Hi Everyone,
My 2012 BMW 328 Xi Coupe just stalled midway on the NJ I-287 freeway while driving at 65 mph. I was lucky enough to just have enough time (5 seconds) before I could move to the right lane and the shoulder by which time the car shuddered vigorously, limped and came to a complete halt. Engine would not start. I had the car towed to a safe location. Today morning I filled 2 quarts of oil and 2 gallons of gas but the engine still wouldn't start. I thought the engine completely seized but it does crank (very softly), almost like weak attempt. Tried Jump start but that didnt help either with starting the car.
Any thoughts on what all could be broken ? Is this the timing chain with no compression ? The mechanic I spoke with over the phone suggested that my engine may need to be replaced which I really hope not ? Please advice. Thanks a lot in advance !
Sunny
Last edited by sanrockz; 11-17-2018 at 06:52 PM.
Any loss of fluids? Smoke? Smells?
It is hard to give you an idea unless we first get some specifications and a physical rundown of what you can see under the hood. Without mileage, I have no basis to start my hypothesis
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Hi Fmath95,
no loss of fluids or smoke or smells. 80k miles.
Will take to the mechanic tomorrow to see whats under the hood, but as of now I'm just worried that he's gonna tell me the worst. He even said if timing chain is to be replaced, its better to replace the engine. Is that true ? I feel its rather extreme but what do I know.
Quick update - Went to the mechanic today and turns out the battery had died fully. He charged up my battery on slow charge and after few hours, the engine started. All the codes came out clean, so he said he does not suspect anything wrong with the timing chain or the fuel pump. He said he has no answer to why my car stalled other than maybe I was running very low on fuel (I had around 10 miles left and I have done worse before). I'm still baffled why a BMW engine would come to a dead stop on a freeway even if the engine oil or fuel was low. No light was red, just yellow. I'm happy that my engine had not seized but this is scary. Thought I would share my experience and outcome on this thread.
Don't run your fuel down to 10 miles at that point the information on range could be highly suspect, also
the gas helps cool the fuel pump which is in the gas tank. How old is the battery.
Let me get this straight. You ran the tank dry, then when it died you cranked the starter till the battery was completely dead. Missed anything?
Your car's seat-to-steering wheel connector is broken. Best bet is to sell the vehicle and use Uber as your primary mode of transportation. Failing that, you should be driving a Mercedes rather than a BMW.
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Are you gonna eat that?
Jclausen - Thanks for your response,
I took it to BMW to flush out the 2 quarts of oil I had put in and perform a full oil change with synthetic. They said they didnt see any codes and also suspected that the fuel was dry. Also, my battery was at around 50% but it did not show up in their systems that I need to change it. fyi- battery or alternator hasn't been changed, they been there since the time they came with the car.
- - - Updated - - -
relative4- Thanks for your response.
Lesson learnt- I should not have run my fuel down until 10 miles. It seems like the only possible explanation at this point.
Why do you say that my car's seat-to-steering wheel connector is broken ?
Was the oil actually two quarts low? If so, why wasn't that caught earlier? If not, why did you add oil? When you have a problem, diagnose the problem, don't just throw random stuff at the car.
Ditto the thought above about keeping more gas in the car, it's critical for cooling the fuel pump. Running low a couple of times won't melt it down, but doing so repeatedly will probably reduce the pump's service life.
The seat-to-steering-wheel connector is the driver. I think the comment was quite rude.
Batteries give warning before they go out, and it sounds like those symptoms were missed. It would be a good idea to keep a record book in the car, note every oil change and oil addition, tire rotation,...you name it. It may be that you're not always noticing what your car is doing, and having service records in a convenient notebook in the car may help you track what's going on.
Last edited by Pilgrim; 11-28-2018 at 12:53 PM.
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