E92 330i N53 cold start misfire
Discussion
Hi all,
About to send my 2009/59 E92 330i off for a service with an indy and the issue on the list which I can't clear up is there - the misfire from cold start. A sub-8C start with a cold engine gives you a misfire for the first minute of the journey, the oil doesn't need to warm up it's just the first few seconds where you notice it. First set of lights and the revs are hunting round and delivery is lumpy with slow acceleration. Problem has been there all the time that I've had the car, it's got no worse in the year and a bit which I've owned it. No symptoms when engine warms up and no problems with full throttle when up to temperature.
It's had the coil pack, injector and HPFP fixes from BMW. It's on 142k miles now but I bought it with full BMW history and in my ownership I've babied it. 9k oil changes, servicing aplenty and the rest. The fault does not trigger the EML, sometimes you'll get a fault code with a reader for combustion misfire but the cylinder varies.
I'm running 5w-30 fully synthetic oil but am tempted by 0w-30 / 0w-40. Logic is that as it's cold start at sub-8C which causes the upset maybe thinner oil when cold would help? 0w-40 is OK to use according to Opie Oils / friends / people on the internet and the -40 thickness when warm surely can't hurt (!).
My mechanic has checked the PCV and breather pipes, no problems there. Plugs were changed at 133k. I've tried bottles of injector cleaner and Italian tune ups, the car does a 2+15 or 8+9 mile commute each way but I use it for long journeys regularly (300 miles+) once or twice a month. Only other hunch is that as the N53 is a DI engine perhaps there's carbon build up. I can find plenty of N54 folk going for a walnut blast but I'm not sure if this is appropriate / required for an N53 or a wallet emptying mechanism. I'm also nervous that at 142k it would strip bedded in grime which is keeping the car happy.
In a nutshell (ah ha!) - could 0w-40 oil help and is DI coking likely to contribute to this?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
About to send my 2009/59 E92 330i off for a service with an indy and the issue on the list which I can't clear up is there - the misfire from cold start. A sub-8C start with a cold engine gives you a misfire for the first minute of the journey, the oil doesn't need to warm up it's just the first few seconds where you notice it. First set of lights and the revs are hunting round and delivery is lumpy with slow acceleration. Problem has been there all the time that I've had the car, it's got no worse in the year and a bit which I've owned it. No symptoms when engine warms up and no problems with full throttle when up to temperature.
It's had the coil pack, injector and HPFP fixes from BMW. It's on 142k miles now but I bought it with full BMW history and in my ownership I've babied it. 9k oil changes, servicing aplenty and the rest. The fault does not trigger the EML, sometimes you'll get a fault code with a reader for combustion misfire but the cylinder varies.
I'm running 5w-30 fully synthetic oil but am tempted by 0w-30 / 0w-40. Logic is that as it's cold start at sub-8C which causes the upset maybe thinner oil when cold would help? 0w-40 is OK to use according to Opie Oils / friends / people on the internet and the -40 thickness when warm surely can't hurt (!).
My mechanic has checked the PCV and breather pipes, no problems there. Plugs were changed at 133k. I've tried bottles of injector cleaner and Italian tune ups, the car does a 2+15 or 8+9 mile commute each way but I use it for long journeys regularly (300 miles+) once or twice a month. Only other hunch is that as the N53 is a DI engine perhaps there's carbon build up. I can find plenty of N54 folk going for a walnut blast but I'm not sure if this is appropriate / required for an N53 or a wallet emptying mechanism. I'm also nervous that at 142k it would strip bedded in grime which is keeping the car happy.
In a nutshell (ah ha!) - could 0w-40 oil help and is DI coking likely to contribute to this?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Thanks for the reply. I only fill up with Shell V-Power. I bought it on 126k in October 2014 and it's on 142k now so it's had many a tankful to clean it out. Two oil flushes and changes in the past year, with oil and fuel filters, at 133k and 136k (136k was a "let's do another flush" to hopefully cure the cold start upset). It's more annoying than serious but I'd love to diagnose the issue as a misfire does not inspire confidence.
sounds like it's over fueling and nothing to do with oil consistency. I very much doubt carbon build up would do this either.
Do you get black smoke out the back when this happens?
It could be a faulty coilpack which is taking time to kick in, wiring to the coil pack or possibly a duff injector, but these are unlikely if the problem clears quickly clears.
I'd suspect a faulty coolant temp sensor or MAF.
Do you get black smoke out the back when this happens?
It could be a faulty coilpack which is taking time to kick in, wiring to the coil pack or possibly a duff injector, but these are unlikely if the problem clears quickly clears.
I'd suspect a faulty coolant temp sensor or MAF.
Thanks nitrodave. No black smoke out the back. It's been consistently upset with cold starts over the past year, with the weather being perma-autumn at the moment you can have a 12C morning and a happy car and an 8C morning and 30 seconds of stuttering. I'll give 0w-40 a go for better winter protection but will stop pinning my hopes to this as a cure all - MAF and coolant temperature sensors are on my list.
SoupAnxiety said:
Hi all,
About to send my 2009/59 E92 330i off for a service with an indy and the issue on the list which I can't clear up is there - the misfire from cold start. A sub-8C start with a cold engine gives you a misfire for the first minute of the journey, the oil doesn't need to warm up it's just the first few seconds where you notice it. First set of lights and the revs are hunting round and delivery is lumpy with slow acceleration. Problem has been there all the time that I've had the car, it's got no worse in the year and a bit which I've owned it. No symptoms when engine warms up and no problems with full throttle when up to temperature.
It's had the coil pack, injector and HPFP fixes from BMW. It's on 142k miles now but I bought it with full BMW history and in my ownership I've babied it. 9k oil changes, servicing aplenty and the rest. The fault does not trigger the EML, sometimes you'll get a fault code with a reader for combustion misfire but the cylinder varies.
I'm running 5w-30 fully synthetic oil but am tempted by 0w-30 / 0w-40. Logic is that as it's cold start at sub-8C which causes the upset maybe thinner oil when cold would help? 0w-40 is OK to use according to Opie Oils / friends / people on the internet and the -40 thickness when warm surely can't hurt (!).
My mechanic has checked the PCV and breather pipes, no problems there. Plugs were changed at 133k. I've tried bottles of injector cleaner and Italian tune ups, the car does a 2+15 or 8+9 mile commute each way but I use it for long journeys regularly (300 miles+) once or twice a month. Only other hunch is that as the N53 is a DI engine perhaps there's carbon build up. I can find plenty of N54 folk going for a walnut blast but I'm not sure if this is appropriate / required for an N53 or a wallet emptying mechanism. I'm also nervous that at 142k it would strip bedded in grime which is keeping the car happy.
In a nutshell (ah ha!) - could 0w-40 oil help and is DI coking likely to contribute to this?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
I had the symptoms you describe on cold start about 2.5 years ago although at the time my car (2009 E61 530i) had only done 42K miles. After many things were changed by the dealer including coils, plugs, NOX sensors, Vanos unit etc a full set of 6 injectors cured the issue. How long is it since the injectors were replaced? I believe they have been updated a few times to try and get the N53 DI system working as it should..About to send my 2009/59 E92 330i off for a service with an indy and the issue on the list which I can't clear up is there - the misfire from cold start. A sub-8C start with a cold engine gives you a misfire for the first minute of the journey, the oil doesn't need to warm up it's just the first few seconds where you notice it. First set of lights and the revs are hunting round and delivery is lumpy with slow acceleration. Problem has been there all the time that I've had the car, it's got no worse in the year and a bit which I've owned it. No symptoms when engine warms up and no problems with full throttle when up to temperature.
It's had the coil pack, injector and HPFP fixes from BMW. It's on 142k miles now but I bought it with full BMW history and in my ownership I've babied it. 9k oil changes, servicing aplenty and the rest. The fault does not trigger the EML, sometimes you'll get a fault code with a reader for combustion misfire but the cylinder varies.
I'm running 5w-30 fully synthetic oil but am tempted by 0w-30 / 0w-40. Logic is that as it's cold start at sub-8C which causes the upset maybe thinner oil when cold would help? 0w-40 is OK to use according to Opie Oils / friends / people on the internet and the -40 thickness when warm surely can't hurt (!).
My mechanic has checked the PCV and breather pipes, no problems there. Plugs were changed at 133k. I've tried bottles of injector cleaner and Italian tune ups, the car does a 2+15 or 8+9 mile commute each way but I use it for long journeys regularly (300 miles+) once or twice a month. Only other hunch is that as the N53 is a DI engine perhaps there's carbon build up. I can find plenty of N54 folk going for a walnut blast but I'm not sure if this is appropriate / required for an N53 or a wallet emptying mechanism. I'm also nervous that at 142k it would strip bedded in grime which is keeping the car happy.
In a nutshell (ah ha!) - could 0w-40 oil help and is DI coking likely to contribute to this?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
idrussell said:
I had the symptoms you describe on cold start about 2.5 years ago although at the time my car (2009 E61 530i) had only done 42K miles. After many things were changed by the dealer including coils, plugs, NOX sensors, Vanos unit etc a full set of 6 injectors cured the issue. How long is it since the injectors were replaced? I believe they have been updated a few times to try and get the N53 DI system working as it should..
Thanks for the reply. Mine is running the BMW goodwill / recall injectors (according to BMW no further quality enhancements have been issued). Did you have multiple sets of fancy new BMW injectors under recall? Not sure when mine were done, perhaps I'm running an earlier injector version or perhaps the replacements do not last forever. Are you still misfire free with the replacement injectors?SoupAnxiety said:
Thanks for the reply. Mine is running the BMW goodwill / recall injectors (according to BMW no further quality enhancements have been issued). Did you have multiple sets of fancy new BMW injectors under recall? Not sure when mine were done, perhaps I'm running an earlier injector version or perhaps the replacements do not last forever. Are you still misfire free with the replacement injectors?
The dealer kept my car for a couple of weeks to observe the issue and took guidance from BMW UK replacing various parts (including coils done on the recall a couple of months previous when I purchased the car) Only when BMW finally sanctioned all 6 injectors could be replaced at the same time did the rough running cease. 2.5 years later still okay apart from a LPFP replacement 2 years ago. I still keep up my extended BMW warranty though.. ;-)I remember reading that BMW were stingy when replacing injectors, replacing based on manufacture date rather than part number, meaning some people had less than six injectors replaced. Maybe they replaced a few of mine but not all and there's an original (and now upset and faulty) injector in the mix. One for me to chase with the dealer and cross fingers that the goodwill policy still applies, pretty sure they've said previously that mine has already had the revised injectors though 
I understand there was only ever a recall / enhancement for coils not injectors. BMW were happy to replace lots of things on my car (including the full exhaust with CAT and Vanos system, HPFP, cam carriers etc etc) before finally replacing agreeing to do all injectors which I am sure was the issue all along so well worth trying to get to the bottom of if they have indeed replaced them all..
abarber said:
Have you checked if it has thrown any codes? A bluetooth ODBII dongle costs buttons.
I'm sure the dealers have, but I'd also want to check myself. It could help your discussions with BMW.
It only throws codes when an EML is triggered, I was hoping that it would have a background / no warning light code but there's nothing. Read at a garage with a fancypants OBD II scanner as my one doesn't get much info from the E92. The codes after an EML are combustion misfire on cylinder X (cylinder varies). Very rarely triggers an EML though.I'm sure the dealers have, but I'd also want to check myself. It could help your discussions with BMW.
idrussell said:
I understand there was only ever a recall / enhancement for coils not injectors. BMW were happy to replace lots of things on my car (including the full exhaust with CAT and Vanos system, HPFP, cam carriers etc etc) before finally replacing agreeing to do all injectors which I am sure was the issue all along so well worth trying to get to the bottom of if they have indeed replaced them all..
You are indeed correct - spoke to BMW this morning. Mine has had the recall for coil packs but that's it. I'll put injectors to the top of my list for the indy service. Thanks for confirming this. Can you remember if your injector issues triggered a particular fault code?As my car is six years old, on 142k miles and I've switched to indy servicing at 133k I'm well past any freebies from BMW (which is fair enough). Will post here if injectors are the magic fix. I'm guessing that being DI lean burn they will be mega money and as there's no way to test it could be a tricky one to track down!
There is no visual check for injectors. This chap offer a test service, http://mrinjectoruk.co.uk/BMW-HPi-Piezo-Siemens-C2... I haven't used him. New injectors also need the code saving in the engine ecu.
SoupAnxiety said:
You are indeed correct - spoke to BMW this morning. Mine has had the recall for coil packs but that's it. I'll put injectors to the top of my list for the indy service. Thanks for confirming this. Can you remember if your injector issues triggered a particular fault code?
As my car is six years old, on 142k miles and I've switched to indy servicing at 133k I'm well past any freebies from BMW (which is fair enough). Will post here if injectors are the magic fix. I'm guessing that being DI lean burn they will be mega money and as there's no way to test it could be a tricky one to track down!
Sorry I cannot help on the code as BMW read these although I do remember it highlighting one cylinder and then another. In the end though BMW could only observe the rough running with no codes being thrown after they had replaced everything else.. Hope you get it sorted - let us know how you get on.As my car is six years old, on 142k miles and I've switched to indy servicing at 133k I'm well past any freebies from BMW (which is fair enough). Will post here if injectors are the magic fix. I'm guessing that being DI lean burn they will be mega money and as there's no way to test it could be a tricky one to track down!
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