12-30-2018, 11:41 PM | #1 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
2013 BMW X3 2.8 (N20 4-cyl turbo) DRIVING ME INSANE!!!!!!
Normally, I can fix anything, but this car has me so frustrated I'm about to set it on fire and call it a day.
Purchased a 2013 X3 2.8 (2.0L turbo) for the wife about 3 years ago with 60K on it. Her commute to work at the time was about 150 miles a day and figured it would be best to save the money on a car out of warranty, rather than a used one within warranty as she would surpass it by mileage fairly quickly. About 4-6 months into owning it, we would occasionally get a message on the iDrive screen that stated "Drivetrain malfunction - reduced power drive carefully, reduced power" or some non-sense like that. The car would then drive like a regular 4-cyl without the turbo. No check engine light on the dash cluster. Once the car was shut off and restarted, the car would drive like normal. We did that for about a year or so as it was occasional. I have a lead foot and my wife drives like a grandma, so we noticed it would happen much more frequently and sooner into our trips with me driving. So, I tried driving it slow, with very light throttle, staying in low RPMs before boost should come in, and noticed that the light took longer to kick on. Over time, it has been occurring more frequently and with increased sensitivity - to now, where it comes on almost as we pull out of the driveway - at 102K miles. The car is slow as a dog and gets crappy gas mileage compared to what we used to get (used to get about 30mpg, now we get 19mpg). By the way, it was awesome that BMW announced the recall on the timing chain after we were already over the mileage....THANK YOU BMW!! Got to the point where she needed tires, so I found a nice set of Factory M sport wheels with nearly new runflats for the same price as 4 new runflats would have been for the stock 2.8 wheels. Only modifications I have done: Factory M sport 19" wheels, Aftermarket HID ballast and bulbs. The car "feels" like it has no boost, but it also feels like a misfire, and it also feels like something in the drivetrain with some of the "bucking" at very slow speed. I am going insane trying to figure it out. Upon scanning the car, I only get one code - something about the boost pressure (I cant remember it off the top of my head, but will look it up again and update this thread). The car does run rich (black tail pipes), but doesnt smoke. Every BMW master tech friend that I know has looked at the car has absolutely no explanation and just tells me to sell the car, or throw parts at it. So what have I done/found so far? The car was stating that the boost pressure was a problem. I checked the vacuum since the turbo is operated by vacuum. I found that the canister on the vanity cover was full of oil. I cleaned it out and cleared the codes. The car ran great for about 5 miles, then went into limp mode again. Checked the canister and found it filled with oil again. Noticed that there was no vacuum, so I thought I had found my issue. I replaced the PCV diaphragm. No change. I retested and still was not getting vacuum. Verified the line to the canister was still filling with oil. Diagnosed a bad vacuum pump on the back of the motor. Replaced that, cleaned canister, cleared codes, car ran great again to the same exact spot (literally within 50 feet) where it went into limp mode the time before. I figured maybe the boost solenoid may had been fouled by the line containing oil. Replaced that, cleaned the line, cleared the code, no change. Havent done plugs or coils yet, but like I said, not getting misfire codes. The car also stutters (feeling in the drivetrain) at slow speed when coasting/slowing to or accelerating from a red light. I have read that people have the actuator gears go bad in the transfer case, but have read that it comes with a "brake," "abs," and "4x4," light on the cluster, which I dont have. Is replacing the oil in the transfer case a waste of money at this point? Do I have to do an ecu clutch recalibration just to flush the fluid? is there a way that I can isolate that it is a faulty actuator or an internal clutch that has gone bad? If the car triggers a drivetrain malfunction light (presumably from a bad internal clutch), then there must be a sensor for this. If so, isnt it possible that the sensor is damaged or bad? Is the code for the boost independent of the drive train malfunction warning, or is once causing the other? IM GOING INSANE!!! ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!!! THANK YOU! |
12-31-2018, 05:40 AM | #2 |
New Member
3
Rep 3
Posts |
First part of the problem sounds like a boost leak. I had something similar on my 335. Went through a few rounds of trying to determine the leak. Quite a pain tbh. Mechanic had to drop the engine, go through all the possible sources of the leak and replaced a bunch of stuff since it was unclear which was actually the source of the leak.
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-31-2018, 09:05 AM | #4 |
Colonel
94
Rep 2,339
Posts |
Some people like to tinker with their own cars. I do and can usually figure stuff out. If it ends up that I can't I'll take it to a mechanic I trust. One of my cars has a misfire problem, mostly with cylinder 4. Over time I've:
Cleaned the MAF and replaced the PCV valve. Swapped COP in cylinders 3 & 4. Swapped injectors in cylinders 3 & 4. Replaced one vacuum line and secured air intake couplers. Looked over spark plug wiring harness. Installed new plugs and new COPs. Tested impedence in bank one injectors. All tested within spec. Used a propane bottle to run along all vacuum lines, intake, and throttle body I'm sure there's something I've overlooked. If I don't figure it out soon, I'll take it to mechanic - but not until I'm done tinkering.
__________________
What do I know? I'm insane.
|
Appreciate
1
ExclusiveAuto7.50 |
12-31-2018, 09:34 AM | #5 | ||
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
Quote:
I have brought it into bmw. They do not have any definitive diagnosis and want to guess and throw parts at it.... at $200/hr labor with that labor rate INCREASING as the job time increases.... So, im gonna pass on that... Quote:
do you get an "actual" check engine light on the cluster? |
||
Appreciate
0
|
12-31-2018, 09:50 AM | #6 |
Colonel
94
Rep 2,339
Posts |
Yep.
__________________
What do I know? I'm insane.
|
Appreciate
1
ExclusiveAuto7.50 |
12-31-2018, 12:44 PM | #7 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-31-2018, 05:04 PM | #8 | |
Lieutenant
175
Rep 540
Posts
Drives: 2016 BMW X3 35i M-Sport
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: FL
|
Quote:
I had installed an aftermarket charge pipe on my N55, didn't seat a clamp correctly and had a leak, the leak cause the trans to be very jerky, shifted very rough and shuttered when turning. Because these cars are so electronically linked if one value is off it can easily mess everything up. Best thing to do is check the easier stuff first. I would pull the coils and plugs and replace them. Plugs can't be too healthy if it's running as rich as you say. Other simple stuff, clean sensors, check the PCV system, and a new air filter probably could not hurt. Check vacuum lines to the turbo, specificity the waste gate actuator. Make sure the ignition coils and wires are all good and tight. Make sure there's no leaks in the charge pipe and ensure it's nice and snug on the throttle body (a little play is good, maybe about 1mm-2mm to allow for heat expansion) Check the connection to the intercooler from the hot and cold side (a little play is healthy) If there are no visual signs of a leak buy a boost leak tester. Very useful tool to have for about $30. Don't waste your money on a smoke boost leak test because nothing will come out unless it's a hole so big Stevie Wonder could see it. Good Luck!
__________________
2016 X3 35i |M-Sport|Megan Racing Coilovers|FBO+|BM3|Jordan Tuned|Valvetronic Designs|
1998 750iL V12|2017 440i|2019 991.2 GT3RS Weissach|2019 Model X|...and some others Instagram @TheCoolX3 |
|
Appreciate
1
ExclusiveAuto7.50 |
12-31-2018, 08:07 PM | #9 | |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-02-2019, 07:36 AM | #10 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 44
Posts |
BMW has a good will program, in a recent TSB they extended pro bono repairs until 120K, look into it as the TSB was in the past month or two. It would mean the dealer would request BMW corporate to pay for it but I reviewed the TSB and the requirements to apply are not steep.
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-02-2019, 09:38 AM | #11 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-02-2019, 09:54 AM | #12 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 44
Posts |
Here you go, new TSB on Goodwill, seems straight forward without significant fine print. If you have a good relationship with the service manager I do not see why BMW North America would not consider.
|
Appreciate
1
ExclusiveAuto7.50 |
01-02-2019, 11:01 AM | #13 |
Enlisted Member
8
Rep 49
Posts |
Heading says for x3 3.5. Ill call and see if that applies to the 2.8 as well. Thank you very much for your time finding and posting that!
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-11-2019, 03:25 PM | #15 |
Lieutenant
132
Rep 480
Posts |
Yours is diesel. The gas engine does not have EGR valve.
__________________
Stable:
e92is f25 N52 e83 N52 e46ci M54B25 (e53 N62 - sold, R.I.P. e39 M54B30) |
Appreciate
0
|
02-02-2019, 01:30 PM | #16 |
Private
28
Rep 98
Posts |
Just had the EXACT same problem. The vacuum line to the butterfly valve in the muffler was leaking. So my symptoms were as follows.
No power off idle. A Drivetrain Malfunction after driving about 30 minutes. It seemed to reset after sitting all night. It took my shop two days to diagnose the issue. The faults indicated were: Boost Pipe pressure Implausable (low) MAF too high. These two faults contridict each other. The only way to diagnose was to drive the car for AN HOUR hooked up to telemetry and capture the failure. And they did just that. The printouts showed a sporadic fail where the commanded boost did not match actual boost. The vacuum system has a reservoir and under high RPM, can recharge a little even with a leak. But at idle or cruise speed in 8th grear, there is not enough engine RPM to keep the system charged sufficiently. Sooo... I had no power down low. as there wasn't enough vacuum to operate the wastegate and hence, no turbo. The power would build as engine RPM increased and enough vacuum was there to open the wastegate. But then you'd slow for a stoplight and all the vacuum would go away. Once we knew there was a vacuum issue, it didn't take long to isolate it to the vacuum line that feeds the exhaust valve. They plugged the valve. It now remains open all the time. Everything is back to normal. I was able to participate in the trouble shooting and was fascinating to watch them zero in on the problem! |
Appreciate
1
Hellshalfacre85.50 |
02-05-2019, 11:32 AM | #17 |
Second Lieutenant
88
Rep 268
Posts |
you can tinker and fix and replace parts. BUT
This is a daily driver long distance for the WIFE ! (happy home, happy life ?) Swap vehicles with her till its sorted out. If it quits 20 miles into the daily........ Are you going to hear about it ! and keep ya foot out of the turbo !
__________________
2017 BMW X3 x28i SOLD
2015 Honda CRV-EXL AWD 2019 Honda CRV-Touring AWD 1965 Chevrolet Corvette 327 / 4spd Convt |
Appreciate
0
|
08-04-2019, 02:50 PM | #18 | |
Private
11
Rep 84
Posts |
do you have a picture showing where this is located and what it looks like ?
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-08-2019, 02:59 PM | #19 | |
Private
12
Rep 56
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-23-2019, 03:08 AM | #20 |
Registered
0
Rep 1
Posts |
2013 bmw x3 28i>it was the vacuum tube that opened and closed the tailpipe valves. You tube golf tee mod. My dealer did it and I have not had that problem in a year and a half.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-23-2019, 05:00 AM | #21 |
Registered
0
Rep 1
Posts |
2012 BMW X3 Oil in the vaccuum pipes.
Hi,
I recently bought a 2012 BMW X3, I am new to BMW's and I am facing an issue that sounds very similar to yours. Did you ever find a cause and hopefully a solution to this? |
Appreciate
0
|
04-05-2020, 08:32 PM | #22 |
Registered
0
Rep 1
Posts |
“ I found that the canister on the vanity cover was full of oil. I cleaned it out and cleared the codes.... “I figured maybe the boost solenoid may had been fouled by the line containing oil. Replaced that, cleaned the line, cleared the code, no change.“
I have the 2014 BMW X3 Xdrive 28i (F25, N20) and randomly have the P0243 code appear. I bought the replacement turbo boost solenoid but now I can’t locate it on my vehicle. You said you replaced yours on the 2013. Can you please point me in the right direction as to where it’s physically located? |
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
|
|