[ROGER_XYH]

It's my first time typing some words in this forum.

I'm an international student from China and this e92 330i is my second car in the UK. I previously owned a Mercedes-Benz w218 CLS.

make: bmw
series: 330i
mileage: 82670
year:2010

Unfortunately, I brought this car from the previous dealer only 1 month and the Engine Management light on. I went to the local garage got the OBD code:

29D2 combustion Misfire on Cylinder 6
29CD combustion Misfire on Cylinder 1
29CC Combustion Misfire on Several Cylinders
2A2C Mixture Control 2
29F1 Fuel Pressure Plausibility

When I had a cold start, There is a strong smell of gasoline. After a warm-up, push the throttle to 2500-3000 rpm, a strong shake occurred with limp mode. First half month there is only an EML, after 10-20 mins driving everything was back to normal, but recently the engine cut off the power more frequently, and I had to visit the local garage.

I searched on the internet about the same issue, basically was the coils, spark plugs or injectors goes wrong. I went to the local garage, they gave the advice of replacing ALL coils, spark plugs, injectors and o2 sensor. Obviously, it will cost a lot and I definitely won't do that.

Another local garage told me to visit the BMW dealer or specialist for professional advice because they cannot identify the cause of the problem.

I strongly suspect the injectors might leak, based on the above plus my very high fuel consumption(18.3mpg)

Here is the result of a health check by the local garage (personally suspect these issues might link with the above?)

oil on belt tensioner
top radiator hose oiled
water pump + Thermostat covered in oil

I am looking for a bmw specialist and hopefully, they might figure it out.

I've been thinking lately about selling my car, maybe the cost of fixing it is far more than the price of the car. Anyway, I still want to fix my car because I enjoy this car a lot.

Best regards

Roger

[therealdb1]

Most dealers give you a guarantee unless you paid the rock bottom price and bought it sold as seen with no guarantee. Never a good idea with a BMW!
If the car had a problem after only one month you should take it back to where you purchased it because the car is not fit for purpose.
If you start swapping things yourself it will cost you an arm and a leg and will invalidate your guarantee assuming you have one.
You may have leaky injectors but I would take it back to where you got it first and see what they say.
Let us know how you get on.

[ROGER_XYH]

Originally Posted by therealdb1

Most dealers give you a guarantee unless you paid the rock bottom price and bought it sold as seen with no guarantee. Never a good idea with a BMW!
If the car had a problem after only one month you should take it back to where you purchased it because the car is not fit for purpose.
If you start swapping things yourself it will cost you an arm and a leg and will invalidate your guarantee assuming you have one.
You may have leaky injectors but I would take it back to where you got it first and see what they say.
Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for your reply.

This dealer only offered me a 3 months warranty by AUTOGUARD and LIMIT PER claim for 1000 pounds. The garage I visited is approved by AUTOGUARD, but they said there is nothing they can do.
I have contacted them to get a reply and a solution.

[eezeh]

First i'd look at first unplugging the maf and seeing how the car runs. Unplugging the maf results in the car running on a base map, ignoring the maf & o2 sensor readings which can be quite helpful diagnosing.
If the car runs fine its likely to be the maf, if it still misfires i'd look at replacing spark plugs and the 2 coil packs.

I had an e46 6 cylinder that had similar symptoms to yours; shook on cold start and started misfiring quite badly.

Codes were misfiring on 2 cylinders, fuel trim out, an o2 sensor fault and the car was running very rich, could smell the fuel being spat out of the exhaust. Fouled up the spark plugs very quickly.
Replacing coil packs and spark plugs made a minor improvement, it turned out to be a bad maf.

I bought a second hand genuine bmw siemens/vdo maf from ebay and it did the trick.
The maf HAS to be a genuine bmw one, they are very sensitive and none of the aftermarket ones are made the same as the genuine one and they are all rubbish.

[ROGER_XYH]

Originally Posted by eezeh

First i'd look at first unplugging the maf and seeing how the car runs. Unplugging the maf results in the car running on a base map, ignoring the maf & o2 sensor readings which can be quite helpful diagnosing.
If the car runs fine its likely to be the maf, if it still misfires i'd look at replacing spark plugs and the 2 coil packs.

I had an e46 6 cylinder that had similar symptoms to yours; shook on cold start and started misfiring quite badly.

Codes were misfiring on 2 cylinders, fuel trim out, an o2 sensor fault and the car was running very rich, could smell the fuel being spat out of the exhaust. Fouled up the spark plugs very quickly.
Replacing coil packs and spark plugs made a minor improvement, it turned out to be a bad maf.

I bought a second hand genuine bmw siemens/vdo maf from ebay and it did the trick.
The maf HAS to be a genuine bmw one, they are very sensitive and none of the aftermarket ones are made the same as the genuine one and they are all rubbish.

Thanks for your reply, I will take your advice

[ROGER_XYH]

Update for the recent progress

I have contact with the previous dealer, they asked for some information and said they would find someone to solve the problem, but there is no more message at this time either.
I seriously suspect they are a bunch of scammers when I search on Google for their background I found that they used to be called MSI trade centre and many people have bought faulty vehicles from them.

Yesterday I visited a local BMW specialist and they recommend replacing all coils and spark plugs first, if the problem persists, the injectors still need to be replaced as well, let's pray that's not the case.

As it has been more than a month since I purchased the vehicle and there is no way to conclude that there was a fault at the time of purchase, there is only a list of garages showing multiple problems with the vehicle, so I guess I will not get a full refund.

Hope my beauty gets well soon
fifty three bank

[therealdb1]

You said the dealer gave you 3 month guarantee and you have a whole heap of garages telling you the car was faulty in that time.
It is up to the dealer to sort you out!
Go back to them in person at their busiest time (Saturday morning?) and discuss with their management in a calm but loud voice so that other customers can overhear what they are going to do with the car they have sold you.
You don't really want a refund presumably because you like the car but it needs to run properly.
Whether they fix it themselves or get Autoguard to do it you are not bothered but you want it fixed and they have an obligation to do so.
I don't know why but you are trying to go around the houses by approaching other garages and Autoguard directly when it is the dealer's responsibility to rectify the problem.
Do not hesitate otherwise you will be out of the guarantee period and the likelihood is you need injectors along with plugs and coils which will cost you thousands of pounds.
Go back to the dealer and ask him nicely and keep the pressure on then threaten to bring in Trading Standards if all else fails.

[ROGER_XYH]

Originally Posted by therealdb1

You said the dealer gave you 3 month guarantee and you have a whole heap of garages telling you the car was faulty in that time.
It is up to the dealer to sort you out!
Go back to them in person at their busiest time (Saturday morning?) and discuss with their management in a calm but loud voice so that other customers can overhear what they are going to do with the car they have sold you.
You don't really want a refund presumably because you like the car but it needs to run properly.
Whether they fix it themselves or get Autoguard to do it you are not bothered but you want it fixed and they have an obligation to do so.
I don't know why but you are trying to go around the houses by approaching other garages and Autoguard directly when it is the dealer's responsibility to rectify the problem.
Do not hesitate otherwise you will be out of the guarantee period and the likelihood is you need injectors along with plugs and coils which will cost you thousands of pounds.
Go back to the dealer and ask him nicely and keep the pressure on then threaten to bring in Trading Standards if all else fails.

Thanks for your reply, I will try to continue to negotiate a solution with them and hopefully, they will realise that it is their responsibility.

[ROGER_XYH]

I've just come back from the BMW specialist, they have replaced all coils and spark plugs. However, the situation was not very good and they confessed that this was presumably a faulty injector, but it was currently out of stock and therefore could not be replaced. Considering the price of a set of injectors was unacceptable to me, I next attempted a face-to-face meeting with the previous car dealer. If they can't offer a repair or help, I might choose to order a set of parts from my Chinese friend. I've seen a huge variety of injector prices online so far, and am not sure which one exactly.

[Phil325i]

You can fit N54 injectors to your engine and they are in good supply. See this thread:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1886357

Still not cheap, but at least available...

[ROGER_XYH]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

You can fit N54 injectors to your engine and they are in good supply. See this thread:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1886357

Still not cheap, but at least available...

Lots of thanks

BTW so 330i can only use the injectors with the part number 13537589048(N53) and 13538616079(N54)?

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by ROGER_XYH

Lots of thanks

BTW so 330i can only use the injectors with the part number 13537589048(N53) and 13538616079(N54)?

That is correct. And you will also need six new decoupling elements (part No. 13537564751).

[ROGER_XYH]

Update from the dealer

Last week I paid a visit to the dealer and complained about they sold the faulty car to me, I currently have a promise from them that they will fix the problems that cause unpleasant driving(injectors issue) for me free of charge.

However, since the spark plugs and coils have been replaced, the EML has not come on very often recently, but I still insist on replacing the injectors. The dealership says they have enough parts to replace them for me, but I'm worried about their professionalism (maybe mismatch different injectors or using OEM parts, sorry for my lack of trust but they did let me down)

Anyway, just in case that happens, I contacted my Chinese friend who sells reliable used parts, offered me 600 pounds for 6 BMW Genuine index-11 injectors. Not much in terms of price, but at least it's worthy of my trust.

I will send my car to the dealer this Sunday, wish me good luck

[OliSharp]

Sorry to hear you’re having these problems: it’s no fun at all! In your position I’d be tempted to return the car for a full refund.

The seller will do the absolute minimum to get the fault codes to go away. I’ve been quoted £3.5k to fix a similar problem (replace all injectors, coils, spark plugs, NOX & O2 sensors etc). If your warranty is a maximum claim of £1k that doesn’t even cover the replacement injectors.

A warranty company is unlikely to cover the cost of 6 injectors. They’ll identify the individual injector(s) which is(are) faulty and just replace that, leaving you to foot the bill for the rest in due course.

The seller is unlikely to have enough price margin on the car to fix everything properly. It might be better for them to re-sell as trade / sold-as-seen, or break it for parts. Worth asking for a refund and see what they say before you spend any more money.

Also the ‘Bmw specialist’ that took your money for new spark plugs and coils sounds a bit sh*t. Did they let your car sit over night and check the spark plugs for petrol? Did they check fuel rail pressure before starting the car to confirm a leak? Did they start the car from cold, observe rough idle and unplug the coils one by one to identify the misfiring cylinder?

You mentioned oil on the engine, this could be as simple as the seal around the filler cap. This cracks over time and oil leaks down the cylinder head and can get around the coil, causing a misfire, usually on cylinder 3. A cheap easy fix and worth checking. Otherwise could be the rocker cover gasket.

I’d only consider buying those 2nd hand injectors if they’ve been bench tested for flow rate and spray pattern. The pressure they operate at requires quite specialist equipment to test properly. You’ll need new Teflon seals for these injectors, which require specific tools to fit and compress.

Good luck, hope you work it out.

[ROGER_XYH]

Originally Posted by OliSharp

Sorry to hear you’re having these problems: it’s no fun at all! In your position I’d be tempted to return the car for a full refund.

The seller will do the absolute minimum to get the fault codes to go away. I’ve been quoted £3.5k to fix a similar problem (replace all injectors, coils, spark plugs, NOX & O2 sensors etc). If your warranty is a maximum claim of £1k that doesn’t even cover the replacement injectors.

A warranty company is unlikely to cover the cost of 6 injectors. They’ll identify the individual injector(s) which is(are) faulty and just replace that, leaving you to foot the bill for the rest in due course.

The seller is unlikely to have enough price margin on the car to fix everything properly. It might be better for them to re-sell as trade / sold-as-seen, or break it for parts. Worth asking for a refund and see what they say before you spend any more money.

Also the ‘Bmw specialist’ that took your money for new spark plugs and coils sounds a bit sh*t. Did they let your car sit over night and check the spark plugs for petrol? Did they check fuel rail pressure before starting the car to confirm a leak? Did they start the car from cold, observe rough idle and unplug the coils one by one to identify the misfiring cylinder?

You mentioned oil on the engine, this could be as simple as the seal around the filler cap. This cracks over time and oil leaks down the cylinder head and can get around the coil, causing a misfire, usually on cylinder 3. A cheap easy fix and worth checking. Otherwise could be the rocker cover gasket.

I’d only consider buying those 2nd hand injectors if they’ve been bench tested for flow rate and spray pattern. The pressure they operate at requires quite specialist equipment to test properly. You’ll need new Teflon seals for these injectors, which require specific tools to fit and compress.

Good luck, hope you work it out.

Thanks for your reply

The most straightforward and effective solution I have received so far from the professionals at BMW is to replace all 6 injectors, which I know is their usual tactic. Although replacing some of the second-hand injectors would solve the problem in the short term, most of the so-called refurbished or used injectors currently in circulation are not trustworthy and I can't guarantee they will do any better than the those on my car, so I'm not going to replace them with new ones for now.

But like you said, I will try to fix the rocker cover gasket leak first, at least the cost is far less than 6 brand new injectors and worth trying.

Best Regards