[ybbiz34]

The problem described below has occurred now three times, with the most recent event being this morning.

Symptoms: Loss of power/dead throttle (power loss is present irrespective of driving mode [i.e., Sport+, EcoPro, etc.]); Heard the cooling components/fans in the engine bay working overtime (very loud); Vibrating/pulsating steering wheel at idle; NO ERROR messages).

Below is a detailed account of what happened the first time I experienced the problem. The first time the power loss occurred was after a loss of traction event. The second and third times I experienced the power loss/dead throttle, there was no preceding traction loss event.

The problem seems to go away after I shut the engine off and restart it. However, the last two times I have done that, I have received an "Adaptive headlight malfunction" error message upon restart.

I am taking the car to the dealer on Wednesday but in the meantime, any thoughts, ideas, etc. would be appreciated.

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I was on my way home today, driving in Comfort mode, when all of a sudden I noticed that I could feel my steering wheel pulsating.

The pulse started out as very minimal, but noticeable. However, over time, the pulsating became more severe (noticeable at idle as well).

Next, I noticed that the engine started to sound like it was working overtime. This was maybe 2-3 minutes after I noticed the pulsating steering wheel. For example, I could hear what sounded like a cooling fan straining. It sounded as if I had just tracked the car on a 110 degree day.

Finally, the throttle went almost completely dead. If I mashed the pedal to the floor in Comfort, Sport, or Sport Plus, the car accelerated as if I was lightly applying the throttle in EcoPro.

No warning lights, codes, etc. Loud engine, pulsating steering wheel, nearly completely dead throttle.

Completely baffling. Once I got to a point at which I could safely pull over, I did so and shut the engine off. Upon restart, everything seemed fine but at that point I was less than a mile from home.

[Koca]

Could be a thermostat issue - the cars computer could be thinking the engine is getting too hot so to prevent any damage, it cuts the power

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by Koca

Could be a thermostat issue - the cars computer could be thinking the engine is getting too hot so to prevent any damage, it cuts the power

Interesting. I hadn't considered that. That would explain the power being cut and the fan going crazy. Pulsating steering wheel and light malfunction components still have me puzzled.

[mocohead]

weather conditions?

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by mocohead

weather conditions?

Once in the rain. Twice in bone dry conditions. Temperature has never been above 45 degrees.

[john08135i]

Same happened to me today..
Light rain 70degres.

Floored it up an on ramp thru two gears and then BAM.. limp mode.. iDrive shows drivetrain malfunction car lost power when i gave it gas car would shake.. turned it off and back on and its fine...

better not keep happening.

[mocohead]

OP I was wondering if it could have been related to FEM issues people are encountering, hence the weather question. Any other odd electrical symptoms?

Have you noticed any change in fuel economy? Is the car cranking longer than normal to start?

All of my previous 335i's encountered similar symptoms, although they were N54 cars. Without fail it was related to HPFP's and injectors. Whether or not that is your issue can only be determined by having a dealer read the codes. I do recommend having that done.

I sincerely hope it is none of the above! Sorry you all are experiencing this issue but I look forward to hearing what codes were stored. Best of luck!!!

[ES_TRADER]

I've had the fan issue and dead throttle happen to me. Fan goes on full blast and throttle feels numb. I also noticed the engine temp stuck on the left side. Happened three times already. I'm thinking its thermostat as well but also wondering what else it could be

No codes thrown and restart of car it went away. Car has 500 mls on it

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by john08135i

Same happened to me today..
Light rain 70degres.

Floored it up an on ramp thru two gears and then BAM.. limp mode.. iDrive shows drivetrain malfunction car lost power when i gave it gas car would shake.. turned it off and back on and its fine...

better not keep happening.

Your problem sounds different than mine in that when my throttle died, no codes were thrown.

Good luck getting your issue resolved.

Originally Posted by mocohead

OP I was wondering if it could have been related to FEM issues people are encountering, hence the weather question. Any other odd electrical symptoms?

Have you noticed any change in fuel economy? Is the car cranking longer than normal to start?

All of my previous 335i's encountered similar symptoms, although they were N54 cars. Without fail it was related to HPFP's and injectors. Whether or not that is your issue can only be determined by having a dealer read the codes. I do recommend having that done.

I sincerely hope it is none of the above! Sorry you all are experiencing this issue but I look forward to hearing what codes were stored. Best of luck!!!

Thanks! My fuel economy continues to increase. No long cranks either.

Originally Posted by ES_TRADER

I've had the fan issue and dead throttle happen to me. Fan goes on full blast and throttle feels numb. I also noticed the engine temp stuck on the left side. Happened three times already. I'm thinking its thermostat as well but also wondering what else it could be

No codes thrown and restart of car it went away. Car has 500 mls on it

Well my dealer found the problem today.

I can't remember the name of the failed component my SA said that it was "toast."

The dealer ordered the replacement part and will be installing it tomorrow. I'll update the thread when I figure exactly what was wrong.

[Falafel Combo]

Roh Noh! Subscribed!

[ybbiz34]

Well the culprit was a faulty/busted electric cooling fan. Pretty much had failed in every way conceivable.

Just got my car back and wow did it feel strong.

[s1k0ne]

same thing happened to me today!

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by s1k0ne

same thing happened to me today!

Take it to the dealer and have them check out your electric cooling fan.

They were able to do some code-reading and even though my car did not display any error messages when it got toasted the first time around, they showed me some pretty interesting/devastating data.

[s1k0ne]

what data?

[mocohead]

PHEW! Great news OP! I am really happy to hear it was nothing serious.

[Mak135i]

Same thing seemed to happen to my car yesterday, so I hooked up my BT cable and sure enough...electric fan fault code. will take to dealer tomorrow and see what they say. There was also a fault code in the transmission area: "Forced up-shift related to cooling and driving condition..." Probably related to the fan issue

[Dinh335]

When were your cars built? Wondering if this is still a potential issue or happening in late 2012' MY2013 cars too?

[ybbiz34]

Mine was an August 2012 build.

My brakes are squealing again (after already having been replaced twice).

My electric cooling fan also malfunctioned again (after already having been replaced once).

My dealer has been in contact with BMW regarding buying this car back. What I will do next remains a mystery to me. Another M-Sport 335i? C63? S4?

[johnofcross]

Wow this happened to me yesterday, and I'm also an August 2012 build for a MY13. If it happens again, I'll take it to the dealer. Should I wait till another incident, or just go now and get it looked at? Also have the squealing brakes so I might turn it in for both.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by johnofcross

Wow this happened to me yesterday, and I'm also an August 2012 build for a MY13. If it happens again, I'll take it to the dealer. Should I wait till another incident, or just go now and get it looked at? Also have the squealing brakes so I might turn it in for both.

Take it to the dealer so a record of this malfunction can continue to be built up.

[impossiblesrock]

This happened to me tonight! I just got my 335i msport last night and it had 100 miles on it because it was a dealer trade and had to drive down from the Ventura area to Orange County. So I was driving normally from a stoplight then acceleration basically became limp and the fan started going really loud. This happened twice within 20 minutes.

I am going to turn it into the dealer tomorrow to get it checked out. I just hope the first 100 miles on the car werent too harsh. Also my car pulls to the right when I let go of the steering wheel and has a slight vibration from around 40-60 mph. I have the dynamic handling package so Im thinking it has something to do with that. Anyone else have that problem?

I love this car to death but these problems are definitely putting a damper on my excitement

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by impossiblesrock

This happened to me tonight! I just got my 335i msport last night and it had 100 miles on it because it was a dealer trade and had to drive down from the Ventura area to Orange County. So I was driving normally from a stoplight then acceleration basically became limp and the fan started going really loud. This happened twice within 20 minutes.

I am going to turn it into the dealer tomorrow to get it checked out. I just hope the first 100 miles on the car werent too harsh. Also my car pulls to the right when I let go of the steering wheel and has a slight vibration from around 40-60 mph. I have the dynamic handling package so Im thinking it has something to do with that. Anyone else have that problem?

I love this car to death but these problems are definitely putting a damper on my excitement

BMW is buying my car back. My electric cooling fan has crapped out twice. The brakes still squeal (worse than ever now, after 5,000 miles and two complete rear brake replacements). They want to order me another car in - identical to the one I have. Not too excited about that option at this point.