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Ethanol corroded the engine

2K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  fun2drive 
#1 ·
Hi,

I drive 2006 325i. Its automatic transmission and I get a jerk when speed transitions from 20-30. I went to authorised BMW delaer for diagnosis.

They concluded that
- Fuel has >15% ethanol.
- Spark plug is corroded and needs replacement.
- Complete engine needs flushing.

They are asking $1700 for all this. I spoke to one of the mechanic I know ( not working for BMW delaership). He told me that dealership is just trying to sell me things, its not a real issue. The car is driven only 30k and drives very well except the jerk part.

Any comments from you guys if you had similar situation. I did got through some threads on ethanol build up, couldnt conclude any thing.
 
#2 ·
better check the transmission... and go to a different dealer

Hi,

I drive 2006 325i. Its automatic transmission and I get a jerk when speed transitions from 20-30. I went to authorised BMW delaer for diagnosis.

They concluded that
- Fuel has >15% ethanol.
- Spark plug is corroded and needs replacement.
- Complete engine needs flushing.

They are asking $1700 for all this. I spoke to one of the mechanic I know ( not working for BMW delaership). He told me that dealership is just trying to sell me things, its not a real issue. The car is driven only 30k and drives very well except the jerk part.

Any comments from you guys if you had similar situation. I did got through some threads on ethanol build up, couldnt conclude any thing.
 
#5 ·
Hi,

I drive 2006 325i. Its automatic transmission and I get a jerk when speed transitions from 20-30. I went to authorised BMW delaer for diagnosis.

They concluded that
- Fuel has >15% ethanol.
- Spark plug is corroded and needs replacement.
- Complete engine needs flushing.

They are asking $1700 for all this. I spoke to one of the mechanic I know ( not working for BMW delaership). He told me that dealership is just trying to sell me things, its not a real issue. The car is driven only 30k and drives very well except the jerk part.

Any comments from you guys if you had similar situation. I did got through some threads on ethanol build up, couldnt conclude any thing.
Whenever there is an engine driveability issue BMW requires that the fuel be tested for ethanol content. All BMW shops have devices to do this testing. The owner's manual specifically states that fuel greater than 15% ethanol is NOT to be used.
Although you don't give your mileage it would seem unlikely that you need spark plugs at under 60K miles. It is possible for higher ethanol percentage fuel to advance the deposit formation on plugs requiring that they be changed in less than 60k miles.
The engine needs flushing? I assume this means the oil system but cannot understand why you'd need this service. If they mean the cooling sysem they may have a point if there is crap in the cooling system but that is unlikely after two years. If they are referring to the fuel system, switch to a Top Tier gas (Google it) and the fuel system will clean itself.
 
#6 ·
Like previous poster said, fuel with >10% ethanol is NOT permitted and NOT covered under warranty. I'm pretty sure some companies are sneaking in more ethanol than they're supposed to.

However, give it to another dealer and see what the diagnosis is.
 
#7 ·
It sure would be nice if consumers had a way to test the % of ethanol in the gasoline that they're using. I'm seeing more and more pumps (always use Chevron Premium) that say something to the effect of "fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol", but how do I know? Anything higher may screw up my car in a variety of ways.
 
#8 ·
Anything greater than E10 is an issue for all cars that are not flex-fuel. It would not just be a BMW problem.

You can order a Portable Ethanol Alcohol Fuel Test Kit here:

http://www.fuel-testers.com/order_ethanol_alcohol_fuel_test_kit.html

You can test your own gas with the above kit.

Ethanol alcohol is a solvent, degreaser, cleanser, antifreeze and most problematic is ethanol's "hygroscopic" properties. Hygroscopic means ethanol attracts and absorbs water.

Fuels blended with ethanol, (E10 and E85), rapidly absorbs 50 times more water, than non-alcohol gas.

The higher the alcohol content, the greater the problems you will encounter with alcohol-blend fuels.

Which, may explain the rust on your plugs.

The use of Ethanol is a joke IMHO, but that is an different story

I would simply change out your plugs first -- start with the simple change and see what happens. I would also go to another dealer or find an independent BMW shop -- your tranny may have an issue. I would try a different gas station as well.
 
#10 ·
Thanks a lot guys for your suggestions.

When I went to delaer to pick up my car he estimated a whopping $1700 bill for the follwoing items
- Drain fuel tank.
- 6 spark plugs
- Injector cleaner kit
- Fuel system flush

I told him that I will get it done from somewhere else rather then BMW delaership. He was kinda soft then and told me that its not a big issue. If I go ahead and use the "top tier gas", the fuel system should clean itself and these gas has some thing which will remove the deposit from the spark plug. Earlier he scared me saying that your car will be dead stop if you dont get it done but now he says otherwise. Its really confusing and frustrating at the same time. What would you guys do in this situation.
 
#12 ·
I own an independent repair shop and service many BMW's and have extensive experience with the use of various fuels. Leave the gas in your tank. Switch to Top Tier gas. Do not add any injector cleaner. Do not flush your fuel system. If, after several tanks of gas, you still have a driveability issue install new plugs.
The ECU would throw an immediate CEL if your plugs were misfiring resulting in unburned mixture hitting the cats. This could cause major problems and so every OEM makes sure the light illuminates, and will even flash, if there is an ignition related skip. You don't have a CEL so I doubt you have misfiring.
 
#11 ·
Drive to another dealer for at least a second opinion. Your first dealership sounds like they wanted to ream you for unnecessary services, but now that you are taking it elsewhere he wants to soften his diagnosis to not be made a fool of at an honest dealer or better yet independent BMW technician.
 
#14 ·
sad part would be that the dealership has probably already swindled alot of people with the same story.

Customer: My Ipod adapter is randomly switching to the radio alot.
Dealer: Oh, the problem is the computer is detecting an error with your gas / ethanol mixture. In such an error, the car will reboot and your ipod will be hosed. To aleviate the problem, we will need to replace your fuel door and gas cap as it is contaminated with bmw viruses. Oh, and your spark plugs are shot, and your check engine light is burnt out. Nevermind the factory warranty since this is all your fault for buying cheap gas.
 
#15 · (Edited)
To the OP. First of all we operate a pressurized closed loop fuel system which doesn't pick up water ala condensation like open loop systems. You can get water from the pumping of piss poor gas or arriving and pumping after the truck has just dumped 6000 gallons and mixed everything up. Remember water is heavier then gas so it sinks to the bottom. I agree with the tech here. Drive your car and get any codes read if there are any elsewhere.
Your fuel will absorb and burn all the water off in the tank and yes do use a top tier fuel supplier like Chevron with Techron in it.

Too much Ethanol percentage will screw up your car and the systems there in. It will destroy fuel components so stay away from anything over what the manual specs. Remember BMW does use a lot of rubber fuel components and high Ethanol content has been proven to soften these components and cause failure.

I would doubt that your transmission jerk problem is related to anything with the engine. If so would it not jerk or malfunction all the time?

I think your engine is fine but that jerking has to be caused by something.
Have you had any codes read for the transmission or is the car throwing any codes?
 
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