Engine Light

[artemis_adore]

Hi Guys,

I own BMW X5 3.0 2001 with about 111000kms on it. Its a Canadian vehicle. I got this symbol comes up. Can anyone please suggest what could be the problem and if there's anything I can do before taking it to the dealer.

Thanks in advance

[Seabass]

It could be many different things.

You may want to track down an OBD code reader. A basic reader can be bought in Canada at Princess Auto or Part Source for around $50. Canadian Tire currently has some on sale too.

The reader will allow you to determine the error code that is causing the Check Engine light. Post the code on this forum and I'm sure you'll get some replies as to the possible cause.

[artemis_adore]

Hi Bud,

I checked the manual for my BMW X5 3.0 2001 and it says the light indicates "Service engine soon". But the light for " Engine oil pressure" is different. Its a Canadian vehicle.
Anyways I checked the gas cap, burned off the exisitng fuel in tank , refilled with higher grade and drove around. Guess what "It worked", the light went off. I was really glad. This tip was given to me by one of the guys here. I guess the reason for bad fuel was that I was out fo country on vacation and I lend my friend my Bimmer and I guess he must have filled with low grade oil.

Thanks again
Cheers

[bgsquad]

yup, if the car is driving fine, most probably it's a minor issue related to fuel. here in lebanon for example, we use 95 octane and full of impurity, so all our cars get the SES or equivalent light and we keep driving it... with the X5, the light comes on for few trips then turns for for a month or so before repeating the cycle... i don't worry about it... however, the stealer said that they can update the software to make the engine burn differenty and hence less sensible to fuel quality... donnu, maybe i'll do it when its service is due in like 5 months...

cheers

[X5 Meister]

Your outboard motor is no longer in the water.

[JCL]

The octane rating is very unlikely to cause the check engine light. Two things that are likely to cause it are the gas cap being left loose, or too much ethanol in the fuel.