# Rough Idle/Stall Fix



## kurichan (May 1, 2004)

Please forgive me for cross posting, but I thought it was appropriate in this case:

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First let me say, if you have a issue with your BMW, try to get in touch with Todd at BMW NA Customer Service. I think I've seen his name mentioned on the boards before. He's really cool.

Disclaimer: much of what Todd told me was anecdotal, unofficial information, so please treat it as such and respect that Todd tried to provide as much information as possible, but wasn't speaking officially.

(1) BMW monitors the message boards and knows what we are discussing. I didn't ask, but it was my impression that this monitoring is done by the customer service folks on an individual basis, not on an official basis, instead just so they can better understand what we are thinking and help us better.

(2) BMW is aware of the stalling/rough idle problem and has worked out a fix

(3) The fix UNOFFICIALLY should be at the dealers in the next week to week and a half.

(4) My car, recently manufactured, will likely not have a problem. Anecdotally, and UNOFFICIALLY, it seems that PERHAPS the cars manufactured late last year have the bulk of the idle/stall problems. REMINDER: This is NOT OFFICAL INFORMATION, so please don't go ballastic on BMW citing "what Todd said."

Hope this helps.

If anyone has had this rumored "fix" applied, please let us know the result!


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## Rubber Ducky (Feb 27, 2004)

I've got 2000 miles on my ZHP picked up 1 May at the dealer. I've only had one incident of stalling/dying, and that was immediately after filling the tank - drove through the parking lot and made a couple more stops at stores - car dropped rpm or died 3 times. No troubles once out of the parking lot and on the road. No other troubles. 

Having tracked this discussion thru a number of boards over time, my guess is that we've got three things all tangled up in this issue. 

- One is a collection of routine failures of various engine-control/monitoring components (note the number of fixes that follow the finding of a dead rat somewhere in the system; components fail & no other fix needed). 

- Second is something untoward in the engine management design or components that showed up in production late last year for a period of time (Kurichan's report rings true). 

- Third is something else tied up with tank filling and slow-speed operation on a hot day (vapor lock-like symptoms - may need a fix, but probably the problem lies in the laws of physics).

Would hope someone will post results of BMW actions if Kurichan has it right...


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## BloodRedHog (Mar 9, 2004)

Rubber Ducky said:


> I've got 2000 miles on my ZHP picked up 1 May at the dealer. I've only had one incident of stalling/dying, and that was immediately after filling the tank - drove through the parking lot and made a couple more stops at stores - car dropped rpm or died 3 times. No troubles once out of the parking lot and on the road. No other troubles.
> 
> Having tracked this discussion thru a number of boards over time, my guess is that we've got three things all tangled up in this issue.
> 
> ...


I vote #3: Build date 04/04 -- stall several times, even once today. Happens only after a tank fill-up when tank was near empty.


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## kurichan (May 1, 2004)

BloodRedHog said:


> T vote #3: Build date 04/04 -- stall several times, even once today. Happens only after a tank fill-up when tank was near empty.


Interesting insight Hog.

I guess Todd's anecdotal evidence was more anecdote and less evidence.

If I don't let mine drop under 1/4 of tank, you think I can avoid the stalling problem altogether, so no one has to listen to me gripe, and I don't have to kick the damn car silly?


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## BloodRedHog (Mar 9, 2004)

kurichan said:


> Interesting insight Hog.
> 
> I guess Todd's anecdotal evidence was more anecdote and less evidence.
> 
> If I don't let mine drop under 1/4 of tank, you think I can avoid the stalling problem altogether, so no one has to listen to me gripe, and I don't have to kick the damn car silly?


I think so. For me at least, I have stalled only after I ran the tank until the fuel light came on, and I filled up. My idle is a tad rough (600k) but that has never bothered me.


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## gaklager (May 12, 2004)

My 01 330i is at the dealer today for the stalling problem. The feedback from the tech so far is that he thinks dirt allowed to enter the intake from use of a K&N filter has deposited on the idle control valve and slowed it's operation. That is why the rpms drop below 500 after pushing in the clutch and coming to a stop. Most of the time the engine recovers, sometimes it doesn't and stalls. The dirt is slowing the action of the valve. The cars got 54K mi so the valve may be dirty anyway. He also reflashed the computer so who knows if there was any fixes with that. I'll repost with the results and a likely request for donations to cover the dealer repair!


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## gaklager (May 12, 2004)

*Stalling problem fixed*

Picked up my car this morning from the dealer and the stalling issue seems to be remedied. The idle control valve was replaced after being checked out and found to be jammed/sticking. The symptoms from before are now gone and the idle never drops below 600rpm. The dealer also reprogrammed the DME to clear the adaptation values from use of the K&N filter. Overall, I'm happy that the problem really seems to be solved but the job cost $470 including $157 for the part.

2001 330i, sport and lux pkg w/Nav


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## Salvator (Oct 14, 2003)

gaklager said:


> Picked up my car this morning from the dealer and the stalling issue seems to be remedied. The idle control valve was replaced after being checked out and found to be jammed/sticking. The symptoms from before are now gone and the idle never drops below 600rpm. The dealer also reprogrammed the DME to clear the adaptation values from use of the K&N filter. Overall, I'm happy that the problem really seems to be solved but the job cost $470 including $157 for the part.
> 
> 2001 330i, sport and lux pkg w/Nav


Did you also experience any sluggishness or slow throttle response with your old idle control valve? I have around 54K as well, and have noticed that my performance seems to have dropped off (and have had the occassional stall in the past)... wonder if my idle control valve is sticking as well? :dunno:


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## kurichan (May 1, 2004)

Hmmmm...

LINK: BMW recalls V8s and V12s for stalling issue...

So serious that they are calling people and telling them not to drive the cars... Notice the part about the extra effort to steer and brake, something I worried about with the 3.0L stalling issue (and got attacked as being paranoid for worrying about it!).

Interesting...


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

gaklager said:


> Picked up my car this morning from the dealer and the stalling issue seems to be remedied. The idle control valve was replaced after being checked out and found to be jammed/sticking. The symptoms from before are now gone and the idle never drops below 600rpm. The dealer also reprogrammed the DME to clear the adaptation values from use of the K&N filter.


Everything you posted sounds plausible, excpet the K&N filter bit. How many miles did you have on it since it was last cleaned and recharged (or since it was new)?

I've got a K&N cone-type filter down in my bumper that is pushing 35k miles without a cleaning and recharge, and with the supercharger it's sucking a lot of air through that thing into the engine.

Motor runs rock-solid, idles right around 700 RPM +/- 10, just like it's supposed to.

The only circumstance where I can concieve of a K&N contaminating the intake path is if it were not properly mounted so there was a leak allowing air to bypass it unfiltered, or it was improperly re-oiled so that there was excess oil that got pulled in to the airstream. However, the latter shouldn't affect the idle control valve (or the throttle, for that matter) -- you'd have problems with your MAF if it were bad enough.


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## gaklager (May 12, 2004)

I didn't give much credit to the K&N explanation either but that's what I was told. The K&N was new with only a few thousand miles on it. But now I'm back to using a factory filter. Also, since they replaced the idle control valve and reflashed the DME, it's hard to point to just one thing as the solution. However, the car is still running much better and has not come close to stalling. But I have noticed a rough idle at startup for about 10 seconds only. Previously the car idled better on startup and never showed any sluggishness or any other noticeable problem. But now that the stalling has been remedied, I don't mind the startup idle issue. Just hope that it doesn't progress into a problem in colder weather.


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