Engine Malfunction - Reduced Power

Well I have had my X1 (sDrive28i) literally a week and yesterday, driving slowly in a shopping center parking lot, there was a loud BEEP and then a flashing message on the IDrive:

ENGINE MALFUNCTION - ENGINE IS OPERATING ON REDUCED POWER. GO TO YOUR NEAREST BMW CENTER. Oh and the icon in the trip computer is an engine half-shaded in.

We had been shopping, returned to the parked car, drove it a few minutes, nothing at all noticeably wrong, when this happened. We weren't far from home, and what are you going to do on a Saturday at 5pm? I doubt BMW service has emergency hours.

As we continued driving, traffic was fairly heavy, but it did seem as if the engine was working hard. Still, we had no problem keeping up with traffic flow.

We had one more small stop on the way home, so I went ahead and parked. And when we came out and started the car, the message did not reappear. Car ran fine. However, we were less than 5 minutes from home at that point.

So I will take the X1 out later today and see if on a longer drive, the message reappears. If so, I'll go straight to BMW Beverly Hills service tomorrow morning. If the message doesn't reappear, I'll just call and make an appointment to come in for an evaluation.

Take it for service regardless. This is the behavior I experienced when the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) was failing on my E90 335i (N54).

+1. That sure sounds like the dreaded HPFP!!! It might not be but boy those symptoms are similar! The 28 in the past was naturally aspirated but with the turbo 4 I guess it's feasible.

Thank goodness you made it home safely! Knowing that area well I envision you exiting the grove parking garage and that can be nasty with no power!

Actually I live close to South Bay BMW. Long story on why I bought at Beverly Hills BMW, but BV BMW is fairly convenient for me on work days, since I can drop off the X1 and be relatively close to my downtown LA work location.

Haven't taken the X1 out today yet. Like I said, if the warning light comes on again today, I will just show up at BV BMW service tomorrow when they open. If it doesn't, I'll call them and discuss my options.

If it is the fuel pump thing, it's amazing that BMW has been facing these issues for a few years now (as I see in my Googling) and can't get it right...

So this "engine malfunction" thing happened Saturday night. I didn't drive the X1 Sunday, and I just got back from a few errands, and it ran fine. I called Bev Hills BMW and spoke to a service adviser. We recommended a "wait and see" approach, and I am fine with that. Maybe it was just a weird glitch and never happens again. But if it does, then I take it in.

Sure do love driving this car tho...

After it went into limp mode and after you restarted didn't the Service Engine Soon light stay lit, indicating that there was a code triggered and needs attention? If all lights are now off, I don't think the dealer will do anything anyway.

Do you experience any hessitation on hard acceleration? That's the prob I'm having with mine and after it goes into Limp mode the Service light will stay lit.

Originally Posted by bimmerized

After it went into limp mode and after you restarted didn't the Service Engine Soon light stay lit, indicating that there was a code triggered and needs attention? If all lights are now off, I don't think the dealer will do anything anyway.

Do you experience any hessitation on hard acceleration? That's the prob I'm having with mine and after it goes into Limp mode the Service light will stay lit.

Just because the CEL isn't lit doesn't mean that a fault code isn't stored. Dealer can certainly pull that code and act on the problem depending on what the code tells them.

Originally Posted by nospam

Take it for service regardless. This is the behavior I experienced when the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) was failing on my E90 335i (N54).

Originally Posted by x3brian

+1. That sure sounds like the dreaded HPFP!!! It might not be but boy those symptoms are similar! The 28 in the past was naturally aspirated but with the turbo 4 I guess it's feasible.

There are many reasons a reduced power error could occur, and a bad HPFP is merely one of them (and at this point, a pretty unlikely one). It could be a bad O2 sensor, inability of the ECU to maintain boost targets, overheating (coolant or oil), etc. If it was fine after restarting the engine and it hasn't happened again, then there's probably nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by mullini

So this "engine malfunction" thing happened Saturday night. I didn't drive the X1 Sunday, and I just got back from a few errands, and it ran fine. I called Bev Hills BMW and spoke to a service adviser. We recommended a "wait and see" approach, and I am fine with that. Maybe it was just a weird glitch and never happens again. But if it does, then I take it in.

Sure do love driving this car tho...

Glad it's been working fine. I probably had the exact conversation you had earlier this year when I had a reduced power error, and my car has been fine ever since.

Thanks everyone. I am sure there is a code in there somewhere...but that night after parking for one more shopping stop and coming back, no light whatsoever was on. And it ran fine this morning. So "wait and see" seems liek the right approach. I am not oen to jump at the chance to hang out in any dealer's service area. Yes I am sure there's be a loaner but for now, I don't need the hassle.

But I will resurrect this thread pronto if i get that message again...