2002 BMW 3 Series Logo
Anonymous Posted on Apr 14, 2012

2002 BMW 330i has multiple warning lights on; check engine, brakes, airbags, and occasionally the oil and radiator

Symptoms for my issue go like this. After a cold start the radiator light and oil light come on, but they turn off after the engine warms up the lights do come back on later on if the engine drops below 1.5 k in RPMs. Performance-wise...the care sometimes hesitates at takeoff from a stop or in passing another car, and more often than I like, the car does not shift while accelerating. The car can shift from first gear, to second gear, maybe to third gear and that’s it....it seems to top out at 4.5k RPMs around 40mph and I don't get any more power. The automatic transmission eventually shifts after I slow down or pull off the road and restart the car. Another issue I sometimes have is the poor idling after coming to a stop, RPMs will drop to 1 k and the car seems to stutter a bit.

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  • Anonymous Apr 15, 2012

    Battery is fine.. I am thinking it is a series of co-dependant sensors that are all tripping due to a failing cam shaft sensor

  • Anonymous Apr 16, 2012

    I know the battery is fine because there is no evidence leading to the battery being bad. Yes, I am making educated guesses, but not only as a result of reading online bimmer forums, but more of a common sense perspective. If there is an electrical issue it would not be from the battery or its connections, it would be form the control system; in respect to the symptoms I am experiencing.

    The scan shows cam shaft position error, multiple random misfires, specific misfires in cylinders 3 &4, MAP Cooling Thermostat reading high. None of these codes are really related to the condition of the battery.

  • Anonymous Apr 17, 2012

    Right. I didn't read your post Mr. Mechanic. You seem to be a snoty imature person who gets offended easily. Cheer up sir, or ma'am; life is too short to bicker over advice forums.

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1 Answer

Anonymous

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  • Master 4,803 Answers
  • Posted on Apr 14, 2012
Anonymous
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Sounds like a shorted or sulfated battery to me.

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  • Anonymous Apr 15, 2012

    So, you know the battery and battery connections are "fine" because you have properly tested you battery and charging system and performed "voltage drop" tests?
    I also I presume that you have evidence of a failed cam sensor because you have scanned your onboard computer network? If so, what codes are you getting?

    OR are you simply GUESSING because of some stuff that you have read in some online auto repair forum?

  • Anonymous Apr 17, 2012

    WHAT??? How do you figure that those things are not related to the battery? Let's take a HARD LOOK at your "common sense perspective".

    You say you think that is "from the control system". What do you think POWERS that control system. I can tell you from the perspective of an ASE MASTER CERTIFIED AUTOMOBILE TECHNICIAN with 37 years of experience in my field that when the battery gets an internal short or if the battery is sulfated, the MOST common symptom in modern, computer-controlled automobiles is multiple faults all at the same time due to low voltage or "unrectified" AC voltage at the control module.

    Unless you perform a thorough test of your battery and charging system to rule that out as the cause, you are shooting yourself in the foot trying to chase down all those codes.

    However, do whatever you want. It's your car and your money.....

  • Anonymous Apr 18, 2012

    Now you are going to say that I am immature and easilly offended? WHO is the one calling people names like a grade scool child here? The only thing I am guilty of is TRYING to HELP someone with a problem who obviously thinks they know more about it than I do. Someone who is so busy looking for some mysterious "control system" problem and calling people names that they cannot see past the end of their nose far enough to check the BASICS. Forgive me for trying to help such unappreciative people!

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5 Related Answers

emissionwiz

Marvin

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  • Posted on Mar 10, 2009

SOURCE: Automatic transmissions wont shift into first smoothly

U can do it yourself but it is really messy, u will need a very large drain pan with a plastic garbage can lid with holes in it to catch the fluid and prevent it spaying all over the ground, make sure you don't overfill the trans, all levels (add 2 quarts to start) must be checked with the at around 180 F, if u overfill u can ruin the trans. Does your trans have a fill tube and dipstick? if not u will need to capture the fluid and measure it, put exactly the same amount back in.

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Anonymous

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  • Posted on Jan 03, 2009

SOURCE: 2002 BMW 318ti - engine keeps cutting out while driving

right have a check down your local garage if they do diagnostics be about 15-30 pound well worth it tells you a hell of alot more then wht i can say here but on e46s any lil prob tht asc light wil come up its warning you cars not right beware in other words. ive had it on rear abs sensors the asc light is just warning but have them plug it in to diagnostics tht will tell you all about it and whts going on prob sensor somewere let me no how you get on..

Anonymous

  • 24 Answers
  • Posted on Nov 16, 2008

SOURCE: Transmission Light and Braking problem

hello . did the dealer scan the vehicle anyway , if the light was on it should have a history code safe in memory and they should check for it . it does not matter if the light when out by it self ,it just means that the fault its not present ,(it sounds like a bad mass meter its a fuel manegement sensor that when it goes bad the transmision does not know the force created by the engine and therefore it cant shift properly)

Anonymous

  • 62 Answers
  • Posted on May 10, 2009

SOURCE: Car hesitates/stalls when engine is warm and car starts to move.

Sounds like a bad motor mount, pop the hood and see if the motor shakes or moves rapidly when u put it in gear holding down the brake.

Anonymous

  • 580 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 08, 2009

SOURCE: Hi I have 2000 BMW 320i. Lumpy idle when cold and oil light for

Your oil is a little low, and the timing may be off a bit but if it smooths out after warm it is probably ljust
low oil.

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