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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Drivetrain Malfunction Already :(
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      05-26-2017, 07:01 AM   #1
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Drivetrain Malfunction Already :(

Hi guys

So I've had my car for two weeks now (already driven 1500 miles!!) and today, while cruising calmly in normal mode at 50mph I got a drivetrain malfunction error on my iDrive. It also said "full power not available" or something like that and advised me to take it in. The error cleared itself about 30 seconds later as I was getting on the freeway, but the loss of power was still there. I floored it and couldn't get the car to go above 60 on the onramp.

I limped onto the freeway and couldn't maintain my speed. I had to nearly floor it to keep it above the speedlimit, but in the iDrive under 'check control' it showed all systems okay. I got off the freeway and decided to do a little 0-60 in 1st gear in manual mode and it definitely did not feel like a turbo car. It took FOREVER to get to 60, so I thought maybe a turbo shut off or something. Once I got to my office I turned the car off, then back on (I work in IT... first troubleshooting step with anything lol) and it was fine! I drove it for about 5 minutes and nothing. It accelerated quickly, shifted quickly, seemed okay. No errors or codes.

Now my question is... should I try to take it to the dealership, or are they going to turn me down because they can't find anything? I literally transferred the CPO warranty two days ago, so I guess I'm very lucky. I'm supposed to go on a roadtrip out of town tonight and would hate to be stranded in the middle of the Nevada desert with no cell service. If I do take it in... I hope I get a loaner. I'm good friends with my sales advisor, maybe he'll hook it up with a loaded G30
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      05-26-2017, 07:21 AM   #2
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Get the codes read.
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      05-26-2017, 07:51 AM   #3
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I been having issues with drive train malfunction its very common for BMW to do that.
It took my three trips to dealer before they finally replaced coil#8 and spark plug now car is driving fine.
Don't worry about getting stuck as long as you don't floor it you will be fine.
Now this could be due to something major or something as little as missfire.
its up to you to get it checked don't worry not a big deal. I remember firs time when I got it I was like F@%$ What now but more you reed on forum its common.
Good luck
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      05-26-2017, 09:14 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flamelauncher14 View Post
Now my question is... should I try to take it to the dealership, or are they going to turn me down because they can't find anything? I literally transferred the CPO warranty two days ago, so I guess I'm very lucky. I'm supposed to go on a roadtrip out of town tonight and would hate to be stranded in the middle of the Nevada desert with no cell service. If I do take it in... I hope I get a loaner. I'm good friends with my sales advisor, maybe he'll hook it up with a loaded G30
For sure take it in and make sure they check the code. Even if it cleared in the meantime they'll still likely be able to determine what caused it, and then you can make decisions from there. For sure since you ended up in limp mode, I wouldn't take it on a weekend trip without getting it checked.

As for "so soon", well I think it's pretty much expected. I don't think there's an owner that's never had one. I remember (not kidding) I had one during the first test drive of F10 (did not end up buying that one, for different reasons). Sales person wasn't exactly pleased when it came on.
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      05-26-2017, 10:25 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
For sure take it in and make sure they check the code. Even if it cleared in the meantime they'll still likely be able to determine what caused it, and then you can make decisions from there. For sure since you ended up in limp mode, I wouldn't take it on a weekend trip without getting it checked.

As for "so soon", well I think it's pretty much expected. I don't think there's an owner that's never had one. I remember (not kidding) I had one during the first test drive of F10 (did not end up buying that one, for different reasons). Sales person wasn't exactly pleased when it came on.
I expected these cars to have issues. That's why I limited my search to one with a CPO warranty (ends in November, I'll dump it after and get an X5 ///M for the winter ). My M6 had a cooling problem literally 30 miles after I got it. Nearly the entire system was refreshed under warranty which makes me happy.

I'll take it in. Problem is, appointment wise, I can't get scheduled until next Thursday. I hope the code read is covered under warranty, they charged me $130 last time to read a code. Took 15 minutes and got billed a full hour of labor
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      05-26-2017, 10:35 AM   #6
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You'll be fine probably something minor like misfire in cylinders due to sparks or ignition coil...
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      05-26-2017, 10:58 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Arko528 View Post
You'll be fine probably something minor like misfire in cylinders due to sparks or ignition coil...
I hope. I don't think they've been done yet (it's every 60k if I'm right). My next service is due in two weeks and I'm still under the maintenance plan, so I'll stick it out and see what they find when it's in for service.
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      05-26-2017, 10:59 AM   #8
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2 weekends ago I went on a road trip to running springs to visit my brother, as you may or may not know the n63 likes to burn oil, about a quart of oil in 1500-2500 miles so I checked mine just before we hit the road. I was almost a full quart low and topped it off just be before we set sail, I checked the level again as I was driving towards the freeway onramp. The freeway onramp which is about an 1/8th mile long and I like to stomp on it and just as I hit 100mph I got the drivetrain malfunction reduced power warnings. So I exited at the next exit and pulled over turned off the car turned it on and let the oil level finish, I checked the control messages and nothing, no malfunctions everything was ok. I spent the next 3 hours driving betwen 95 and 140mph and never got another warning. Did you by chance check the oil before you got your error? I learned something new that day and wanted to share my experience, Dont haul ass while your car is checking the oil level. I miss the dipstick.
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      05-26-2017, 11:15 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddylongtooth View Post
2 weekends ago I went on a road trip to running springs to visit my brother, as you may or may not know the n63 likes to burn oil, about a quart of oil in 1500-2500 miles so I checked mine just before we hit the road. I was almost a full quart low and topped it off just be before we set sail, I checked the level again as I was driving towards the freeway onramp. The freeway onramp which is about an 1/8th mile long and I like to stomp on it and just as I hit 100mph I got the drivetrain malfunction reduced power warnings. So I exited at the next exit and pulled over turned off the car turned it on and let the oil level finish, I checked the control messages and nothing, no malfunctions everything was ok. I spent the next 3 hours driving betwen 95 and 140mph and never got another warning. Did you by chance check the oil before you got your error? I learned something new that day and wanted to share my experience, Dont haul ass while your car is checking the oil level. I miss the dipstick.
Funny you mention the oil, I keep my oil level monitor on both my M6 (the HUD has an oil level setting) and on my 550i. The previous owner took it in a week before I bought it for low oil and had it topped off at the dealership, so I should probably top mine off and see what happens. I know it's not low, but it's also not full. That's a good point!
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      05-26-2017, 01:04 PM   #10
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2013 550i M Sport with 47,900 miles. Although it shows the cost, it was covered under my extended warranty.
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      05-26-2017, 01:56 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by rntaylor View Post
2013 550i M Sport with 47,900 miles. Although it shows the cost, it was cover under my extended warranty.
Wow! Almost $800 in labor alone. I'm definitely getting an extended warranty after mine is up, or just trade up to another CPO of some sort.
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      05-26-2017, 04:16 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
F I don't think there's an owner that's never had one
I wish never read that line today, because today for the first time it went into super limp mode. Something about stabilization malfunction, no clue what happened. The car bucked and just wouldn't go after that. Mined you I was in the third lane with rush hour traffic coming up to an on ramp to a major highway, fun stuff. Coasted to the on ramp lane, shed her down and started back up and it was clear.
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      05-26-2017, 04:27 PM   #13
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Plugs, Coils and Injectors (probably in that order too) is what I've found looking through most of the forums. My experience with this has been that the car was throwing drivetrain malfunction if I was going uphill in high gear (5 or 6) and tried to accelerate without downshifting. That seemed to stress the engine the most and it threw the misfire error. First time I took it in, they tried reproducing but switching out the coils and plugs from the suspect cylinder but they could not reproduce it. after switching back, the car threw a code for a different cylinder and they promptly replaced the injector on that cylinder. 3 days later I tried to reproduce the failure mode and lo and behold same cylinder misfire as before. This time they replaced 1 injector 2, coils and 3 spark plugs. (They even had to replace a brand new spark plug as apparently the new one threw the code right off the bat. They said suspected bad batch of spark plugs). Finally, their last best guess was that it was an offending spark plug in the cylinder that threw the original misfire and that it was only under load that it was doing this..

I've been driving and pushing since and the car does not show any signs of hesitation/misfire like before.
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      05-26-2017, 05:45 PM   #14
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Car is at my dealership. After an argument with the reps about the CPO warranty, they took the car in. They offered me a brand new X5 loaner, then found out I own two other BMWs and decided to keep the X5 for 'resource distribution' purposes. So I'm waiting in the lobby right now waiting for my ride home so I can get my M6 and go on the road trip I was supposed to be on 45 minutes ago.

All in all I'm glad they were able to take me in. They're slammed with appointments but still found time to get the car and get it in for a look. They'll get back to me asap on what's wrong and what needs to be done. Looks like my car will be in for about two weeks :/
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      05-27-2017, 07:33 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flamelauncher14 View Post
Wow! Almost $800 in labor alone. I'm definitely getting an extended warranty after mine is up, or just trade up to another CPO of some sort.
Crazy right!!! I learned my lesson of owning a BMW without an extended warranty (the wife's E70) never again.
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      05-28-2017, 09:03 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flamelauncher14 View Post
Car is at my dealership. After an argument with the reps about the CPO warranty, they took the car in. They offered me a brand new X5 loaner, then found out I own two other BMWs and decided to keep the X5 for 'resource distribution' purposes. So I'm waiting in the lobby right now waiting for my ride home so I can get my M6 and go on the road trip I was supposed to be on 45 minutes ago.

All in all I'm glad they were able to take me in. They're slammed with appointments but still found time to get the car and get it in for a look. They'll get back to me asap on what's wrong and what needs to be done. Looks like my car will be in for about two weeks :/
That's crazy they didn't offer you the loaner regardless if you had 10 BMWs!

How do they know it's not driven by other members of your household?

Anyhoo... I've been there. My last Drivetrain Malf was a terminally bricked DME... new computer and reprogrammed... now got power back like its new. I have some weird suspicion the previous dealer monkeyed with the DME when I brought my car in because the SA was skeptical I didn't have a tune on it.
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      05-28-2017, 10:28 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
... I don't think there's an owner that's never had one. I remember (not kidding) I had one during the first test drive of F10 (did not end up buying that one, for different reasons). Sales person wasn't exactly pleased when it came on.
I've got 43K miles on 2 535i's (a '12 and '14) and have yet to see a DTM... And I purchased them CPO.
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      05-29-2017, 03:14 AM   #18
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That's a bummer to experience right in the beginning!
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      05-29-2017, 10:22 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
I've got 43K miles on 2 535i's (a '12 and '14) and have yet to see a DTM... And I purchased them CPO.
Well I guess I was wrong, but assuming you split the mileage between the two, 20K each is about what, 1-1.5 year of ownership each, I guess it's possible not to see one. I wouldn't bet on that being the case in somewhat longer term ownership, 4+ years.

There's still time (hope not) for you.

F10s are pretty cool and sophisticated, but that also sometimes works against them. I remember vacuuming the car two years ago and "seat calibration" warning came up and reset was required at the dealership. Explanation was that "system got confused by seats were being moved to their extreme limits". "Not a big deal, no rush to reset" SA said, "it just might affect your airbag operation." In another instance, smallest amount of snow got onto the passenger seat, another "warning" came up, one that apparently also might affect proper airbag operation (this one was gone after seat was dried out, forum search option helped me on that one).

My point being, there are so many monitoring systems on these cars that aren't difficult to trigger, drive-train malfunction being one of them. While many of these issues are covered under warranty or CPO, it's still pain to get them diagnosed, as they costs owners time.
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      05-29-2017, 05:42 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
Well I guess I was wrong, but assuming you split the mileage between the two, 20K each is about what, 1-1.5 year of ownership each, I guess it's possible not to see one. I wouldn't bet on that being the case in somewhat longer term ownership, 4+ years.

There's still time (hope not) for you. ...
One has 40K in just over 2 years (the '12) and the '14 has just shy of 5K in just over 4 months. The '12 has about 81K miles and the '14 just over 30K miles.

Quote:
My point being, there are so many monitoring systems on these cars that aren't difficult to trigger, drive-train malfunction being one of them. While many of these issues are covered under warranty or CPO, it's still pain to get them diagnosed, as they costs owners time.
Our V8 Lincoln LSes had a thing we all called the mystery beep. It was a warning that had a duration that was so short the message disappeared before it could be displayed. The best the engineers could come up with was that it was a brief (milli-milli-second) communication error between a sensor and the PCM. We just figured it was the car saying "Hi" to us!

Last edited by ezaircon4jc; 05-29-2017 at 05:48 PM..
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      05-29-2017, 09:39 PM   #21
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I miss the car already. Feels like I never got it, that and my M3 goes to its new owner this week. Sad week for my garage...... Oh well. Still looking around at X5 ///Ms and even 650i GC xDrives to use as a daily winter car come my 21st bday this year.

We will see what happens.
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      05-30-2017, 02:00 PM   #22
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Good news! Car is ready for pickup. Apparently the intercooler fluid was completely dry! Somehow Crevier missed that during the last inspection service done only a few miles before I got the car. Regardless, the dealership is only billing me for diagnostics ($160). Included in this was a full inspection (almost a PPI) and replenishing that fluid as well as driving the car around to check for any leaks.

So I'm not mad at all! $160 is a steal considering they spent 4+ hours on the car today and decided to only bill me for an hour of labor + diagnostics. I'll be picking her up in 3 hours!
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