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      09-16-2019, 04:44 PM   #1
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Drivetrain Malfunction and Limp Mode recurring after being fixed

I have a 2014 435i. It started with the drivetrain malfunction warning (showing "Drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Consult service center."), putting it in limp mode. After a lot of research and no way for me to personally scan it (don't currently have the equipment), it seemed like it could be the spark plugs causing a misfire. The previous owner was a middle aged lady who may not have changed the factory ones, and at 53k, I figured it'd be time to do that. Plus, I'm planning to tune it and go FBO, so I needed new ones anyway.

The spark plugs were changed, and still the malfunction, CEL, and limp mode after about 15 minutes. I got it scanned at the shop and got a P10D9 code, which is Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor "A" Stuck. Got a new BOSCH 0261545071 Fuel Injection Pressure Sensor and got that installed. Got the malfunction and CEL a block down the road from the shop, putting it back into limp mode.

The shop I usually go to specializes in VW/Audi, but they did a lot of work on my Infiniti and work on some BMWs as well. The owner told me he's at a loss after replacing the sensor and he only trusts one other person around to figure out something like this, so I took it to his shop, which has BMW certified mechanics and works on BMWs, Minis, and exotics. They said basically the ECU needs to be told that part was replaced so it doesn't keep trying to find the error, so they did whatever they needed to with their equipment to do so. About 25 minutes into driving it after leaving this shop, I get the CEL, warning, and the car goes into limp mode again. This shop is far out of my way with my daily work schedule and their hours require me to take off work to get to them, so it's not easy to get my car to them, but I'm taking it back in this week. I told them it came back and they have no clue why, but are going to try to figure it out.

This car is all stock, except for a few aesthetic changes, and I'm starting to get pretty discouraged about the reliability of it in stock form and worried about the future. It's my first BMW, my first car 100% in my name, and it's been in my garage for about 4 weeks of the four months I've owned it.

If anyone here has any suggestions or recommendations as to what might be going on or what to do to fix it, I'd greatly appreciate any input.
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      09-16-2019, 04:56 PM   #2
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https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1587623
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      09-17-2019, 09:47 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by BMWILUVU View Post
I appreciate the link, but I've checked my VIN and my car hasn't been affected by any recalls. Does this mean it could be an issue with the wiring harness connecting the rail pressure sensor and the DME or would it be something else? Is there a way via the diagnostic and programming devices this specialist shop that they can check the HPFP if that's the issue? The pressure sensor seems to be reading fine and pressure levels were good at idle and while revved when parked.
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      09-23-2019, 01:28 PM   #4
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Alright, so this has turned into a bit of an s-show and I feel like I'm about to pull my hair out and just go back for an S550 GT I originally chose this car over. Here's how this journey has been since my last post:

I'm in week 5 of this issue, car still at the shop. The pressure sensor was replaced, the DME was told that it was replaced, and it kept throwing the fault code, and then started throwing thermostat codes. They unbutton the front and are about to change the thermostat when they see that there's a mixture of coolant and oil going through it. Not a great sign.

They trace the oil leak back to the oil filter housing gasket, so that gets replaced, lines and radiator are flushed out, thermostat replaced, and it's time to check the codes again. Still throwing thermostat fault codes. They find out that, with the bad thermostat having oil/coolant being pushed through it at high pressure, it allowed that mixture to go into the thermostat plug and get pushed through the harness, all the way back to the DME. The connection where that part of the harness hooks to the DME had that mixture on the pins.

Now, we're just crossing our fingers and hoping they can blow out and dry the wiring harness and the DME and not have any more faults come up, but it could end up with me needing to replace the DME if the damage is permanent. Feeling a bit sick at the moment.

Last edited by Destrier_F32; 09-23-2019 at 02:30 PM.. Reason: typo
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      09-23-2019, 02:03 PM   #5
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Wow this sucks. Was this vehicle in an accident or flooded?

I hope you get it figure out.
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      09-23-2019, 02:14 PM   #6
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I don't believe so. It spent its life before me owning it in Arlington, TX, which is where I bought it from back in May. No signs of ever being in a flood. It was involved in a minor accident once, but it just cracked the front bumper and that had to be replaced. That was over a year ago, and before this issue started last month, the only issue I had with it in the first three months was the charge pipe blowing.
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      09-23-2019, 02:27 PM   #7
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Filter gasket fails on all of them. Check head cover gasket too, it must be leaking at passenger side at cylinders 5-6.
You are lucky in the way that oil leaked to coolant, not vise versa. Othervise you would be shopping for new engine. Ohhh... check/change alternator belt now! if oil got on pulleys it may slip off and get sucked into the engine block thru main seal - that will kill the engine for sure.
Replace thermostat, pump, oiled sensor and you should be good I guess.

P.S. if your so good mechanic did not see a major oil leak - look for another mechanic.

Last edited by F30ed; 09-23-2019 at 02:48 PM..
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      09-23-2019, 03:00 PM   #8
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Just got another call, and no good news came from it. The copper in the wiring harness is corroding from the leak, so now the harness needs replaced as well. Here's to hoping the DME will survive after the harness is replaced and I don't have to buy that and have it replaced as well.


I need a drink.
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      09-23-2019, 03:23 PM   #9
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"They trace the oil leak back to the oil filter housing gasket, so that gets replaced, lines and radiator are flushed out, thermostat replaced, and it's time to check the codes again. Still throwing thermostat fault codes. They find out that, with the bad thermostat having oil/coolant being pushed through it at high pressure, it allowed that mixture to go into the thermostat plug and get pushed through the harness, all the way back to the DME. The connection where that part of the harness hooks to the DME had that mixture on the pins.

That is one of the oddest i've ever heard.
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      09-23-2019, 04:22 PM   #10
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Right? It's the first time they've seen this issue, and I never even thought of the possibility of this happening. They've ordered the harness, so they should be able to get it in and replaced by Thursday or Friday and test after that whether the DME is still good or not. It's going to be a long week.
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      09-23-2019, 08:20 PM   #11
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Sounds like this mechanic is robbing your pockets.

I find it impossible for oil and coolant, from the thermostat plug in the waterpump, to traverse it's way up the corrugated casing on the harness all the way to the DME. Even if it was inside the wire casing itself, even more unlikely, you'd likely have had severe electrical problems before it reached the DME.
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      09-23-2019, 11:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Sounds like this mechanic is robbing your pockets.

I find it impossible for oil and coolant, from the thermostat plug in the waterpump, to traverse it's way up the corrugated casing on the harness all the way to the DME. Even if it was inside the wire casing itself, even more unlikely, you'd likely have had severe electrical problems before it reached the DME.
+1

And car was never "fixed" as the title indicates.

Take it to a real BMW Mechanic
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      09-24-2019, 09:46 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Sounds like this mechanic is robbing your pockets.

I find it impossible for oil and coolant, from the thermostat plug in the waterpump, to traverse it's way up the corrugated casing on the harness all the way to the DME. Even if it was inside the wire casing itself, even more unlikely, you'd likely have had severe electrical problems before it reached the DME.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IK6SPEED View Post
+1

And car was never "fixed" as the title indicates.

Take it to a real BMW Mechanic
This shop is well-known around the Oklahoma metro area for being the go-to BMW specialists and have BMW certified mechanics with years of experience working there. When I first brought them my car after replacing the fuel pressure sensor and they thought the car just needed to have whatever coding needs to be done after replacing something like that, I asked them what it'll run me. They told me they weren't going to charge me anything, that I could just bring them a box of donuts someday for it if I had the time, and we didn't think there were any other problems at the time that I'd need to bring it back for.

I understand your point, and I see where you're coming from, but these guys have a good reputation. I have some close friends who've known the owner for years and know that he's trustworthy and knows what he's doing. It's an extremely uncommon and unusual issue, but these guys do great with taking care of a lot of BMW owners in the area, so I trust them. They've been good to the people I know and not screwed any of them over.
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      09-24-2019, 09:49 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F32_Okie View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Sounds like this mechanic is robbing your pockets.

I find it impossible for oil and coolant, from the thermostat plug in the waterpump, to traverse it's way up the corrugated casing on the harness all the way to the DME. Even if it was inside the wire casing itself, even more unlikely, you'd likely have had severe electrical problems before it reached the DME.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IK6SPEED View Post
+1

And car was never "fixed" as the title indicates.

Take it to a real BMW Mechanic
This shop is well-known around the Oklahoma metro area for being the go-to BMW specialists and have BMW certified mechanics with years of experience working there. When I first brought them my car after replacing the fuel pressure sensor and they thought the car just needed to have whatever coding needs to be done after replacing something like that, I asked them what it'll run me. They told me they weren't going to charge me anything, that I could just bring them a box of donuts someday for it if I had the time, and we didn't think there were any other problems at the time that I'd need to bring it back for.

I understand your point, and I see where you're coming from, but these guys have a good reputation. I have some close friends who've known the owner for years and know that he's trustworthy and knows what he's doing. It's an extremely uncommon and unusual issue, but these guys do great with taking care of a lot of BMW owners in the area, so I trust them. They've been good to the people I know and not screwed any of them over.

Understandable, but that does in no way make them infallible. They can be utterly wrong since they're human. For your own sake Google photos of the wiring harness to see what is possible, and not possible. Their explanation about the harness will immediately seem implausible. Then you can make a better decision.
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      09-24-2019, 11:20 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Understandable, but that does in no way make them infallible. They can be utterly wrong since they're human. For your own sake Google photos of the wiring harness to see what is possible, and not possible. Their explanation about the harness will immediately seem implausible. Then you can make a better decision.
After looking at some photos of the wiring looms, it doesn't look implausible to me for liquid to travel through it. Also, I spoke with my regular guy (who specializes in VW and Audi) about what was going on because I wanted to keep him in the loop and he said he's definitely heard of this issue, though it's uncommon, with VW/Audi, called coolant migration. I did a bit of research and quickly came up with this thread on a VW/Audi forum on coolant migrating through the wiring harness:

https://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/c...ant-reservoir/
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      09-24-2019, 02:26 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F32_Okie View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Understandable, but that does in no way make them infallible. They can be utterly wrong since they're human. For your own sake Google photos of the wiring harness to see what is possible, and not possible. Their explanation about the harness will immediately seem implausible. Then you can make a better decision.
After looking at some photos of the wiring looms, it doesn't look implausible to me for liquid to travel through it. Also, I spoke with my regular guy (who specializes in VW and Audi) about what was going on because I wanted to keep him in the loop and he said he's definitely heard of this issue, though it's uncommon, with VW/Audi, called coolant migration. I did a bit of research and quickly came up with this thread on a VW/Audi forum on coolant migrating through the wiring harness:

https://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/c...ant-reservoir/
It's corrugated, and crumbles under heat cycles lol. So much fluid would have to be pumped through it to make it past all the corrugated channels. Anyway this is my first BMW, as I come from a decade of Audis. First I've heard of this happening in the wild. Odd and scary.
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      09-24-2019, 03:07 PM   #17
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A decade of Audi's not in your name?
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Sounds pizzagatey.
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      09-24-2019, 04:11 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F32_Okie View Post
This shop is well-known around the Oklahoma metro area for being the go-to BMW specialists and have BMW certified mechanics with years of experience working there. When I first brought them my car after replacing the fuel pressure sensor and they thought the car just needed to have whatever coding needs to be done after replacing something like that, I asked them what it'll run me. They told me they weren't going to charge me anything, that I could just bring them a box of donuts someday for it if I had the time, and we didn't think there were any other problems at the time that I'd need to bring it back for.

I understand your point, and I see where you're coming from, but these guys have a good reputation. I have some close friends who've known the owner for years and know that he's trustworthy and knows what he's doing. It's an extremely uncommon and unusual issue, but these guys do great with taking care of a lot of BMW owners in the area, so I trust them. They've been good to the people I know and not screwed any of them over.
I point to person who had his LSD and driveshaft destroyed this month who said the same thing. Claims shop was well respected and plenty of M3/M4 users used them.

No he needs new driveshaft and differential.
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      09-25-2019, 08:12 AM   #19
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I point to person who had his LSD and driveshaft destroyed this month who said the same thing. Claims shop was well respected and plenty of M3/M4 users used them.

No he needs new driveshaft and differential.
What's the whole story with this? Do you have a link to the thread?
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      09-25-2019, 11:57 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F32_Okie View Post
What's the whole story with this? Do you have a link to the thread?
Not all the details have been posted, but it’s not hard to search and find the not discussion of the only LSD installed this month.
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      09-25-2019, 03:15 PM   #21
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I hate the 'Drivetrain Malfunction-Drive moderately and consult a service...". My car threw that code in April while my wife was driving it. So she drove it..home. I drove it to the dealer where upon on the way it decided to basically grind #1 cylinder up as the Fuel injector stuck open and flooded the cylinder with fuel, negating the beneficial oil lubricating factors in it. Car barely ran as I was sitting in line at BMW. RIP 2015 N26 with only 26K miles on it. The only bright side was the car had 3 weeks of factory warranty left so they replaced it with a new reman N26 that doesn't feel near as powerful as the OEM one that blew up.

My advice when that message comes up-Call a flatbed and save some $$$.
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      09-30-2019, 05:49 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Sounds like this mechanic is robbing your pockets.

I find it impossible for oil and coolant, from the thermostat plug in the waterpump, to traverse it's way up the corrugated casing on the harness all the way to the DME. Even if it was inside the wire casing itself, even more unlikely, you'd likely have had severe electrical problems before it reached the DME.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicoeur View Post
Understandable, but that does in no way make them infallible. They can be utterly wrong since they're human. For your own sake Google photos of the wiring harness to see what is possible, and not possible. Their explanation about the harness will immediately seem implausible. Then you can make a better decision.


Here's the harness where it connects both to the thermostat and the DME.
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