BMW 320i problems

vax2002

Absolute rubbish !
They are fobbing you off until the warranty runs out, if the EML light is coming on the car is detecting a low or high reading at one of the sensors and it has a fault that requires fixing, do you know anyone who has a code reader ? at least you can go in armed with information then.

vax2002

fivetide wrote: »

Worth noting i think Ford had issues with early Zetec engines getting sticky vavles - the big problem? Short trips round town so the vavles were never opened up properly so it causes more issues than you might think.

5t.

The valves in any engine are pressed down exactly the same depth every time the camshaft turns which is around 3000 times a minute on average.
the ford valve problem was poor quality soft brass valve guides that twisted restricting the valve flow , the driving thing was another one of those, its your fault excuses...Unless you were a large fleet customer, then they replaced them with a harder brass-alloy guide.

mikey72

fivetide wrote: »

Also part balls re particulate filters but the rest is about right.

Why do you need to take a car for a lot of short journeys? Not being funny, just asking.

The rest of hammy's post is right, no car will be happy with nothing but short journeys. They never get up to temp so nothing is working at optimum. Remember how at MOT time they let the cat get very hot because that is when it is at its most efficient? You are not lettign it do that.

It's a 2009 car, not a 1979.

It'll be warm after about 5 mins, and the cat will be near the manifold, so that will be working as well.

fivetide wrote: »

The rememberign how it used to drive is twaddle though, that would only affect a clever auto box and even then, it wouldn't make that much difference.

All engine management systems tweak the profile to suite the driving style, you can force a reset and re-learn normally by disconecting the battery for several hours, or they adjust themselves over a few days.

fivetide wrote: »

What they are saying is take it for the odd italian tune up on the motorway, give it some boot, let it get warm once in a while and on occasion, if you can, take the bus to town

The op was doing 80 on the motorway the last time the light came on

fivetide

vax2002 wrote: »

The valves in any engine are pressed down exactly the same depth every time the camshaft turns which is around 3000 times a minute on average.
the ford valve problem was poor quality soft brass valve guides that twisted restricting the valve flow , the driving thing was another one of those, its your fault excuses...Unless you were a large fleet customer, then they replaced them with a harder brass-alloy guide.

Pretty sure they were simply getting gummed up not breaking.... Indeed "Early versions of the engine had a problem with sticking valves - far more evident in the UK (and in cold climates), where a driving style with earlier gear changes is more common than on the Continent - unless a special Ford formulation of oil was used. After small changes in 1995 to fix this problem the engine was known as the Zetec-E"

So essentially, short trips, not giving the engine enough revs to have everything opened up properly.

5t.

fivetide

mikey72 wrote: »

It's a 2009 car, not a 1979.

It'll be warm after about 5 mins, and the cat will be near the manifold, so that will be working as well.

No most engines will register as being 'warm' at five minutes. this is based on water temp. Oil takes a lot longer than water to heat up.

Please explain why an MOT testing station will leave a car idling for ages before testing the cat not just switch it on if you are right (which, you aren't)

All engine management systems tweak the profile to suite the driving style, you can force a reset and re-learn normally by disconecting the battery for several hours, or they adjust themselves over a few days.

Even cheap cars? Yes the BM does but 'all' is a bit ott isn't it? And yes, assuming the battery is disconnected or the OP has had it cleared by BMW under warrenty then it should have forgotten it all and tried to relearn.

That's exactly why i said it was a rubbish reason for them to give the OP.

The op was doing 80 on the motorway the last time the light came on

And how many bimbles round town had he made before that?

5t.

vax2002

fivetide wrote: »

So essentially, short trips, not giving the engine enough revs to have everything opened up properly.

5t.

Urban Myth, thrashing you car down the motorway is far more likely to damage the engine than driving it steadily.

mikey72

fivetide wrote: »

No most engines will register as being 'warm' at five minutes. this is based on water temp. Oil takes a lot longer than water to heat up.

Please explain why an MOT testing station will leave a car idling for ages before testing the cat not just switch it on if you are right (which, you aren't)

Even cheap cars? Yes the BM does but 'all' is a bit ott isn't it? And yes, assuming the battery is disconnected or the OP has had it cleared by BMW under warrenty then it should have forgotten it all and tried to relearn.

That's exactly why i said it was a rubbish reason for them to give the OP.

And how many bimbles round town had he made before that?

5t.

Either you haven't been around modern cars, or you're at the BMW garage.
The op has enough viewpoints to make a decision on now though.

techguy81

It is my wife who is the main user of the car. She just uses it for general purposes, shopping, visiting friends, driving to work, taking kids out etc, all the things you would expect a car to be able to do with ease. At the moment she is heavily pregant and needs it more than ever. I wouldn't wish public transport on my worst enemy!

We used to have a little old 2001 Ford Fiesta 1.25i before this, used it for exactly the same purposes and it never gave us any major problems in seven years of ownership. In fact we only got rid of it because we needed the space for our expanding family. Can't understand why a supposedly superior BMW cannot give the same trouble-free performance.

fivetide

mikey72 wrote: »

Either you haven't been around modern cars, or you're at the BMW garage.
The op has enough viewpoints to make a decision on now though.

So as not to repeat myself for a fourth time.

I THINK THE EXCUSE FROM BMW IS UTTER DRIVEL.

However, short journeys are not good for cars, it isn't a myth, it is a fact. You are better off (IMHO) with a car that has been given mixed driving conditions, varied revs etc, regular miles and serviced on the spot.

The OP's car is ex-fleet, unlikely to have been shown a lot of mechanical sympathy by its previous owner.

5t.