Quote:
Originally Posted by JuniorB
Well hell, if all you wanted was to dump it, well..pass it on. Btw, is it a n52 the year says 05 but it a e90? Anyway I thought I would throw out there the first things that came to mind with little info provided as far dianostics done. When electrical glitches start, it's a sign to look into the charging system. When you have engine issues without codes/cel, software updates come to mind. The pinging does sound like low quality fuel, but can lead to engine damage. Hope it goes well.
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No worries. But to be fair, if you check my profile for posts and threads, everything about the various problems with my car over the years is quite well documented. And yes, it is an E90 with the N52 motor that was already sold in South Africa in 2005, so I have one of the very first of these cars made. So for instance, the coil packs on mine are also different to all N52 engined E90's that were made from early 2006 onwards. For whatever reason, they used a different coil that has a slightly different tab on the connector, whereas the later models use exactly the same part as used on the older M54 motors, weird. But it's apparently just the plug that is different in terms of the tab location, so one could remove that tab and otherwise the coil packs are the same, at least so I hear. I have driven a number of N52 engined cars over the years to compare with mine. The pinging issue is somewhat present in most of them, so that could point to our fuel not being ideal, but I also am not so convinced that it is a pinging noise, it's more like a rattle or valvetrain noise, but the biggest issue has been the characteristics of the throttle, the jerkiness at times, the stutters or dips at certain engine speeds under load. And it really doesn't feel like all the ponies are working at full steam. If I was just hell bent on ditching this car, then I think 5 years of persistence and hanging on to it is a bit odd. But eventually one has to draw the line. BTW, the pinging is not a constant thing, it's now and again, and very dependant on weather and other conditions. If I drive with my window open, I can hear it only at specific instances, and even then, it's not every single time, and what makes me doubt that it is pinging, it doesn't sometimes on gear change, if a bit more abrupt (I always aim to drive smoothly, but it does happen that you get a less than perfect gear change here and there), or when closing throttle quickly. All the problems seemed to start just after BMW had it for its last Motorplan covered service. They had to update the software, there was a CAS fault with the steering lock, and apparently they had replaced the driver's door lock (had no idea there was anything wrong with that, maybe preventative). But the very intermittent rattle that I always assumed was the exhaust flap at lower speeds opening and closing, became more pronounce, and obviously that then wasn't what I thought I was hearing. And that was one of the tests that I also did some time ago, I disabled the exhaust flap to see if that was what I was hearing, wasn't obviously. So let's just say, I have done a heck of a lot to figure this problem out.