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Thread: Attention BMW experts!!

  1. #1
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    Attention BMW experts!!

    I’ve had the dreaded “DriveTrain error” message come up on my MY13 116i again.
    It’s happened before but during the last service a couple of months ago they did a software upgrade that sorted it but it’s now happening again. Always when the car is cold.
    As before, a switch off/on again sorts the problem.
    I’ve got it booked in next Friday but just wondered if anyone has any thoughts on the reasons why this happens?
    Reading on BMW forums it seems this is one of those errors that has the annoying habit of being very tricky to diagnose.......




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  2. #2
    Master
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    I have had this msg in my 330d, was egr in the end.

  3. #3
    Master
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    A friend of mine has had that happen to him a number of times and after the third visit to BMW and an expensive bill he has just traded it in for a Skoda.

    He was told it was fixed and every time the fault appeared after a few weeks.

    As you say very difficult to find the cause.

  4. #4
    Lots of possibles, ranging from daft firmware problems to major component failure. Get the codes read and go from there..............

  5. #5
    When you say it always happens when the car is cold, does it do it generally after cold start i.e. Just after cranking?

  6. #6
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers View Post
    When you say it always happens when the car is cold, does it do it generally after cold start i.e. Just after cranking?
    Thinking thermostats?

  7. #7
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    Happens about two minutes after start


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  8. #8
    Thinking thermostats?

    Happens about two minutes after start

    No not stats but battery.

    I'm not a BMW expert but we have a similar issue with some Land Rovers where we get an error message (generally transmission-drivetrain related) come up shorty after start up.
    Basically the battery can be in a low enough state to start the car but will slightly dip due to the fact that lots of energy is used in cold start. Most ecu's like to see 12:5 volts but if they don't you can get a low voltage fault flag in whichever ecus see it. Most ecus work on a CAN network ( high speed can for Engine, abs, gearbox) where they all communicate, when a fault flags it can cascade to various other ecus which can cause a comms error causing all types of random issues and fault messages.
    Last edited by Franky Four Fingers; 18th November 2017 at 18:43.

  9. #9
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    ⬆️⬆️⬆️ sounds very plausible


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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by andymonkey View Post
    ⬆️⬆️⬆️ sounds very plausible


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    Yes, As others have said a fault code read should help but sometimes it can complications especially if you have loads of faults stored.

  11. #11
    Master PipPip's Avatar
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    Had this message on my i3. At least 6 times in the first year. That car loved its extended holidays at the BMW dealership.

  12. #12
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    Luckily it’s still under warranty.....


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  13. #13
    Master
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    I would suspect battery voltage. On my own car, if the battery is not at 90% ish, eg on a cold morning start, it triggers a CANBUS error and the odometer starts flashing ........... after a warm restart the flashing stops. Irritating but not the end of the world, yet!

  14. #14
    I had this on mine and after 3 visits it turned out to be the fuel pump relay!


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  15. #15
    with cold errors - usually a sensor somewhere - possible a driveshaft sensor

    on a renault I had with an autobox - with less than 35000miles on her - kept getting a gearbox error when cold and she went into safe mode, Switch on and off and sorted until it was happening too often
    garage said the the solenoids need replacing (didnt believe them at such low mileage) and that it was also probably the gearbox oil pressure sensor or something in the area
    problem is it was worth replace all the above at the time, and the tranny oil too = expensive - sold the car instead

  16. #16
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    Well, the car was with my local BMW service centre all day last Friday.
    Predictably they found no faults, no error codes found......
    Was told that if it happens again to take it back to them but I’m sure once the warranty expires at the end of this year it’ll come on again and I’ll get told I need a new turbo....


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  17. #17
    Master
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    ************ electronics! Give me a wind up any day! :)

  18. #18
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by andymonkey View Post
    Well, the car was with my local BMW service centre all day last Friday.
    Predictably they found no faults, no error codes found......
    Was told that if it happens again to take it back to them but I’m sure once the warranty expires at the end of this year it’ll come on again and I’ll get told I need a new turbo....


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    Trade it.

  19. #19
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MCFastybloke View Post
    Trade it.
    Speaking of this, I’m one year into a four year pcp with BMW . Is there a minimum time before I can trade the car in for another?


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  20. #20
    Master
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    Dont know about that, maybe if you staying with BMW

  21. #21
    Master andymonkey's Avatar
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    An update to this thread.
    Error message reappeared, same conditions as before.
    I decided to take it back to Lister bmw in kings Lynn where I bought it. What a difference!
    They drove 25 miles to collect the car and give me a courtesy car and then immediately diagnosed that it was a solenoid that regulates the oil pressure. Replaced it and now the car is fine.
    They couldn’t understand how Sycamore hadn’t found the error code.
    Needless to say I won’t be using Sycamore for any future servicing.....


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  22. #22
    Craftsman
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    Good result OP.
    From my experience main dealers are clueless for diagnostics. My wife's Mini had a few very annoying electronic issues which BMW could not diagnose so I took it to a recommended independent company in Watford who had it sorted within hours. It needed a new body control module which wasn't cheap but we've had no problems since.

  23. #23
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers View Post
    Thinking thermostats?

    Happens about two minutes after start

    No not stats but battery.

    I'm not a BMW expert but we have a similar issue with some Land Rovers where we get an error message (generally transmission-drivetrain related) come up shorty after start up.
    Basically the battery can be in a low enough state to start the car but will slightly dip due to the fact that lots of energy is used in cold start. Most ecu's like to see 12:5 volts but if they don't you can get a low voltage fault flag in whichever ecus see it. Most ecus work on a CAN network ( high speed can for Engine, abs, gearbox) where they all communicate, when a fault flags it can cascade to various other ecus which can cause a comms error causing all types of random issues and fault messages.
    You can generally tell when the battery is weak on a BMW as it will shut down the I-drive system as soon as you turn off the engine. When the battery is in normal state, I-drive continues until the key is removed. As the battery gets progressively worse, it will start shutting down other systems overnight (so for instance the clock will need resetting) to preserve a charge.

  24. #24
    Craftsman
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    Had the same warning on my 320GT a couple of weeks ago and apparently it was an over sensitive catalytic converter sensor


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