Check engine light on - 323i

[alpac]

The check engine light is on on my daughter's 1999 323i since today. Not sure what it is but could it be that it tells me the oil needs to be changed. I did change the oil and filter myself 3 months ago but did not reset any service light after that as I did not know how it worked on the 323. I know my X5 pretty well but I am still discovering this little BMW.

[UCrewX5]

Is it "Check Engine" or "Service Engine Soon" ?

[alpac]

Originally Posted by UCrewX5

Is it "Check Engine" or "Service Engine Soon" ?

It is 'check engine'

[UCrewX5]

hmmm, I'd have that looked at ASAP. Try to minimize how much you drive it in the mean time.

[alpac]

I have already checked the gas cap. I drove the car for 30 miles this afternoon thinking that the light may turn off if it was a temporary problem but the light is still on

[vinuneuro]

Go to an autozone if you don't have an OBII scanner. They'll read the code for free and clear it if necessary. If it's a universal code they'll be able to tell you exactly what part needs repair/replacement, otherwise there's a list of all the BMW codes on the main page.

[alpac]

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

Go to an autozone if you don't have an OBII scanner. They'll read the code for free and clear it if necessary. If it's a universal code they'll be able to tell you exactly what part needs repair/replacement, otherwise there's a list of all the BMW codes on the main page.

Yup, will do that tomorrow. Thanks Vin.

[alpac]

Today I had some time to check the car. I first found out that the coolant was very low. It is strange that the coolant light did not go on. I added some coolant. I also did a reset of the oil service (short of pin 7 and ground for 5 sec). I drove 15 miles and the 'check engine' light went off. My daughter used the car this evening and no problem. I really wondered what it was. I did not have the opportunity to bring the car to AutoZone to get the code checked so I guess I will never know.

[vinuneuro]

Perhaps BMW used the check engine light to indicate low coolant. I highly doubt the older 3 series had the obc that the x5 does. Nevertheless, glad everything's back to normal .

[SANguru]

they do not. Coolant is not really emissions related. Check engine and SES are of the same on the E46. Alpac, I would still bring it in to get it checked. SES light goes on usually mean something. Just going out to reset it = bad idea.

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

Perhaps BMW used the check engine light to indicate low coolant. I highly doubt the older 3 series had the obc that the x5 does. Nevertheless, glad everything's back to normal .