E46 2003 318i hesitation and lack of power when cold.
Discussion
I have a 2003 facelift 318i e46, when pulling out of a junction in first gear the car sometimes bogs down and I have no power, the revs won't rise at all and I virtually stop.
Sometimes it then jerks and then I get reduced power and can move on. Other times I have to turn the ignition on and off to get moving again.
It only happens in the morning when the car is cold and happens about half a mile from my house - I always know at which junction it will happen and it's the first point where I have to stop and then pull off in first gear. Any ideas what it could be, the car is well serviced with the last one being done two months ago by a local specialist.
I think this engine is multitronic (what ever that is) which my specialist says causes an increase in power above 3k revs and he did say they can be a bit lack lustre below this but something with my car is very wrong.
Any ideas what it could be? Thanks in advance
Sometimes it then jerks and then I get reduced power and can move on. Other times I have to turn the ignition on and off to get moving again.
It only happens in the morning when the car is cold and happens about half a mile from my house - I always know at which junction it will happen and it's the first point where I have to stop and then pull off in first gear. Any ideas what it could be, the car is well serviced with the last one being done two months ago by a local specialist.
I think this engine is multitronic (what ever that is) which my specialist says causes an increase in power above 3k revs and he did say they can be a bit lack lustre below this but something with my car is very wrong.
Any ideas what it could be? Thanks in advance
The traction control never activates and its's definately more of a power issue than loss of traction.
This morning I literally pulled out of a junction and had no power, I floored the throttle and the revs didnt move at all, no power at all, it didnt even jerk back in to life today and I had to turn the car on and off again.
Other days I have had just a lack of power, some days the car is sweet and feels lively, other days it is sluggish and doesn't want to rev or accelerate with any vigour.
Think I'll have to get it on a diagnostic machine to look for fault codes.
This morning I literally pulled out of a junction and had no power, I floored the throttle and the revs didnt move at all, no power at all, it didnt even jerk back in to life today and I had to turn the car on and off again.
Other days I have had just a lack of power, some days the car is sweet and feels lively, other days it is sluggish and doesn't want to rev or accelerate with any vigour.
Think I'll have to get it on a diagnostic machine to look for fault codes.
mini1380cc said:
JAM,
I had the same symptoms in my z3 (same engine). Try unplugging the Mass Air Flow Meter and take it a drive. If its a faulty MAF, which it well could be it should drive far better but with a little hesitation on pulling away.
If you do try this be sure to mention it to the diagnostics guy as this will through a code which he may take into account.
Have disconnected the MAF sensor and on the way back from teh garage the car feels really sluggish so am guessing the MAF was working ok. The specialist thinks its the crank sensor so looks like I'll be having that done. £20 for the part, labour is £320, nice!!I had the same symptoms in my z3 (same engine). Try unplugging the Mass Air Flow Meter and take it a drive. If its a faulty MAF, which it well could be it should drive far better but with a little hesitation on pulling away.
If you do try this be sure to mention it to the diagnostics guy as this will through a code which he may take into account.
Annoyingly the plug in diagnostics showed no faults so the specialist is changing the crank sensor as it was at fault on other cars with similar problems. Expensive gamble but hopefully will solve it.
Car never stalls, the revs just drop to barely ticking over and then flooring the accelerator does nothing, until eventually the engine jerks back in to life and its runs sluggishly until the next restart.
Car never stalls, the revs just drop to barely ticking over and then flooring the accelerator does nothing, until eventually the engine jerks back in to life and its runs sluggishly until the next restart.
The MAF has now been disconnected for almost a day. The car is running sluggishly but the drop in revs and lack of power thing didnt happen this morning.
My specialist said if the MAF had gone it would run much better with it disconnected but this isnt the case. It just runs worse, but in a different way than before. Does this indicate the MAF was ok all along?
As for the cost of the crankshaft sensor change, BMW want £390 for it, the specialist £340. so not alot in it but at least the prices I'm getting are all in the same ballpark.
Getting this done is a gamble as both BMW and specialist won't guarantee it will cure problem and if it doesnt its my hard luck, no refund and the search for the fault will continue.
The diagnostic machine not showing anything is really annoying, specialist says this engine often doesnt record all its faults in the memory which makes things difficult for him. I can't really doubt him on this, the computer showed no issue so his hands are tied abit and he has to guess/use his knowledge to diagnose from my description.
Bit torn as to the next move, could be spending £400 and not even curing the problem.
My specialist said if the MAF had gone it would run much better with it disconnected but this isnt the case. It just runs worse, but in a different way than before. Does this indicate the MAF was ok all along?
As for the cost of the crankshaft sensor change, BMW want £390 for it, the specialist £340. so not alot in it but at least the prices I'm getting are all in the same ballpark.
Getting this done is a gamble as both BMW and specialist won't guarantee it will cure problem and if it doesnt its my hard luck, no refund and the search for the fault will continue.
The diagnostic machine not showing anything is really annoying, specialist says this engine often doesnt record all its faults in the memory which makes things difficult for him. I can't really doubt him on this, the computer showed no issue so his hands are tied abit and he has to guess/use his knowledge to diagnose from my description.
Bit torn as to the next move, could be spending £400 and not even curing the problem.
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