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Thread: Car stalled midway while driving on freeway

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Stamford CT
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    5
    My Cars
    2012 BMW 328 Xi coupe

    Exclamation Car stalled midway while driving on freeway

    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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Kissimmee, FL
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    14
    My Cars
    2009 BMW 328i
    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


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
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    Stamford CT
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    2012 BMW 328 Xi coupe
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Stamford CT
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    5
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    2012 BMW 328 Xi coupe
    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.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    6,981
    My Cars
    2001 525it
    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.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    442
    My Cars
    '08 E90 335xi manual
    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.

    Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
    Are you gonna eat that?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Stamford CT
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    2012 BMW 328 Xi coupe
    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 ?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Fort Collins, Colorado
    Posts
    1,092
    My Cars
    2008 328xi Sportwagon
    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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