Car shakes on startup- Deterioration of exhaust emissions
 

Hi everyone,

Occasionally, say once every 3 months, when I startup the car after being garaged overnight - the car will shake quite a lot for a couple of minutes if i don't drive away immediately, followed by a yellow engine light, which in the manual says Deterioration of exhaust emissions, have it checked.
The shake feels like it is coming from the engine.

I find it happens when i just have to re-park the car, with the engine cold on start-up and cold when i shut it off.
I had the dealer check it and they found no codes i explained the situation they think it is normal.

Is it normal?? any thoughts?

cheers :confused:

Could be bad fuel..thats been known to cause this. And in your warmer climate I would guess thats what it could more likely be..Much more likely then an oil seperator problem like most of us are experiencing in the frigid USA..

Thanks for the reply... the dealer said the same thing regarding bad fuel, told me to use same fuel all the time of a high quality. They recommended BP Ultimate which is what i use?

Is the oil separator only prone to issues in very cold weather? I can't remember the last day i would describe as being very cold down here....i also read that all 4.4i need oil separator replacements is this true or just for the states?

I have the 4.4i Sport E53. Yesterday the same warning light came on, yellow outline of engine. Manual says its Emission Control Valves - what are these? There has been no change in the running of the car - its running fine. Is it safe to continue driving it with this warning light on?

BP is not a recommended fuel for BMW. Only use Top Tier Fuels. Top Tier Gasoline

the pre 10/03 production 4.4 require separator replacement at around 70-100k, its a rubber diagphram, and will fail eventually. also check the 2 crankcase hoses on top of the intake manifold for mushyness.

I'd say in your case it is probably fuel. I had the same problem for the longest time. Every once in a while when I'd start the vehicle it would shake a little and sound upset. I would always get fuel at the station right by my house. Once I started putting fuel in from another station the problem went away. Runs like a champ now! :thumbup:

Possibly a smog pump?

Always try to use the highest octane fuel possible and best quality fuel available..Contrary to what someone said above I filled my x5 with BP consistently 92 octane and the car ran great on it...its when i switched up fuel brands every now and then (when i had to because i needed gas) i would notice the X wouldn't perform as well and i had the cold start shaking as well..

cool....i feel better about it now, don't have that 'somethings about to break sensation' thanks everyone :thumbup:

I have the shaking at cold start a bit but no SES light , but it sounds aweful when I start it in the morning , it sounds as if one or two plugs are dead , but it gos away whenthe engine heats up , my car is a 2004 E 53 so it won't need an oil seperator ?