help needed with car any mechanics out there.

[jewlls]

hi,
i have a bmw 318, 1999, I have a problem when i start it up it idles up and down even when warm. sometimes dies out when first started up but when restarted it still idles up and down. but the car does drive fine when running until i come to stop then car starts idling again.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks Jewlls xxxx

[anewman]

A dirty throttle body is a possibility. This can happen on highish mileage cars at about 100k+ miles.

[peterbaker]

I am only a DIYer, but until someone more knowledgable arrives, might be useful to know:
1. Diesel or Petrol?
2. Have you had any work done on it recently or is the problem completely out of the blue?

At the moment I am thinking, if diesel, and if you have also noted power hesitation at mid-revs, maybe the MAF probe needs replacement (simple if you get the right part).

Or if petrol, something similar with the lamda probe that might have been kicked off with a dodgy tank or two of petrol some months ago (remember the Tesco apology/compensation thing ... ?)


In the old days (when engines weren't managed by probes and computers) what you describe when applied to a petrol engine sounds like what was called "engine-rev-hunting" which I think was associated with a weak petrol air mixture. But that was uniquely a carburettor adjustment problem I think, and I'm pretty sure your 318 will be petrol injection i.e. no carburettor.
But it's all a bit of surmise unless you can give some further detail.

[jewlls]

its petrol and is mileage is 111k we had this problem a few months ago it seemed to have corrected itself on its own and over the last week it has come back with avengance, also i have just serviced the engine and slightly overfilled with the oil would this contribute to the problem, could you tell me what the throttle body is where is it and can it be cleaned.

jewlls

[peterbaker]

Has anewman gone off on his coffeebreak, or second breakfast perhaps!

Come back! We need to know about the throttle body angles now you've mentioned them! I think I know what a throttle body might look like, and I have even found pictures on Google but if I am right, and perhaps like the OP, I wouldn't know where to start in taking it off and cleaning it! Throttle body cleaning sounds like a Haynes 3-spanner job to me, and dunno about anewman, but they take me all weekend :think:

[Andy_Edinburgh]

Post on http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/threads.htm?f=4

I'm sure someone will be able to guide you in the right direction.

HTH.

[hartcjhart]

Hi there is a really friendly BMW owners forum if you do a search on the net,

sorry cant remember the exact web address,

had a similar problem with a BM that I took in part ex apparently(from bm forum)there is a known fault(BM dont acknowledge it)with some of the slightly older ranges the cylinder liners are made from nikasel(think thats it)and it degrades with fuel or something,

any way after reading the article I have never touched a BM again

[Wig]

Hi there is a really friendly BMW owners forum if you do a search on the net,

sorry cant remember the exact web address,

had a similar problem with a BM that I took in part ex apparently(from bm forum)there is a known fault(BM dont acknowledge it)with some of the slightly older ranges the cylinder liners are made from nikasel(think thats it)and it degrades with fuel or something,

any way after reading the article I have never touched a BM again

And lets not forget the turbos on 320D BMW that break at a cost of £7000 repair bill and BMW doesn't give a @*** about the customers it happens to.

[Wig]

This BMW is doing "searching" on the idle, it might be the lambda sensor related, it might be idle valve related. I don't know.

cleaning a throttle body is easy, remove black airintake duct, take cloth dipped in petrol open butterfly valve and clean with cloth. It could be dirt here causing the butterfly to be completely closed and then putting more work onto the idle valve, but theoretically the idle valve should compensate. (which it is doing but it is searching and not coming to an equilibribrium) as I say I don't know.

[harveybobbles]

And lets not forget the turbos on 320D BMW that break at a cost of £7000 repair bill and BMW doesn't give a @*** about the customers it happens to.

£7000?!?!?! WHERE?!?!

It costs about 500 quid job done!! We do em all the time!!

[hartcjhart]

so Wig was overcharged but you have just confirmed his/her statement about the common problem
'we do them all the time'

[Wig]

A quick google for BMW 320D turbo failure will bring up all the links you need including this one, sorry, I was wrong about the 7K it is 2 - 3K

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/cars/bmw-320d/1029278/

But the main point was as hartcj noted. "We do them them all the time" a known dangerous inherent design fault, and BMW just ignores the problem.

[harveybobbles]

Yes they are common to fail. But only thru lack of maintenence. not mechanical failure.
We buy them as three year old cars from leasing companies. Part of our PDI work is to replace the breathers. As they get gunged uip with muck, thus causing oil starvation to the turbo. End reult: Turbo failure.

To anyone who has one; make sure the breathers get cleaned out when you are having any servicing work done. Only takes a moment or two. But saves you a few hundred quid! (or £2-3 depending where you go lol)

[Wig]

Yes they are common to fail. But only thru lack of maintenence. not mechanical failure.
We buy them as three year old cars from leasing companies. Part of our PDI work is to replace the breathers. As they get gunged uip with muck, thus causing oil starvation to the turbo. End reult: Turbo failure.

To anyone who has one; make sure the breathers get cleaned out when you are having any servicing work done. Only takes a moment or two. But saves you a few hundred quid! (or £2-3 depending where you go lol)

Ok but there must be a reason why those particular cars get gunged up, and other makes do not. There is a design fault on BMW 320D which is not there on any other car that I am aware of.

I've read a different explantion, that it is because of driving and stopping and turning off the engine, thus the oil in the hot bearings burns away and carbonises. the way to do it is to let the car idle when you stop for 5 miutes before turning it off.

[harveybobbles]

[quote=Wig;6519026]Ok but there must be a reason why those particular cars get gunged up, and other makes do not. There is a design fault on BMW 320D which is not there on any other car that I am aware of.

quote]

Bollox. Not a design fault. Just incorrect workmanship!

Saab's are another one that blow up. But thats a bad design...

[Wig]

Not a design fault. Just incorrect workmanship!


I'm not sure what you're saying, those two things mean the same thing to me.

Just explain why loads of 320D turbos fail, and the same is not for most other cars with turbos including other BMWs. You can't tell me that BMW 320D drivers are any worse than any other drivers or that the mechanics who do them are not doing something they always do for other cars.

[harveybobbles]

I'm not sure what you're saying, those two things mean the same thing to me.

Just explain why loads of 320D turbos fail, and the same is not for most other cars with turbos including other BMWs. You can't tell me that BMW 320D drivers are any worse than any other drivers or that the mechanics who do them are not doing something they always do for other cars.

Its exactly that - the people doing the maintenence don't always check the breathers. B'cos of the EU ruling, you don't have to have your car serviced by main dealers to keep the warrenty valid. So Jo blogs who does servicing on anything, may not know about the need to check/clean the breathers out.

We don't. It's not part of any service menu.

Unless we have a 320d in stock. Then we make damm sure the breathers can do just that!

6 cylinder ones seem ok. Its the 4 pot.

[Wig]

So you're saying, that service personnel all over Europe treat the BMW 320D differently from all other BMWs and all other makes?

Why on Earth would they all single out the 320D for substandard servicing?

[harveybobbles]

Cos main dealers follow what it says on the service check sheets.

Audi did this with their CVT 'box a few years ago. They knew about the fault, but unless YOU specified that they changed the ATF every 40,000 miles, they didnt bother.

[harveybobbles]

Also, companies like us who buy 3 year old ex-lease stuff have normally had 2 services. One around 20 and the other around 40. Then at 60 they get rid. So chances are the breathers wont have been touched because "its on 40,000 it'll be ok" will be the view of a mechanic.

Believe me, i know! Been there, seen it, done it!