[JD6]

Just had a warning flash up this morning:

Drivetrain. Continue the journey at a moderate speed. Full performance not available. Have the problem checked by your service partner.

I was about one mile into my first trip of the day and driving fairly gently. There are no Check Control errors reported on iDrive. The car still felt like it had all of its performance available, and the warning has not recurred in the 30 ish miles since. No symptoms are noticeable.

My car is a 3.5 year old 335d with 46k miles (owned since new) with no remap or performance boxes. I do have a BMW warranty with a £100 excess.

Is this one of those to ignore until it happens again, or should I get this checked before I leave a trail of oil and impeller blades on the road?

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Lobb

I'd be inclined to leave it. BMW will charge you £60 just to plug it into diagnostic machine. If it shows again I'd think about taking it in.

I hadn't realised they would charge for simple diagnostics. It doesn't seem a very sensible policy, given that BMW (or Mondial) remain liable if there is a major failure. You would think it might be in their interest to do a preventative check.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Lobb

You didn't think BMW would charge?

I just thought they would diagnose for free as a loss-leader, and than use their technical expertise to keep randomly replace parts until they get lucky and the fault disappears.

[robbiep]

I had this error a couple of times in my first year of ownership - would always vanish after switching off and back on again. Turned out to be a sensor fault on the adaptive suspension, easily diagnosed and fixed when the car was in for a service.

If you've got a picture of the iDrive screen showing the fault, so proving there is a fault, then I'd be very surprised if you got charged for diagnostics as well as your excess for fixing the fault - it's all part of the same process.

[dbramley]

I had it too and it was the EGR valve

[JD6]

Originally Posted by robbiep

I had this error a couple of times in my first year of ownership - would always vanish after switching off and back on again. Turned out to be a sensor fault on the adaptive suspension, easily diagnosed and fixed when the car was in for a service.

If you've got a picture of the iDrive screen showing the fault, so proving there is a fault, then I'd be very surprised if you got charged for diagnostics as well as your excess for fixing the fault - it's all part of the same process.

I do have a photo of the screen - I see your point.

Originally Posted by dbramley

I had it too and it was the EGR valve

That's quite a broad fault message if it covers an EGR valve and an adaptive suspension fault. Perhaps coincidentally I am using Millers Ecomax diesel additive for the first time since I bought the car in this tank of fuel. I wonder if I have dislodged some build-up within the system.

Cheers for the replies.

[jgoens]

I get that warning a couple times a year. Seems like many people have that periodically. I have actually had limp mode a couple times which after turning the car off and back on went away. I think these cars just have electronic glitches.

[Mr NSB]

Originally Posted by dbramley

I had it too and it was the EGR valve

It could be this.

I was in the dealers last week for brakes and they want me to book the car in for a 'Quality Enhancement' (recall). This for the EGR valve. Apparently the car requires several modules to have a software update.

[jonesdg4]

Mine too. Was egr calve and o2 sensor

[dbramley]

When mine happened (EGR valve) car went into limp mode. Bit of an issue since I was driving home from Disney Paris at the time!

[JD6]

Originally Posted by dbramley

When mine happened (EGR valve) car went into limp mode. Bit of an issue since I was driving home from Disney Paris at the time!

What does limp mode mean in practice - is it a rev limiter / speed limiter or something else? Can you still drive at 70?

From the warning message I had assumed that mine would be in limp mode, but a quick test confirmed it wasn't.

[dbramley]

Rev limit in my case, could still do 80mph but just took a while to get there and overtaking was a pain!

[Rbrown]

Had same message on wider 1er after winter wheels changed. Mechanic said it was because sensor picked up on something- probably because one wheel was stuck on and took a bit of effort to remove.

He told me that it clears after u his 20mph. It cleared. Never came back.

[Flyboy777]

If you have or can borrow a code reader something should be logged.
I have carly & when this happened to me it had 3 EGR faults recorded.
Happened in similar driving conditions-- first start of the day, driving gently about a mile into the journey.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Flyboy777

If you have or can borrow a code reader something should be logged.
I have carly & when this happened to me it had 3 EGR faults recorded.
Happened in similar driving conditions-- first start of the day, driving gently about a mile into the journey.

I have a Vgate iCar II which I use with the Bimmercode app on an iPhone. Can I see the fault log with that?

[SportySpice]

I think you need a different app - Bimmerlink - for diagnostics, but your same VGate connector should work. Good luck.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by SportySpice

I think you need a different app - Bimmerlink - for diagnostics, but your same VGate connector should work. Good luck.

Before I buy the app, can I just check that reading the fault codes with Bimmerlink doesn't erase them? I would like them still to be there when I visit the dealer, so they can do the warranty work without having to wait for the problem to happen again.

[JD6]

I bought the Bimmerlink app and found some faults in the error memory including:

Dieselelektronik DDE 7.31 N47/N57 TÜ Top
3 errors
255C00: Abgasrückführsteller, Positionsregelung: Ventil zu weit offen/negative Regelabweichung
272F00: Abgasrückführventil, Plausibilität: mechanisch defekt nahe offener Position
272E00: Abgasrückführventil, Plausibilität: mechanisch defekt nahe geschlossener Position

Which seem to be EGR errors.

[Flyboy777]

Yes, defo faulty EGR Valve.
Not sure how easy it is on the 6 cylinder engines. It took 30 mins on my 2.0D under warranty. So you could probably do it yourself. You loose a little coolant so will need some to top back up.
Clear the codes once changed & you should be good to go.

[scotsman335dxDrive]

Originally Posted by dbramley

I had it too and it was the EGR valve

+1

[jesjames]

Onscreen error;
'drivetrain error - possible to continue journey'

bmw 330e

anyone know how serious this error is just finalising purchase. vehicle history has no previous reports of such.

2016 model / 63'000 miles

[lambo27]

had exactly the same problem car went into limp mode on motorway. the garage said it was the egr and o2 sensor