4x4/DTC Failure After New Tires/Check Engine Light

[andrewcyyc]

Hey all,

I had new tires put on my 2006 330xi on Wednesday (Michelin run-flats, BMW-approved), and while it drove without issue all day yesterday, this morning the weird stuff started.

After accelerating to around 20 Km/H, the yellow 4x4 warning light came on, as well as the DTC light above. The car immediately went into "limp home" mode. Thankfully I was still close to home. My car has been faithfully maintained, and there are no abnormal sounds or clunks, no idle stutters or any other accompanying issues.

Googled this issue like crazy, and managed to clear both the 4x4 and DTC lights by cranking the wheel all the way to the left, then all the way to the right. The car is also no longer in "limp home" mode, but what concerns me is that the check engine/service engine soon light is still on (the yellow one with the half-filled engine icon.) I drove it around the block a couple of times, and the car otherwise seems fine.

I have my car booked to go back to the place where I got my tires (a reputable Canadian chain), where they're offering a free diagnosis. But what I'm wondering from all of the experts on here is, any thoughts what could have caused this weird series of errors? Some additional context - it's been DAMNED cold here - negative 30s overnight - but I drove the car around last night, and while it was parked outside overnight, I have a battery blanket and it was plugged in, and started without even a slow crank this morning.

I'm just wondering if maybe they could've messed up the alignment or the sensors when they put on the new tires? Or if anything else they could've done would've caused this? I just want to be armed with information, in case they try and charge me for a fix for something they caused.

Thanks all!

[jclausen]

by turning the steering wheel the only sensor that would effect is the steering angle sensor, though I don't know why it went off, be careful with the tire stores there level of understanding BMW systems could be quite low. because there is so much communication throughout the car systems it is not uncommon to get more than one warning light on when something is going on, for instance traction controls sends signals to abs, dme, egs so if something is happening in dsc traction control the signal being passed on is faulty hence the other warning lights