Engine cutting out/Failsafe Prog

[e30mpower]

I'm almost ready to get rid of it and pick up a Benz....

Last week, I was turning into a parking space at work and my engine cut out, no warning, no anything... but then it started right up like normal again.

Today, I bumped the trans from drive to neutral by accident while reaching for the glovebox. Went and did some errands, then came up a hill kinda fast and it knocked down into Trans. Failsafe Program. Cut it off, started back up, still in Failsafe. I had all five gears and reverse, but the downshifts were really rough.

Failsafe finally disappeared after letting it sit for a few hours and it started behaving itself. Then tonight, I was on my way home and was pulling up to a stoplight, and the engine cut off again. No warning, no sputtering, no anything. I just looked down and I had the SES light and RPMs at 0. It started right back up, I pulled into Jack in the Box, stopped, pulled up to the window, and it cut off again.

It only has 72k on it. I put only 93 octane in it. What should I check first? I'm not terribly concerned about limp-home mode, since that is something I expected to happen with this car (although not this soon in its life); but the engine stalling out is infuriating me and I want to punch it. Again... it has only happened when I am coasting, about to stop... it doesn't happen frequently but it is embarrassing when it does.

Don't get me wrong, when I bought the car I was prepared to shell out for its maintenance. But I expected the tranny to last till at least 90-100k, and I never expected the engine to misbehave (Ward's 10 Best engines for several years).

[swissfrank]

sounds like it could be a vacuum leak on on the air duct between the maf and manifold, check there first, there are often tears or holes in the rubber hose.

[mtX5]

i had the random shutting off and the dash board lighting up back in the day. dealer changed fuel pump and a bunch of other things but it still happened (they didnt know what it was), now i use shell v power and it barely ever happens. no idea if the two are related

[mtX5]

oh and don't go getting an ML .. been there done that.. they suck.

[Franck from Moscow]

Check transmission fluid level and quality, you may have some surprise and have to change it.

[Weasel]

For the random instant stalling with no spuddering, I would suspect a cam sensor going out... If the DME loses cam position signal it don't know the timing for the injectors or ignition coils. If that's the case you may have a fault stored soon.

If not that there is a possibility of the ignition switch going out, slack in the switch could act as if you were turning off the key...

As for the transmission failsafe, there should be faults stored in the EGS that could point out that issue. With both of these problems happening, rather than trying to guess and throwing parts at it I'd bring it in for proper diagnosis. Just make sure where you bring it, if not the dealer, has the GT1 and plenty of experience/knowledge of BMW systems.

[e30mpower]

Originally Posted by mtX5

oh and don't go getting an ML .. been there done that.. they suck.

Oh I know, my best friend went there and came back with $17k in service bills over 3 years. I'm just frustrated right now because I've funneled more money into this car in seven months than I've spent on any other car ever (even previous BMWs with 150k+ miles). A lot of it I know has been routine maintenance... instrument cluster (BMWNA helped), water pump, fan clutch, brake pads, alternator, belts, etc.

But now I've got a transmission failing earlier than I expected, an engine that stalls out, and a window that makes a loud popping noise whenever it rolls up or down. I thought I was doing good by catching everything before it failed (water pump, fan clutch, drive belts and pulleys), but the X just keep throwing me curve balls.

And on top of all this I just drained my savings to pay school this semester, and can't afford a trip to the service shop for at least a month. Would anybody advise picking up a code scanner so that at least I can try to read the faults out myself before bringing it into the shop?

[Weasel]

Worth a shot with the code reader... a normal OBD2 reader isn't that expensive, but probably costs the same as a 1 hour diagnosis time.

[m5james]

You've put money into a car that is about the approximate mileage that it needed all these things, so why are you so surprised? If you want brand new performance and lower maintenance, then you've gotta pay brand new prices. BMW's will never be cheap to maintain unless you stick w/ E30's, and even some of them are still used and abused. You've already spent money on your X, so getting rid of it now would be a bigger waste than keeping it using it for what it's worth.

Just about any autoparts store nowadays will let you use their code reader for free. Codes will make it 10x easier for us to help you. I don't know if you know many BMW people in your area, but myself and a handful of people in my area own scanning tools...maybe you can try www.bimmerforums, bimmerfest, DTM Power - BMW Message Board & Forum, etc and find BMW owners local to you who might own scan tools and can help you w/ repairs.