Car suddenly sluggish and hesitates (engines vibrates as if it is running on 4-5 cyls

[zib]

Hi all E39ners,Wahh the forum very quiet the last few days. Your E39s all being reliable and behave eh?Well mine is sick today out of no reason. This morning it was all fine when I took her to my office. After finishing my work and left about 8 hrs later, the car started but with some vibrations. I thought maybe it was the engine not warm enough but never happened in the morning before though.Seems like the car now fires on 5 or less cylinders. The symptom is similar to a car misfiring or running with 1 cyclinder less. Feels very sluggish and hesitates. Not the usual smooth operator of the 6pot.Any of you experienced this before? What could be the cause?Thanks for any kind advice.Cheers.

 

[ess530i]

start with ignition coil and spark plugs

 

[dat27]

hi there, i also having same problem, i did changed all 6 ignition coils,spark plugs and also fuel injector as the diagnose result showed, but the problem still occur

 

[zib]

hi there, i also having same problem, i did changed all 6 ignition coils,spark plugs and also fuel injector as the diagnose result showed, but the problem still occur

I hope it is not the vanos seal issue. I googled on this topic and vanos seal issues and the problems ppl described are almost identical to the vanos seal failure.

Does anyone here know how much would this vanos seals cost to fix?

Cheers

 

[saat]

It happened intermittently to my E90 for over 4 month. Engine suddenly runs rough at low RPM and refuses to or was sluggish to pick up RPM. Turned out to be just one faulty ignition coil.

 

[Herbert]

It is either one of the the ignition coils or the camshalf sensors. Plug in the diagnostic/scanner to verify.

 

[saat]

It is either one of the the ignition coils or the camshalf sensors. Plug in the diagnostic/scanner to verify.

Yes forgot about the camshaft sensor. My misus still got phobia when her E46 dies in traffic in front of Summit because of a faulty camshaft sensor. But the car just went dead.

 

[moots]

agree wz herbert...hook it up for a diag check.

i had 1 ignition coil faulty which caused a messy idle.
yr case cud be the camshaft sensor as well......or crankshaft sensor.only diagnostics can tell for sure!

 

[zib]

agree wz herbert...hook it up for a diag check.

i had 1 ignition coil faulty which caused a messy idle.
yr case cud be the camshaft sensor as well......or crankshaft sensor.only diagnostics can tell for sure!

Thanks all for your advice.

If it is the CPS then the check engine light would have come out I suppose?
In my case there is no fault or error messages lighted anywhere in the instrument. The car starts fine but sounds rough and vibrates.

I really hope it is not the dreaded vanos issue. Will get it checked tomorrow.

But have any of you experienced vanos seal issue?Are the symptoms similar?

 

[arsenal_70]

Happened to me twice.
1st it was no.3 ignition coil and the 2nd time it was the spark plug.

 

[dat27]

i had diagnosed mine,the results shown as below;
1.ignition coil
2.spark plugs
3.fuel injector
after the diagnose,i changed all 6 coils,6 plugs and the fuel injector,but the same problem happened
and the next week i came back to the workshop and they did clean all the injectors, and the problem still occur.
but when I switch off the engine and later switch it on again,it become just fine.
and when i run the car again the problem appears again.

 

[zib]

i had diagnosed mine,the results shown as below;
1.ignition coil
2.spark plugs
3.fuel injector
after the diagnose,i changed all 6 coils,6 plugs and the fuel injector,but the same problem happened
and the next week i came back to the workshop and they did clean all the injectors, and the problem still occur.
but when I switch off the engine and later switch it on again,it become just fine.
and when i run the car again the problem appears again.

did the mechanic say it abt the vanos seal issue? Would it be possible that your vanos seal could have caused of this?

 

[dat27]

my mechanic doesn't mention me about the vanos seal failure.probably its about the vanos,because i can feel the shaking when accelerating below 3000rpm.
but the diagnosed result does not show the faulty code regarding the vanos,is it normal?

 

[macgy]

Changing vanos seal DIY is not difficult, did it twice following the steps from beisan site, BTW, i don't think ur problem is related to vanos seal issue, if seal is bad, u shd feel power surge a/t 3000 rpm and vibration when engine is cold but once warm, shd not hv vibration.

 

[macgy]

1. chk ignition coil & spark plug...do this [video=youtube;z37jl4HXQjg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z37jl4HXQjg&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLF548207F2B864E72[/video]
if all ignition coil & spark plug is fine...
2. put in a can of fuel injector cleaner...
3. report back here.

 

[James Chun]

Normally it is caused by Ignition coil....it is famous E39 problems....

 

[zib]

Normally it is caused by Ignition coil....it is famous E39 problems....

Yes it was caused by the ignition coil #3. Got it replaced at my usual mech (not BMW mech) and bought the coil from Bomin for RM115.

I also replaced all my 6 spark plugs(RM25x6=RM150) and oil+filter change (RM180+22).

Also added RM80 for diagnostic and clearing error messages and reset service indicator.

Now the car is smooth and powderful again..

Cheers all!

 

[JFT63]

Glad the issue is sorted out...

 

[saat]

Thot as much cos your symptoms are exactly like mine. Glad to hear that you got it resolved and it didn't break the bank.

I have always upheld the philosphy that when troubleshooting, tackle the obvious causes and cheapest solutions first.

 

[dat27]

Yes it was caused by the ignition coil #3. Got it replaced at my usual mech (not BMW mech) and bought the coil from Bomin for RM115.

I also replaced all my 6 spark plugs(RM25x6=RM150) and oil+filter change (RM180+22).

Now the car is smooth and powderful again..

Cheers all!

i'll make a try man,thanks,i'll be back with the result