Limp Mode - Many codes
 

Hey Guys,
Haven't posted in ages. Mostly lurking these days. Can you help me decipher Service Advisor email?

Codes are:
P0069
P0101
P0401
P0420
P0671
P2279

Also, apparently, the battery that's in it from the original dealership is the wrong one.:wow:

1. What do you mean by "wrong" battery? Be specific. "Oh the sa said it isnt the right one" isnt. ;)

2. Be careful. The SA is playing with YOUR money. You need to ask "WHEN did each code first occur?" Engine operating hours are OK. Also ask which are active. I sense a major screwing coming up here.

3. Read up on carbon fouling in the 335d forums. THIS IS A MUST. You will see that BMW has a problem and SOME owners are getting screwed...some are getting BMW to cover issues. It will be worth your time, IMO. I think the cleaning is 2-3k.

Do not let them do too much or suck you in too far.

My 2 cents

Thanks Ard I was hoping you'd reply to this :) My SA is a total Ditz...

I can't get a straight answer from her and our current discussion is hell bent on me buying a new filter from her.

Back story:

several months ago, the x5 threw a cel for open circuit in glow plug cylinder 1. I took it to my independent and he replaced the glow plug but no joy in clearing the code so his next step was going to be to change out the controller. After some discussion, he suggested that it wasn't a necessity at this point and that I could drive the vehicle.

About a month later, She went into limp mode when downshifting as I was leaving my house. I turned around and parked her in the garage for another month till I had time to deal with it. (drove my other vehicle)

Now the time has come where I need the vehicle so I'm dealing with it. Battery had died in my garage so I jumped it and that's when I got to read the codes.

I had it towed to the dealership and that's where it sits. I'm asking my SA for detailed info: "Trouble Code - Remedy for trouble code - Is it covered/why/why not" Her responses are vague:
She's adamant that not replacing the filter will cause a fault so my last message to her asked if that fault would prevent me from driving the vehicle. I know.. I know.. it's just $57 but I'm having a hard time swallowing $57 for a $20 Mann Filter. Hell I could swap it out for a K&N for that.


Edit: Oh yeah her explanation for the battery was that the one in the vehicle has lower voltage than what it's supposed to have which doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I've asked for an explanation so that I can go back to the dealership I bought it from but she hasn't answered. I can only assume she meant to say wrong amperage.

Id be more annoyed with the $220 wasted mucking about looking for carbon they werent going to cover.

You can see in her message that she has been "trained" to blame "external issues" and "bad gas"...this is the littany that BMW has propogated due to their design defects that cause fouling of the secondary air passages in many models of their car.

If you've read the 335d threads BMW **DOES** cover the cleaning when owners are sharp and pin them down.

Pay her the $$$. It is FAR better than a POS K&N.

I wouldnt let them do any work until they start gving clear cogent answers. A "Stop All Work" letter, FAXED to the dealer with a copy in the mail, CC to the general manager will get serious attention. If it gets to that... time for a 'come to Jesus' conversation. She may ne Ditzy..or she may be purposefully being vague. Or I suppose the deadly combo of 'both'..

The E70 does not really have issues with carbon build up. Air flow faults can be caused by many thing. But, the primary reason the HFM is needed is to know if the EGR rates are correct.
Can you post the BMW codes? - the dealer should provide those.

So the battery was not retrofitted and registered - no going to cause the other issues - IMO.

I read "glow plugs", "egr" and immediately think of thermostat. On another forum, lcapital and ninja users did a good analysis and pretty much proved that low coolant temperature causes glow plugs to go bad, in addition to EGR and DPF issues, because regeneration simply does not happen.

the last thing she tried to tell me last night was that If we didn't replace the filter and it threw a fault, they'd have to take the intake manifold off again.

My reply was basically why the hell would you have to take the intake manifold off to change an air filter!?

Still no code explanations.

Sounds like you have CPO. Don't pay them a dime. Anything they do to try and figure out why there are fault codes is their problem. BMW is specific about fault code-->check this-->check this next etc. etc. If they took your intake off to look at carbon build up it either was to figre out why they were getting a fault code or not. If they don't get paid by BMW for doing that, that's their problem, not yours. As long as there are issues/fault codes they get to fix it. BMW is NOT cool about techs throwing parts at cars, so they deny stuff all the time, but that does NOT mean you get to pick up the tab.

I had an overheating issue on my 335xi, CPO still. They replaced the thermostat. Picked car up, car died 15 miles later spewing coolant. Water pump had gone bad, thermostat was never the issue. They replaced the water pump and then a month later sent me a letter asking me to pay them for the thermostat as BMW had denied that claim since it wasn't the thermostat in the first place. I said no, its your job to find what's broken and fix it. Your guessing isn't my problem. I called BMWNA and they confirmed that, and they in fact called the dealership and yelled at them for even billing me.

Bottom line, it's CPO, make them fix it and don't pay for a SINGLE thing that they 'think' needs done to maybe 'see' if that's the issue. She's a screaming moron, or the tech, or both, but you shouldn't have to pay for that.

And the air filter won't throw a code and they probably smashed it taking things off/on. I'd tell them you'll give them dealer cost for the filter or you'll bring one in. They can NOT tell you what filter to use, so one from another source is fine. They also can't void your warranty for a non-oem part. They'd have to prove that part caused the issue and there's no way another manufacturer is going to make an air filter that'd do that--or your attorney would have their hide.

Also, the carbon build up has been beaten to death on the 335 N54, the 335d and the X5d. The bottom line is BMW designed a junk system and has had to take steps to fix it. If it affects an emission component, they HAVE TO FIX IT. They do not have a choice. If they give you any flack, tell them you're going to call the EPA and report them for an emission warranty violation. It's a no BS deal. If something is malfunctioning (DPF not regenerating etc) it's a serious issue and they have to fix it. Further, the EPA is forcing mfgs to extend warranty coverage on the DPF systems that are having problems as it causes a huge pollution issue. A buddy is a duramax tech, and they were just forced to replace the entire DPF/EGR system on a 2008 duramax that had 575,000 miles on it. The EPA didn't care, said the system should work for the 'life' of the vehicle and the truck still ran otherwise.

If the carbon builds up to a point it clogs a sensor or the EGR or soemthing like that (and you get a readable fault), the'll have to fix it. They'll try and get you to pay for non-standard maintenance (carbon blasting) but that's for the uninformed consumer. And 'bad gas' is BS, she's an idiot. All diesel is ultra low sulfur in the US anymore and it has to meet certain requirements. There's no such thing as 'bad gas' when it comes to diesel fuel anymore. Water sometimes, yes, but that'll cause different issues.

The EPA doensn't play ball. Ask for the GSM next time she sends you some bonehead email.

So what was the resolution? My x35d threw many of these codes yesterday and is now in reduced power mode.

I pulled and cleaned my EGR but no joy.