E46 330Ci Engine Warning Light

E46 330Ci Engine Warning Light

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Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Saturday 25th October 2014
quotequote all
This came on. Engine felt a bit hesitant at low revs. Otherwise ok (except for the flipping pinking which won't go away).
Garage did diagnostics and replaced a coil pack and lambda sensor. All ok for 48 hours...but now it's back.

Garage thinks it might be the cats but at a quoted £1200 (which sounds a rip off) I'm not keen to try unless I'm convinced that's the problem...which I'm not.

Never heard of this problem on the forum so would be happy to hear from someone who has experienced this.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Saturday 25th October 2014
quotequote all
I believe they are BMW parts, although the garage was rather disparaging about the quality - the coil packs in particular.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Saturday 25th October 2014
quotequote all
I'm on my second replacement set of coils and they've always been genuine BM parts. The garage was able to recover the cost of the coil under warranty.

The car hasn't been back to the garage (a BMW specialist) since the problem re-occurred but I'm not optimistic they will able to pin point the problem.

I've never heard of cat problems on the E46 so that is a real concern.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Sunday 26th October 2014
quotequote all
Steve - thankyou. Checked but all seems ok. MAF sensor was replaced not so long ago. Standard air filter has been replaced with a Pipercross panel filter but they shouldn't have anything to do with it.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
quotequote all
Thankyou to all for your help.

Back from garage. Fault codes show 'Catalytic converter efficiency' for both banks 1 and 2. Fault codes reset but will no doubt reappear in a day or two.

Cost of two replacement cats c. £1,250 incl fitting. Yikes.

This doesn't seem like a common problem for E46s. Car is not used for short journeys and always run on good quality super unleaded.

I will have to speak to a cat specialist to see if either the cats can be cleaned or there is a lower cost replacement available.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
quotequote all
Exactly what mine was doing. Replacement of coil pack and replacement lambda sensor has resolved uneven filing and poor response at low revs.

But the cat problem remains...

Garage advised definitely not Disa valve.

Argybargy

Original Poster:

250 posts

182 months

Wednesday 29th October 2014
quotequote all
The car is Now going really well since replacement of the dodgy coil.

Passed its MoT last month no problem so assume emissions ok.

Garage advises that further degradation of the cats will lead to progressive loss of performance - but this isn't evident at the moment.

Edited by Argybargy on Wednesday 29th October 23:23