[PRODIGAL KING]

Ever since this happened second and third gear seems powerless I took it to my nearest dealer here in Florida and they explained to me that they can't do anything until the check engine light comes on?! Does anyone know the cause or how to resolve the issue?

[RoundelM3]

Yes - find another dealer! They can scan the codes and determine if there's a fault code that explains the issue, and there's not always a check-engine light accompanying a fault. If your car is an M-Sport, you might have a faulty auxiliary cooling fan; there are also other items that can cause this to occur, but my 2013 335i M-Sport has had to have that fan replaced twice, and neither time did it display a CEL.

[djmanila]

If that message comes on there has to be a fault in the system that can be found during a diagnostic test

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by djmanila

If that message comes on there has to be a fault in the system that can be found during a diagnostic test

Or it could be a temporary glitch, like a cylinder misfire, that sets off a sensor and doesn't reoccur. Without the on-board diagnostics one would never know that a misfire occurred, and you'd drive on none the wiser. IMO the sensitivity of the on-board diagnostics seems to be higher than it probably needs to be, prompting you to look for problems that may not exist. It's a 'better safe than sorry' approach that may be too aggressive as currently implemented. When the computer detects a glitch it goes into protect mode, to minimize the potential for damage. When you re-boot the computer by turning the car off and then restarting and that glitch isn't present the computer no longer has a reason to be in protect mode. If you restart and a problem is still there that's when you know you'd best get in for immediate service.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Ever since this happened second and third gear seems powerless I took it to my nearest dealer here in Florida and they explained to me that they can't do anything until the check engine light comes on?! Does anyone know the cause or how to resolve the issue?

They're full of shit or complete idiots. Whenever a fault like that occurs, it's stored in the car's computer so they can pull it anytime and see what caused it.

[PRODIGAL KING]

Thank you all for the inquires. That's what I figured spoke to the dealer today not only do they not have a loaner until next month but they explained that I need to drive the car until the light pops up so I said it's been a week and no lights come up at what point are you going to resolve my issue? Or they going to take my car and mile it up while I drive a loaner for weeks? M sport 435i manual

[Pyrocam]

Was having a browse through some of the other Regional Forums and stumbled upon this.... Maybe of interest

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=942195

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by PRODIGAL KING

Thank you all for the inquires. That's what I figured spoke to the dealer today not only do they not have a loaner until next month but they explained that I need to drive the car until the light pops up so I said it's been a week and no lights come up at what point are you going to resolve my issue? Or they going to take my car and mile it up while I drive a loaner for weeks? M sport 435i manual

Is there another dealer you could take it to?

If not, I'd just see if it ever comes on again.

It happened to me once (the drivetrain malfunction error) and the car went into limp mode. I pulled over, turned the car off and back on and it went away.

I took it into the dealer as a precaution and they gave me a loaner for the day. They called me the next day saying they confirmed that I did, in fact, get that error but they think it was just a freak occurrence and gave me the car back with no repairs. It hasn't come on since but they told me if it ever did to bring it back in. This happened about 9 months ago.

[justinnum1]

i had something similar a few weeks ago. turns out my charge pipe cracked