[Lebanonbmw]

Ever since i crossed 12000km on my car, i have this problem.
Usually when the car have been off for 12 hours , i try turning it on, it will shake for 5-10 seconds as if it's going to stall and finally goes back to normal.
Engine is 1.5 3 cylinder turbo, i took the car to the dealer and they informed me that it's normal because the engine is cold at start up.
I don't know anymore, please advice me if i should be worried.


The car now have 38'000 km on it.

[Lebanonbmw]

Bump The car is now 44,000 Km and still sometimes shake for 5-10 seconds as if it's gonna turn off during cold star. ( 12 hours without turning on).

[Lebanonbmw]

Still with the same problem, Not always though, sometimes my car does a clean start up right now it has 53,500 km on it.
I've used injector cleaner, it did not solve or cause problems.

I don't know if this is a thing with 3 cylinder engines.

[Patrick852]

I have the same problem since new on my N13 engine, yours is B38 engine, sounds similar issue. I took it to the dealer, they say is normal, but it doesn't look normal to me, it never dies but shake and hesitate on acceleration. When it happens, I just wait for it to finish before I take off, is safer to drive with a stable engine. I guess you have to live with it, is a design fault and it can't be fixed.

[Lebanonbmw]

Originally Posted by Patrick852

I have the same problem since new on my N13 engine, yours is B38 engine, sounds similar issue. I took it to the dealer, they say is normal, but it doesn't look normal to me, it never dies but shake and hesitate on acceleration. When it happens, I just wait for it to finish before I take off, is safer to drive with a stable engine. I guess you have to live with it, is a design fault and it can't be fixed.

Oh really? well guess i'm gonna live with it too, though there's no more warranty on my car since 3 years period already passed, anyways i'll keep this forum updated if anything happens in the future and maybe post a video of how my rough start up is.

[Patrick852]

Originally Posted by Lebanonbmw

Oh really? well guess i'm gonna live with it too, though there's no more warranty on my car since 3 years period already passed, anyways i'll keep this forum updated if anything happens in the future and maybe post a video of how my rough start up is.

This situation nearly 4 years on my car, nothing seriously happen. Waiting a couple minutes before take off is not a big trouble.

[Lebanonbmw]

Update: The car now has 60,000 km on it, the problem is less present lately, not every cold start does this weird 5-second engine shake anymore, but it's still there sometimes, while i was doing my 60,000 km car service at the BMW dealer (engine oil/filter/brake oil) i informed them about this problem and they told me not to worry at all and that is sometimes normal with 3 cylinder car engines.

[Lebanonbmw]

Update: the car now has 74,000 km on it, the problem is still there.
Managed to record it today before i head to work this morning, you can see the problem after 0:30

[losturcos]

Originally Posted by Lebanonbmw

Update: the car now has 74,000 km on it, the problem is still there.
Managed to record it today before i head to work this morning, you can see the problem after 0:30

same problem but no solotion There is no method left that we haven't tried for 1 month

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1764800

[Lebanonbmw]

Originally Posted by losturcos

same problem but no solotion There is no method left that we haven't tried for 1 month

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1764800

Hello sorry for the late reply
I can see that more people have this problem and i believe it's something to do with 3 cylinder engines.
I'm taking my car to the dealer at 11/1/2010 to install new spark plugs since mine was never changed yet.
I'll post update if the problem is resolved after the service.

[Lebanonbmw]

Update: I couldn't change the spark plugs because there's a quarantine for this month in my country, ending probably after 8 days, but something new happened today ... When i was turning on my car during startup, the Drivetrain light warning was shown for about 3min, that is something unusual, there were no warning signs ever given before. :-(

[HarryTee]

Originally Posted by Lebanonbmw

Update: I couldn't change the spark plugs because there's a quarantine for this month in my country, ending probably after 8 days, but something new happened today ... When i was turning on my car during startup, the Drivetrain light warning was shown for about 3min, that is something unusual, there were no warning signs ever given before. :-(

When you go to have the spark plugs changed, you can tell the garage about the Drivetrain light, they should look into it for you. It's good timing there.

[Lebanonbmw]

Originally Posted by HarryTee

When you go to have the spark plugs changed, you can tell the garage about the Drivetrain light, they should look into it for you. It's good timing there.

Yes, I will do that, I want to also mention that I will not only be changing the spark plugs but also the fuel filter just to make sure I did everything possible to fix that issue.
I truly believe it's either my fuel filter or spark plugs causing this issue.

[Lebanonbmw]

Sorry for the late update
The car now has 79,000 km on it, the problem is still occurring but not as much.
Couldn't get my service done past 2 months because of the lockdown until few days ago, managed to get my car serviced and got a spark plug change, but the problem is still there.
I'll post another update when I get my fuel filter changed hopefully that solves the problem.

[Lebanonbmw]

Update the car now has 87,000 km on it, yeah I haven't been driving it a lot due to the gas situation that was going on in my country.
The problem is still there, I was advised to clean maf sensor airflow and change my fuel filter which I haven't done yet.

will keep this post updated from time to time.

[z88m]

Originally Posted by Lebanonbmw

Update the car now has 87,000 km on it, yeah I haven't been driving it a lot due to the gas situation that was going on in my country.
The problem is still there, I was advised to clean maf sensor airflow and change my fuel filter which I haven't done yet.

will keep this post updated from time to time.

Hello. Try replacing the fuel tank vent valve should help to solve your problem bmw 13907643106.

[Serial BoX]

Originally Posted by Lebanonbmw

Update the car now has 87,000 km on it, yeah I haven't been driving it a lot due to the gas situation that was going on in my country.
The problem is still there, I was advised to clean maf sensor airflow and change my fuel filter which I haven't done yet.

will keep this post updated from time to time.

Sounds like the air pump shutting off from your cold-start, and the ECU is figuring out the new air/fuel mix. I think someone posted something about some exhaust valve you might be able to try.

[David Kunitz]

Any updates on this issue yet?

[Lebanonbmw]

Sorry for late update
The car now has 102,000 km and problem is still there.
Changed fuel tank vent valve at the dealer it did not fix the problem.
They later did reset adaptation and that fixed the problem for about a month.

[fe7565]

Timing chain ok? Although having this problem from 12,000 km that seems not likely.