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2006 325i died 30 miles after purchase!

16K views 182 replies 30 participants last post by  raphen325i 
#1 ·
I just bought a 2006 325i advertised on line. It had body damage including a smashed out sunroof. I got it cheap with a salvage title. The interior was a little wet and dank smelling.

The car had been sitting for some time and had to be jump started. After letting it idle for ten minutes or so to charge the battery, I gave the car an extensive test drive, and a thorough mechanical inspection.

I also called and talked to the previous owner before buying it. She said that a large branch had fallen on the car during a thunderstorm and knocked out the glass of the sunroof allowing rain to get in. She had struggled to put trash bags over it but the interior still got wet. She said the car was otherwise in perfect shape having just received a new BWM battery and brake service shortly before it's unfortunate meeting with the falling branch.

The car was declared a total loss by her insurance, which surprised her (and me). As I said I gave the car an extended test drive (over twenty five miles and nearly an hour) and it ran great showing no problems of any kind other than the dank smelling interior and the aforementioned body damage, which is not of a structural nature and I am certain I can fix.

I bought the car and drove off with my sister trailing me in her car. The car had very little gas left in the tank and the trip computer began to count down the miles until empty. The dealer was out in the country and the nearest gas station was about 20 miles away. I made it to the gas station with 5 miles to empty showing on the trip computer.

Everything was great for about another five miles when BLAMMO! The engine stalled and the car coasted to a stop. It will crank normally but shows no sign at all of firing. I let the car sit for an hour and tried to start it again. It still just cranked. After some cajoling and threatening the dealer sent a mechanic to check the car out.

He claimed that the car had no pressure at the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and that perhaps I had gotten some bad gas or that I had sucked some debris out of the bottom of the tank when I ran it so close to empty.


I had to leave the car at a good Samaritan's house and drive the 500 miles back to my home in Indiana with my sister.

I came back with my F-150 and a flat bed trailer to get the car three days later.

I have fully charged the battery and the car still just cranks. I haven't had time to check anything yet but it didn't display any warning lights before dying and now it just shows a red car on a lift and says SERVICE in the little window on the dash when I push the start button.

I am an experienced amateur mechanic with many years experience but this is my first BMW. (Not a very impressive start I might add.) The 2002 F-150 I pulled the 325i back with has an engine I rebuilt among other systems I have repaired, to name just one vehicle I have brought back from the dead.


I'm excited to get started on the Bimmer but thought I'd ask advise from some folks that have worked on them, before I jumped in. Anyone have any idea of what the problem might be or where to start looking?
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Well, the dealer telling you there's no fuel pressure may be a place to start. It's possible there's bad gas (siphon some out and try to run your mower with it), or the fuel pump could have coughed up its skull. I'd discount the ethanol concern at this point. While ethanol isn't a good thing for any engine, most of us are stuck with 10% all the time.

A red "car on lift" with no other light is either a warning that it's time for a 30k mile inspection (on at powerup only) or one of the following failure warnings:
  • "Starter Failed"
  • "Ignition Malfunctioning - Engine restart only possible when brake is depressed"
  • "Lighting system failed - Low beams / tail lights / brake lights remain functional"

I'd certainly start with pulling codes on the engine to get a more detailed view of what's wrong. Could be something as simple as the brake switch has failed and the car doesn't know you're pressing the brake (although I believe that it would not crank in that condition) to a major failure somewhere else from water corroding something in the wiring. I know that some cars have all sorts of control modules which don't like water tucked in places that can accumulate it. IIRC, the transmission control module for my Passat was in the passenger footwell.:tsk:

Again, best place to start is pulling the failure codes. As a side note, you've got to be given credit for having real brass ones for taking on a car with a salvage title and water damage.
 
#6 ·
Again, best place to start is pulling the failure codes. As a side note, you've got to be given credit for having real brass ones for taking on a car with a salvage title and water damage.
Well the car wasn't submerged or anything. As far as I can tell the carpet just got wet and the condensation accumulated in the trunk from sitting closed up for a month.

Are BMW's such delicate hot house flowers that you can't leave the sunroof open in a rainstorm without selling the car for salvage? I believe the reason the insurance company wrote the car off was the body damage.

Thanks for the heads up on the codes. I did see that bit about the red car on a lift in the owners manual.

Has anyone bought the Bavarian Technic code reader/analyzer? I'm thinking about buying one, but it would be great if a forum member near central Indiana could loan me his/hers;).
 
#8 · (Edited)
If you want diagnostics cheap

Get a coding setup.
You need to know your way around computers to set this up buts its
not ultra difficult.
You can order a setup off ebay along with inpa ebidas ncsexpert dis57 and SSS for around
50 bucks.
It allows you to code and do diags and is not vin number limited.
Its not as user friendly as the canned stuff.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=368

You only need a Kcan cable for a 06.

The Bavarian technique cables are vin number limited so people are not likly to loan you
one as it uses up one of the three vin numbers you are allowed.
For the non shadow codes any reader will do even and elm327 for 20 bucks but you need
to translate the codes.

This may be of use also

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=378

There is also this

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=727091&highlight=code
 
#10 ·
As I said the car ran great (for over an hour) until I filled up the tank with 93 octane premium at an Exxon station in Buchanan Virginia. Then five minutes later it just shut down.

I suspect fuel pump but I will start with the suggested fuse check -->> relay check-->> first.

I will also check out the various diagnostic connectors and softwares since I keep cars FOREVER and do all of my own repairs (except exhaust, just too messy).

Thanks for the input guys! I'm stoked about my new Bimmer and can't wait to drive it again. That first hour or so was golden. The car is a six speed manual (as God intended) and I was driving it on the scenic winding roads of the Blue Ridge mountains.

I was in Bimmer heaven until the thing stranded me on the side of the road!
 
#11 ·
I just bought a 2006 325i advertised on line. It had body damage including a smashed out sunroof. I got it cheap with a salvage title. The interior was a little wet and dank smelling.

The car had been sitting for some time and had to be jump started. After letting it idle for ten minutes or so to charge the battery, I gave the car an extensive test drive, and a thorough mechanical inspection.

I also called and talked to the previous owner before buying it. She said that a large branch had fallen on the car during a thunderstorm and knocked out the glass of the sunroof allowing rain to get in. She had struggled to put trash bags over it but the interior still got wet. She said the car was otherwise in perfect shape having just received a new BWM battery and brake service shortly before it's unfortunate meeting with the falling branch.

The car was declared a total loss by her insurance, which surprised her (and me). As I said I gave the car an extended test drive (over twenty five miles and nearly an hour) and it ran great showing no problems of any kind other than the dank smelling interior and the aforementioned body damage, which is not of a structural nature and I am certain I can fix.

I bought the car and drove off with my sister trailing me in her car. The car had very little gas left in the tank and the trip computer began to count down the miles until empty. The dealer was out in the country and the nearest gas station was about 20 miles away. I made it to the gas station with 5 miles to empty showing on the trip computer.

Everything was great for about another five miles when BLAMMO! The engine stalled and the car coasted to a stop. It will crank normally but shows no sign at all of firing. I let the car sit for an hour and tried to start it again. It still just cranked. After some cajoling and threatening the dealer sent a mechanic to check the car out.

He claimed that the car had no pressure at the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and that perhaps I had gotten some bad gas or that I had sucked some debris out of the bottom of the tank when I ran it so close to empty.

I had to leave the car at a good Samaritan's house and drive the 500 miles back to my home in Indiana with my sister.

I came back with my F-150 and a flat bed trailer to get the car three days later.

I have fully charged the battery and the car still just cranks. I haven't had time to check anything yet but it didn't display any warning lights before dying and now it just shows a red car on a lift and says SERVICE in the little window on the dash when I push the start button.

I am an experienced amateur mechanic with many years experience but this is my first BMW. (Not a very impressive start I might add.) The 2002 F-150 I pulled the 325i back with has an engine I rebuilt among other systems I have repaired, to name just one vehicle I have brought back from the dead.

I'm excited to get started on the Bimmer but thought I'd ask advise from some folks that have worked on them, before I jumped in. Anyone have any idea of what the problem might be or where to start looking?
Yeah. Start at a BMW coding forum.

Wonder if you're aware of how complicated these vehicles are - like government, the computer has its fingers into everything....
 
#13 ·
I have worked on other modern automobiles (Ford, GM, Toyota, VW, Mazda etc.) that have ECUs that control multiple systems such as Air/Fuel ratio, fuel injection, ignition, ABS, traction control, transmission safety systems etc.

I doubt that the 325i is that much more complex.
 
#14 ·
I just bought a 2006 325i advertised on line. It had body damage including a smashed out sunroof. I got it cheap with a salvage title. The interior was a little wet and dank smelling.
I am an experienced amateur mechanic with many years experience but this is my first BMW. (Not a very impressive start I might add.) The 2002 F-150 I pulled the 325i back with has an engine I rebuilt among other systems I have repaired, to name just one vehicle I have brought back from the dead.
Really? You're not impressed with the reliability of a vehicle that suffered water damage and was totaled by the insurance company?

After some cajoling and threatening the dealer sent a mechanic to check the car out.
You threatened the dealer because your water damaged, salvage title vehicle had problems? Really?
 
#15 ·
Really? You're not impressed with the reliability of a vehicle that suffered water damage and was totaled by the insurance company?

You threatened the dealer because your water damaged, salvage title vehicle had problems? Really?
I agree. You really have to be easy with this car now. It should be looked at as a project car right off the bat. You can't expect to have that smile on your face that you get when you purchase a brand new bmw off the lot with the dealer in the passenger seat going over all the systems with you.
Take the knowledge here and walk with it, use your mechanical expertise and get the car working. It may take a while, but if you know your way around a box of tools like you say, that car will eventually be running right.
 
#17 ·
Gasp! How dare I threaten to stop payment on a check when I was told the car was in good mechanical condition and then it didn't make it 30 miles. The car was supposed to have been salvaged due to body damage not water damage and was represented to me as such.
It doesn't matter what you were told. The car had a salvage title due to water damage. The insurance company totaled the vehicle for a reason. And it wasn't because they had too much money laying around and didn't know what to do with it.

All I was asking was to tow me off the side of the mountain I was perched on to level safe ground somewhere nearby. Hardly an unreasonable request since the dealer specializes in damaged cars and has several wreckers on hand.
It's not an unreasonable request. What was unreasonable is to threaten them. If they did anything for you it was because they were being nice. Not because they owed you anything.

Are you always so worried about people taking advantage of those poor innocent auto dealers?;)
My objection has nothing to do with the dealer but rather someone expecting others to take care of an issue with a vehicle that was totaled by an insurance company and had a salvage title. IOW you had full knowledge this might be a problematic vehicle yet somehow you feel this is their responsibility and indicative of the reliability of BMW's in general. That's plain foolish.
 
#19 ·
It doesn't matter what you were told. The car had a salvage title due to water damage. The insurance company totaled the vehicle for a reason. And it wasn't because they had too much money laying around and didn't know what to do with it.
Uh, no. It had a salvage title due to a huge tree branch smashing out the sunroof, denting the roof, hood and fender. I was specifically told that the car DID NOT have water damage. I was also told that it was driveable and that I could obtain a 3 day temporary tag from the Virginia DMV to drive it home.

The bit about the 3 day tag was a lie. The local DMV told me they NEVER issue temporary tags for salvaged cars. So the dealer had lied to me. I know, what a shock.

It's not an unreasonable request. What was unreasonable is to threaten them. If they did anything for you it was because they were being nice. Not because they owed you anything.
They had encouraged me to drive the car home. As I said, I own a full size truck and have free access to my brother-in-law's trailer so I was perfectly fine towing the thing home...except they told me it would be fine to drive it, including lying about the three day tags.

Had it made it out of the county I would have chalked it up to laissez faire, buy at your own risk, capitalism. But since it didn't make it to the next zip code I felt that the dealer should help me out at least as far as getting the thing out of the way of the log trucks that were zooming buy on the mountain road where it was perched.

My objection has nothing to do with the dealer but rather someone expecting others to take care of an issue with a vehicle that was totaled by an insurance company and had a salvage title. IOW you had full knowledge this might be a problematic vehicle yet somehow you feel this is their responsibility and indicative of the reliability of BMW's in general. That's plain foolish.
I only threatened to stop payment on the check after they at first refused to help me and again lied about the three day tag.

After further conversation the dealer sent the mechanic and then called me the next day to see if I needed any further assistance. They offered to send a couple of guys to where I had stashed the car to help push it onto the trailer but it turned out I didn't need the help. They said they were interested in keeping my business in the future and asked me to let them know how things turned out.

You of course are entitled to your opinion. If I had sold a guy a car and it didn't make it out of shouting distance I would certainly be amenable to helping the guy at least get it to a safe place. Your moral code may be different. Remind me never to do business with you in the future.:rolleyes:
 
#22 · (Edited)
You're not gonna get too much help from this forum because you already motherfcuked the brand and this place is filled with groupies and fan boys.

Get a bt cable and be prepared to have your patience tested by BMW engineering.

You're blind without it.
Thanks for the advice mryakanischoad.

I wasn't trying to besmirch the good name of BMW. It was just a fact that the car didn't make it 30 miles. I had talked to the previous owner that said the car had just been serviced, including a new battery and brake pads, three days before the branch fell on it. She told me she had never had a problem with the car and it ran great even after the tree branch fell on it. She certainly had no reason to lie to me since she had already been paid off by the insurance company.

Despite the friendly words of sunny5280 I'm not a "complete idiot". I brought tools with me and I knew I was taking a chance driving the car back to Indiana, but I would be saving over a hundred bucks in fuel and get to drive my new 2006 BMW through some very scenic and fun roads.

I knew the worst that could happen was that the car wouldn't make it back and I would have to park it and drive back to Indiana with my sister in her brand new Malibu to get the truck and the trailer.

I gambled, I lost.

It cost me $150, instead of saving me $100, and another day of driving. Big whoop. I only wanted the dealer to get the car to a safe place to leave it until I got back. It turned out it died in front of the home of two great people that were more than happy to safely store my car and watch it until I came back three days later.

So I made some new friends for my extra 150 bucks. Not bad for a "complete idiot".
 
#25 · (Edited)
I get possibly buying a crash-salvaged car to save some cash, but water damage too? That's just another level of risk. Replacing a mechanical part is easy. Tracking down an electrical issue in these cars? I've done robotics for 10 years and it was still a challenge updating modules.

Also, there is absolutely no way they salvaged a vehicle due to a broken sunroof. The entire mechanism, brand new and dealer labour, is under $4k.
 
#32 · (Edited)
As I said, I spoke to the previous owner that was there when the branch fell on the car and as I also said she was surprised that they totaled the car.

There is also damage to the roof panel, hood and passenger side fender. Add the cost of replacing the roof sheet metal, fender and hood and then the cost of refinishing them and you can start to see why the insurance company pulled the trigger.

I can get an entire roof panel with the sunroof from a salvage yard for $650. I have experience in cutting out panels and welding them in. A replacement galvanized hood (if I need one, the damaged one looks repairable to me) is $150 and the fender is barely damaged.

All up with paint I think I can get the car in good shape for less than 2 g's. Of course there is my time but I enjoy doing the work.
 
#27 ·
If the car died, and the dealer advised that there's no fuel pressure - then this is the place to start.

All this talk of water, branches, body damage, coding is beside the point.

Go step-by-step.

If there was crud on the bottom of the tank the fuel filter could be clogged (from drawing the sediment off the bottom of the tank when you ran it almost dry).

Start simple, then go more complex. Don't overthink it. It could be a million different things, but it IS only one.

Good luck, this shouldn't be too difficult to straighten out (although the inconvenience was considerable).
 
#28 ·
Hey, a friendly and useful reply. Kind'a what I came in here for. Some practical advice.

That's exactly what I'm going to do. Despite the remarks of certain folks I doubt it's the Valvtronic system or some other complex issue causing the issue. Thanks for the encouragement dmatre.

I'm sure the car will be up and running in no time. Then it will be time to find out how to remove the headliner, repair the damaged roof panel and install the sunroof. The hood and the passenger side fender have only minor damage.
 
#40 · (Edited)
I'm befuddled as to why you continue to say that you believed what the previous owner told you, especially on a salvage titled vehicle, and why you didn't bring it to a shop to get a diagnostic done on it. These seem to be buying used car 101s. I also do not understand why you drove the car down to nearly empty when you knew that the nearest gas station was 20 miles away. Seems to be you wanted to cheap out by not putting a gallon or two when you were test driving it just to save money. Back to believing the owner--the car being damaged more than what the branch did to the sunroof would suggest that the owner didn't take care of the car as well as the owner suggested. If the owner lives 20 miles away from a gas station and has a near empty gas tank, that too is indicative of the level of maintenance the owner probably kept on the car (at least I don't know why people keep tank nearly empty unless they really can't afford the gas, thus car repairs on a bmw). You believed the owner about a BMW battery and brake job? Did you visually check the battery and brakes? If you were told specifically the car did not have water damage, that was a lie since water got in through the sunroof. So you were actually told it did have water damage, just not flood/submersion damage. Two different things.

Ok, off my soap box and the most probable problem: The obvious problem here may not be anything mechanical, but simply air or water in the fuel line/pump, which coincidentally was probably caused by you in running the car to empty and then filling up the tank. You have to understand the gauges are accurate to a certain degree, but not totally accurate. Now you could have fried the pump, too, if you've been trying to turn it over a lot.
 
#95 · (Edited)
I've driven around on empty since I've been driving and I've never (((knock on wood))) had a fuel system issue on any car I've been in charge of; save for the N54 fuel pump problem. Strangely, I've had (2) n54 powered vehicles and only had one one fuel pump replacement when the car had under 1000 miles.

I drive family and passengers bananas. I've even run out of gas more than a few times in my
life including once on the Brooklyn Bridge lol.

I assure you that I can afford gas. I think I just like the cheap thrill of driving on empty...lol.
 
#41 ·
Can you hear the fuel pump run when you turn the key to 'on' (not trying to start it)

If no, check fuse and relay.
if good, check voltage to fuel pump, check ground to fuel pump
If everything checks out, replace fuel pump

If yes - Does the pump sound like it's straining?
Disconnect fuel filter and check pump output
If good, replace fuel filter.
If poor output, pull pump and clean or replace in tank filter

Prime fuel ring by turning key on and off several times (about 4 seconds on) until you hear the pump build up pressure in the ring.

Either way, use some isopropyl alcohol 'dry gas' or 90% isopropyl from the drug store.

When you change the filter, drain it from the inlet side into a glass jar. If there's a large amount of water in the filter you may need to run the pump a bit until you get gas instead of water.
 
#43 · (Edited)
No power at the pump. Is there a fuse box besides the one behind the glove box? Where might I find the fuel pump relay(s)?

And before some numbnuts chimes in, I have ordered the Bentley BMW E90 service manual but it hasn't arrived in the mail as of yet.

Anyone have the manual and could tell me the location of the fuel pump relay(s) and fuse(s)?

I guess it's good news that there is no power at the pump. Of course a bad pump could have caused the fuse or relay to fail. Perhaps the person with the manual could tell me the rated amperage and resistance of the pump if it is listed.
 
#45 ·
Fuel pump fuse location varies according to date of manufacture. Location in junction box (behind glove box) is F40, F70 or F88 (per Bentley manual, although documentation is somewhat contradictory). 20A fuse.
 
#54 ·
These cars are super complicated. I wouldn't touch a water damaged one with a 10 foot pole. The battery is in the trunk. If the trunk had water in it, you need to check whatever modules there are not damaged.

Check out the coding forums. You need a usb cable and need to start poking around in the car's computers.
 
#55 ·
I wouldn't touch a water damaged one with a 10 foot pole. The battery is in the trunk.
Would you nudge one with a pole for half price?

If the trunk had water in it, you need to check whatever modules there are not damaged.
There was never standing water in the trunk. When I opened it it just smelled musty and had a bit of condensation due to the steep drop in temperature.

Check out the coding forums. You need a usb cable and need to start poking around in the car's computers.
I'm leaning towards the Bavarian Technics enthusiast model.

I have only spent about twenty minutes working on the car so far due to other weekend commitments. I have already found that there is no power to the fuel pump (e.g.) there is either a blown fuse or relay.

Of course the forecasters of doom here on the forum would be betting on some water damaged "module" or "ecu" or some such electronic gremlin.

I'll know when I check out the fuses and the relays.

If worse comes to worse I'll have to run a diagnostic check with the Bav Tech Tool.

Either way I'll figure it out.

And fix it. I don't see any Carmeggedon in my future.
 
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