Fuel filter..change it. Had his happen to my 540i, worked like a charm.

Mine 01 3.0 125K started this about a year ago, maybe a little longer. I would get in try starting it up and it would not start. On the second try it would start right up. Read lots of posts and finaly found one that suggested turning on the key for a few seconds maybe 5 or 10, then continue to crank. Did this ever since and it works every time. Something about giving the fuel pump time to start pumping fuel. Whatever it is it was nice to find a way around it that doesnt cost anything for once.

Replacing the fuel filter, spark plugs and cleaning the MAF now. I'll report back if this fixes the issue as it seems I'm not the only one with these exact symptoms.

without a good jack and some jack stands, pulling the panel off to get to the fuel filter is a PITA... I got the filter replaced and cleaned the MAF but decided to call it quits before getting to the spark plugs.

So far, it appears to have worked. The car sat for 30-45 minutes while I cleaned up and after that it fired right up. I'll make the final call in the morning though when I go for coffee.

Ok, just to finish off the thread in case someone searches and finds this. After the fuel filter and cleaning the MAF, the car starts right up now!

Bumping this old thread since my 4.6is with the stack of service records and long list of recent work is doing this.

I was planning on having the injectors ultra sonic cleaned and rebuilt anyway so I will start there. I will then look at the MAF ( I think it is right next to the Dinan airbox) and clean it and move to the fuel filter and fuel pump last. I checked fuses and we are all good there ( only checked fuel pump fuse).

I started it up three days ago to move it out of the garage so I could clean it and then moved it back. Now this.

Just goes to show that even with lots of recent work and service records these older BMW's are still a risk. I don't mind, I have 4 other cars to drive and look forward to learning to to fix this issue.

I would concentrate on getting it running right first. Looking at the age and miles of that fuel filter could be the culprit and should be changed in any event. If you have a bad fuel pump you should get a code by scanning the vehicle. See what the scan shows as a starting point first.

Do you say that because if the fuel filter is bad then it will dirty up my freshly cleaned injectors? The main reason I was going to start there is it did not require me to go underneath the X. I was looking into it last week as preventative maintenance anyway.

I tried all of the key on key off tricks mentioned above. It smells like gas in the engine bay whenever I try to start it. Made me think it was leaking injectors.

Most likely you flooded the engine by starting it up and only driving it out of the garage and then started it up to drive it back in. This was discuss in a previous thread. If you are going to start it up, drive it around the block so that the system is in closed loop and not open loop.


If you can smell gasoline in the engine bay, you engine is probably flooded. Depress the gas pedal all the way to the floor and crank the engine. This should clear the cylinders of any excess fuel and should start the engine.

Fix the excessive fuel in the cylinders or else you will be replacing cats

I cant recall if I did two starts or just one when I backed it out. I might have left it running since I was only using compressed air to blow out dust etc.

I pulled the fuel pump fuse and it started and ran for about 5 seconds. Put it back in and same thing. Died. Did all of this while pressing down on the pedal all the way. Maybe I should leave it alone for a few days to let the gas evaporate some. Or is that not realistic?