Drivetrain malfunction warning

We are up in Asheville for NYE, I was just leaving the Biltmore earlier this evening, when the drive train malfunction light came on. Not when I started the car, but about a minute after I started the car. I also noticed loss of power.

I out the car in park. Switched the car off. Immediately switched it back on. Car is back to normal and functioning fine.

Does anyone have any insights on this?

BTW my fuel level is low - at about 47 miles range but I doubt that is the issue.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

We are up in Asheville for NYE, I was just leaving the Biltmore earlier this evening, when the drive train malfunction light came on. Not when I started the car, but about a minute after I started the car. I also noticed loss of power.

I out the car in park. Switched the car off. Immediately switched it back on. Car is back to normal and functioning fine.

Does anyone have any insights on this?

BTW my fuel level is low - at about 47 miles range but I doubt that is the issue.

over the past year i have had one or two strange idiot lights come up, drive train malfunction was one, ARS disabled (or something like that) was another. i turned off the car, and restarted with no problems. the car will log it, take it in if you feel so inclined. i never had another problem, mentioned it to my SA and he said sometimes it happens. i believe they are called gremlins

When the fuel light comes on, if you dig deeper into the menu, it says that if mileage range is less than 30 miles, it can have consequences. Perhaps even though you had 47 mile range, that was the reason?

I was told by a service advisor before that sometimes the car mis-fired, also it could happened when the car is running low on gas (using reserved fuel). But no long-term issue after restart, unless it's recurring time after time then it needs to be looked at by the dealer.

I've had it occur twice both when I was on the highway driving at speed but I got the warning and nothing else, no power loss or noticeable effect. First time I pulled over and called the SA who said just turn it on and bring it in which I did and once I turned it back on the warning was gone. I took it to the dealer but they said they couldn't find any indication of a problem. The second tine I just ignored it and sure enough on the restart later it went away.

I had a similar error a couple of times. Had the dealer check it out and was told that these weird kinds of errors can happen when the battery charge gets low from driving the car short distances over a period of time. They charged up the battery and have not had the issue since. Bought a charger myself to top it off every so often. There is a thread around here that discusses the batery charging topic.

Been there - had that. It is almost certainly the HPFP.

Originally Posted by Quacker

Been there - had that. It is almost certainly the HPFP.

How do you reconcile that almost certainty with the other replies on this thread? Tell us a bit more about how it developed?

Update: drove another 250 miles today with no issues. At 1100 miles now.

I had the "drivetrain malfunction" in conjunction with reduced power and that's what is was. If you think about it, a good way to reduce power is to reduce fuel pressure, so that adds up well. Things seemed to return to normal when the car was restarted. It came and went a few times and all seemed fine in between episodes, similar to your experience. The only thing that doesn't match is that I sometimes experienced even worse loss of power during which the car bucked and jerked and stalled. You may yet experience this - or not. Moreover, the initial diagnosis was "low on fuel" but that diagnosis was retracted after some additional testing. I believe that if you re-read the other responses, mine is a clear best match for your experience.

Regards -

Originally Posted by Quacker

I had the "drivetrain malfunction" in conjunction with reduced power and that's what is was. If you think about it, a good way to reduce power is to reduce fuel pressure, so that adds up well. Things seemed to return to normal when the car was restarted. It came and went a few times and all seemed fine in between episodes, similar to your experience. The only thing that doesn't match is that I sometimes experienced even worse loss of power during which the car bucked and jerked and stalled. You may yet experience this - or not. Moreover, the initial diagnosis was "low on fuel" but that diagnosis was retracted after some additional testing. I believe that if you re-read the other responses, mine is a clear best match for your experience.

Regards -

So what would you suggest I do? It happened just once and went away as soon as I restarted. What should I tell dealer given I can't replicate the problem?

Should I just ask them to check out the HPFP?

It's always tough when it can't be duplicated. My initial suggestion would be to report it to them and follow their lead on what to do. However, I would be circumspect about taking a long trip until it was at least checked out. Sorry that I can't offer anything more definitive.

It seems as if we are talking about different thing because at least when it happened to me there seemed to be nothing wrong mechanically with the car. No misfire nor power loss or anything else besides the bell and the warning on the screen. Some of you including the OP had a noticeable effect which I would think is different to mine. Also apparently these cars don't store such incidents when they occur because I had this happen and the check engine light came on for the fuel level sensor and they both went away when the car was shut off and each time I took it to the dealer but they hooked it up and said they found no problems besides my cat codes.

Originally Posted by jimefam

. Also apparently these cars don't store such incidents when they occur because I had this happen and the check engine light came on for the fuel level sensor and they both went away when the car was shut off and each time I took it to the dealer but they hooked it up and said they found no problems besides my cat codes.

They were bull****ting you. These cars store EVERYTHING.

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

They were bull****ting you. These cars store EVERYTHING.

+1 i would be surprised if it doesn't, As there was a clear error message!

I think the logging systems are one of the components which will be/should be well thought through!

Dang it! i thought HPFP issue is only with I6 engines and that to in previous generation, isn't?

Uh oh! Thread over on BimmerPost on the same topic.

http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478030

Update: the dealer looked at it and concluded the HPFP is okay, but they saw several errors recorded related to the fuel sensor. They are replacing the fuel sensor and believe that should prevent a recurrence.

No update on the auto headlight issue.

Meanwhile I'm driving a base 328 which feels like an ancient relic.

Let's hope that fixes it!

Originally Posted by Quacker

Let's hope that fixes it!

Hope so. I have a 700 mile trip next week to return home.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

Update: the dealer looked at it and concluded the HPFP is okay, but they saw several errors recorded related to the fuel sensor. They are replacing the fuel sensor and believe that should prevent a recurrence.

No update on the auto headlight issue.

Meanwhile I'm driving a base 328 which feels like an ancient relic.

You mean from those dark ages when it took a couple of years before something broke?

Originally Posted by solstice

You mean from those dark ages when it took a couple of years before something broke?

No those were my 3 years driving a Lexus. But the E90 seems more ancient than my old E46 cabrio. Very boxy interior, lots of cheap plastic, cheap trim, etc. maybe it's accentuated by being a 328 base model whereas my E46 was an M3 with Nav.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

No those were my 3 years driving a Lexus. But the E90 seems more ancient than my old E46 cabrio. Very boxy interior, lots of cheap plastic, cheap trim, etc. maybe it's accentuated by being a 328 base model whereas my E46 was an M3 with Nav.

Yeah, the Ms are a class by themselves even if they share the numerics. I like the 3-series a lot but the cost cutting compared to a five can be felt in the materials. it's always been that way and it's why I'm not considering the F30 other than if a 4 door M3 will be available. I don't want much gadgets but I want high end materials or at least a high end feel. Only the M3 has that in the 3 series.

Regarding reliability the M3 is my 6th beemer and it's been rock solid and so were all the others except the E60 and F10. Too complex engine & suspension techology.
My wife wants an X5 but we can't have an unreliable SUV so it's leaning towards a 4-runner or Landcruiser.

Originally Posted by solstice

Yeah, the Ms are a class by themselves even if they share the numerics. I like the 3-series a lot but the cost cutting compared to a five can be felt in the materials. it's always been that way and it's why I'm not considering the F30 other than if a 4 door M3 will be available. I don't want much gadgets but I want high end materials or at least a high end feel. Only the M3 has that in the 3 series.

Regarding reliability the M3 is my 6th beemer and it's been rock solid and so were all the others except the E60 and F10. Too complex engine & suspension techology.
My wife wants an X5 but we can't have an unreliable SUV so it's leaning towards a 4-runner or Landcruiser.

My e46 M3 had some issues after 3 years, but was rock solid for the first 20k miles.

My sense is the achilles heel of the new BMWs is the engines. I blame CAFE.

Originally Posted by solstice

leaning towards a 4-runner

Talk about ancient relics.....

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Talk about ancient relics.....

Funny I had a 2006 4runner which I recently got rid of it,it had 160k miles and for all I know the hood could have been welded shut as all I ever needed to do was oil changes.