[Zyler]

Hey everyone,

To start, I’ve searched multiple forums and found occurrences of this same issue, however I haven’t been able to find a definite answer as to why it’s happening/how to fix it, which leads me here.
I Purchased a CPO 2013 335xi Msport w/MPPK 2 ½ years ago (currently is still within extended warranty) There has been absolutely zero issues with the car. Oil has been changed every 7500 miles (yearly at the dealer and mid-year myself)
I hit 60K miles and decided to do a spark plug change yesterday. I purchased 6 x BMW ZR5TPP33S Spark Plugs – (Bosch 0242145518) from FCP euro and the socket needed for the install.
The install was easy after following some how-to’s I found on the forums and took about an hour. After I finished I took the car around the block and it seemed to be running as normal. Later I started driving to a friend’s house and after about 10 miles the car stutters and I get a “Drivetrain malfunction – drive moderately” error. with a check engine light. I pulled over and checked if the coils were pushed in correctly (cylinders 1-4 which are visible) and if anything was out of place but it all looked normal. Started the car again and the check engine and warning light were gone. Drove the rest of the way but the car was misfiring whenever I would try to accelerate past 3k RPMs.

Fast forward to today – I took everything apart again. I checked and confirmed that
The plugs are in fact ZR5TPP33S
The plugs were tightened
The coils were pushed all the way done and in the correct positioning
Wiring was all re-connected correctly
Misfire is still present.

My question is - what now. I find it hard to believe that a coil or injector just so happen to go bad at the same moment I changed the plugs. I have read that an “adaptation module” may need to be reset, however most said this is false. Also that only the BMW specific plugs should be used, but many others used the same plugs as I did with success.
The car idles fine, but still breaks up when I try to go above 3k rpms . My next steps are to get the stored code read to see which cylinder is misfiring and then put the stock plugs back in to see if the issue persists. If it does, then I can buy a code reader to start chasing the problem to rule out possible
broken coils/faulty plugs, or just bring it to the dealer and have them diagnose the problem and go from there. I also have to double check the gapping of the new plugs although they should have been pre gapped.

Has anyone here dealt with this before? Most posts I found of this problem date back a few years so I’m hoping someone has figured out what causes this or if it is a coincidence and something broke at the time of the install.

Thanks

Update - The issue ended up being an over torqued spark plug in cylinder one. No damage was visible to the plug however once it was changed the problem went away. Be sure not to over torque your plugs.

[jh_f30]

Did you torque the plugs to spec?

[Zyler]

The initial install i used a torque wrench set to 18ft lbs however i felt the wrench was faulty and didn't want to over tighten so I tightened them hand tight then quarter turn. During the re install all plugs looked fine and I tightened them the same way as above.

[cfm56d7b]

Do you have a code scanner? Very helpful in these situations.

[Zyler]

Unfortunately I do not. Never had a reason for one since I planned on staying stock and never had any issues with the car.

I'm going to get the code read hopefully tomorrow though.

[E36M3]

I've had this problem before and it turned out I had unknowingly over torqued the plugs by a small amount and cracked a porcelain insulator. If you pull all your plugs and loosen the screw on top that secured against the porcelain insulator you should be able to tell which plug is cracked. Replace the cracked plugs with an accurate torque wrench as these plugs are fragile. Ask a BMW service tech and they'll tell you the same. Hope that helps.

BTW I have a 2012 X3 35i and 2014 335i M sport so a couple of N55 engines in addition to my E36 M3

[Tchao]

Sounds like a loose connection. Might want to RE-check everything again.
Make sure you didnt damage any of the coil wires, unplug and reinstall everything.

Check to see if any of the plugs are damaged, check gaps, and regap them closer if needed.

[Polo08816]

If you had a code reader, it should tell you which cylinder is problematic.

[HKD126]

Don’t re-gap the factory plugs. They come pre gapped and should not be gapped down.

This happened to me and it was one of the plug wires that was not seated correctly. They are pretty tricky. Just pop them all off, reseat them and give it a go.

[Zyler]

Got the code checked - Cylinder 1 misfire. Going to be pulling that plug and inspecting for damage. Will be rechecking all other connections as well. Hopefully its just the plug as I have extras being delivered today.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by Zyler

Got the code checked - Cylinder 1 misfire. Going to be pulling that plug and inspecting for damage. Will be rechecking all other connections as well. Hopefully its just the plug as I have extras being delivered today.

Glad to hear that the root cause has been hopefully identified. Looking forward to another update. Code readers are inexpensive and very helpful.

[Logicoeur]

60K mi should merit an ignition coil change as well, imo. I'm at the same mileage and have a set of plugs ready to go in this weekend, but no coils. Hoping I don't meet the same behavior as you.

Make sure to swap another coil to bank 1 to determine weather it's the ignition coil or something else on bank 1.

[BK335]

Keep us posted, I'm curious to know the cause.

[JaredG_F30]

I just changed plugs and am running the original coils with 65k on the ODO. Log looks good. I'll probably run them another 20k miles or until one fails.

http://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5bc3ace0d10b434f3ca86830

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

60K mi should merit an ignition coil change as well, imo. I'm at the same mileage and have a set of plugs ready to go in this weekend, but no coils. Hoping I don't meet the same behavior as you.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by Logicoeur

60K mi should merit an ignition coil change as well, imo. I'm at the same mileage and have a set of plugs ready to go in this weekend, but no coils. Hoping I don't meet the same behavior as you.

Make sure to swap another coil to bank 1 to determine weather it's the ignition coil or something else on bank 1.

I think 60k is pre-emptive for an ignition coil change.

I usually do spark plugs every 50k and ignition coils every 100k miles.

I had issues with OEM ignition coils and went back to genuine ones.

[Zyler]

Update - Installed a new plug on Cylinder 1 and everything is running smoothly. I cannot find any damage to the first plug I used though. Porcelain seems intact where visible. Could have been faulty or as E36 mentioned I over torqued it causing internal damage to the plug. I'm guessing the latter since on the first plug I used a torque wrench that wasn't clicking when tightening to what i thought was close to 18ft lbs. Afterwards I switched to a regular 3/8 wrench for the remaining plugs and they are problem free.

Lessons learned - Get a decent torque wrench

Thanks everyone

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

I think 60k is pre-emptive for an ignition coil change.

I usually do spark plugs every 50k and ignition coils every 100k miles.

I had issues with OEM ignition coils and went back to genuine ones.

IIRC 100k miles is the schedule for coils.

[ceedawg]

I have never used a torque wrench to change spark plugs in my 32 years of owning sports cars which include 2 modded E36 M3s. Never a misfire. And 50k miles is too long to wait and change spark plugs. You definitely risk damaging the plug taking them out. God forbid they crack while taking them out causing the plug to get stuck in the cylinder head. Rust and or heat cycling or the combo of both can cause this very problem. Make sure you guys are also putting dielectric grease on the spark plug threads. Interesting all these issues.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by ceedawg

I have never used a torque wrench to change spark plugs in my 32 years of owning sports cars which include 2 modded E36 M3s. Never a misfire. And 50k miles is too long to wait and change spark plugs. You definitely risk damaging the plug taking them out. God forbid they crack while taking them out causing the plug to get stuck in the cylinder head. Rust and or heat cycling or the combo of both can cause this very problem. Make sure you guys are also putting dielectric grease on the spark plug threads. Interesting all these issues.

Never use a torque wrench to change spark plugs?

The factory service interval for N55 spark plugs is 60k miles. You're fine changing them at 50k miles. I've done 3 changes on the N55 platform already. They shouldn't crack as long as you're using a wobbly extension or some type of flexible ratchet extension.

No grease needed on spark plug threads. Just make sure you blow out the carbon deposits after removing the old spark plugs with compressed air.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...plugs/Hp3ZNwmS

[Infamouz627]

Originally Posted by Zyler

Update - Installed a new plug on Cylinder 1 and everything is running smoothly. I cannot find any damage to the first plug I used though. Porcelain seems intact where visible. Could have been faulty or as E36 mentioned I over torqued it causing internal damage to the plug. I'm guessing the latter since on the first plug I used a torque wrench that wasn't clicking when tightening to what i thought was close to 18ft lbs. Afterwards I switched to a regular 3/8 wrench for the remaining plugs and they are problem free.

Lessons learned - Get a decent torque wrench

Thanks everyone

You should update the OP also; for those with similar problems and don't want to scroll through the entire thread. Just a suggestion.

[cfm56d7b]

Glad to learn the problem was resolved. Indeed - a quality torque wrench is an inexpensive investment.

[E36M3]

Glad to hear the problem is solved. These thin walled plugs are definitely more sensitive to over torque than the older and more robust plugs in E36 and E46 vehicles.