Randomly dies.
Engine shuts down while driving. Seems to happen more on hills or inclines but has done it on flat surfaces.
Dangerous situation considering some places have no pull overs like over passes etc.
When it shuts down I hear a ding sound (like seatbelt not being fastened). Then the service light comes on.
If I try to restart it just cranks and does not restart.
The only way to get it to restart is to disconnect the negative battery terminal for a quick sec. Starts right back up.
The car has plenty of power, starts each and every time with no issues other than when it dies.
I get no error codes except for a fault for "High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) failure"
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I took it to one mechanic and they said it was the fuel pump. Replaced the pump at about $800 expense to me. Did not solve the issue.
Took it to another mechanic and said it was the crankshaft sensor. I replaced the sensor at a $300 expense to me and it did not solve the issue.
I took it to a 3rd mechanic that said it "Might" be the eccentric shaft sensor. ($1400 repair). He said I had oil on the sensor.
I ordered the parts but I am not convinced this is the issue being that in most cases then the eccentric shaft sensor goes out or is going out the car runs bad. My car runs great until it dies.
Please if you have any ideas or suggestions before I replace the eccentric shaft sensor can you reply to this?
Thanks for all your help. I open to phone calls as well to discuss the issue if you have the time to talk to me.
Have you checked with a BMW dealer to see if your car is affected by any recalls? There is a fuse box recall that can fix some symptoms that are similar to yours.
Last edited by cochise325; 07-28-2016 at 12:50 PM.
I put my vin# in online and it said no recalls for my vehicle. I also took it to a BMW shop and they did not mention any recalls. Is there anyway you could help my find that recall info? I am very interested in the possibility of this being the issue.
Last edited by myflightdeck; 07-28-2016 at 12:43 PM.
I do not know the recall number. But you might search on the forum for fuse box recall. There have been recent discussions here and many cars are affected. The fuse box is the one behind the glove compartment. The main wires that come into the box is where the recall work is performed.
Thanks for the input. I did read about a recall on the 335 or convertible regarding fuel pump but nothing for fusebox. I will keep looking. Last night I replaced the eccentric shaft sensor, coils, plugs, air filter and the car runs great...better than ever but just like before it dies for no reason. Please if anyone reading this knows why this is happening or has any ideas please add your input. I will be looking into the fusebox next.
- - - Updated - - -
The more I read up on this the more it does not sound like my issue when my car dies I do not lose power. I have warning light and AC still running and it just stalls. It does not restart unless you let it sit for 5 -10 min. If you remove the negative wire on the battery and put it back on...it starts right up. So The idea that the harness to the fuse box may not fit here...people say with that issue they lose everything like blinkers, lights etc.
Quick Update: I swapped out the eccentric shaft sensor and put new spark plugs in and it did not fix the issues. Recently a fault code was thrown up for the first time after it stalled. In the past when it stalls, I get the service light, disconnect the battery and restart. No fault codes. The last time is stalled, I did get a code a new code pop-up code #P16A3. Is it possible the DME is bad? Is there anyway to test this? The car starts fine and I have never had issues starting it...only stalls when driving or sitting while it is running.
So recap: I replaced the:
Crankshaft Sensor
Fuel Pump
Eccentric Shaft Sensor
Plugs
Air filter
Cleaned Mass Airflow Sensor
Car dies for no reason when driving. I still have electrical power but the engine just dies. When restarting the car will not restart and has a hard crank/shake of the engine. Then when I remove the negative battery cable and restart, it starts just fine. If I let the car sit for 10 minutes it will also start fine.
Please any help and I PROMISE...I will order you a pizza for helping me figure this thing out.
Last edited by myflightdeck; 07-30-2016 at 10:18 AM. Reason: Needed to add more info
Had the same thing with a 2005 E91 330xd. Car would run for days, weeks or months then die while driving. I was able to re-start the engine and sometimes drive off only for the engine to die again 5-10 minutes later. BMW dealer could not find anything wrong. I replaced the fuel-rail pressure sensor, crank-shaft sensor, fuel filter, in-tank fuel pump, still the same.
Took the car to independent garage and left it there untill they found the problem.
What I was told was that nr. 6 fuel injector was worn and leaked fuel back into the fuel return line. On this engine, M57N2, the fuel return is routed back into the high-pressure fuel pump past the fuel pressure sensor that monitors fuel pressure from the in-tank fuel pump.
If this sensor reads the fuel pressure to be too high it shuts off the in-tank electric fuel pump and shortly after that the engine dies.
What I suspect happened it the fuel pressure sensor before the high-pressure fuel pump went bad.
When I got the car back, over two years ago, I didn't notice anything new arround the nr. 6 fuel injector but I did notice a new fuel line with the pressure sensor on it going to the high-pressure fuel pump.
I don't know how the fuel system on your car works but if it works the same as on mine the fuel pressure sensor going bad makes sense. Worn injectors make sense too if they cause over-pressure in the fuel line going into the high-pressure fuel pump. May be worth $25 to replace this sensor and see if the problem goes away.
No high pressure fuel pumps on naturally aspirated engines. Only the turbocharged engines use the hpfp.
Hi. I have this same issue on my 2009 328i.
Did you ever find out the problem? Thanks!
I also have very similar issues as OP. And also driving 2009 328i.
Looks like another unresolved thread.
2009 328i
same problem
got new starter fuelpump and battery
still happening
running out of money at this point
A lose (or too corroded) ground strap is not unheard of.
Often the one (I believe) just behind the front left tire.
Obviously also check the negative battery connection recall issue.
If the battery is even suspect on holding/receiving a charge, you can get all forms of lights on the dash and issues driving.
Did you ever figure anything out on this ?
It's been almost 4 years of radio silence for the OP. I'm guessing he got rid of the E90 out of frustration. This thread is the entire contents of his activity here.
I am dealing with the same issue in my 2011 328i and turned to this forum to see if i could find something about it. Have you figured out what the issue is?
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