My E46 M3 Left Me Stranded In Leesburg

"Tripper" (tripe46)
09/06/2016 at 09:56 • Filed to: None

I will have owned this M3 for 10 years in January. In all of that time, the only part that failed was a ignition coil. That was up until this weekend.

When we were 10 miles away from the hotel I noticed that the EML light had popped on (EML usually means something bad) but everything seemed fine and I figured that it might just turn itself off when I restarted the car.

I did that in the hotel parking lot, only to get he EML light back and his pal “service engine soon”. I decided to deal with it later as I had to get to a wedding rehearsal.

After the rehearsal, we all got properly tuned up and Friday morning was a rough one. I went out to get coffee (both dash lights still on), and heard the familiar sound of something stuck in my tire. At Starbucks I find out that there is both a nail, and a bolt in my tire...Awesome!

I went to a local BMW dealer that was unable to help me because I did not have a “BMW” tire. I mentioned that BMW does not manufacture tires, and that I would buy whatever “BMW” tire they had in stock and pay them to look at the engine codes. The guy was really stuck on the tire and kept arguing that they could not do anything with the tire. Rather than keep arguing I left in the interest of time.

I was headed to a tire shop when the DSC light came on and the car went into LIMP mode. 3 hours before I had to be in the wedding! I called AAA and had the car towed 150 miles to my inde mechanic, and got a ride to the ceremony with a friend. My wife rented a car from enterprise, and met us there with minutes to spare.

Normally, car troubles ruin my weekend and had this not been a wedding, I probably would have gone home with the car and a bad attitude. However, my wife and I along with six of our friends rented the coolest AirBnB ever. It was a huge house on a little farm with horses sheep and chickens!

Now it’s back to reality...I won’t hear what is wrong with the car until tomorrow at the very least, but I’m not looking forward to it.

DISCUSSION (54)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 09:59

What does the EML light mean exactly? There’s one in my Mini (not on) and I don’t know what it means.

Tripper > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/06/2016 at 10:00

It has to do with the engine management system/drive by wire system. My wife has had it in her R53 cooper before, but it went off and didn’t come back if my memory serves.

TFen > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:03

Here’s hoping for a relatively painless recovery.

However, as an ex E46(non M) owner and avid forum participant.. You may wanna break out the lube :(

Tripper > TFen
09/06/2016 at 10:07

I appreciate it, but I’m not optimistic. I was an E90 M3 owner for a little while too, and when that car went into limp mode it was $1500. At the very least I’m looking at a new tire and diag on a car that is not my DD so it’s a chafe either way. It has been good to me for the past 9.5 years so I knew it would bone me eventually.

TFen > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:10

Yeah, that’s definitely the proper way to look at it. We know we’re playing with fire driving these cars - 9.5 years is a hell of a run.

I really hope it’s not VANOS related.

Batman the Horse > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:18

“BMW tire” situation is some Kafka-esque shit.

bob and john > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:19

LOL BMW TIRE?!?!? get fucked dealer

Chasaboo > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:22

BM’s are pretty magical. How did it know you were busy with a special even, and chose that time to have a meltdown?

jimz > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:23

sounds like the “wrench” idiot light on Fords; a fault in the electronic throttle control will set that light and the check engine light, and put it into a “limp home” map.

jimz > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:24

so this dealer wouldn’t diagnose the EML/Check engine fault because of the non-OE tires?

Tripper > Batman the Horse
09/06/2016 at 10:26

The conversation with the guy literally made my brain hurt. I just thanked him and left. I couldn’t add more stress to the situation.

Dru > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:26

10 Years of trouble free ownership is a pretty good run. Even if this could be major, I'd say you're doing well. I really think these cars are a lot better than folks give them credit for.

Tripper > bob and john
09/06/2016 at 10:27

I normally would have gotten so pissed but I was just like “I don’t have the headspace or the time to deal with this dummy.”

Steve in Manhattan > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:42

I sometimes miss having a car, then I read something like this and realize I can rent anything I want and, if it breaks, it’s someone else’s problem. I can’t imagine having a car in this city and moving it every couple of days. Let us know what happens.

Tripper > jimz
09/06/2016 at 10:51

I’m sure they would have looked at it but I just couldn’t get this guy to stop talking about the tires...over all just had a bad feeling about the dealer so I thought I would cut my losses. I have the 200 mile tow from AAA so I figured worst case I could have it towed home to my inde mechanic. Ended up having to do that anyway.

Tripper > Chasaboo
09/06/2016 at 10:52

Lol it’s funny you say that because I was secretly worried about something like this happening but I didn’t want to mention it for fear that I would write my own ticket.

jimz > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:52

what a dicknose. I could see it if you had a tire warranty/road hazard on the OE tires, but for god’s sake it’s a 10 year old car.

Textured Soy Protein > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 10:54

Did he say the words “BMW tire” exactly? I suppose I could see a dealer declining to work on a tire that’s not BMW OE-spec, i.e. something that originally came on the car, not tires made by BMW. Still, that seems like being too much of a stickler on a 10 year-old car. Hell, I doubt whatever tires were OE-spec 10 years ago are even still available.

kanadanmajava1 > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 11:01

It could be a cam- or crankshaft speed sensor problem. The engine might operate for a while if one of these is failing. My friend had a faulty camshaft sensor in his E46 compact. It was giving errors for both cam- and crankshaft sensor even though the crankshaft sensor was fine.

Sometimes it refused to start but after removing the fault codes it worked but only in the limp home mode. For some reason it didn’t always lit the EML light even though OBD tester told that it was in limp home mode.

bobbe17 > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 11:03

If it was drivable and not making terrible noises, hopefully it won’t be too bad. As a fellow E46 M3 owner, I’m very curious to know what my new paranoia will be once yours is diagnosed.

Also, I love Phoenix Yellow so much. I could stare at that color all day.

Tripper > Textured Soy Protein
09/06/2016 at 11:04

The car is actually 15 years old, I’ve just had it for 10. Yes he said “BMW Tire” multiple times. I told him that if he had to sell me a run-flat or whatever then I would buy it or even two if it was necessary. The more I talked to him the less it seemed like they wanted to work on the car. My wife could see my frustration and said “Let’s just get it towed home, rent a car and enjoy the weekend.” I thought “yea, that sounds good!” haha

Tripper > kanadanmajava1
09/06/2016 at 11:05

I hope that it’s just a sensor. The car was running fine other than being in limp mode. No misfiring etc...

Tripper > bobbe17
09/06/2016 at 11:07

Yea that is what I’m hoping. Lights came on gradually and there was no misfiring or anything. I figured towing it home was my best bet as I didn’t want to be at someone that I don’t trust’s mercy when I’m out of town with what could be a big problem.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 11:31

Are you a AAA premier member? lol It should come standard with anything german.

Tripper > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
09/06/2016 at 11:33

Sure am! lol that’s why it was so easy for me to make the decision to have it towed home. I got triple AAA right after I replaced the tires the first time. Run flat tires are twice the price of non-run flats, but an AAA premier membership is only $130.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 11:39

Haha, its a no brainer, helps keep the anxiety to a minimum.

“whatever, I’ll just have it towed” #becauseracecar

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 12:26

Sounds similar to my coworkers Impala. The drive by wire sensors went bad and caused reduced power faults and a Christmas tree dashboard. Seems like the bmws have a similar known issue where the throttle body drive gears wear out and cause a code to be thrown. Hopefully that is all it is. But like others have said, of it’s been trouble free this long, it’s bound to need something. My 99 Dakota was on a spending year itself. I haven’t put a dime in it for at least 3 years, minus oil changes, so this year it puked the water pump. Replaced the timing set and everything on the belt drive, so the water pump ended up being a $400, $40 water pump. But can’t complain, it’s been good to me.

Good luck with yours. Still cheaper than buying a new one.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 12:40

The whole “BMW Tire” gambit isn’t just BMW. Most of the German marques will pull that. BMW is just the most egregious since they went full run-flat for everything. To my knowledge, the dealers will not even sell you a standard tire.

When they wanted to replace the run-flats on my Mini, I told them that I have a guy who takes care of it (and put on BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Comp2s on it in place of the Bridgestone run-flats). Dealer guy actually asked “But what if you get a flat?”

“And that’s why I have AAA.”

If it happens on a road trip, it’s enough to get into a larger town to get it patched, and if it’s around my house, I just have them tow it to my house.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
09/06/2016 at 12:41

Bonus points if you have someone drive you home to pick up your truck and flatbed trailer to tow it yourself.

Tripper > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
09/06/2016 at 13:01

I offered to buy run flats if that is what they had to do, the guy was just being so weird about it that I had had enough.

Too many M's > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 13:06

It left you stranded, but PY looks good in any situation. Sorry to hear about the troubles but they’re worth it for the times it runs right.

Or you could sell me your problems...I LOVE PY :D

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 13:09

I’ve had a dealer pull the “we can’t let you leave with the car like that”, and I told them that I would be back with a trailer to flatbed the car out of their dealer.

Haven’t had to follow through on it, but since I have a trailer and truck to tow racecars to the track, picking up a broken car at a dealer who’s being weird wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility.

Tripper > Too many M's
09/06/2016 at 13:10

I have had quite a few trouble free years with it so I can deal with an issue here or there. I just wished I had’t been in an out of town wedding when it happened.

Tripper > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
09/06/2016 at 13:12

After I asked for them to move a car so I could leave they asked about the engine codes. I said “No thanks, you have thoroughly “weirded” me out. I’ll take it somewhere else.”

Too many M's > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 13:16

That is a bummer for sure. At least you could work it out in the end.

Still miss my first E46M. It never let me down either.

Kinja'd!!!

Tripper > Too many M's
09/06/2016 at 13:18

Yea once it was on the tow truck I went into “fuck it” mode. If I ever come across a coupe in PY or LSB that is not priced to the stratosphere, its mine.

Hutchred > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 13:21

I had this same issue with my 02 m3. It is likely one of the throttle position sensors. Two of them are easy to get to but of those two (the one attached to the accelerator) is expensive (like $400-$500) the third one is under the intake manifold and costs the same as the one by the oil filter, less than $200 if I remember correctly.

Too many M's > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 13:22

I'm on the hunt as well. SMG or not, doesn't matter. I need one of those back in my life.

Hutchred > Too many M's
09/06/2016 at 13:33

They are great cars. I loved mine. I’d still try to avoid smg unless the pump has been replaced recently.

Too many M's > Hutchred
09/06/2016 at 13:36

I'm comfortable with letting the SMG die and convert to manual. I got my current SMG E46 at a steal partly because of it.

Hutchred > Too many M's
09/06/2016 at 13:50

True true. Good call on that.

Tripper > Too many M's
09/06/2016 at 14:20

Yea the SMG cars are priced low enough that you have to consider them.

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 15:07

Yikes sorry to hear that...hope everything works out!

AM3R shamefully returns > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 16:09

Leesburg VA? Lots of good indies nearby.

Tripper > AM3R shamefully returns
09/06/2016 at 16:18

Yep, I kicked that around, but I had no time for research. I also figured that they wouldn’t be able to do anything until after the holiday weekend. I didn’t want to have to drive all the way back from Philadelphia to pick it up.

McLarry > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 16:33

Dag... My wife’s e46 330xi also left us by the roadside a couple weeks ago. After replacing a few other bits, it turned out to be a dead fuel pump (apparently quite common according to the forums).

If you’re going to hang on to it, I’d suggest getting one of those cheap OBDII readers and the Torque app so you don’t have to plead with a garage to diagnose your CEL codes.

Hutchred > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 16:48

Almost guarantee it’s a TPS issue. BTW that EML code only tells you there’s an electrical issue.

Should be relatively cheap to fix so long as it isn’t the throttle actuator going bad.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 17:22

For all of my S600s reliability issues, it has only left me stranded once, when a belt idler pulley disintegrated as I was pulling into my friend’s driveway.

Tripper > McLarry
09/06/2016 at 17:23

oooo my inde mech has been telling me that I will need a fuel pump in the future for years! Yea I missed the last amazon deal for a cheap OBDII bluetooth jammy

AM3R shamefully returns > Tripper
09/06/2016 at 19:52

Ah I see. I'm local-ish so wish I could've helped.

Tripper > AM3R shamefully returns
09/06/2016 at 23:09

Northern VA is really nice! Traffic is really weird.

tpw_rules > Tripper
09/07/2016 at 08:11

Those things kinda suck with modern cars. You get all the legally mandated emissions codes but with the real BMW equipment you get literally everything. I bought a Tech 2 for my Saab, and while it was $600, diagnosing things is super easy. I can even do stuff like program new keys. You can get the required (knockoff) BMW cable for under $100 and the software from a torrent. But you’ll be able to code modules, replace modules, get DTCs like “short to B+ in left driver door illumination circuit” or “wiper intermittent switch out of range”, activate any function of the car from the computer to test it, etc. For a computer guy like me, it’s a wonder and a real joy.

More information on BMWs:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthr…

disclaimer: I did some research on this for a friend. Never did anything with it though.

functionoverfashion > Tripper
09/07/2016 at 12:19

In my 7 years of E46 ownership (two different but nearly identical cars), I have only once been “stranded” and really it ended up being a big delay but no more. A rear suspension arm broke off at the bolt, but it was down the street from a local shop that just happened to have a used one lying around and helped me fix it on the spot, on a Sunday. That would have been a bigger deal just about anywhere else.

However, both had the fuel pump fail, but slowly enough that I was able to drive home each time - in one case, over 150 miles - and both were between 140k and 160k at the time. A failing fuel pump caused some intermittent running issues though, not surprisingly. Your series of dash lights points more to a sensor or other electronic failure... best of luck, here’s hoping it’s one sensor gone bad. Glad you didn’t let it ruin your day.

And definitely pick up a cheap OBDII reader!

Hutchred > Tripper
09/13/2016 at 18:22

Nevermind saw the follow up