The workshop guys in their preliminarily examination ruled out the MAF disfunction.
Bhpian karan561 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Update;
This video covers the unfortunate experience of having to replace my car’s ECU;
For those who prefer text may read on;
Intro;
BMW’s are known for their performance, stylish designs & features. However like any vehicle you can expect things to go wrong even if you have taken utmost care, maintained your car well & the last thing you want to go wrong in your car is a failed ECU.
Symptoms of a failing ECU;
- Engine Misfire
- Lack of Power in certain RPM range & then sometimes gaining back the power again.
- Abrupt Stalling or worse not starting at all.
What happened in my case;
One fine evening I was driving back home after office, after entering my premises the car threw up a Drivetrain error & went into limp mode however had enough power to park in my parking space. Hoping & keeping my fingers crossed the next day tried to start the car thinking it’s a sporadic error, but it didn’t start. Had a scanner with me which threw up the following codes;
Thinking its MAF related I thought it may be a cheap fix but as the car was not starting had to call in the BMW Service guys flat bed truck to take it to the workshop;
The workshop guys in their preliminarily examination ruled out the MAF disfunction but in a few days zeroed in that the DME (ECU in BMW terminology) is what was un responsive. No proper explanation was given on why it failed, only thing which made sense that being an electronic part it can fail they said. However there were only 2 options;
- Refurbish/repair the Existing ECU: Spoke to a couple of aftermarket experts. They said it’s doable but the charges can be around INR 75k at least. No Guarantee, Hit or a miss actually.
- Ordering a new ECU: A new DME/ECU was to cost around INR 1.6L + coding charges hence a lot more expensive option.
I finally selected the 2nd option i.e. to order a new ECU as BMW was kind enough to wipe out almost 50% of the charges on goodwill (as the car was out of warranty). The ECU/DME was linked to the VIN / /Chassis no. & comes from Germany, hence the car suffered a downtime of about 3 weeks;
After the new ECU / DME came in the car also got the following updates;
– New Spark Plugs
– New Engine Oil
– New A/C Filter
& the car was ready for delivery;
Ready for next adventures
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