Weird Problems with my e90

Good day everyone,

So I had my bimmer brought to 2 local shops and had it scanned for errors/codes, but both of them can't seem to read my ECU or could not find any errors saved. But on my dash I have the "Electric steering wheel lock" (Yellow error). Usually I've read that this will sometimes result to car not to start, but in my case I had it for almost a year but never really caused any problems. Also a low beam light error aswell, due to an aftermarket HID kit I installed. Anyhow, I asked the mechanic to clean my MAF sensor and Throttle Body while the're at it, and just out of curiosity I asked them to start the engine to see if the engine light would come up, weirdly it didn't, with all the sensors disconnected.

Is there something wrong with my car, or cars ECU? Your feedbacks would be much appreciated!

Additional Info:
Had a Sound system setup (2 years ago)
Had my Headlight changed to Eagle Eyes Headlight (low beam on HID)

did you have any errors immediately after the sound system or headlight upgrades?

You might not get an error with the sensors disconnected because there's nothing in place to send the errors to the ecu.

Whats the shop say about the "Electric Steering Wheel Lock Error?" Makes me wonder if the car has ever been in an accident?

Thanks for the Reply! E90Dad
Regarding the sound system, no it never had an error after the install. And from the Eagle eye headlight replacement, yes the Low beam error appear because I did not install the HID canceler kit.
About the Electronic Steering Wheel lock error, they say they cannot erase it because the OBD cannot detect any faults or saved codes/errors. This is so unusual Makes me scratch my head!
The car has never been into an accident. Having the OBD not reading the unit makes it hard to distinguish or fix problems. What could be the cause of this?

Thanks for the Reply! E90Dad
Regarding the sound system, no it never had an error after the install. And from the Eagle eye headlight replacement, yes the Low beam error appear because I did not install the HID canceler kit.
About the Electronic Steering Wheel lock error, they say they cannot erase it because the OBD cannot detect any faults or saved codes/errors. This is so unusual Makes me scratch my head!
The car has never been into an accident. Having the OBD not reading the unit makes it hard to distinguish or fix problems. What could be the cause of this?

Did they clean the MAF with the CRC MAF cleaner?
What year and mileage is your car?

I had the steering wheel lock warnings at 34k on 2006 330xi, dealer replaced steering column after software update failed to fix the issue. The 2nd time it happened was around 100k miles, first yellow warning lights then one day it turned red and I could not start the car (it had another message that steering wheel is locked). I had to flat bed it to BMW dealership to replace the steering column again, for $1,000! It was past the 2 year (first steering column replacement warranty).
Have AAA+ membership ready...

Originally Posted by cec.05

Good day everyone,

So I had my bimmer brought to 2 local shops and had it scanned for errors/codes, but both of them can't seem to read my ECU or could not find any errors saved. But on my dash I have the "Electric steering wheel lock" (Yellow error). Usually I've read that this will sometimes result to car not to start, but in my case I had it for almost a year but never really caused any problems. Also a low beam light error aswell, due to an aftermarket HID kit I installed. Anyhow, I asked the mechanic to clean my MAF sensor and Throttle Body while the're at it, and just out of curiosity I asked them to start the engine to see if the engine light would come up, weirdly it didn't, with all the sensors disconnected.

Is there something wrong with my car, or cars ECU? Your feedbacks would be much appreciated!

Additional Info:
Had a Sound system setup (2 years ago)
Had my Headlight changed to Eagle Eyes Headlight (low beam on HID)

Before your engine even started, as you were turning the key, the ECU knew that those two sensors were unplugged. It should have instantly illuminated the CEL.

Originally Posted by fb88

Did they clean the MAF with the CRC MAF cleaner?
What year and mileage is your car?

I had the steering wheel lock warnings at 34k on 2006 330xi, dealer replaced steering column after software update failed to fix the issue. The 2nd time it happened was around 100k miles, first yellow warning lights then one day it turned red and I could not start the car (it had another message that steering wheel is locked). I had to flat bed it to BMW dealership to replace the steering column again, for $1,000! It was past the 2 year (first steering column replacement warranty).
Have AAA+ membership ready...

The car has a low mileage, barely holds 20k miles in it, MY2006. I only use the car for Car Shows and Audio Competitions. Little Bit worried about the steering wheel columns, for it is costly! Brought it to the dealer yesterday and asked if they could update the software, the representative informed me today that the update doesn't go through.

This never happened to my X3 MY2007, 60k miles in it, which has the same sound system setup. hmmmmmm??

Originally Posted by DSXMachina

Before your engine even started, as you were turning the key, the ECU knew that those two sensors were unplugged. It should have instantly illuminated the CEL.

Hi DSXMachina
That was exactly what I was expecting to come about, which had me have this doubts that my ECU is damaged. But to quote E90Dad's comment, "You might not get an error with the sensors disconnected because there's nothing in place to send the errors to the ecu" have ne confused now lmao. Pardon my ignorance on this matters guys. Thanks for responding!

Originally Posted by cec.05

Good day everyone,

So I had my bimmer brought to 2 local shops and had it scanned for errors/codes, but both of them can't seem to read my ECU or could not find any errors saved. But on my dash I have the "Electric steering wheel lock" (Yellow error). Usually I've read that this will sometimes result to car not to start, but in my case I had it for almost a year but never really caused any problems. Also a low beam light error aswell, due to an aftermarket HID kit I installed. Anyhow, I asked the mechanic to clean my MAF sensor and Throttle Body while the're at it, and just out of curiosity I asked them to start the engine to see if the engine light would come up, weirdly it didn't, with all the sensors disconnected.

Is there something wrong with my car, or cars ECU?

GOOD GOD MAN!

The answer is YES!

You might take it to someone who can read proprietary BMW codes....ain't that hard....GT1 for the well heeled; Bavarian Technic for the ready mechanic.

Don't be surprised to find your ride possessed by a spirit Manananggal. Yow!

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

GOOD GOD MAN!

The answer is YES!

You might take it to someone who can read proprietary BMW codes....ain't that hard....GT1 for the well heeled; Bavarian Technic for the ready mechanic.

Don't be surprised to find your ride possessed by a spirit Manananggal. Yow!

I know Thanks man.. will try to get it scanned again!!

So I brought it to a shop that has the bavarian tech scanner, Still no luck in Finding the Electronic steering wheel lock error. What do you guys suggest I should do?

Originally Posted by cec.05

So I brought it to a shop that has the bavarian tech scanner, Still no luck in Finding the Electronic steering wheel lock error. What do you guys suggest I should do?

What codes were found?

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

What codes were found?

No Codes were found CALWATERBOY, they manage to connect to the ECU but when they scan it, there are no codes saved. Hmmm... very worried about this right now. What other solutions do you have in mind boss?

Originally Posted by cec.05

No Codes were found CALWATERBOY, they manage to connect to the ECU but when they scan it, there are no codes saved. Hmmm... very worried about this right now. What other solutions do you have in mind boss?

So, they connected through the OBDII port just below the driver's side dashboard with a laptop?

reinstall the oem head unit and have them try again. removing it causes issues with diagnostics communicating with the car as well as being able to update the car. the head unit is part of the communications bus

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

reinstall the oem head unit and have them try again. removing it causes issues with diagnostics communicating with the car as well as being able to update the car. the head unit is part of the communications bus

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Bimmer App

Hopefully OP still has the oem head unit. Out of curiosity, does BMW code the DME to the head unit installed at the factory?

I will try to look for an Original Head Unit ) Hopefully this solves the problem! A friend suggested this aswell! thanks guys.. will update again soon.
@CALWATERBOY - Yes they connected through a Laptop.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

Hopefully OP still has the oem head unit. Out of curiosity, does BMW code the DME to the head unit installed at the factory?

no, its not coded to the dme.

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

no, its not coded to the dme.

Well, that is a bit of good news for OP.

So we use my friends OEM head unit and installed it to my car to test if OBD can update software, and the answer is.......
NO! lol Still spending 5 hours of my daily time in finding solution ) Anymore suggestions guys? may help alot. thanks! or sell the car? haha