03' 330i stalls every morning

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kbcaleb

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I have a 2003 330i sport/premium w/ no mods except wheels and stereo. And every single morning when i start it for this for the first time it dies, regardless of weather condition or the A/C being on or off. I have to rev the engine high and then keep at 2k RPM to keep it going first thing in the morning then after about 30 sec it is fine. I have taken it to the dealer 2 times. One time they upgraded my DME software to sw-37 and the next time they replaced my whole vanos system. Neither of these solutions have made the problem go away. I have called BMWNA only to be brushed of by both them and vaious dealerships with the excuse that there is no solution at this time. I have had this problem now for 5 months which is unacceptable i feel. Is anyone else having this problem an if so what year and model and tranny is your car. Seems to me some kind of lemon law should apply here.

03' 330i sport/premium auto 19K miles
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Tom

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Hi kbcaleb and welcome aboard fellow Austinite. This problem is due to your 93 octane gas. I've gone through the exact same problem with my M3 going from 91 octane to 93.

I've even went as far as switching to Shell gasoline from Chevron without any success.
 
bmwrocks

bmwrocks

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Tom and kbcaleb,

I use 93 octane gas of various brands in both my bimmers. I have been using 93 in my '01 X5 since 9/2000 and in my 330ci since 8/2003. Both vehicles have the 3.0 I6.

What the heck is going on here???
 
Tom

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bmwrocks said:
Tom and kbcaleb,

I use 93 octane gas of various brands in both my bimmers. I have been using 93 in my '01 X5 since 9/2000 and in my 330ci since 8/2003. Both vehicles have the 3.0 I6.

What the heck is going on here???
Click to expand...
Eric, have you had any problems with yours? It could be a local thing because I have never experienced this issue anywhere else.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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I think I have an idea what might be happening, on my old 03 325i usually in the morning it would start up with a metal-on-metal-fall-apart-sound (sorry, thats my best description) a few times it would start and die with that sound. Always on initial morning start up this would occur and many times it required a second start up to work. The engine also shook the car in idle. I don't think it has anything to do with gas. You could call up a lawyer and try and seek the lemon law if you're fed up with the car though. (Seems like a candidate to me)
 
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kbcaleb

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Yeah it shakes my car for like 10-15 sec while it is trying to stablize the RPM then it will finaly idle at like 750rpm but i have to keep at like 2k rpm or belts will whine and engine will die. I had been told that a new DME unit sw-39 was supposed to be release in June to replace mine, but i am now being told by BMWNA that it is only for ZHP models. I am about ready to pay for access to bmwtis.com to try to get the lowdown on the official service bulletin for my model/year. Any suggestions or inside info would be great. I love my car and would hate to get rid of it, considering i would take a real bath on the resale.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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I would tell BMW that they MUST fix this problem and they can either provide their fix regardless if it's exclusively for zhp models or buy back the car, and if they don't agree to any fix I would call a lawyer. No car should behave like that, especially not a 1 yr old 40k bimmer...

This was the reason I traded the 325i, I got a good deal and really didn't have the time, patience, and self control to deal with BMWNA and their service departments...
 
bmwrocks

bmwrocks

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Tom said:
Eric, have you had any problems with yours? It could be a local thing because I have never experienced this issue anywhere else.
Click to expand...
I have not had any problems with my engines. I also used premium (93) in my 5.7 L Trans Am since 1998 w/ no issues. I guess it is local like you say.

I am curious though as to why switching to 91 would clear it up for you? How does that work?
 
Tom

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bmwrocks said:
I have not had any problems with my engines. I also used premium (93) in my 5.7 L Trans Am since 1998 w/ no issues. I guess it is local like you say.

I am curious though as to why switching to 91 would clear it up for you? How does that work?
Click to expand...

Hey Eric,

Sent ya a PM describing the problem.

Tom
 
dzervit

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Same problem here. 2003 325i. Warm weather or cold, first thing in the morning the little gal needs some encouragement, but most of the time it will stall. I give it a 3 count, start 'her up again and a little rough for a sec, but good to go then. Wierdest thing. 91 octane here... was going to mention it to the dealer on the next service...
 
dzervit

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Yup, me too. Kinda drives me nuts... at first I thought it was the extreme winter temps.. then spring rolls around.. cool mornings, same stall... onto summer now... warm mornings, still stalling!!! But then on the second try all is well. It's like the car is sleepy and the first start is a little nudge, then it wakes up. Wacky german machinery.
 
bmwrocks

bmwrocks

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I gotta believe there is a faulty component here (hardware or software). This is just too coincidental for some of you to have the exact same problem, for this to be gas. It is possible, but unlikely, especially if the problem is persistent like dzervit.

As a side note of interest, when my X5 was brand new, it would stall intermittently going around corners and when stopping at a light. They reprogrammed something and the problem was solved/gone, perfect ever since.
 
97aplineM3

97aplineM3

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There are many reasons why your cars might stall in the mornings...
Here are just a few... I'm not saying I know everything.. but this might just help you figure out what it is... :)

-Most new BMWs have more than one fuel check valve and more than one filter that also have check valves in them..( check valve- allows any fluid to only travel in one direction) If any one of your check valves fail and allow fluid to drain backwards or in any directions but towards the motor. Then it might take a try or two to start her up.
--Depends on which make and year.. but if you just turn your key to ON then it will turn your fuel pump on.. thus pushing fuel towards your engine... and then you might be able to start it with no problem.
-- I would dought with less than 50k on these cars that a fuel blockage in the pump line would be at fault.
--You might also want to take a look at any of your intake valves anything that moves or adjustes durring Idel or at start up... sometimes even if your air filter is working you can get dust and grim and it wont allow the valve to move properly putting more stess on selenoid that operates that valve. If its sticking.. then it wont let the engine get air.. and then it will stall.. but that might only happen every now and then.. not every time.

-- The only thing else I can think of happend to my own 97M3... If you have any type small or large.... even minute vacume leak in the vacume system then your computer system is of course going to be able to tell... for example.. I have a crack inbetween my Mass AF sensor and my throttle body... and it would cause my car to start and idel at a higher than normal RPM... and then it would slowly just die... untill right before you think it might just turn off.. the computer system would open my throttle body and give it a ton of air pushing the RPMs back up.. and sometimes even.. it would fail.. and the engine would stop.

The main reason that I wrote all of this is because some of the things that might cause your problem.. are not picked up by the DME unit... ex. fuel check valve... from what I know.. the only want to check those.. is if you get a low fuel pressure indication only right after ignition has taken place... and the only way you would find that out would be to know what your looking for if you started the car with a diagnotic computer hooked up.

I hope this might help.... good luck in finding what your problem is....
 
dzervit

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-Depends on which make and year.. but if you just turn your key to ON then it will turn your fuel pump on.. thus pushing fuel towards your engine... and then you might be able to start it with no problem.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm.... that seem most plausible. I'll give it a shot and post the results. Like I said before, I'll make the dealer look it over next service.. its just annoying more than anything.
 
bmwrocks

bmwrocks

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THIS IS NOT PLAUSIBLE. Under no circumstances should an '03 BMW (any series) stall when you start it in the morning. You should not have to wait for the pump to prime the lines either. It should start in less than 2 seconds on the immediate turning of the key all the way from off to start. No waiting on ON. Take the thing in and let them fix it. Sheesh.
 
97aplineM3

97aplineM3

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Calm down... I was merly explaining what it might be.... and quick fixes... so that between now and when he can get it fixed... he might not try to repetively start a fuel starved engine... its not good for the engine. Just info man....
 
R

ronskal

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I agree with 97alpineM3. If a check valve is bad fuel pressure will bleed off but there may be enough residual fuel to get a light-off then it dies.

It's worth trying as a troubleshooting tool.

As an aircraft mechanic who sees a lot of unusual problems, it always helps when the pilots give you good accurate info about the problem and any steps he took to isolate it. In aviation maintenance we have the mandate to keep an aircraft grounded until a major problem is corrected (like engine shutdowns after start, the aircraft would be grounded until
fixed. You never assume thats all it will ever do. The engine could shut-down in flight!).

Auto mechanics are under pressure to fix it and get it out the door, especially items under warranty. Plus an 03 330i is a very sophisticated car, any good info to the mech is a plus.
 
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