[Fiasco]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a new to me 2007 328xi manual transmission with 116,000 miles on the clock. The story from the old owner goes as follows:

1) Previous owner is a 64 year old dude that owns a landscaping company. He told me he has been driving past the car on his neighbors driveway for the past 4 years (it was parked). Eventually his neighbors needed landscaping from from him and he asked if they would include the car in his payment, they agreed.

2) Upon receiving the car he figured out it had a problem where it would go into limp mode (rpms would not rise above 3000rpm). He took it to a local indy and did an oil service, got the codes checked and had them do an 80 point inspection.

3) He got the inspection back and it read as follows:

Codes:

- 2A43 Valvetronic, Thermal Overload Protection, Temperatrue Warning Threshold
- 2A98 Crankshaft - Inlet Camshaft, Reference
- 2D20 Accelerator Pedal Module, Pedal Travel Sensor, Plausibility Between Signal 1 and Signal 2
- 2DEC Power Management, Battery Monitoring
- 2D76 DME, Internal Fault, Monitoring, Processors
- 2D5C DME, Internal Fault Monitoring Hardware
___

Mechanical faults

- Oil filter not installed properly
- Oil filter housing gasket leaking
- Air conditioning not cold
- Cabin air filter dirty
- Brake hoses cracking front and rear
- Steering hose sweating at bottom of reservoir (reccomend reseal)
- Steering fluid dark and low (reccomend flush)
- Front/rear struts leaking
- Tires bad
_____

After getting this report, he replaced the Accelerator pedal module on his own. No more limp mode. I dont have the ability to flash codes again but I'm guessing some of them will be gone now.

Upon driving the car myself the only things I noticed is that it was slow to start, there was some feedback through the shifter knob, slightly rough idle and while following him in my car I noticed a little but larger than normal amount of white exhaust coming from the exhaust pipe.

The inspection says that the battery is rated good, so I'm guessing that starting issue could be a corroded ground cable? It did sit for a while. My goals with this car are to build a reliable daily driver. I have no power mods in mind, just something that can get me from A - B and put up with an extremely cold winter. My question is, what should be fixed first and should I DIY or go to an indy?

So far I have ordered a new waterpump and thermostat (I've been stranded before in my previous car and I'd rather not be stranded again). Should I attempt this job or have an indy do it? Does anyone know of a mechanic in the Edmonton area that wont charge an arm and a leg for it? I dont have access to a lift and I'd have to do it outside so I'd rather not do this job if possible.

I also plan to order spark plugs, coils, oil filter housing gasket, grounding strap and oil pan heater that I plan to do myself.

Ok, so considering these codes and these symptoms where should I begin? I can turn a wrench but the most complicated job I've done to date solo was sparkplugs in my Jeep (not a ton of experience). What should I do to winterize this thing (gets to -40 celcius here). Any thoughts on the rough idle considering the old codes? Is there a tool I should order to pull codes myself? This thing has a mint interior and it's pretty loaded with nav etc. so I'd like to keep it if possible (I paid $4100).

Any help would be great, thanks guys.

[Tunafish]

You should definitely get a BMW capability scanner.. There is lots of choices.. You can get a traditional obd2 scanner for bmw, they have software you can get on your laptop or phone apps with wireless adaptor.. I would recommend MHD Orange wifi adaptor with Protool app diagnostic. You should get something which ever way you go...

Second i would start at battery.. If you can get a date on the battery in there and its only a couple of years old, you should be good.. But if the age is unknown, i would think about changing it if not only for a piece of mind.. You know the cold is a battery killer and winter is not the best time having to do car work...

The plugs and coil could help the idle and is a good maintenance item. I would look into some 0w30 oil for your condition, at -40f you need all the help you can get. These cars have lots of computers in them and the cold can cause issues.. I dont start mine under 10f because it acts up (long starts, ruff idle, no issues with temps in double digits) car also sits outside so a garage would help.

Once you pull codes you can start fixing anything that is wrong..

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by Tunafish

You should definitely get a BMW capability scanner.. There is lots of choices.. You can get a traditional obd2 scanner for bmw, they have software you can get on your laptop or phone apps with wireless adaptor.. I would recommend MHD Orange wifi adaptor with Protool app diagnostic. You should get something which ever way you go...

Second i would start at battery.. If you can get a date on the battery in there and its only a couple of years old, you should be good.. But if the age is unknown, i would think about changing it if not only for a piece of mind.. You know the cold is a battery killer and winter is not the best time having to do car work...

The plugs and coil could help the idle and is a good maintenance item. I would look into some 0w30 oil for your condition, at -40f you need all the help you can get. These cars have lots of computers in them and the cold can cause issues.. I dont start mine under 10f because it acts up (long starts, ruff idle, no issues with temps in double digits) car also sits outside so a garage would help.

Once you pull codes you can start fixing anything that is wrong..

Thanks for your help, I took a look at the MHD scanner and it looks like a good well priced option. The cold is definitely a battery killer but it was checked during the inspection and it reported as 612 cold cranking amps, from what I understand about vehicle batteries this is above average. That being said I will take a look at it to see if I can find a date.

I will look into the lighter oil for sure at the next oil interval, I have access to a garage for now so its in there. Should potentially be able to sleep in there all winter we will see. My growing Amazon order is already at $650, FCP water pump/thermostat kit was $550 and that's without the MHD hope everything is bulletproof once I get these parts in.

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

Thanks for your help, I took a look at the MHD scanner and it looks like a good well priced option. The cold is definitely a battery killer but it was checked during the inspection and it reported as 612 cold cranking amps, from what I understand about vehicle batteries this is above average. That being said I will take a look at it to see if I can find a date.

I will look into the lighter oil for sure at the next oil interval, I have access to a garage for now so its in there. Should potentially be able to sleep in there all winter we will see. My growing Amazon order is already at $650, FCP water pump/thermostat kit was $550 and that's without the MHD hope everything is bulletproof once I get these parts in.

The good thing about FPC Euro is that everything has a lifetime warranty. They don't always (or often ) have the lowest price but the warranty can make up a little of the difference depending on what you are buying.

[MadJoe]

Get a K+DCAN cable and a laptop and familiarize yourself with INPA. This will save you money at the "indy". Most indies don't know how to pull all BMW codes, only the basic OBDII generic ones, so they aren't getting the full picture. And BMW specific code readers cost as much as a damned laptop anyway, so just get the laptop and cable so you can watch YouTube tutorials while you work on your car. Bonus if you already have a decent laptop.

Using INPA allows you to check all kinds of things your standard code reader, BMW specific or not, can't, also, so it's really the best route to go.

Plus when d/ling INPA you're probably going to end up with a suite of BMW programs, including NCS Expert, which will allow you to code things for free instead of paying for Carly. Would you like to be able to roll your windows up by holding the 'lock' button on your keyfob like an adult? Well, you can with NCS Expert because BMW allows Europeans to do it, and just codes it inactive for us irresponsible Americans. I guess they figure it's easier than trying to defend against all the litigation that might occur if idiots are allowed to remotely close their kid's heads in windows? I don't know.

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by MadJoe

Get a K+DCAN cable and a laptop and familiarize yourself with INPA. This will save you money at the "indy". Most indies don't know how to pull all BMW codes, only the basic OBDII generic ones, so they aren't getting the full picture. And BMW specific code readers cost as much as a damned laptop anyway, so just get the laptop and cable so you can watch YouTube tutorials while you work on your car. Bonus if you already have a decent laptop.

Using INPA allows you to check all kinds of things your standard code reader, BMW specific or not, can't, also, so it's really the best route to go.

Plus when d/ling INPA you're probably going to end up with a suite of BMW programs, including NCS Expert, which will allow you to code things for free instead of paying for Carly. Would you like to be able to roll your windows up by holding the 'lock' button on your keyfob like an adult? Well, you can with NCS Expert because BMW allows Europeans to do it, and just codes it inactive for us irresponsible Americans. I guess they figure it's easier than trying to defend against all the litigation that might occur if idiots are allowed to remotely close their kid's heads in windows? I don't know.

Thanks for the post, what's the difference between MHD and INPA? Can the later do more than the former? I do like the idea of being able to pull codes on my phone without the need for a thick cable and a laptop. If someone could let me know about this that would help.

I also have a question, when selecting a battery for these cars is there a specific size we need or will the general battery size do fine? I may be looking to get one just incase this grounding strap doesnt fix my slow start problem.

[Smgs1992]

Mhd is a tuning app for the 335i
They dont offer anything for the non turbo cars.

I dont think MHD will even read codes for a non N54/55/B58/S55 car

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by Smgs1992

Mhd is a tuning app for the 335i
They dont offer anything for the non turbo cars.

I dont think MHD will even read codes for a non N54/55/B58/S55 car

Really? Funny how it was recommended to me then lol.

Another question for you guys. I am getting a fuel smell upon startup and its present every time I leave the vehicle or enter it while its on. It seems to be coming from the drivers side rear.

I looked this issue up and the prevailing YouTube knowledge told me to yank out my back seats and look at the fuel pump underneath, naturally I did just that. I checked both sides, both were bone dry and full of dust so i'm thankful that I don't need a new fuel pump, but what else could this be? Should I be looking at fuel lines? Where do they run? The car is going into the Indy soon to have the water pump and thermostat replaced (preventative maintenance), would it turn into something expensive if I told them to look?

My dad had the same problem with his 95' E39 and he never fixed it, just got worse and worse but the car always worked. I would like to address it so my car doesn't remind me of that one. Any help appreciated!

[Tunafish]

I didnt recommend the app if that is applying to me.. I recommend the MHD wifi adaptor and Protool(which works together). Funny right.