06-19-2021, 03:40 PM | #1 |
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2015 328i Drivetrain Malfunction
Hi there,
About a month ago, I had a drivetrain malfunction in my car. The car was stalled and the transmission put itself into N from D. I restarted the car and it made the same thing. I was low on gas (about 15miles left) and driving to the gas station. I got some gas and it made the same thing right after. I went home and wait about 2 hours. I turned my car on and it all went away. The car was perfectly fine and I thought I had the malfunction as I was low on gas. About two weeks ago, I went to Zion National Park. It was a very hot day, about 100F. I don't know if you have ever been there but if you do, you know how steep the road is when you are going uphill to The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. I parked on the side of the road under the tree to take some pictures and the car was on but it shut itself off. It gave me the same error, the drivetrain malfunction. I started my car again but it started to shake and stalled again. I was very scared and tried the start it again. I was able to drive back to the exit and I went back to the hotel where I stayed at. This time, I wasn't low on gas at all. After some googling, I found out that there is a class action going on against BMW NA and some of BMW's are defective. I actually received some papers last year but during the pandemic, I was dealing with health issues and I forgot about it. Here is one of the papers I have received for this class action. https://ibb.co/VqFW3QT My car is around 72000 miles and I'm really scared to drive the car. I temporarily moved to Utah from Los Angeles for a couple of months and if I was in LA now, I would definitely sell the car the next day. But I have to deal with it for now as I need the car here and according to a class action, BMW reimburses 75% of the repair IF damaged due to a failure of the timing chain or oil pump drive chain modules until June 30, 2021. For more information, please visit www.timingchainmodulesettlement.com Has anyone experienced this? I still have about 10 days to take advantage of this repair but I'm not sure if BMW dealers would be honest and make a repair without a check engine light and BMW NA would reimburse me. The car drives perfectly fine now but it could happen again and the car would shut itself off at high speed. It could cause a serious accident. Please help! |
06-19-2021, 04:32 PM | #2 |
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You need to scan for codes. How can we even begin to assist if we don't know what is wrong with the car? And your grasping for straws on the "defective car" claim… it did 72000 miles without issue. Get the car scanned, find out what the issue is and go from there.
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06-19-2021, 04:42 PM | #3 |
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I will, I made an appointment for next week to get it fixed. Since there is a class action going on, I just wanted to make sure that what would be my rights. The last time when I went to dealer for a maintenance, I asked them to replace the timing chain for example but they told me that it looks perfectly fine so I passed. If I had it replaced back then, I would have gotton 100% reimbursement according to this class action as my car was under 70000 miles. You know how hard to deal with the dealers and how one dealer might say one thing and the other dealer might say something else.
By the way, there is no check engine light and there never was. I hope the dealer would be able to see the problem without a code. |
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06-19-2021, 04:50 PM | #4 |
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Garage List 2018 BMW 340i M Sport [9.38]
2020 BMW M340i xDrive [10.00] 2018 BMW 340i M Sport [8.00] 2006 BMW 330i Sport [4.50] 2004 BMW 330i ZHP [7.25] 2000 BMW 328i [6.00] |
It’s pretty unlikely what you’re describing is the timing chain guide issue. The symptoms you describe don’t fit with that issue in that your issue occurs and then clears up. If you can get someone to help you, open the hood and rev the motor and see if you can hear a high pitched whine coming from the front of the motor. That is the tell tale sign of timing chain guide issues. Having said that, being that you only have ten days left in the settlement period, I would recommend making an appointment with the local BMW dealer and at least having them scan for stored codes.
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06-19-2021, 04:55 PM | #5 |
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I actually tried revving the engine before but I haven't heard any high pitched noise from it. Yes, I'm going to the dealer to see what is going on for next week. Thank you!
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06-19-2021, 05:41 PM | #6 |
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You can figure out what codes are stored w/o having a code reader. Skip to 1:35 in this (not my) video to unlock the secret menu. You can then pull up codes and Google them to determine what issues you could be having.
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06-19-2021, 06:55 PM | #7 |
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There's at least a dozen things that could cause the symptoms you have. The timing chain isn't one of them. When it breaks the engine is DOA.
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06-19-2021, 11:17 PM | #8 |
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Stalling and drivetrain malfunction is certainly not the timing chain.
Low oil pressure is one possible and common code for the timing chain. If the timing chain did go, you wouldn't be able to turn on your engine. Take a look at the cars codes. That will be able to give a starting point or answer to the problem.
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06-20-2021, 01:20 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
https://ibb.co/z5Ljkfn https://ibb.co/hHtzWq0 https://ibb.co/bLjfghx https://ibb.co/5kq4XY8 https://ibb.co/9nDbQQp https://ibb.co/4P8Xv3D I don't know if these are the check engine codes or not, though. |
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06-20-2021, 01:28 PM | #11 |
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I didn't replace them yet but do you think bad spark plug would cause these problems? The car shut itself off when driving. Honestly, you would feel the difference in driving when spark plugs are pretty bad, don't you think? The car is running perfectly smooth, no delay when you put the foot down to accelerate, pretty good mpg. I don't know, I feel like something else is going on
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06-20-2021, 01:34 PM | #12 | |
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06-20-2021, 02:22 PM | #13 |
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06-20-2021, 02:24 PM | #14 | ||
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Sometimes during errors, the car will automatically disable or "disconnect" certain aspects of the car for safety. If you have an Xdrive I would be thinking about the transfer case. But again, check the codes and post back.
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06-20-2021, 02:27 PM | #15 | |
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Please see the pictures below: https://ibb.co/z5Ljkfn https://ibb.co/hHtzWq0 https://ibb.co/bLjfghx https://ibb.co/5kq4XY8 https://ibb.co/9nDbQQp https://ibb.co/4P8Xv3D |
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06-20-2021, 02:30 PM | #16 | ||
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You can search YouTube for BimmerLink and OBDII
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06-20-2021, 02:34 PM | #18 |
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I don't have OBDII adapter but I will go to the dealer tomorrow morning and ask them to check what is going on but it looks like it is going to be an expensive one
No, I have 328i SULEV |
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06-20-2021, 02:40 PM | #19 |
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If your engine is able to run, then it is something in the power delivery.
It occasionally running fine means that everything is generally intact. Transfer case is the usual suspect, but you don't have it. So, then it's probably the transmission. It could also be the differentials, but I doubt the differentials are an issue. In that case, you might need a new torque converter, clutch etc.
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06-20-2021, 02:45 PM | #20 |
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Just keep in mind if that is the case, then the dealer will just recommended putting in a brand new transmission.
If it isn't covered by warranty, then you can also consider going to an Indie who could go the rebuild route. It might be a lot cheaper than the dealer solution.
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06-20-2021, 02:50 PM | #21 | |
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06-20-2021, 03:00 PM | #22 | ||
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However, the only thing (that could primarily be causing these issues) between your engine and wheels is the transmission. Wish you luck with that.
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