Oh no! Dreaded Service Engine Soon light is on!

[ses4me]

Just to follow up -- I had the exact same experience as you. A gas attendant filled up my X5 (in NJ, full service is required by law) and 24 hours later, the SES light came on. I bet that you just have a harmless gas cap/oxygen in the system issue. If your car is otherwise running fine and you have enough patience to wait it out, it will probably go away eventually. You will feel like an idiot (like me) if you take it to the dealership and get charged an arm and a leg for that diagnosis.

[ike301]

no stalling, no idling, nothing. no other lights on the board. it was a late night fill up and after a wedding, so i wasnt paying any attention.... i hope this is it.

[ike301]

ok, again, i'm off site. i had someone go and tighten the gas cap. apparently it clicked once. ses4me said it could be the oxygen in the tank and thats why the SES light comes on. sounds like a valid answer. no disrespect to ses4me, i appreciate the suggestion.

can anyone else concurs it takes up to a week to go away? can i speed this process up? i dont want to drive more than i should if it isnt the gas cap. i can see it now 'Sir, when that light comes on, it means to bring it in, not keep driving it." YIKES. $$$$$$$

hehehe thanks guys.

[ses4me]

Originally Posted by ike301

ok, again, i'm off site. i had someone go and tighten the gas cap. apparently it clicked once. ses4me said it could be the oxygen in the tank and thats why the SES light comes on. sounds like a valid answer. no disrespect to ses4me, i appreciate the suggestion.

can anyone else concurs it takes up to a week to go away? can i speed this process up? i dont want to drive more than i should if it isnt the gas cap. i can see it now 'Sir, when that light comes on, it means to bring it in, not keep driving it." YIKES. $$$$$$$

hehehe thanks guys.

I was also stressing out about the SES light and fearing that I was damaging the engine, so much so that I drove it to the dealership and asked for a servicing without having made an appointment. My service advisor told me that as long as the engine is running normally with no stalling and no idling problems, it was probably a harmless gas cap/oxygen issue. He then scheduled me for an appointment for five days later just to make me feel better. Five days later I took the car in and they confirmed that it was the oxygen in the system and re-programmed my OBC to eliminate the SES light. They said it probably would've gone away by itself after two more days of normal driving and that it typically takes a week or so for the light to go away. If it makes you feel better, have it checked out. Peace of mind is invaluable.

[superH]

Could be a minor issue like the one I had with my 01 4.4.

The SES light came on for no reason one day and the car was running fine with no hesitation, etc. A few days later it went off, so I thought it was probably the gas cap issue. Another couple of days or so and it went on again. This time I took it to the dealer and it turned out to be something on the intake manifold like a PCV valve or something (I'll search for the paperwork later) that there was a recall issued for. They replaced a hose and that was that.

FWIW, I couldn't tell any difference after they "fixed" the problem, just no more SES light.

Don't worry, if something was REALLY wrong I you'd notice.

Good luck!

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ike301]

Originally Posted by superH

Could be a minor issue like the one I had with my 01 4.4.

The SES light came on for no reason one day and the car was running fine with no hesitation, etc. A few days later it went off, so I thought it was probably the gas cap issue. Another couple of days or so and it went on again. This time I took it to the dealer and it turned out to be something on the intake manifold like a PCV valve or something (I'll search for the paperwork later) that there was a recall issued for. They replaced a hose and that was that.

FWIW, I couldn't tell any difference after they "fixed" the problem, just no more SES light.

Don't worry, if something was REALLY wrong I you'd notice.

Good luck!

GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

me too. no hesitation, etc. so ur telling me it actually went off and then came back on? uh oh. i drove it around today, it was still on. i crank the gas cap on tight - repititious clicks.

if you would be so kind as to locate that paperwork and let me have a gander, i can call my dealer and see if this recall replacement was done. thanks again!

[vinuneuro]

Just go to any Autozone. They will pull the code for you for free. Then you'll know what the problem is.

[SANguru]

here's how it works and again guessing will do you know good. If the fault does not reappear on the DME after 25 cycles, the light will reset but the fault code will not. You will still get a fault code the next time you bring it in.
playing around with the gas cap will also do you know good at this time and will not take the light away..

Originally Posted by ike301

me too. no hesitation, etc. so ur telling me it actually went off and then came back on? uh oh. i drove it around today, it was still on. i crank the gas cap on tight - repititious clicks.

if you would be so kind as to locate that paperwork and let me have a gander, i can call my dealer and see if this recall replacement was done. thanks again!

[SANguru]

uuh.. autozone and BMW = no way...

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

Just go to any Autozone. They will pull the code for you for free. Then you'll know what the problem is.

[SANguru]

Again guys.. I don't understand why there is all this stress about this? Ike301, I offered to read the code for you and reset it if it's something minor. takes less than 30 secs... quick drive down to the east bay and I got no response, so if it's that important, just shoot me a PM and you will know what exactly what triggered the light.. not a big deal and even if something failed, it's all emissions related.

Originally Posted by ses4me

I was also stressing out about the SES light and fearing that I was damaging the engine, so much so that I drove it to the dealership and asked for a servicing without having made an appointment. My service advisor told me that as long as the engine is running normally with no stalling and no idling problems, it was probably a harmless gas cap/oxygen issue. He then scheduled me for an appointment for five days later just to make me feel better. Five days later I took the car in and they confirmed that it was the oxygen in the system and re-programmed my OBC to eliminate the SES light. They said it probably would've gone away by itself after two more days of normal driving and that it typically takes a week or so for the light to go away. If it makes you feel better, have it checked out. Peace of mind is invaluable.