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E46 SLOW Acceleration and Stalling

29K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  jvr826 
#1 ·
Hi there, this is my first post on this forum so bare with me :)

So I have a 2004 BMW 320i, stock no modifications or anything. Over the past year, i've felt my car becoming slower and slower in its acceleration, until now its gotten to the point that it cant even out run a minivan. The car is in great condition physically, and all fluids have been changed and checked.

More recently, whenever I give the accelerator a little tap, I hear a whistling noise coming from the engine compartment, but only lasts a quick second. If I continue to tap on the gas, the car will stall. If i simply hold the accelerator down to about 1000rpm, the RPMs will fluctuate. (Vacuum leak?)

With a WOT, the RPMs seem sluggish up until around 4K where then they just jump and the car really takes off, accelerating in 2nd gear with WOT (steptronic) its faar more slower then usual.

0-100km/h takes about 12 seconds now, and im quite sure that is very slow for this car. I've been told that it could possibly be a VANOS problem, a vacuum leak, or the car just may be in need of Software update. I'd really like your opinions on this.

I have provided a link to a video that I made of my problems to give you a better idea of what im talking about, I dont seem to find my issue anywhere on the boards.

Video:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/680863/BMW Problems.m4v

Thank you all so much in advance,
Sean. :D
 
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#4 ·
Hahah no it is a 6 cylinder 2.2 litre engine, it used to be quite speedy, but after the winter here in Canada it seems to have lost its performance.

And KrisL I have sprayed some Carb cleaner on the engine bay, and I don't see any tears, I will probably be taking it to a shop to preform a smoke test just incase im missing something.
 
#5 ·
I wasn't kidding 'cause they don't sell a 320i in the U.S. My landlord has one but it's a four banger and a 1977. Can you check for any stored computer codes? Maybe that'll give you some clues. :confused:
 
#10 ·
Hey, I no longer have the car but I remember it was a combination of a couple things. First they replaced the DISA flap - apparently this flap becomes loose after a lot of miles and its common for it to break off and fly into the engine (mine didn't break fully but was extremely loose). This got rid of the stalling but the engine was still hesitant on hard acceleration. The second issue was a vacuum leak that went undiagnosed for a while. It took a few tests for BMW to figure out where the leak was coming from but they eventually got it. Mine was coming from underneath the airbox.
 
#13 ·
Hey, I no longer have the car but I remember it was a combination of a couple things. First they replaced the DISA flap - apparently this flap becomes loose after a lot of miles and its common for it to break off and fly into the engine (mine didn't break fully but was extremely loose). This got rid of the stalling but the engine was still hesitant on hard acceleration. The second issue was a vacuum leak that went undiagnosed for a while. It took a few tests for BMW to figure out where the leak was coming from but they eventually got it. Mine was coming from underneath the airbox.
Would you know what it is specifically? I don't remember any vacuum fittings under the airbox.

Do you mean the intake manifold?
 
#12 · (Edited)
e46 wiki: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8014505#post8014505

Note that most of this applies to the 6 cylinder engines.... most of our non-North American visitors have a 4 cylinder variety. I don't think the 4-cyls have a DISA, for example. :dunno:

Stuff like vacuum leaks and fuel pressure apply to any combustion engine though.
 
#14 ·
http://www.beisansystems.com/

Read up on Vanos Seals Failure Symptoms. Not saying this is your problem. Chasing vacuum leaks, cleaning Idle Control Valve, and rebuilding your DISA valve, and possibly replacing your CVV/CCV should be your first efforts as they are easier and cheaper.
 
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