Engine failure program?

Hey what's up guys my girl has a 2005 BMW x5 and she was just driving when the 4x4 light came on as well as the brake light and the message said engine failure program. The truck did not sputter or try to stall at all. She got home and the 4x4 light and brake light shut off now it only says engine failure program. Can anyone help please and tell me what this could be?

Might be the alternator. Happen to me awhile back. I also had the "Trans failsafe Program". Is the battery light on?

No battery light isn't on and now come to think of it I think she had the same problem before and it was the alternator but I just think its weird that the car never stalled and now the light is off and car running fine

Now would that be a faulty alternator or faulty cabling?

Originally Posted by Blue_dub

Now would that be a faulty alternator or faulty cabling?

Good day,

I haven't experienced this in my X5, but it is possible with today's electronics... Most electronics will work at their designed voltage (+/- 10%) so 12v items will work down to 10.8v and up to 13.2v... USUALLY!! Car electronics generally work in the higher range as the alt puts out above 13v on nearly every car I've worked on... This makes it easy for low voltage issues to surface faster... Put a voltmeter on the battery when it's running... If the reading is 12.2 or lower, the car is using the battery power faster than the alt is putting it back... Higher RPM's fix this, but traffic idle will eventually hurt the operation of the low voltage condition... Rev up the motor with the voltmeter connected to the battery and the number should jump to above 13v (if it's not there already)... Easy test if you can find a voltmeter...

Let us know what you find please!!

Cheers!!

Hello,


I have a '04 X5 4.8is. I had the 4x4 light come on and "Engine Fail Safe Program" error message displayed from time to time. If I turned the car off then back on, everything was ok. I took it in and to make a long story short, it turned out to be the computer. Apparently, the way the computer is located, its possible for water to get to it (over time) and short out the connections. Although the problem may seem like the throttle body, throttle position sensor or a couple of other items, check out the computer first. Cost of the repair- $2100. However, this fixed the issue, and its been perfect ever since (about 4-5 months).

Hope this helps!