[Avian]

Hi All,

So after many happy 6 months with my 14' F21 BMW 118i today is its first day of a problem. I'm on the verge of having a complete heart attack as this car is my pride and joy.

Please anyone help with anymore info.
Just so you know I will be taking it to the dealership first thing tomorrow morning but for now I need someone to maybe put my mind at ease.

So this evening I needed to fill up with petrol. As I usually do I fill up at exactly the same place with exactly the same petrol. Once I started up my car and drove off I felt a bit of a decrease in power. I then rolled down my window to listen to the car acceleration sound as I drove, it had a higher than usually almost "whistling" sound from either the engine, turbo or I really don't know.
I then went to an event & parked my car there for about 3 hours got back in but exactly the same symptoms continued. I then switched to my sports dials to see if it was my imagination but behold there was a definite decrease in power. Under 100KW of power usually 125KW and under 160NM of torque usually 240NM.

I kinda think it has something to do with the turbo or a tube but the car is only 6 months old, I have done just under 14000km on it but still...
There are no warning lights or any faults displaying.
If anyone has any suggestions or additional information please let me know.
I will keep everyone updated as well.

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST BUT I AM REALLY UPSET.

[westphone]

It IS aggravating. It is like asking for the SPORT mode, but computer puts you in ECO PRO, but only the dealer can give you a conclusion. I hope the dealer finds something that can be resolved with computers and can be fixed with clicking around.

In any regards, I hope the best for your and your car.

[RoamPT]

Sounds like a turbo leak, if the whistling is louder. And it could happen even within 14k.

[Avian]

Originally Posted by RoamPT

Sounds like a turbo leak, if the whistling is louder. And it could happen even within 14k.

Forgive me for being a bit dumb but what's a turbo leak? Is that like a pipe that's cracked or??

[Twix]

Could be the waste gate. They seem to crap out on most turbo cars, and usually at a lower mileage.

[Avian]

Originally Posted by Twix

Could be the waste gate. They seem to crap out on most turbo cars, and usually at a lower mileage.

I can hear the waste gate do it's usual thing though...
I'm sitting at the dealership now, they going to do an emergency diagnostics on it. I will keep you all posted, pray it's not serious.

[RoamPT]

Originally Posted by Avian

Forgive me for being a bit dumb but what's a turbo leak? Is that like a pipe that's cracked or??

Well yea a pipe could be cracked or loose. Or the turbo itself just crapped out lol let us know!

[Avian]

Well so far, BMW has told me that they need to replace 4 of my fuel injectors and 4 of my spark plugs. The car is now in reprogramming and getting a software update. They will then test drive it and see if there are any other issues. I'll let you all know once I know.

[Avian]

Originally Posted by Avian

Well so far, BMW has told me that they need to replace 4 of my fuel injectors and 4 of my spark plugs. The car is now in reprogramming and getting a software update. They will then test drive it and see if there are any other issues. I'll let you all know once I know.

So what has happened is my one fuel injector and spark plug malfunctioned in cylinder 2 which caused obviously a loss in power... And as for the turbo "hissing" noise, this was caused by the turbo working harder than usual trying to compensate for the one cylinder being down.

Essentially I was running on 3 cylinders and my turbo was overworking to compensate. That's all I know for now. The car is currently still in reprogramming and will need to be kept overnight. :'( Then tomorrow once the reprogramming and software upgrades have been completed they will do their final tests and hopefully I get it back. If there's any other news I will keep you all posted.

[Avian]

Originally Posted by Avian

So what has happened is my one fuel injector and spark plug malfunctioned in cylinder 2 which caused obviously a loss in power... And as for the turbo "hissing" noise, this was caused by the turbo working harder than usual trying to compensate for the one cylinder being down.

Essentially I was running on 3 cylinders and my turbo was overworking to compensate. That's all I know for now. The car is currently still in reprogramming and will need to be kept overnight. :'( Then tomorrow once the reprogramming and software upgrades have been completed they will do their final tests and hopefully I get it back. If there's any other news I will keep you all posted.

Okay Update #3:
They did the reprogramming last night and this morning they ran their tests.
Unfortunately the car failed the test. So they've now got BMW HQ here in S.A to reprogram it wirelessly from their side. (Apparently this happens with a few of the cars because they were manufactured and built in Germany). I am a bit irritated by this but hopefully tomorrow it's all sorted, If not, I'm going to demand a loan car from them to use over the weekend.

[RoamPT]

That makes sense too, i hope you get your car back really soon!

[Avian]

Originally Posted by Avian

Okay Update #3:
They did the reprogramming last night and this morning they ran their tests.
Unfortunately the car failed the test. So they've now got BMW HQ here in S.A to reprogram it wirelessly from their side. (Apparently this happens with a few of the cars because they were manufactured and built in Germany). I am a bit irritated by this but hopefully tomorrow it's all sorted, If not, I'm going to demand a loan car from them to use over the weekend.

Update #4:

Well BMW HQ tried one last time to reprogram my car. Unfortunately they failed once again. However I spoke to the MD and asked him what is actually going on as I had a sneaking suspicion that there was something more serious going on. He told me that once they had replaced all fuel injectors and spark plugs they reprogrammed the car but during that first reprogram they blew the motherboard of the vehicle therefore non of the radio/idrive functions work in the car. They tried to recover it today but they couldn't so now they've had to order a whole brand new radio system from BMW Germany. This can take up to 21 days to get to South Africa.

Luckily BMW HQ has given my dealer permission to give me a loan car, hopefully the equivalent of my vehicle and I'm hoping it doesn't take 21 days. I can't live without it for 21 days. I'm gonna miss this Blue Beauty!