The Official "Tip-In" / Acceleration/Throttle Delay" Resolution Thread

[Sonnie]

The Official "Tip-In" / "Acceleration Delay" / "Throttle Lag" / "Initial Take-Off" Issue for the 2011 528i – Solutions and Complaint Filing Instructions


Introduction

You are at a busy intersection trying to squeeze your way out into the heavy traffic. You see an opening and mash the gas pedal, but the car does not seem to respond immediately…..... it hesitates…..... or it slowly pokes. You want to open the door, stick your foot down on the pavement (remember the Flintstones) and get the car moving…..... the person in the car behind you is screaming at you, GO! GO! GO! FOOL! ….....WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON? You frantically keep mashing the gas pedal and all of the sudden, wham…..... you are jerked into oblivion and take off…..... heading straight for the hospital for one of two reasons, you either have whiplash or someone has plowed into the side of you because you were poking for too long.

OK, OK…..... so maybe that is a tiny bit of an exaggeration, but I also bet it ain't too far from several real stories, if not nearly spot on.

The "tip-in", "acceleration delay", "initial take-off" issue is serious and a safety issue. Read the threads and user reviews complaining about it and note how many owners are concerned about the unknown. If you attempt to feather the acceleration, will the car take off fast enough and/or jolt you…..... is it going to go or not? The unknown can be dangerous.

This issue is not new with the 2011 models. It has been around for several years in several BMW models, but apparently has become most noticeable in models with the N52 engines (and maybe some others). However, from my investigations, it appears in the 2011 528i models, it has become more pronounced…..... more aggressive…..... and therefore more noticeable and more of an annoyance…..... as well as more of a safety issue.

Quite frankly, I do not see how BMW ignores this as they do. With the extreme number of complaints about it…..... and the fact that many have turned away from buying BMW vehicles for this one reason, AND as smart as their engineers are with nearly every other aspect of their vehicles, I am in near complete unbelief that they have not figured out a solution to this issue. Very few people are ever going to understand or accept that this is normal acceleration behavior for a vehicle, regardless of who makes it.

This thread and the instructions that follow for filing a complaint are specific to the 528i and not the 535i. However, it appears that the software update SIB 12 9 11, which is mentioned in various places, will fix the issue in the 535i models…..... and is specific ONLY to the 535i and not the 528i. It has been reported that this software update does not fix the 528i, although there seems to be some unconfirmed reports that a few 528i owners have had this update and it did fix the issue. If this has been confirmed, please post in this thread and let us know. Even if it has worked for some 528i owners, there are several Service Advisors that will not apply this update because it is not assigned to the 528i.

From page 2 of the SIB:

Situation
• E7x (X5, X6) with N55 up to 12/2010, F07/F10 (5 Series) with N55 to 2/2011
• Delayed throttle response when driving off


The Blogs, Discussions and Reviews are Numerous

There are several articles/threads/blogs referencing this issue…..... many of the major reviews mention it, as well as numerous user reviews. Obviously they all cannot be included, but here are a few links if you want to take the time to read over some of them:

"Tip-In" and "Initial Acceleration" problems fixed

PROBLEM SOLVED!!... If your F10 has hesitation or jerks at 0-10 mph

Is there a 'Tip-in' fix for the 528i?

2011 BMW 528i: It's Not Just Me!

2011 BMW 528i: Delivering the Power

Tip-in, jerk, hesitation, operating as designed?


What BMW Owners Are Saying

Highlighted comments from various places about this issue (some editing for spelling and grammar):

I was experiencing the same as many others where if you are at a complete stop and you go to accelerate the car doesn't respond right away and you naturally apply more gas and then the car jumps ahead of you. If you were to move to the D/S position, the car was perfect and you didn't experience any lag in acceleration... it was almost like the car was set to start off in 2nd gear vs 1st.

Don't know how to explain it....seems pedal has to be pressed more than it should before getting an immediate throttle response. Like a small dead spot, I suppose. Only in normal mode. No lag in sport mode. Response is immediate.

It has scared me a few times when pulling out from a stop sign into traffic, thinking you have plenty of time and ease onto the accelerator only to find yourself moving like a snail, then having to stomp on it to get moving as traffic nears.

It's not the engine's response I am worried about. It's the ability to drive smoothly. I cannot, and neither can my wife, get this car to pull away from either a dead stop or a slight rolling stop smoothly and with consistent speed, more than 20% of the time.

You have three options normally for takeoff in this car: you have to feather the throttle and creep away like a cat burglar; tromp on it and leave like Don Garlits; or use normal throttle input, have nothing happen for 2 seconds, and then feel like a garbage truck just rear ended you.

I have a 2009 528i w/ Sport Package. My 5th BMW. They gave me a loaner 2011 528i for my last service and I still can't get over how differently they drove. The 2011 felt bigger but not just that the throttle tip in was much more agressive and combined with the loose electric steering it was very disappointing.

If this car was being used for a limo service, the driver would have no repeat customers. If your kids take their driver's exam in this car, they'll fail. It really is that bad.

I noticed this with an F10 528 loaner. That throttle lag is not fun, especially if you need to get out of a situation.

It's not a delay which decreases a transient surge. It INCREASES the transient surge as the car does not respond to the throttle for a half second then bolts forward with an awkward lurch and a slam. It's much rougher than a normal takeoff would be. It's not at all smooth. Some have described it as being rear-ended.

For the sake of clear discussion, let's not call it lag. Let's call it a "lack of a linear response to the throttle pedal".

I can't figure for the life of me why BMW would design it this way intentionally. It just makes the car hard to drive smoothly from a standing start. It's stupid. It's not the end of the world but it is stupid.

I have demonstrated to my tech that I get a 2 second lag when stepping on it as I coast down to 20mph. He readily agreed that it was an issue. My approach is that it is a safety issue (which it seriously is) and I have been presenting it this way.

Edmunds Inside Line has noted the same issue with their long term 528 as well. Its not the turbo, its the throttle and transmission programming. Its not related to actual engine power at all.

I was dumbfounded as I wanted to accelerate smoothly (half way floored gas pedal) from about 35mph to notice that bothersome delay and the sudden surge as the car shifted down one or two gears.

My wife has been driving my car a lot lately to keep the miles down. She would agree with this, the lack of a linear response makes her nervous. She commented the other day that she has to wait for a much bigger opening.

I have a Honda that is also "drive by wire", and the throttle response of that car is instant and consistent throughout its entire pedal travel, not at all like the laziness of the BMW.

I was at the dealership yesterday and asked my SA about it. She stated that they have seen the issue with the 528i and seemed to admit there is a problem with that model.

I simply blamed too many gears in the transmission! Was I wrong? I don't know... because the salesman then told me to try the manual sport mode and the hesitation promptly went away!

Whether or not this is considered technically a safety delay, I do agree that there is one on the F10, and was one on my prior E39...but not as pronounced. That being said, I would hope you all realize that there is at least one aftermarket BMW supplier out there that makes an electronic harness specifically made to delete this delay. I have not looked yet, but would imagine they are working on an F10 solution as well, if not already having it.

I was yielding at an intersection to make a left turn, and in ANY of the cars I've previously owned (BMWs, Audis, Jeeps) I would have stepped on it and cleared the intersection with ease. With the F10, I waited for oncoming cars to pass to be on the safe side. Not cool.

Toyota was forced to do a massive recall because of unintended acceleration that probably was caused by floor mats or something inane like that, not the vehicle electronics. Here, we have a similar problem affecting acceleration, apparently caused by a shortcoming in the drive by wire throttle software, and there's no acknowledgement that a problem exists. What would be required to get the exposure needed for a recall? Is this problem potentially dangerous or is it just annoying?

My issue is what happens when someone uses the car that either has never driven it before or drives it infrequently and is used to instant acceleration when stepping on the throttle?

In my judgement, If I look in my mirror and decide that it would be in my best interest to make more space between whatever I see and myself - and command my 300HP vehicle to get a move on by stepping deeply into my peddle - and it doesn't respond for 2 seconds (50 feet of unwanted closure at only 35mph vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference), I'd call that dangerous. Wouldn't you? I think BMW would agree. Now let's hope they can fix it.

I guess it will take a few accidents, deaths and a lot of bad publicity to get something done on this.

This needs to be recalled. It's a big safety issue.


There Are Some Solutions

While it seems only to be a temporary fix, you can reset the "Throttle Body Adaption", which resets the "Adaptive Driver Memory" feature by following these steps:

1) Press the Start button once to turn on power. Do not press the brake pedal and do not start the engine.
2) Press the accelerator down to the floor for up to 60 seconds. You should hear clicking to indicate it is resetting.
3) Press the Start button again to turn the power off.
4) Now remove your foot from the accelerator.
5) Wait TWO minutes and start up the vehicle like normal.

Many have stated this solved their acceleration delay, but in most cases it has to be reset weekly or monthly. In some cases owners have stated it did not have any effect.


A more permanent solution is to purchase an aftermarket product that will eliminate the delay. Burger Motorsports offers the BMS Power Box that will remap the throttle response. It cost a few hundred dollars, but may be worth it to some. I have read that it will void your warranty, as well as it will not void your warranty. I have not asked BMW, so you are own your own in figuring that out, but it is widely used and very effective according to those who use it. Sprint Booster makes something similar, but has not released it for the 2011 model yet. It is however, in development and should be ready in a month or so. I think I remember reading about a couple of others like these, but these seem to be the most popular.


A Final and Permanent Solution – What Can We Do?

For those who want a BMW supplied permanent solution, the only way to get BMW to move on this is for there to be enough formal complaints so that BMW will take serious notice and/or it becomes a serious safety issue to BMW.

First, contact your Service Advisor at your local BMW dealer. If there are other BMW dealers within an hour or two, contact an SA at those dealers as well. See if you can get a regional SA involved.

Second, file a formal complaint with BMW North America by telephone….....

Contact BMW NA by calling their Customer Relations at 1-800-831-1117.

Third, file a formal complaint with BMW NA by writing to them:

BMW of North America, LLC
300 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677-7731

Fourth, file a formal complaint with NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)….....

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

NHTSA will document the complaints…..... and by law they are required to report the complaints to BMW. Similar to the Better Business Bureau, if enough complaints are filed, they will investigate and may very well eventually force BMW to offer a resolution.

Be as specific as possible in all your explanations and documentation. You can give examples of how you feel it is dangerous and a safety issue. You can also state that BMW has recognized it as an issue in the 535i models, calling it an "Acceleration Delay" and have issued an SIB software update to repair it, but have not done so for the 528i.

Fifth, as user wildvan mentions below... contact your local State Attorney General Office and file a complaint. (Example) They will forward the complaint to BMW and require a response.

The idea is to get as MANY complaints issued to BMW NA as possible, in hopes that they will realize their customers are not happy and fully believe this is a serious safety issue.


If you have any further information to help those who want a permanent solution fix for their 2011 528i, please share the information here. Thanks!

Thanks to user UNCtarheels for providing an abundance of helpful information for all of us.

[wildvan]

Great write up, you can also fill formal complaints through your states attorney general, they also follow up on complains and require resolution. It may not get you a immediate fix, but with all the other complaints, you will certainly get noticed.

[Sonnie]

That is indeed another avenue to get them to take note. I will add that to the list of resolutions. Thanks for bringing it up.

[eyemd]

Excellent description of the problem, Sonnie. I had the same issue with my 2011 535xi. I consider it a serious safety issue as you detailed. I had the car in yesterday for an AC problem (which they haven't fixed) and asked them to reprogram the transmission. They couldn't duplicate the low speed/from a stop problem but did document the lack of acceleration at speed, i.e. as if attempting to accelerate to pass another vehicle. They did perform the reprogramming (with some difficulty, took 3 attempts) and the problem seems to be solved. This is inexcusable in this (or really any) vehicle. I'll never understand why BMW is so reluctant to admit and fix these serious, known problems. I doubt I'll buy another BMW.

[Sonnie]

I am glad they at least got it fixed for you. It is definitely a dangerous issue.

[New5]

This delay or lag issue was very prominent in the E60 model, not so much in the F10. IMO, the slight delay acts as a safety factor but then again it should not be too long as to affect yr thoughts in driving....agreed that it does not happen in sport or paddle shift mode...sometimes, engineer designing the engine may have other reasons that explains why the design is as such and explaining it openly may draw further or more unhappiness as it leads to other engineering or performance issue.

Nevertheless, thanks for the info about resetting using start button and accelerator!

cheers!

[apocalypsegoat]

I notice a bit what you are talking about in my e39 525. My solution is twofold
A. Always drive in sport mode or
B. Cruise in regular drive and then use sport when coming near traffic or changing roads a lot.

I prefer A as I drive like a maniac but it works!

[wildvan]

I would still make the dealer fix this correctly, having to decide what drive mode or doing a reset constantly is not a fix but a bandaid. Others with thhe same problem have gotten it resolved so that the car drives the way it is intended.

[r70chevy]

I know this tread was started awhile ago.....
what was the out come, is there a solution? I just bought my first BMW 528i and I have this problem......

Help !!!!

[BenVelasco]

Hello, This trick work on 2009 X5 V8?

[sotexproject]

Really old thread but, if you still own the car... Try turning on launch control (hold down traction control the button for 3 seconds until the light on the dash turns on). Let us know what you find.

[racquetpower]

I try the 60 sec delay trick, on my 2009 X5 V8. it worked for me sometimes.