? for M3 owners about cold start issue

**NLR** · 10-24-2002, 11:24 PM

I know there is a TSB on the Motorsport engines regarding rough running, hesitation and poor throttle response following the initial cold start. The problem is supposedly corrected by reprogramming the ECU. I took the car in about a month ago to fix the problem, but it still exists.I could live with the rough idle on startup, but it is the hesitation and poor throttle response that really bothers me.

My factory warranty will be expiring at the end of this month and any future claims after that point will be covered by an extended warranty bought from an outside company that has a $100 deductible. So, I want to have this problem fixed before then. I am currently waiting for the dealer to receive the shift knob that they are replacing on my car under warranty, so I would like to have this problem looked into again as well.

For all of you who have had this same problem, did the reprogramming fix it? I remember reading a thread some time ago about a member with the same problem, but it was finally fixed after more than one visit to the dealer. I just don't understand why the problem would still exist on my car if the proper corrective action was taken. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

**jkerman** · 10-25-2002, 03:02 AM

I had the same symptoms as the famous cold start problem. I replaced the valve cover gasket, and it went away COMPLETELY!

Also replaced a few worn coil boots. Think it cost me about $80 in parts, and took all of an hour and a half (do do it as slow as i do....)

Have you checked this out?

**jayhudson** · 10-25-2002, 11:43 AM

I had the dealer upgrade the DME and it made it much better. I think the DME version they input was 25. Not positive. I am satisfied with the results.

Jay

**NLR** · 10-25-2002, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by jkerman
I had the same symptoms as the famous cold start problem. I replaced the valve cover gasket, and it went away COMPLETELY!

Also replaced a few worn coil boots. Think it cost me about $80 in parts, and took all of an hour and a half (do do it as slow as i do....)

Have you checked this out?

I haven't checked any of these items out, but I find it hard to believe that such parts would need replacing when my car has less than 21,500 miles. If all else fails, I will look into these though. Thanks!

**moonluv810** · 10-25-2002, 12:14 PM

Mine has 17k miles and has this problem. Previous owner (I'm second) brought the car in to dealership and had the ECU upgraded. He told that the upgrade improved cold start, but I still notice rough idling for ~3 seconds after start. I took mine back to dealership and they told me they found nothing wrong.

This question has been asked several times in the past, and most people came into an agreement that "it's nothing biggie".

Hope this helps!

**NLR** · 10-25-2002, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by LUNI2NZ
I had the dealer upgrade the DME and it made it much better. I think the DME version they input was 25. Not positive. I am satisfied with the results.

Jay

My repair invoice indicates that they used program 30.1. The TSB states to use version P16.0 programming or higher. So, hopefully switching to another version will help.

**M3Buff** · 10-25-2002, 12:20 PM

NLR, what extended warranty did you decide to go with? My factory warranty runs out in another 1000 miles, and I don't want to go in for the BMW extended coverage(gotta shell out upfront, right?) I've seen on a couple of other threads that warrantygold isn't so bad. Any ideas?

Prakash

**NLR** · 10-25-2002, 12:25 PM

Originally posted by moonluv810
Mine has 17k miles and has this problem. Previous owner (I'm second) brought the car in to dealership and had the ECU upgraded. He told that the upgrade improved cold start, but I still notice rough idling for ~3 seconds after start. I took mine back to dealership and they told me they found nothing wrong.

This question has been asked several times in the past, and most people came into an agreement that "it's nothing biggie".

Hope this helps!

I agree that the rough idling on cold start isn't that big of a deal. My previous '00 328i did the same exact thing, but it always ran fine when under load following a cold start, and I have since accepted the rough idle as a BMW trademark. However, the intense bogging and hesitation following the cold start that I am experiencing now on the M3 is rather annoying even though it only lasts for a minute or so.

**NLR** · 10-25-2002, 12:48 PM

Originally posted by M3Buff
NLR, what extended warranty did you decide to go with? My factory warranty runs out in another 1000 miles, and I don't want to go in for the BMW extended coverage(gotta shell out upfront, right?) I've seen on a couple of other threads that warrantygold isn't so bad. Any ideas?

Prakash

I just went with the warranty company that the selling dealer was offering me. I purchased the vehicle from a Cadillac/Infiniti dealer. I believe they are called 'MPP'. It is an additional two year / 75,000 mile warranty that takes effect after the expiration of the original factory warranty.

The dealer wasn't initially offering a warranty on the car, but I got them to include one in the price of the vehicle. I ended up paying just below $33,000, with the $1500 warranty included in that price. I am not sure if you have to pay for an extended warranty at BMW upfront or not.

Seeing how your factory warranty is almost up, I highly recommend you looking into extended coverage as soon as possible. If you are considering going with the warranty company that I have, you can reach them at 1-800-747-4400. My advice is to find out what BMW has to offer first, then compare their terms and price to that of an outside company and see which one makes the best sense for you. Good luck!

**M3Buff** · 10-25-2002, 12:58 PM

Cool! Thanks for the info. I never considered BMW coverage before seeing how a lot of people here were against it, but now that you mention it, I'll give it a shot and see what kind of pricing my dealer has to offer.

**BAADDOG** · 10-25-2002, 06:14 PM

Originally posted by NLR
I know there is a TSB on the Motorsport engines regarding rough running, hesitation and poor throttle response following the initial cold start. The problem is supposedly corrected by reprogramming the ECU. I took the car in about a month ago to fix the problem, but it still exists.I could live with the rough idle on startup, but it is the hesitation and poor throttle response that really bothers me.

My factory warranty will be expiring at the end of this month and any future claims after that point will be covered by an extended warranty bought from an outside company that has a $100 deductible. So, I want to have this problem fixed before then. I am currently waiting for the dealer to receive the shift knob that they are replacing on my car under warranty, so I would like to have this problem looked into again as well.

For all of you who have had this same problem, did the reprogramming fix it? I remember reading a thread some time ago about a member with the same problem, but it was finally fixed after more than one visit to the dealer. I just don't understand why the problem would still exist on my car if the proper corrective action was taken. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I had it done some time ago, about March of 1998. It was a recall.

The recall covered replacing the crank sensor and a software download.

Works good since the fix.

**slvrm3** · 10-25-2002, 06:27 PM

i have this problem and after 10 trips to the dealer no solutions. i ahd throttle body replaced, o2 sensors, dinan software removed, 5 ecu reprograms, bmw smooth running test done, basically everything and it hasnt gotten better at all. good friend that owns a bmw tuning shop told me they should not do this and he's never seen an m3 in his shop that does this. i've heard bmw did this for emissions reasons until the o2 sensors heat up. i also ahve a hesitations at constant throttle under load at 1700-2500 rpm's. if held at 2200 rpm's it will jerk and hesitate all the way up the road. no solution for that either. local dealer here is horrible and denies everything and makes more problems.

**19redwings** · 10-25-2002, 07:00 PM

Anyone know the where to get a copy of the TSB? Mine will actually die if it is below 40F!

**98///M-DROPTOP** · 10-25-2002, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by 19redwings
Anyone know the where to get a copy of the TSB? Mine will actually die if it is below 40F!

I had this done to my car several months after the SI came out, fixed the problem completely. However, I also have the surging problem that slvrm3 mentioned, my dealer unable to fix that.

Here's the relevant portion of the first page of the SI:

**19redwings** · 10-26-2002, 08:20 AM

Thanks Mike!

**BMWguy206** · 10-26-2002, 09:01 AM

Ummm.. yeah make sure the technician MANUALLY programs the DME. Almost all other DME programming is done automatically.

If the programming was done automatically then its an ineffective repair.

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