Drivetrain malfunction club

7 series Drive Train Malfunction so far solved

I drive a 2009 750i.

I have been dealing with a drivetrain malfunction error for the second year, in the winter when the temperature is cold.

The dealer replaced the fuel injectors and ultimately it went away.

The errror resurfaced this year and obviously the injectors couldnt be the problem. Again, I only get the error when the temperature is cold and I left my car outside instead of the garage.

I did a lot of research online and tried the following after my research that something was probably freezing overnight.

I pressed the start button on my car without depressing the brake so that only the electrical was turned on.

Pulled the windshield wiper lever several times. Found that the water did not spray correctly. Likely because water had frozen in the spraying mechanism.

After a few pulls, water flowed freely.

Car started fine, without the error.

Just posting this after all of my frustration that it might help someone else. I will post another update in a couple weeks to see if this continues to solve the problem.

AdamG13 said:

Just joined the club. This puts me over the number of service visits required for lemon law buy back so i guess im out. This time im going with a manufacturer that provides vehicle service on a level appropriate for a 100k purchase. View attachment 477836

Click to expand...

I completely agree with your comment regarding the level of service offered at BMW dealers. I traded a Lexus LS460 for my 750Li and have regretted it ever since. Not only was the Lexus more reliable, but whenever I rolled into the dealership's service lane for routine maintenance, they greeted me at my driver's door and addressed me by name (ya, I know they have technology that displays the car owner's name on their computer monitors when the car crosses their threshold, but the point is, THEY HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY). It makes the entire visit so much more personable. I just fell victim to the "drivetrain malfunction" message YESTERDAY! The whole car started shuttering while driving only 45 mph. It was NOT what I expected from the "ultimate driving machine." Luckily, whatever the problem may be, the warranty will cover it ... until then, I'll have to slum it in the loaner 3 Series they provided. I'm counting the days!

I actually got this error for the first time ever today, I had the CCP done back in January. While taking off from a red light, got the error and then the car started shaking like crazy when I stopped. I pulled into a gas station, turned it off and turned it back on, error still came up but the car was acting fine. I tried turning it off completely and on a few more times, error would pop right up on the screen as soon as it started.

After reading this thread, the battery issue made sense to me since I have been using a portable air pump to put air in one of my tires over the past few days until my new wheels and tires arrive on Tuesday. I haven't been driving the car much and I thought maybe the use of the air pump was draining the battery and me not driving it as much wasn't recharging it. When I got home last night I hooked it up to my Ctek charger and let the battery charge fully. I came back out, disconnected the charger and turned the car on by pressing the brake and holding the start engine button...error still came on. I turned it off fully and then just pressed the starter button once without holding the brake, so the electronics came on, then I held the brake down and started the car and the error was gone. Drove it on highway and trying hard accelerations, sport, sport+ mode and car was running like a champ, no issues at all and no codes. Don't know yet if this will fully solve the problem but I drove it again today with no issues, so maybe this is a battery problem? Anyways just wanted to share for anyone who maybe had the issue.

I took my car into the dealer for it's last oil change under the factory warranty and had them check out a bunch of other stuff while they were at it (e.g. front brakes showing due for service - still had lots of life left, so needed reprogramming). I also had 3 or 4 DTMs over the last few months. They all went away after restart, so I hadn't had them look into it until now.

After replacing all of my spark plugs and checking a bunch of other stuff (fully, and very thoroughly, detailed in the notes), the tech noticed oil leaking out of one of the oil feed line banjo bolts, so he decided to check the turbos for resistance. Wouldn't you know, he found out that one of my turbos was not spinning freely (i had been 1 turbo down for who knows how long). He opened a PUMA case and got both turbos and the associated oil lines approved for replacement. Thankfully parts were in stock, so I had the car back in a day.

The car is running like a champ! Sounds and feels better than ever. I guess I didn't know what I was missing until I had it back.

Some of you might remember that I posted some disturbing dyno results a little while back (if not, I can repost here). I wouldn't be surprised if this is the main reason I was showing a ~50HP deficit from what others had posted previously.

I am joint the club too. Second week my alpina b7 f01 is in the bmw dealers shop. They are doing minimal effort to fix the problem hoping to save on repairs and get me in later so they can actually charge for something. Same problem as everyone drivetrain malfunction. Never had it before but the moment it got to Germany the problem showed up right away. I think BMW is actually planting this error in our cars so they can get us to drop them off at the shop and quietly fix all problems without a huge law suite. First it started with both keys suddenly low on battery. I didn't have time so just shipped my car to Germany and planned to replace it there then the malfunction kicked in right away and when I came into the store they already waited for me and had all info about my car up on the screen so it's definitely a planned sabotage.