2000 323i car shakes / Ignition Coil replacement questions

I have a Year 2000 323i with 130K Miles on it. The car usually shakes when I start it up in the mornings. Sometimes even during the day. Sometimes it shakes too much and I turn it off and restart it and then it behaves.
I have OBD scanner and most codes point towards bad ignition coils (A mechanic who changed cars thermostat last winter also said it needs new coils). I am thinking of replacing all 6. Spark plugs were already replaced recently. Here are the few questions I have.

1. Shall I go with Bremi or Bosch? ( Currently it has Bremi coils).
2. Shall I also replace Plug connectors or the old ones should be fine?

Can anyone answer these please? I couldn't find clear answers from search.

I appreciate all the help!

Hello, Funny you post this I just recently change my ignition coils on my 323CI. It's fairly easy to do... I would go with the Bremi. With the plugs it's your choice, the plugs do not go bad unless you realize the connectors are not looking to good. It wouldn't hurt changing.. I would check online for the ignition coils.

Originally Posted by domainman

I have a Year 2000 323i with 130K Miles on it. The car usually shakes when I start it up in the mornings. Sometimes even during the day. Sometimes it shakes too much and I turn it off and restart it and then it behaves.
I have OBD scanner and most codes point towards bad ignition coils (A mechanic who changed cars thermostat last winter also said it needs new coils). I am thinking of replacing all 6. Spark plugs were already replaced recently. Here are the few questions I have.

1. Shall I go with Bremi or Bosch? ( Currently it has Bremi coils).
2. Shall I also replace Plug connectors or the old ones should be fine?

My car does this on occassion as well. In the morning it shakes slightly but is fine after about a min or so. A few times the car idled rough, but was good after a restart and it sometimes throws a cylinder 1 misfire code which never stays on for more than a day. I've learned to live with it, as it only does it once every 3 months or so. The coils are one of the few things that I have not changed. If you end up changing the coils, let us know if it worked for you.

So I have decided to go with Bremi coils part # 12131748018. I should have these changed in a week or so. Will keep you guys updated.

My car did the same thing this AM, shaking on the start up, got codes: 1619, 1350, and 1343. I think when I replaced the plugs yesterday, I put the woven ground wires on each end, I think I attached them wrong, which is grounding out those two cylinders/coils. I looked at the Wiki and I did not see explicit instructions on how to attach these wires back, and I cannot remember exactly how they attached. Any photos or ideas would gbe appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

By the way, this is my '02 325 XIT.

Thanks!

I have a 2000 323 Ci and recently replaced some coils. The Ignition coil - Bremi - Factory is 12131748017 New Replacement # 12137599219 and it's made in China. I got two from Bosch coils # 12 13 1 703 228 from Pelican for $48 each and one from German Autoparts.com, which has the same coil for $49.61, and it worked also.

Hi, I'm a "chick" and that doesn't mean I shouldn't know how to fix my own car, but...well, I don't...I do know, however, when the proverbial crap is hitting the fan with my 2001 325i. I think I've spent more on this car in the past 3 years then what I paid for it....anyway, yesterday I had the front O2 sensor changed, (the other one was changed a few months ago, and I have a rear one because this is a California car). The scanner showed that was what was wrong, so the front O2 was changed, they said the back one looks fine. Today I start the car, (its been very cold here in Nashville) and I had that same rough idling, and I thought, this idiot mechanic didn't do the job! I have a cheap scanner myself, the codes that came up were PO1343 and 1350. I found a few answers on here as to what this is....misfiring on the ignition and the 5th gear? Once the car is warmed up it seems to drive fine. Then this afternoon the engine light came back on. So, my question is this...if it's spark plugs, are they easy to change on a BMW, and what is a coil pack...I keep reading about that...and how much is a job like this going to cost me...because I'm very close to getting rid of this car anyway....thanks for any help!

Originally Posted by Sherbach

So, my question is this...if it's spark plugs, are they easy to change on a BMW, and what is a coil pack...!

Here's my pictorial M54 engine spark plug DIY (If I can do it, anyone can):
- One user's pictorial DIY for replacing the BMW M54 engine spark plugs (1)

The general consensus is coils don't go bad in sets so only one would normally need to be replaced at any particular time.

Here's how to test coils:
- How to test a BMW ignition coil (1) (2)

Originally Posted by bluebee

Here's my pictorial M54 engine spark plug DIY (If I can do it, anyone can):
- One user's pictorial DIY for replacing the BMW M54 engine spark plugs (1)

The general consensus is coils don't go bad in sets so only one would normally need to be replaced at any particular time.

Here's how to test coils:
- How to test a BMW ignition coil (1) (2)

Just one other question. Since this happened the morning after I'd brought my car home from the mechanic, after having the O2 sensor changed, could this issue have been caused by something they did? I was having the same issue, rough idling, shaking before warming up, hesitation, and the scanner said O2 was bad. Engine light came on. This time, engine light came on the next morning with the same symptoms, scanner gave me those codes. My son is an electrical "dude" and said he could probably change out the spark plugs, he's just never worked on a BMW before. Thanks for all your help!