition coils and spark plugs replaced (fuel injectors were replaced 2k miles ago). Before when I drove the car, I would get a check engine light / reduced engine performance under heavy acceleration.

Well, now I feel like something is very very wrong with the truck. Now that I replaced the coils/plugs, the car shakes like crazy when I'm at idle (and when I'm moving, its just harder to feel). It's a weird thumping feeling. I've never experienced a cylinder misfire, but I'm guessing this is what it feels like. Its thumping and shaking to the point where I had to call in and request the day off because I don't feel safe driving it.

Really disappointed in these trucks so far. I've owned an e46 m3 and e63 m6 before this truck and never experienced anything like this. Its just one thing after another with this truck. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this so I can actually drive the and enjoy the truck without my dash lighting up like a christmas tree. I'll keep everyone updated as I learn more.

[racermp]

did you scan the codes? what codes did you get before, and now

[frankenm]

Sounds like you have a misfire in one or multiple cylinders ...

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by racermp

did you scan the codes? what codes did you get before, and now

Yes they did scan codes before and after.

They found two codes:

1. Exhaust leak in cats. I was already aware of this one, I have catless downpipes I'm going to install once I can figure out why I'm getting a check engine light. I know this isn't causing the car to shake and thump though. I've had this exhaust leak since I bought the car.

2. Low turbo coolant levels. They checked and the coolant levels were full, so not sure why it threw a code there.

I know something went wrong with the ignition coils and spark plugs. The car never shook like this before they installed them. I know the exhaust leak isn't causing it so it's gotta be something related to the coils/plugs. I'm going to call them this morning and have the truck towed back there for them to figure out wtf happened.

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by frankenm

Sounds like you have a misfire in one or multiple cylinders ...

I think so too. I just pray to God that these guys didn't fuck up my new fuel injectors because those are really expensive.

[mirob]

I'm sure EAS knows better, but it's possible that they cracked one or more of your vacuum hoses while working on it. Those are really brittle. Also, it's not unheard of to get bad coils.

As racermp said, see if you can get any fault codes, especially misfire codes. If you get a certain cylinder, switch that coil with another one that is not misfiring and see if the problem follows it. That will tell you if you have a bad coil. Same could be done for the spark plugs.

If that is not the issue, it could be a faulty new injector...I've had that problem as well after it functioned properly for 6 months...I bring this up because I was doing something else and it happened randomly. I thought I damaged something unrelated but it turned out to be the injector giving up.

I know the frustration, a lot of us do. Good luck.

EDIT: Looks like I replied a little too late...BUT, sometimes it takes a while for the car to register the codes. I used to have to let it run until the SEL came on...it was painful to watch but had to be done.

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by mirob

I'm sure EAS knows better, but it's possible that they cracked one or more of your vacuum hoses while working on it. Those are really brittle. Also, it's not unheard of to get bad coils.

As racermp said, see if you can get any fault codes, especially misfire codes. If you get a certain cylinder, switch that coil with another one that is not misfiring and see if the problem follows it. That will tell you if you have a bad coil. Same could be done for the spark plugs.

If that is not the issue, it could be a faulty new injector...I've had that problem as well after it functioned properly for 6 months.

I know the frustration, a lot of us do. Good luck.

EDIT: Looks like I replied a little too late...BUT, sometimes it takes a while for the car to register the codes. I used to have to let it run until the SEL came on...it was painful to watch but had to be done.

Yeah this is really upsetting. Brand new fuel injectors 2 months ago, now new coils and plugs and its running way worse than it did before...

I'm going to have Tripple A tow it back to their shop today so they can scan for codes. From what I've read so far, it definitely feels like a misfire. And not just one cylinder misfire, but multiple. I can feel them, the car is just thumping and shaking around. Its a really strange feeling, I've never felt anything like it before.

What I don't understand is, it wasn't misfiring at all before I got the coils and plugs installed. In fact, I was debating even replacing the coils and plugs because the car was running fine and the reduced power warning under heavy acceleration happened very rarely. Now the car is all messed up...

All I know is, EAS better warranty their work/parts

[frankenm]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Yeah this is really upsetting. Brand new fuel injectors 2 months ago, now new coils and plugs and its running way worse than it did before...

I'm going to have Tripple A tow it back to their shop today so they can scan for codes. From what I've read so far, it definitely feels like a misfire. And not just one cylinder misfire, but multiple cylinder misfires. I can feel them misfiring like crazy, the car is thumping and shaking around like crazy. Its a really strange feeling, I've never felt anything like it before.

What I don't understand is, it wasn't misfiring at all before I got the coils and plugs installed. In fact, I was debating not even replacing the coils and plugs because the car was running fine and the reduced power warning under heavy acceleration happened very rarely. Now the car is all messed up...

All I know is, EAS better warranty their work/parts or else there will be hell to pay.

Injectors/Plugs/Coils with likely not take away that reduced power warning ... we have a diagnosis thread going to try and figure out the cause of this as it is common and so far we can't figure out why.

http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1260684

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by frankenm

Injectors/Plugs/Coils with likely not take away that reduced power warning ... we have a diagnosis thread going to try and figure out the cause of this as it is common and so far we can't figure out why.

http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1260684

Oh yeah James told me to post in the thread as well. I'll be sure to post in there about my experience. Hopefully I can get this all figured out. At this point I don't know wtf is wrong. All I can do now is wait until EAS figures out whats wrong with it. I think I already know the answer to this question, but is it safe to drive the car when its misfiring like crazy? EAS is about 40 miles away from me and I'd prefer to just drive it there instead of tow it

[mirob]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Oh yeah James told me to post in the thread as well. I'll be sure to post in there about my experience. Hopefully I can get this all figured out. At this point I don't know wtf is wrong. All I can do now is wait until EAS figures out whats wrong with it. I think I already know the answer to this question, but is it safe to drive the car when its misfiring like crazy? EAS is about 40 miles away from me and I'd prefer to just drive it there instead of tow it

I wouldn't recommend it, honestly. Mine was idling rough when I did my injectors...I'd have it towed if it's as bad as you make it sound.

EDIT: Hopefully you can recoup the tow charge if the fault is with them.

EDIT II: The only time mine ran that rough is after replacing the injectors, before they were coded. Acted like it was about to explode.

[frankenm]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Oh yeah James told me to post in the thread as well. I'll be sure to post in there about my experience. Hopefully I can get this all figured out. At this point I don't know wtf is wrong. All I can do now is wait until EAS figures out whats wrong with it. I think I already know the answer to this question, but is it safe to drive the car when its misfiring like crazy? EAS is about 40 miles away from me and I'd prefer to just drive it there instead of tow it

You are dumping unused fuel into the cylinder ...

Will the car make it ... most likely ... will it be ok ... most likely ...

Is it worth the risk ?

I don't think so

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by mirob

I wouldn't recommend it, honestly. Mine was idling rough when I did my injectors...I'd have it towed if it's as bad as you make it sound.

EDIT: Hopefully you can recoup the tow charge if the fault is with them.

EDIT II: The only time mine ran that rough is after replacing the injectors, before they were coded. Acted like it was about to explode.

Yeah thats the safest route, I'll just have it towed

Thats exactly how my car is acting, like its a bout to explode! I drove down the street to starbucks this morning and as I was sitting in the parking lot the car was jumping all over the place. thump thump thump thump thump. I just sat there thinking wtf is going on...

[m5 guy]

Good luck getting everything figured out!

Do you have a code reader that can pull everything? If not get the mycarly (bmwhat) app. Ii can pull all the shadow codes as well, not just the ones that make a light show up. It give the codes in proper bmw speak and can clear them all. Plus it does minor coding, registers batteries, etc.

[Revnato]

Still waiting to hear back from EAS, just got off the phone with them and they still haven't scanned the car for error codes. The guy I spoke with is trying to tell me that the reason I'm having these cylinder misfires is because of an O2 sensor (how tf could a faulty O2 sensor cause a misfire?)... I didn't argue with him I just said I'll wait to hear what error codes they find.

Do you think this is them trying to avoid having to warranty their work if say they installed bad plugs/coils or even worse, damaged one or multiple of my fuel injectors?

I guess I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions until I hear what codes were thrown... just seems odd for him to think a faulty O2 sensor is the reason my car thumping a shaking all over the place...

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by m5 guy

Good luck getting everything figured out!

Do you have a code reader that can pull everything? If not get the mycarly (bmwhat) app. Ii can pull all the shadow codes as well, not just the ones that make a light show up. It give the codes in proper bmw speak and can clear them all. Plus it does minor coding, registers batteries, etc.

Thanks man I appreciate it! I'm definitely going to check out that app. It's pretty annoying having to take the car to an indy shop or a dealer just to diagnose the issue...

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Thanks man I appreciate it! I'm definitely going to check out that app. It's pretty annoying having to take the car to an indy shop or a dealer just to diagnose the issue...

No problem. It's a two part solution. First you buy the app, which is around $50 or so. Then you buy their obd2 dongle from Amazon for whatever your phone is; android or apple. Price is another $75 or so. I recommend you buy theirs even though it's pricey because of the guaranteed functionality. I rather support them knowing that reading, clearing, coding, and registering will work than save a few bucks and possibly brick something.

Link to their site for further info:

http://www.mycarly.com/product/bmw-app/

I've been using it for years back when it was bmwhat and ran by the owner himself out of Germany. Now that he has sold to mycarly the product has greatly expanded. He is still part of it though so don't worry about that.

Btw another point worth mentioning is the app and device do not vin lock. You can use it on as many BMW's as you want.

[mirob]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Still waiting to hear back from EAS, just got off the phone with them and they still haven't scanned the car for error codes. The guy I spoke with is trying to tell me that the reason I'm having these cylinder misfires is because of an O2 sensor (how tf could a faulty O2 sensor cause a misfire?)... I didn't argue with him I just said I'll wait to hear what error codes they find.

Do you think this is them trying to avoid having to warranty their work if say they installed bad plugs/coils or even worse, damaged one or multiple of my fuel injectors?

I guess I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions until I hear what codes were thrown... just seems odd for him to think a faulty O2 sensor is the reason my car thumping a shaking all over the place...

I've had O2 sensor issues but the car DID NOT run rough and DID throw a code for the exact sensor that was at fault. Don't let them fool you, if it is an O2 sensor issue it will show it.

[Revnato]

Originally Posted by mirob

I've had O2 sensor issues but the car DID NOT run rough and DID throw a code for the exact sensor that was at fault. Don't let them fool you, if it is an O2 sensor issue it will show it.

Yeah turns out it wasn't the O2 sensors. Just some bad spark plugs that were causing the car to misfire. Luckily an easy fix that they covered

Decided to leave the car at EAS so they can install the catless downpipes, tune, and turbo blanket. Saves me from having to make another trip for the installs later on

So now the car has all new plugs, coils, and fuel injectors. Fingers crossed I stay check engine light free for a little while...

[mirob]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Yeah turns out it wasn't the O2 sensors. Just some bad spark plugs that were causing the car to misfire. Luckily an easy fix that they covered

Decided to leave the car at EAS so they can install the catless downpipes, tune, and turbo blanket. Saves me from having to make another trip for the installs later on

So now the car has all new plugs, coils, and fuel injectors. Fingers crossed I stay check engine light free for a little while...

Glad you got it sorted out man. Fingers crossed.

[Revnato]

Well that didn't last long.

It's another beautiful day in Southern California so I decided to go for a ride up Highway 1 in Malibu this morning. Just picked up the car yesterday from EAS, new coils, plugs, fuel injectors, catless downpipes, tune... the car felt like an absolute BEAST!

Unfortunately, during my drive the check engine light/ reduced power warning came on AGAIN under hard acceleration. Looks like my car is just another X5M with a mysterious check engine light. It makes me wonder... did all of these cars come from the factory with an OEM built in check engine light thats just always on??

Anyways, the mechanic at EAS said the vacuum hoses all look great. So its not the hoses, plugs, coils, injectors... WTF could it possibly be!?

[mirob]

Do you experience power loss? Recently, within the last 2-3 weeks, I've been getting the warning randomly (3-4 times) without actual reduction in power...

[frankenm]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Well that didn't last long.

It's another beautiful day in Southern California so I decided to go for a ride up Highway 1 in Malibu this morning. Just picked up the car yesterday from EAS, new coils, plugs, fuel injectors, catless downpipes, tune... the car felt like an absolute BEAST!

Unfortunately, during my drive the check engine light/ reduced power warning came on AGAIN under hard acceleration. Looks like my car is just another X5M with a mysterious check engine light. It makes me wonder... did all of these cars come from the factory with an OEM built in check engine light thats just always on??

Anyways, the mechanic at EAS said the vacuum hoses all look great. So its not the hoses, plugs, coils, injectors... WTF could it possibly be!?

Welcome to the club ... there are a few of us that have been trying to diagnose this issue for months ...

I just replaced my power steering pump and the initial testing my engine malfunction has not come back ... only time will tell though