Emission Warning Light
Discussion
The emission warning light came on (amber not red) a few weeks back at 29900 miles (never been on in my 14k miles of ownership), so took it to main dealer to have it sorted. NB This was not the EML light, despite the fact that BMW insist on describing it as this on the description of goods sheet. Also car does not have the BMW insured warranty.
I was told it was just a the throttle valve switch (part B13.63.7.840.383) and charged £181 for the test and fitment of the new part.
2 weeks and 200 miles later the emission warning light comes on again (amber) so I take it straight back and ask them to sort it because I didnt think they had done the job properly in the first place. I get a call a day or two later from the service dept to tell me that it was due to a faulty Vanos. The problem was diagnosed as a "defective Vanos adjustment unit". I spoke with the technician who told me that the previous actuator issue was totally unrelated to the latest vanos issue. Naturally I was sceptical, and told him that I found that hard to believe but would have to take his word for it as they were the experts. He confirmed that was merely a unfortunate "coincidence". Should be noted that the car had NO symptoms at all of any problems only the illumination of the light, ie both times when the light was illuminated, the car felt 100% normal to me with no strange idle, engine sounded fine and the car pulled totally normally.
Over £2000 later got the car back on Wednesday of last week having fitted part B11.36.7.838.161 - Cylinder head Vanos Unit.
Car now done approx 100 miles from picking it up last week having been "fixed". Yip you've guessed it, the Emission Warning Light is back on! Again the car sounds perfect with no signs of any issues apart from the illumination of the emission warning light!
Makes me think that both of the potential problems were not actually "faults" at all. Difficulty will be in proving anything!
Car is going back in tomorrow so obviously they are going to get both barrels but looking for some ammo/assistance prior to taking it back to them:
Few questions on the back of this:
1) Coincidence or not? Any way of proving this?
2) Does the illumination of the Emission Warning Light in amber sometimes signify a Vanos issue? Thought is it was an engine part it may have been the EML light.
3) Car has sounded, driven and pulled 100% normally throughout this experience. With the vanos fault described above - is there no obvious signs of a problem apart from the illumination of the light?
4) I take it I can ask for full job specs for the work carried out including full print outs of fault codes. Should the technicians carry these out more than once to double check?
5) Can I have the "faulty" parts returned to the dealership for me to have independently verified as faulty?
6) Any ideas what the problem might be this time!?!?!
Any other assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
I was told it was just a the throttle valve switch (part B13.63.7.840.383) and charged £181 for the test and fitment of the new part.
2 weeks and 200 miles later the emission warning light comes on again (amber) so I take it straight back and ask them to sort it because I didnt think they had done the job properly in the first place. I get a call a day or two later from the service dept to tell me that it was due to a faulty Vanos. The problem was diagnosed as a "defective Vanos adjustment unit". I spoke with the technician who told me that the previous actuator issue was totally unrelated to the latest vanos issue. Naturally I was sceptical, and told him that I found that hard to believe but would have to take his word for it as they were the experts. He confirmed that was merely a unfortunate "coincidence". Should be noted that the car had NO symptoms at all of any problems only the illumination of the light, ie both times when the light was illuminated, the car felt 100% normal to me with no strange idle, engine sounded fine and the car pulled totally normally.
Over £2000 later got the car back on Wednesday of last week having fitted part B11.36.7.838.161 - Cylinder head Vanos Unit.
Car now done approx 100 miles from picking it up last week having been "fixed". Yip you've guessed it, the Emission Warning Light is back on! Again the car sounds perfect with no signs of any issues apart from the illumination of the emission warning light!
Makes me think that both of the potential problems were not actually "faults" at all. Difficulty will be in proving anything!
Car is going back in tomorrow so obviously they are going to get both barrels but looking for some ammo/assistance prior to taking it back to them:
Few questions on the back of this:
1) Coincidence or not? Any way of proving this?
2) Does the illumination of the Emission Warning Light in amber sometimes signify a Vanos issue? Thought is it was an engine part it may have been the EML light.
3) Car has sounded, driven and pulled 100% normally throughout this experience. With the vanos fault described above - is there no obvious signs of a problem apart from the illumination of the light?
4) I take it I can ask for full job specs for the work carried out including full print outs of fault codes. Should the technicians carry these out more than once to double check?
5) Can I have the "faulty" parts returned to the dealership for me to have independently verified as faulty?
6) Any ideas what the problem might be this time!?!?!
Any other assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Its not an emissions warning light but a check engine light. Any issues sensed by the car will light it up. There are a whole host of problems that can cause it from a faulty thermostat to vanos failure and beyond.
You might get some peace of mind by investing £100 or so in a peake code reader. It plugs into the OBDII port in your car and will display the error codes stored. You can clear them off and see if they come back or just give yourself an idea of the problem before you take it to the garage.
Whilst it is unfortunate to get 3 faults in quick succession it is perfectly feasible and there is no reason to think that they are related. Whether you get a code reader or go back to the dealer, don't ignore it!
You might get some peace of mind by investing £100 or so in a peake code reader. It plugs into the OBDII port in your car and will display the error codes stored. You can clear them off and see if they come back or just give yourself an idea of the problem before you take it to the garage.
Whilst it is unfortunate to get 3 faults in quick succession it is perfectly feasible and there is no reason to think that they are related. Whether you get a code reader or go back to the dealer, don't ignore it!
It is referred to as an emission warning light in the handbook (E46 CSL). This is totally separate from the EML light which had never been illuminated but I understand that it can relate to non emission issues eg the actuator issue.
But Surely for 3 unrelated issues to occur in less than 300 miles isn't a coincidence?
Also I have subsequently been informed that a vanos issue would NOT cause the emission warning light to illuminate. Are you suggesting that this isn't the case? Cheers
But Surely for 3 unrelated issues to occur in less than 300 miles isn't a coincidence?
Also I have subsequently been informed that a vanos issue would NOT cause the emission warning light to illuminate. Are you suggesting that this isn't the case? Cheers
Edited by fergusgo on Tuesday 10th August 01:15
Edited by fergusgo on Tuesday 10th August 01:16
Sounds very similar to a situation I had about six years ago on my 323ci the engine light kept illuminating intermittently and the car would run rough. BMW replaced about three different parts (at considerable cost) and still couldn't fix it,their approach to it was replace parts till the fault is fixed instead of having the knowledge to look for it. So I took it to a local auto electricians who found and fixed the problem in fifteen minutes, it was a split vacuum hose!
If I were you I would be pushing hard for my money back, assuming you have paid them, then take your car to a decent independent.
If I were you I would be pushing hard for my money back, assuming you have paid them, then take your car to a decent independent.
oh dear... IMHO...looks like you've been taken to the cleaners...
on Z4s e85/86 that light comes on very frequently and is always related to o2 sensors.... I've had three in 26k miles and a BMW PUMA examination only for it to require another two weeks ago! There are four - 2 on inlet and 2 on exhaust.
on Z4s e85/86 that light comes on very frequently and is always related to o2 sensors.... I've had three in 26k miles and a BMW PUMA examination only for it to require another two weeks ago! There are four - 2 on inlet and 2 on exhaust.
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