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View Full Version : Rough Idle Q's, and SF Stealers



C.Yang
02-27-2001, 01:15 PM
I have a couple of Q's and rants. First off is my rough idle. It has been goin on for a little while, ever since I brought my car from Oregon to California. The idle doesn't seem as creamy smooth as it once did, especially at some cold startups. I can probably attribute the cold startup thing to Vanos, but if I let the car idle, every 30 seconds or so the RPMs will drop, and search for the original idle. Also there is a slight vibration in the driver seat, and steering wheel. I don't feel this in the back seat, but this is logical. Now my question is whether this is a common problem or not? If known, what is the problem and how can it be fixed. On to my second point. I attempted to bring it to 2 dealerships in the bay area, SF BMW, and Stevens Creek. SF BMW was decently courteous in taking my car, but when I got it back, the rough idle was still there. They attributed it to the ECU, and reset it. My main problem with them is I accidentaly left my wallet in the glove compartment, and when I got my car back, it was in hte back seat, and 150 dollars was missing out of it. When I contacted SF BMW, they told me to look for it about 5 times, and i did every time. They then said they will contact me, which they never did. Then I called BMWNA, and they said they would contact me, and SF BMW would call me back in the next few days. That never happened either. I then went to Steven's Creek recently to try and fix my idle problem, and they made me sign an estimate for 600 dollars on draining the valves or something. He said it could be attributed to overreving the engine, and leaking into the valves. I said I never did, but he insisted on me signing this estimate. The next day I get a call that the car passed the "rough idle test" whatever that was and that nothing was wrong. Gimme a break. I know my car pretty well, and I know that the idle is shakier than it once was. Now I am angered, but am going to wait until I head back to Oregon this summer to get this looked at again. Kuni is 10x better than Steven's Creek or SF BMW. They actually have a limo service, and let you take out loaners. They gave me, a 17 year old at the time, a Z3 with the m roadster interior, as a loaner for a few days. When I asked Steven's Creek for one, 2 months in advance, they said they only provide loaners free to people who bought their cars there. Gimme a break. I didn't purchase my car at Kuni, but they give me top quality service. As a result, we have bought 2 cars from Kuni. Bay area stealerships need to learn manners.

umnitza
02-27-2001, 03:57 PM
My first car - 740 has always been serviced @ EastBay BMW in Pleasanton. They have an expert mechanic there - forget his name - gold hair, wears it long, about 5'8" - ask for Jim Burke and tell him Matt G sent ya.

The second card - m3/4 - has been serviced @ Concord once. Very courteous and very quick. Don't know how good they are at diagnosing problems. But, they are particularly good - I left my FastTrak pass in the car and it was in exactly the same place where I left it.

C.Yang
02-27-2001, 06:01 PM
Pleasonton is quite far away from me in santa clara. Dont know where concord is but i'll check it out.

SlickM3
02-28-2001, 02:44 AM
I noticed similar "idle hunting" behavior in my 97 E36 M3 coupe, after cold weather arrived. The symptom only appeared when coming to a stop, after having the engine in various cruising rpm ranges. When I'd approach stop, and let completely off the accelerator, the engine would go to normal idle speed, then briefly dip 500 lower, then come back to normal idle speed.

I asked a $tealer mechanic about it, and he commented about a sticking idler valve, and gave me a free can of BMW fuel system cleaner. I seem to recall that he said he'd only seen this behavior in M3's (????)

I ran the cleaner through, and occasionally run some cheapo Techron injector cleaner... like maybe every six weeks or so. I don't have the idle hunting problem anymore.

My car also got the cold idle software patch from the $tealer. I think it helped shorten and smooth the warm-up cycle. Here in TN, some mornings are about 28 degrees. I start the car, wait one minute, then slowly take off. Idle is smooth very quickly.

Maybe that's all your car need?

C.Yang
02-28-2001, 03:07 AM
I'll try that out. Would be very happy if that was all it was.

HK_M3
08-12-2001, 01:45 AM
Did that fix your problem? Let me know. Thanks, N8.

jayhudson
08-12-2001, 10:04 AM
Make sure the dealer upgrades the DME software if necessary. Also, have you checked/replaced the air filter lately? Glad to hear good things about Kuni. I've also heard good things about Rasmussen. If I ever need serious dealer work, I may be willing to take my car up there. I'm in Grants Pass. If you know you're going to be passing thru, get in touch with me ahead of time and we can meet for a visit. I don't get to meet many fellow Mers, so it would be nice.

Jay

C.Yang
08-12-2001, 06:16 PM
i ran the cleaner through and got the dme upgraded. Its better, but still a little rough at times. Could it be a bad flywheel? i.e. hotspots?

if im ever by grants pass, i'll get in touch.

jmciver
08-12-2001, 07:49 PM
I had that same problem, but didn't pay too much attention to it. Then about a year ago, it got worse, much worse. At the same time it got worse I noticed that my car began to overheat when at idle. It turned out my water pump went bad (I have heard of bad water pumps being a problem on 3 series cars). Any way, once the water pump was fixed, the idle problem went away and I havn't seen it since. Just another idea, hope this helps.

jayhudson
08-12-2001, 08:49 PM
I don't think the flywheel would cause the idle to be rough. Might cause jerkiness when you first begin to let out the clutch. Jay

HK_M3
08-13-2001, 01:38 AM
I had the water pump replaced from the plastic impellers (none were broke!) to the metal impeller at the same time, so I don't believe that is the problem.....I am just worried my local mechanic is going to brush this off like a coil problem or something...I am also going to try Redline Fuel Injector cleaner as well.....we'll see.....

C.Yang
08-13-2001, 03:59 AM
Could it be loss of compression, or a bent valve? I may have mildly overreved once, but not sure if it actually overreved before i let the clutch out.

EuroKRN
08-13-2001, 02:55 PM
You should try German Motor Specialists in Sunnyvale. Some of the best technicians from dealers around the Bay Area left their respective dealerships and formed this shop.. they also provide free rental cars (depending on the service) and they're consistently 30% cheaper than the stealers...

www.bmwspecialist.com

C.Yang
08-14-2001, 03:26 AM
I would , but im still under stealer warranty. If they cant figure it out by the time i pass it, over there i will go.