[fordperf]

The last few days have been warm here, so I have had my a/c on Auto just about every minute I've been driving. I noticed now my engine cooling fan is very loud, so loud you can hear it over the radio when parked and idling. I never remember it being this loud. Which brings me to the bigger issue..

My car seems to have lost turbo boost. It is most noticeable with a/c on (of course) but even with it off, when I should feel the most thrust, it feels like a 328i. This just started about the same time as the above fan sound.

Sometimes it accelerates hard in 1st and 2nd, and hits 3rd and just poops out. Or I am driving highway speeds and mash the throttle to the floor, and it doesn't even downshift one gear. I have floored it from a standstill and that "whip your head back" turbo boost just never happens.

I happened to have it in at the dealer for a wash, and they read my key at my request for a question I had about brake service. The report they handed back to me also said, in comments, that BMWNA had extgended the warranty on my wastegate to 8 year/82k miles. And I'm wondering, is what I am experiencing possibly due to the blow off valve being stuck open all the time and I am just blowing whatever boost I am creating right out the wastegate -- hence the sluggish performance?

This is certainly not 'limp mode', I am very familiar with that feeling. Is there an intercooler fan (maybe that is what I hear running)?

Any thoughts are welcome..

[fordperf]

Seeing some other threads where there is a correlation between boost produced and engine/oil temperature, putting the car in somewhat of a safe mode to protect it, if it is running hot. Coupled with my cooling fan running loud and proud all the time now, it's possible I am having some kind of engine temp issue. I didn't notice anything on the dash indicator, but I wasn't really looking. I may have a thermostat sensor problem. I'm hoping it's that simple...

[j1gilles]

Originally Posted by fordperf

The last few days have been warm here, so I have had my a/c on Auto just about every minute I've been driving. I noticed now my engine cooling fan is very loud, so loud you can hear it over the radio when parked and idling. I never remember it being this loud. Which brings me to the bigger issue..

My car seems to have lost turbo boost. It is most noticeable with a/c on (of course) but even with it off, when I should feel the most thrust, it feels like a 328i. This just started about the same time as the above fan sound.

Sometimes it accelerates hard in 1st and 2nd, and hits 3rd and just poops out. Or I am driving highway speeds and mash the throttle to the floor, and it doesn't even downshift one gear. I have floored it from a standstill and that "whip your head back" turbo boost just never happens.

I happened to have it in at the dealer for a wash, and they read my key at my request for a question I had about brake service. The report they handed back to me also said, in comments, that BMWNA had extgended the warranty on my wastegate to 8 year/82k miles. And I'm wondering, is what I am experiencing possibly due to the blow off valve being stuck open all the time and I am just blowing whatever boost I am creating right out the wastegate -- hence the sluggish performance?

This is certainly not 'limp mode', I am very familiar with that feeling. Is there an intercooler fan (maybe that is what I hear running)?

Any thoughts are welcome..

Mods?

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by j1gilles

Mods?

Bone stock (engine wise) except a K&N air filter.

[j1gilles]

My guess is that your water pump is failing or has failed... Could also be a t-stat issue

[fordperf]

I'll also throw out there that I had suffered from HPFP and injector problems in the past, and have had a bunch of stock parts replaced (HPFP, LPFP, all 6 injectors, both VANOS solenoids, a few misc engine sensors) as well as had my intake walnut blasted.

I feel like the intake is getting crudded up again, there is some of the very slight stutter and hesitation like before I had the blasting done. But this latest thing is different, it's just like driving a 328. There is no boost, the boost never (or rarely) comes

[Ilma]

Originally Posted by j1gilles

My guess is that your water pump is failing or has failed... Could also be a t-stat issue

Yup....it's probably water pump or thermostat issue.

The DME will do a progressive power reduction as coolant temperatures rise to a critical level.

Once it hits critical temp the DME will shut your car down completely and you will be stranded.

I just experienced this a few weeks ago myself.

The excessively loud radiator fan is your first clue that the engine is struggling with coolant temps.

What's your mileage?

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by j1gilles

My guess is that your water pump is failing or has failed... Could also be a t-stat issue

I didn't look at the temp gauge at all today, no idea if the car is running hot. No errors being thrown but I am going to bring it into the dealer anyway.

My CPO warranty runs out in 4 months

[j1gilles]

Oil temps are different than coolant temps... You could show an oil temp of 220 but your coolant could be boiling over

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by j1gilles

Oil temps are different than coolant temps... You could show an oil temp of 220 but your coolant could be boiling over

True. Would there be an alarm or sensor going off if that were happening? I drove around a little today, and the oil temp gauge seemed to hover around 220. Engine fan was on full blast after about 2 minutes of driving. It's sounding more and more like some kind of coolant/temp issue.

I read somewhere in another thread, someone said the ECU would not let the turbos produce boost if the coolant temp was having problems, yet I can't seem to find anything else that corroborates that..

[fordperf]

FYI bringing it in tomorrow 10:45am, hopefully get it resolved soon. Thanks!

[fordperf]

Update: the car overheated on my drive to the dealer. First I got the 'engine overheating, reduced performance, drive conservatively' warning. Then a minute later I got the more ominous "engine overheated, pull over immediately and shut the car off" type warning. So I wound up having it towed to the dealer in disgrace (shout out to BMW Assist who had a truck there in 20 mins).

When it was idling, the upper coolant hose was too hot to touch, but the lower hose wasnt. Also the lower hose, if you wrap your hand around it you could feel it "pulse" every second or so.. seems like the pump was trying to work but perhaps the thermostat just wasnt open. In any event, it seems like lack of cooling was my problem. Hopefully will hear back today that it was fixed.

[shawntech]

mine's doing the same thing, will be towing it in soon... isn't this fun?

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by ls3c6

mine's doing the same thing, will be towing it in soon... isn't this fun?

My car has spent too much time in the shop over the last 3 years, I dunno what to do. I love the car, but it seems like something is always on the verge of going wrong. Way more than a precision BMW should, know what I mean? I have 4 months left on CPO warranty and I'm debating what to do when it's up. There's no real comparable American car that is 300+ hp with AWD, so it's either keep this one, trade it in for a newer 335xi, or jump ship to something like an Audi S4 with it's black crappy interior and a zillion buttons everywhere..

[shawntech]

Originally Posted by fordperf

My car has spent too much time in the shop over the last 3 years, I dunno what to do. I love the car, but it seems like something is always on the verge of going wrong. Way more than a precision BMW should, know what I mean? I have 4 months left on CPO warranty and I'm debating what to do when it's up. There's no real comparable American car that is 300+ hp with AWD, so it's either keep this one, trade it in for a newer 335xi, or jump ship to something like an Audi S4 with it's black crappy interior and a zillion buttons everywhere..

I'm in the same boat, my CPO expires july 18. I will be purchasing a route66 warranty because I know these failures will not end any time soon and there isn't a more reliable "better" car to replace it with.

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by ls3c6

I'm in the same boat, my CPO expires july 18. I will be purchasing a route66 warranty because I know these failures will not end any time soon and there isn't a more reliable "better" car to replace it with.

What is a "route66 warranty"??

[Dmacc]

Water pump and tstat took a dumper.

[fordperf]

Originally Posted by Dmacc

Water pump and tstat took a dumper.

That's what I'm thinking, one of those. Though I doubt they will replace both, normally a dealer would replace the cheaper tstat in the hopes the cheaper solution is the correct one.

Speaking of other 300+ hp AWD cars, there is the Ford Taurus SHO (365hp) but do I want to drive a Ford Taurus..

[Dmacc]

Originally Posted by fordperf

That's what I'm thinking, one of those. Though I doubt they will replace both, normally a dealer would replace the cheaper tstat in the hopes the cheaper solution is the correct one.

Speaking of other 300+ hp AWD cars, there is the Ford Taurus SHO (365hp) but do I want to drive a Ford Taurus..

A crazy guy driving one of those actually tried chasing me for some odd reason, he was mad about something, they are quick but I pulled away pretty quickly on about e20 and 91 octane.